Fort Lauderdale Vacation Starts

We spent the first day of our Fort Lauderdale just planning what we were going to do and recovering from the previous day's conundrums.  For our first day of sightseeing, we decided to take the hotel shuttle to catch the water taxi.  The shuttle took us to Stop 4 under the 17th Street Causeway.  The pier leading to the dock was gated so we just waited for a boat heading the right direction.

View of the dock from a different direction. It was sprinkling off and on for the first half of our trip but cleared off before we got off at stop #1. 

Dock to the south side of the causeway was this gigantic yacht.  Once we got on the narrated water taxi ride, we were told it is a yacht you can rent.  I'm sure the price per day is more than I've made in my entire life.

On the other side of the causeway, we saw this interesting building, the Pier Sixty-Six Hotel.  There's also a connected 164-slip, deep water marina.  The marina was originally established in the 1950's as a fuel dock and gas station for Phillips 66 Petroleum.  The 17 story, 66-spire tower was built in the 1960's.  The building is currently vacant and gutted as it is being totally renovated.  The current owners are planning to erect two 480 luxury condo towers by it. 

As we waited for our taxi to arrive, we noticed that a door had been opened in the side of the Atlantis and they were preparing to launch a motorboat. 

 

Now for a little information on the causeway we were standing under.  The history of having a bridge around this location in Fort Lauderdale is interesting and I recommend you read this:  https://myfortlauderdalebeach.com/my-ftlb-blog/story-17th-street-causeway-bridge/

 

The Brook Memorial Causeway, known locally as the 17th Street Causeway, is a bascule drawbridge located just north of the Port Everglades cut. The causeway goes from the westside off US 1/Federal Highway eastward over the Inner Coastal Waterway (ICW) and twists northward becoming A1A along the Fort Lauderdale beach. The western approach is known as the Commodore Brook Causeway while the actual bridge is named after Clay Shaw.  During our stay in Fort Lauderdale, my sister and I went over it four times and were lucky enough never to have to stop for it to be opened or closed. 

During our wait, this boat stopped by.  It was being used to train new employees so it wasn't taking on passengers. 

Then our boat arrived.  Notice it is slightly different than the previous one.  There were a variety of boats being use for this water taxi service. 

Once we flashed them our boarding passes on my phone and boarded, the boat went to the middle of the ICW and started to turn back north.  There is a service to go south to Hollywood Beach but we didn't go that way. 

As we turned, we got a good view of the 17th Street Causeway. 

We also saw that the motorboat was still being deployed from the yacht. 

Another view of the Pier 66 marina and tower. 

We were really quite disappointed in the water taxi service on the first half of our trip.  We were the only passengers so they must have felt they didn't need to do the narrated portion of the service.  I had to ask for commentary which would proceed for a time between stops but then they'd forget us again.  The crew changed when we reboarded the same boat later in the day and that narrator was much more informative and entertaining.

They seemed knowledgeable about the homes and their occupants along the waterway.

This one they called the White House and it was for sale.  Can't remember the price but it might have been $33 million.

We looked back and saw that the causeway was open. 

The advantage of having a home along the waterway was to be able to dock your yacht alongside it. 

We saw this little boat version of the water taxi a couple of times. 

The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center features this 27-meter dive tower.  It has nine platform levels and can accommodate up to twelve springboards.  It's the tallest diving platform in the Western Hemisphere.  Imagine jumping from almost 89 feet!!

Las Olas (The Waves) Street also crosses the ICW. 

The guide asked us what we thought this building was.  We were wrong.  It's a parking garage.  With trees on top!

We passed through an area where boats could moor for free.  This one sank more than a year ago and still hasn't been removed. 

We saw these birds in the trees as we passed Hugh Taylor Birch State Park but the guide was unable to tell us what kind they were.  Since they seemed to be sitting around with their wings outstretched, I guessed anhinga but it didn't look like they had the long necks to be them.  The guide was knowledgeable about the flora either and seemed quite surprised to find out there was more than one kind of palm tree. 

These two iguans were making the most of what little sun was peeking through the clouds 

The pink towers in the background are owned by Tommy Hilfiger.

Closer view

The water taxi has 10 stops but the 10th was beyond the Oakland Park Blvd bridge which the boat could not go under due to high tide shortening the clearance.  As we came up this section of the ICW, we saw brief glimpses of dolphins a few times but nothing we could catch on camera. We also passed a sign telling boat operators to go slow as there were manatee in the area.  

As we turned to head back down the ICW to make the turn toward stop #1, the skies started clearing.  The crew was finally able to get the benches dry enough we could sit on them.  

This bird was taking advantage of a water level perch.

We got off at stop #1, in front of the Stranahan House.  But before we toured the house, we went off to the Big Tavern for some lunch.  The food was ok but the place has a bit of a funky smell to it.  Anyway, back to our exploring.  This photo of the Stranahan Historic House wasn't one we took and it doesn't show the new riverwalk which has been erected in front of the house.  The Riverwalk goes west for more than a mile, then visitors can use the free Water Trolley to cross the river to explore the other side.  But we didn't do this.  Instead we headed to the Stranahan House visitor entrance behind and to the right of the house.  Stranahan House is Fort Lauderdale's oldest surviving home.

When looking at the Visitor Center, you can see it is totally overwhelmed by the designs on the condo building to the east of it.  We weren't allowed to enter this building but a guy came out and scanned the QR code we had on my phone.  An historical marker is erected at the side of the house which explains it well.  Here's what it says.  "An excellent example of frontier Florida architecture, the Stranahan House was constructed in 1901 for Frank and Ivy Stranahan, two of this area's earliest residents.  It sits on the site of Stranahan's trading post.  Initially the building was used for business and civic purposes, but in 1906 the Stranahan's converted it into a private home. Following Frank's death in 1929, the house was again used for commercial purposes so that Ivy could keep and maintain the property.  She continued to live in the house until her death in 1971.  Four years later the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society purchased the structure, and in 1981, joined with the Fort Lauderdale Area Board of Realtors to form Stranahan House, Inc which now maintains the house in public trust."

We were instructed to walk out toward the river and the front of the house.  This Sea Grape tree is a native species of Florida.  To the left, you can see a walkway separates the home's front patio from the New River.   I recommend going to https://stranahanhouse.org/history/ and https://miamihaunts.com/the-stranahan-house-in-fort-lauderdale/ to read the history of the house and its owners. 

Ohio native Frank Stranahan came to the area now known as Fort Lauderdale in January 1893 at the age of 27, hired on to manage his cousin’s camp and ferry at Tarpon Bend on the New River.   He established a trading post and business was good so he had the current structure built in 1901 when he moved his post further west along the river.   This room is his office.

Some of the items the Frank sold and items the Seminole people would trade use for trade.

The home was still decorated for Christmas.  

I was disappointed that I couldn't get a good photo of the light fixture as this one and the one in the previous room were original to the house and very pretty. 

Ivy

Frank

I had never heard of a Christmas tradition called the Christmas Pickle but here's how it goes.  An ornamental pickle is placed on a Christmas tree as one of the Christmas decorations. On Christmas morning, the first person to find the pickle on the tree would receive an extra present from Santa Claus or would be said to have a year of good fortune.

These dishes were some of the wedding presents the Stranahan's received from around the world. 

View back towards the front door.  The guide was very, very knowledgeable about the house and its original owners.  He told us about the wood in the structure but I can't remember the variety.  

The building didn't acquire an inside staircase before it became a home. There was a built-in safe under the stairway.

The kitchen was equipped with this ice box.

Do you have any clue what this kitchen appliance is?  Answer at the end of this post. 

Guests would come with their wardrobe trunks.  Bedrooms of this era didn't have closets. 

Beautiful bed in Ivy's bedroom.

This was an electric room heater that stood about 18" high. 

After Frank's death, Ivy gave over the bottom portion of the home and it was used as a restaurant.  

Another photo of Ivy

A large live oak tree, of which you can just see some of the branches on the left, has been around about as long as the house. 

To the east of the house, The New River Tunnel, officially known as the Henry E. Kinney Tunnel, carries US Hwy 1 under the New River. 

Plants in the yard

When we got back down to stop #4 and were waiting on our shuttle bus, we saw this dog obviously enjoying his time on the water.

The answer to the question about the home appliance.  It's an electric toaster.