Fort Launderdale Weekend Getaway

Earlier in the year, I mentioned that one of our goals this year is to travel as much as possible. Big trips, local trips, and everything in between. This includes day and weekend trips. Sean loves Florida and often says we will retire there. He’s wrong. We will not retire in Florida; however, trips to Florida are A-OK to me. We’ve gone to several cities in Florida but had not yet been to Fort Launderdale so we chose it for our weekend getaway. We boarded at 7pm on a Thursday and arrived around 11pm that day. We decided to call it a day that way we could wake up alert and fresh Friday morning.

When we were looking for places to stay we came across Plunge Beach Hotel in Fort Launderdale by the Sea. It is a new hotel and well, everyone wants to stay at a new hotel, right? What we didn't know was that surrounding the hotel is basically retirement homes. The bartenders in downtown Fort Launderdale said we were in sleepy town, ha. Sleepy town indeed, but we still managed to have a great time.

Friday night we went to downtown Fort Launderdale and then Saturday night we stayed in Fort Launderdale by the Sea. We danced our butts off Friday night and may have had a little too much to drink. But we hadn't danced like that in such a while so it was worth the headache I had Saturday morning. Fort Launderdale by the Sea at night (and during the day) was actually pretty lively. The streets were closed off for live music and al fresco dining all throughout. I love dining outdoors but with Sean's fair skin and the fact that he burns so darn easily we mostly sat at the restaurant's bar (sometimes with a view!) for food and drinks while we were there.

We rented a car but at the last minute decided that we'd just Uber everywhere which is what we did our entire trip.

I had intentions of taking pictures of our room but when I had gotten a couple of pictures Sean said for us to get moving. I thought I would remember but sadly I did not and did not realize it until I was looking through the pictures on the plane. I loved their lobby!

The hotel's bar (picture below on the left) was not opened while we were there but we were told it will open up in July.




The only pictures I got of our room. It was such a cute room so I wish I had more to share.




Alright, here's a run down of what we did told by, you guessed it, pictures!
I wanted to do just one post on Fort Launderdale so I apologize in advance for all the pictures!

Our first morning, we walked over to the beach to check it out before we had breakfast. It was so humid that the lens on my camera fogged up immediately. At first I thought I had damaged it somehow so you can imagine my horror.



We had breakfast at First Watch our first morning as it was walking distance from our hotel. I only took a picture of the bacon as I was starving. I had a delicious waffle with a side of bacon drizzled with honey. I can't recall what Sean had but he enjoyed it as well.



We did a boat ride to look at (what I would do to look in) multi-million dollar homes. Our tour guide informed us of all the celebrities, CEO’s, millionaires and billionaires who own these home. If you have an extra 45 million dollars, I know of a house for sale! ;)

















We had lunch and drinks at Briny Irish Pub after the boat ride. Such a fun vibe! We spent several hours at their bar and chitchatted with a few patrons and I was persuaded to try my first rumblemint shot. I ordered a Miami Vice and crab stuffed mushrooms which were delicious. Sean had a simple wrap and I'm serious when I say it was ridiculously good. I wish I snuck a picture of his plate!




Lunch at Aruba Beach Café. Another awesome place to grab a bite and linger a while. Live music is played all day inside the restaurant and the drinks and food were so good. I had a big bowl of seafood soup and wow, the seafood was so fresh!




After lunch at Aruba Beach Cafe we walked around Fort Launderdale by the Sea to take in the sights.









We had dinner at 101 Ocean (sorry no pictures of the food but I did get two pictures of me before dinner). Our food was decent but nothing to write home about. The atmosphere was OK. I felt that the bartenders here weren't as friendly as the others we had visited. And since we sat at the bar at every place we ate at, it became easy to notice rather quickly.




Breakfast & drinks at Mulligans Beach House & Grill. This is a very relaxed environment but so welcoming the moment you walk in. The bartender remembered our drink orders from the night before since I made another unwise choice to have a rumblemint shot.






We went to the beach while we were in Fort Launderdale and the pier where Sean attempted to fish.
Fishing is not Sean's strong suit. How the fish eat the bait and manage not to get hooked is beyond me.














Before we knew it, it was time to leave. It was a really fun and quick getaway and I'm looking forward to the next!