Ft. Lauderdale, Big Building -Bigger Boat

Port Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale

Big Building – Bigger Boat

     Ft. Lauderdale has beautiful beaches with fabulous hotels, and to vacation here is like staying in paradise. Waking up in the morning and looking out the window to see sandy white beaches dotted with palm trees leading out to a turquoise ocean that is just steps away, is certainly a great way to begin the day. But there is so much more to Ft Lauderdale, and we truly enjoyed a completely different type of vacation by staying on the Intercoastal Waterway.

     On a recent trip, my husband and I stayed for one week at the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six in Ft. Lauderdale, and were fortunate enough to get a room on the fifteenth floor in the Landmark Tower with a fantastic view of Port Everglades and the Intercoastal Waterway. The city is second only to Miami as the “cruise capital of the world”, with many large cruise companies operating from here. It is the home base for two of Royal Caribbean’s mega ships: the Oasis of the Seas, and the Allure of the Seas. It is also a busy port used by many shipping companies.

     Our room had sliding glass doors almost the entire length of one wall. We always left the drapes open, day and night so we wouldn’t miss any of the action. Every day we would look out to see that different cargo boats had come into port to replace others that had left, such as the Chiquita Banana ship, the Cap Isabel cargo ship, etc. and different cruise ships of different cruise lines such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, etc., coming into port or leaving. On one of the days, we heard a cruise ship blow the horn to signal they were leaving port, and we ran out to the balcony to watch. It took awhile to move out away from its dock, turn and move slowly to the waterway that would take it out to sea. We were able to capture this picture of a huge cruise boat, with its happy passengers waving goodbye. It passed through the channel so incredibly close to a hotel, it looked a little scary. At that moment, I would not want to be on either the ship, or in that hotel. It may have been just an optical illusion from our vantage point, but it looked too close for comfort.

     There are many wonders in this world both natural and man-made. The natural wonders are amazing, the magnitude of creation is something that is beyond my comprehension, and so I just look and enjoy the beauty. However, the creativity and ability of mankind is something that is within my reach to understand, but that too, astounds me, and I truly appreciate other people’s ability to achieve greatness.

     Through creativity, planning, modern technology, shared knowledge and manual labor, people can achieve great things. A group of people participated in the design and construction of that large hotel that stands along the channel. In addition, another group of people also designed and built that magnificent cruise ship, a floating palace. On the ship are a Captain and crew that have the necessary skills and training to navigate the ship through the channel and the journey out at sea along with other cruise staff such as food and beverage, , entertainment, housekeeping,  shore excursion, retail staff, etc. trained to make the passenger’s trip memorable.

     On the day I took this photo, I was merely a spectator enjoying a view from my balcony. This image of the cruise boat passing the hotel has left in indelible imprint in my memory because it scared me at first. I thought that something awful was about to happen. I was afraid for the people on the cruise boat, and the people in the hotel, because I thought if the boat listed to one side; it would have been a disaster.

     I have learned through this experience that things are not necessarily always as bad as they appear to be.  It can simply be just a matter of perception. It is good to have faith in other people; that they have used their knowledge and skills to build the best ship they could build. It is good to have faith in the Captain, that he will lead the way. Most important is to have faith in myself to follow my own dreams.

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