— The Other Side of Paradise —
Sunrises and Surf

Story & photos by Debbie Kiewiet

 

Repairs to structural damage from Hurricane Wilma will finally be
completed next month so Anglin’s Fishing Pier at Lauderdale-on-the-Sea
can reopen.

 

The umbrella tables of seaside cafes like Aruba’s, Mulligan’s and the
Village Grille at El Mar Drive and Commercial Boulevard draw
vacationers to downtown Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. 

 

Moonlight reflects on calm night waters.

 

Steve Dillavou, a junior at Iowa State, gets in some wave time before fall classes start.

 

Waiting for a set.

 

John Hickey from Florida Surf Lessons demonstrates how to pop up on a board. A full-time surfing instructor who’s taught students from age 5 to 62, John loves “his office.”

Are you ready to give up a stunning sunset or two over the Gulf for a chance to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic? Then it’s time to head down I-75 and across Alligator Alley to the other side of Paradise.

While much of Florida’s East Coast is lined with shoulder-to-shoulder high-rise condominiums, there’s at least one small stretch of sand where you might feel a little more at home. As you come into Fort Lauderdale on I-75, take I-595 east past the airport, then north on Hwy. 1. Drop down to A1A if you’d like to cruise along the Fort Lauderdale Beach promenade. Keep going north on Ocean Boulevard a few more miles until you see a distinctive break in the high rises. That’s when you’ve found the beach town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (LBTS).

As one of the last holdouts of the three-story building limit, LBTS has somehow managed to hang on to the charm that’s kept families and vacationers coming back year-after-year for decades. Here, A1A is the main thoroughfare through town, and you’ll need to cut over to El Mar Drive to find the mom-and-pop motels along the beach. For a guide to accommodations, check out the chamber’s Web site at http://www.lbts.com/. If you’re looking for a room directly on the beach, read the descriptions carefully. Some of the motels and inns are across the street or a block over on A1A.

Although just a few miles away, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is a world away from the uptown feel of Fort Lauderdale. Families bicycle up and down the quiet side streets of LBTS. Vacationers wander through the shops down by the pier. Friends linger over a late supper at a beachside cafe while the mellow notes of a jazz trumpet drift on the warm summer breeze.

While a sunrise over the Atlantic may not be as spectacular as a sunset over the Gulf, mornings on the beach are a special time of quiet solitude. A passing jogger may be your only early morning company. If the gods are smiling, you may get a chance to witness baby loggerhead turtles, freed from their nest by the local turtle patrol, scrambling towards the water’s edge in the golden morning light.

The Fort Lauderdale area offers a wealth of sports, activities and attractions, from a walk through the tropical rainforest at Butterfly World or the botanical gardens at Flamingo Gardens to a dinner cruise on the Jungle Queen riverboat or a stroll along the Downtown Riverwalk For more things to do and places to see, visit the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau Web site, http://www.sunny.org/.

But if you’re looking for some serious beach time and have always dreamed of catching a wave, there’s almost always enough wave action somewhere along the coast to launch a surfboard.

Never surfed before and don’t even own a surfboard? Don’t let that stop you. An experienced surfer can get you started with a private or group session from Florida Surf Lessons, http://www.floridasurflessons.com/. Call ahead to schedule a lesson, 561•625•5375, email info@FloridaSurfLessons.com, or use the Info Request Form online. You’ll get a call the night before on where you’ll be surfing … because you’ve got to go where the waves are (remember “Endless Summer”).

Your session will start on the beach as the instructor (i.e., cool surfer dude) talks about coping with hazards like jellyfish, rip currents and sharks (code name: “Pedro”). You’ll learn about your surfboard (nose, tail, fin, rails – don’t grab those rails), the correct way to paddle (use long close strokes), how to read waves (watch for a swell) and pop up on your board (not as easy as it looks). Before long, you’ll be in the water and catching waves.

The instructors, reassuringly trained in first-aid and CPR, truly are “kind” and “patient,” as advertised on the Web site. They’re also encouraging and supportive, offering you specific, step-by-step instructions while allowing you to progress at your own pace – no matter how slow that may be. Their mission is to teach you to surf safely and to make sure you have an awesome experience doing it. But be warned, once you’ve felt that rush as a wave picks you up and hurtles your board toward shore, you’re gonna be hooked.

Surfing. Sunrises. Two good reasons to make a trip to the other side of Paradise.