Lauderdale by the Sea

Since discovering Lauderdale by the Sea, we have been going back every summer just before the kids go back to school. My husband and I both grew up in Miami Beach, blocks from the ocean, and now we live close to an hour's drive from the local beaches.

There is a routine: get there early and score a parking spot at a meter. However, this time we circled the two blocks of meters over and over and someone kept beating us to the meter so we paid $10 and parked at the lot right next to the sand. This was a good move since now we didn't have to worry about going back to put more money in the meter every 2 hours.

After a few hours on the sand and in the ocean, we go for lunch. We tried a new restaurant, the Aruba Beach Cafe, instead of our regular 101 Ocean. It's right on the sand and always packed. It was not our favorite, we wouldn't go back, but at least we can say we tried it and now we've eaten at 3 of the 4 local restaurants. There are absolutely no modifications with their menu. They don't have cheese pizzas, which was my son's order. Only pepperoni and they are already on there. We asked for the seafood stir fry without any rice. Can't be done. The rice is already in there. It was clear that if you wanted the cheeseburger without the cheese, it couldn't be done. We had Mahi Mahi grilled sandwiches which were fair at best.

We learned that our son is really not into steel drums and Caribbean music. "Why do they keep playing the same sound over and over again, Mom"?

After lunch we walk over to Kilwin's for some of their homemade ice cream and/or other confections. Then we sit on the wooden benches just outside and enjoy our desserts before heading back home.