Me and my man just returned from a 6 day 5 night vacay to the sunshine state of Florida. We chose Pompano Beach in Fort Lauderdale on the East Coast for this trip because we had most recently (back in May of 2019) traveled to the West Coast and stayed on St. Pete’s Beach in Clearwater.
My 58th birthday was another reason why we chose this destination. Instead of taking turns shoveling snow with our teeth chattering in the wind and/or dealing with the super drab Winter blahs, we opted instead to celebrate my Valentines Day Birthday in 80 degree weather along with the cool breezes of the Atlantic ocean.
Besides, there’s no shoveling sunshine right (smile).
Our travel agent Karen made all of the arrangements once she learned of our needs: namely warm sunny weather, cool ocean breezes, nearby golf courses, outdoor music, a decent nightlife, good restaurants, sightseeing and shopping.
We stayed at the Marriott Pompano Beach Resort and Spa in a standard King room with ocean views.
You could literally see the ocean from our small balcony…
And the concierge James truly lived up to the reputation of his position…
Pompano Beach time – Day 1- soaking up the Sun is one of my fave things to do at the beach
Nice and hot – 80s – perfect beach weather
Since it was also windy the waves were awesome!
On our first night (of Day 1) we dined at And FishKitchenand Bar (the Marriott Hotel Restaurant and Bar)
Our waiter Chris at And Fish Kitchen and Bar was spectacular!
Day 2 – Carlucci’s Trattoria– a Pompano Beach Restaurant – I was famished after walking a couple of miles and this place hit the spot!
Seaside Grill – a Pompano Beach restaurant (night of Day 2)
The concierge James recommended this restaurant which was literally up the street from our hotel
We were not disappointed as the ambience was comfy cool and the food and wine – delish!
Day 3 – 9Face Sushi– another Pompano Beach restaurant – dining al fresco – out here it seems as if everyone and their grandmother owns a dog (smile)
By the way, even though we were on vacay we still took the time every day to work out in the hotel gym
The hotel gym also faced the ocean
And it’s truly not hard to work out when you have a beautiful view
On Day 4 we Uber’d over to Nauti Dawg Marina Cafein Lighthouse Point – a restaurant my friend Terri recommended
Couldn’t go all the way to Fort Lauderdale without meeting up with my former News 8 co-worker and good friend Terri G. and her hubby Paul for a pre-Bday lunch
Sun Surf Sand (S3) – Fort Lauderdale Beach (night of Day 4)
My gf Jamie Taylor recommended this restaurant – the ambience was beautiful and the neighborhood very trendy
Pompano Beach Municipal Golf Course – on Day 5 it was not as windy as the first half of the week so we decided to borrow clubs, buy balls and tees and go golfing up the street at the municipal course
Rusty but ready to play…
Borrowed clubsDecent course- played 13 out of 18 holes due to being out of “golf shape” (smile)
Speaking of weather – It was in the mid 70’s the first half of the week with strong winds and the early 80s the second half…
This is what “Weather” looks like in South Florida (smile)
Traffic – It wasn’t really a concern for us as we Uber’d everywhere (smile)
And this is what “Traffic” looks like in South Florida (double smile)
Day 5 – Delray Beach – this town was highly recommended by Karen our travel agent because it offered up the type of vacation lifestyle we were seeking – so we ended up spending the entire day here…
Who knew that Coco Gauff and family lived in Delray Beach?!? We left one day before Coco came to town to compete
One of the many boat cruises on Delray
Delray’s beautiful beach…
Palm tree lined streets
We love love love oysters so City Oyster was an obvious choice for drinks and apps
Dinner a the italian restaurant Vic and Angelo’s was pretty good
Our last night in Pompano Beach…
Cocktails outside on the moonlit deck of the Marriott hotel bar…
Yikes, Â it is hard to believe that it’s November already and 2019 is coming to a close. Â I feel like this year flew by and the top 3 goals I set for myself in the month of January were stabbed at but not completely realized…My Top 3 Goals in the New Year
I do, however, have something I’m particularly proud of this year: Â namely improving on my game of Golf.
Thanks to the Lyman Orchards Golf Center I spent the majority of my Summer and more than half of my Fall golfing.  And Summer started late this year in Connecticut  – remember the month of May?!?  I had to count it out for starting play as it was rainy and miserable.  Consequently I did not pick up my clubs until mid-June but then I made up for it by playing until the last weekend of October.
I learned a lot this year both on the course and off.  I had previously taken Golf Fore Women 101 (last September 2018) so some of what I learned this year felt like a refresher course but in a good way Ready Fore Golf
However, the majority of what I learned I took and turned into real application on the course. Â And I had the added benefit of being taught and supervised by the award-winning LPGA Class A Teaching Professional Marissa Kulig Crow as well as her 2 trusty teammates Dan Hannibal and Andra Frappier…
LPGA Class A Teaching Professional Marissa Kulig Crow (in the purple Calloway Golf hat)
PGA Associate Teaching Professional Dan Hannibal
PGA Apprentice Teaching Professional Andra Frappier (in the lime green golf shirt and glasses)
June
Golf Fore Women 201 with LPGA Class A Teaching Professional Marissa Kulig Crow – club selection
Trying out my swing on the putting green
Getting good use out of my club on the course, as opposed to the driving range
July
Golf Fore Women 201 with Marissa Kulig Crow in black
Golf Fore Women 201 – learning how to stand correctly
It was a hotttttt one on the Apple 9 today! Â I’ll never forget this day: Â Saturday, July 20th!
Golf fore Women 201 – Marissa’s in black
Golf fore Women 201 – another fun day with my new lady golf friends
Ending the day with my old (starter) set of clubs
August
Golf fore Women 301 – Â The Apple 9 course is our classroom now (smile).
Coincidentally my workplace, News 8, held a client golf appreciation day at Lyman’s Player Course which I had the distinct pleasure of playing in (as opposed to volunteering to drive the bar cart)
I didn’t only play at Lyman this Summer – me and my bf managed to squeeze in 9 holes at Sleeping Giant in Hamden the last Saturday in August
September
Practice with a Pro x 2 Â with Dan Hannibal
Make-up session with Marissa Kulig Crow
Happy Surprise on the Apple 9: me and my bf (a 2some) had the pleasure of being matched up as a 4some with this young lady and her husband on a crowded Sunday in late September – we played a good match and made some new friends
October
Player Course this time with my new lady golf friend Mary Ann, one of The Fab 4 (smile)
The Fab 4 now at Player Course honing our skills – on an overcast and rainy day
The Fab 4 at Player Course cutting up (smile)
The Fab 4 at Player Course  – photo shoot (smile)
On the  Apple 9 – the very last day of the season for me
Margot me and Jill on the Apple 9, Â my very last day of Golf for the season- it was sunny but quite chilly…
Sooooo…I finally broke down at the end of October and invested in some new clubs.  And I actually played with them the last 2 weekends of the month.  I must admit that my game has improved with my new set of clubs (smile).  Not trying to rush time but I sure can’t wait ’till next Summer (double smile).
So glad I finally got off my duff last summer and signed up for golf lessons for women (smile).
Here’s what happened: I was leafing through the Hamden/North Haven Adult Ed catalog when I happened upon a course listing in the Enrichment Class section called Golf Fore Women 101. It felt serendipitious as I have been talking about taking golf lessons for what felt like ages so I promptly called to register for the Saturday morning 5-week session.
Then I called my girlfriend and broadcast industry colleague Ginger, who, like me, owned her own set of golf clubs but still did not know how to play. Ginger was grateful that I thought of her and I felt lucky to know her (smile).
Me and Ginger
The reason why I felt so lucky was because I actually bought my own set of golf clubs 11 years ago but for some reason or another, nothing ever seemed to come together for me in terms of taking golf lessons or being consistent about actually wanting to play. Here’s the rundown:
2007
I purchased my own set of “lady” golf clubs (down to the shoes, hat, gloves, pink golf balls, etc.) and although I initially had good intentions, this set mostly sat in my garage collecting dust…
My set of lady golf clubs
2011/2012/2013/2014
Since by now I stillhad not learned how to play, I spent multiple years volunteering as a “driver” at our News 8 company golf event at Yale delivering beverages and snacks to the “players.”
Driving the golf cart stocked with beverages and snacks on Yale’s golf course
2015
I finally took two private lessons (a gift from my bf) at Lyman Golf Center in Middlefield, CT with John Wilson, who came highly recommended from a former News 8 co-worker and female golfer.
At the annual Travelers Tournament in Cromwell, CT (one of my fave live golfing events and spectator sports)
Always a good time for spectators at the Travelers Tourney
2018
By now I was so desperate I even fake caddied for my boyfriend last Summer while he enjoyed ‘the game’ (smile).
‘Fake’ caddying for my man
And it was right after this fake caddy momentwhen I happened upon the Enrichment course listing in the Hamden/North Haven Adult Ed catalog…
Golf Fore Women 101
The Saturday morning Fall classes I registered for ran from September 15 – October 13 (10am -11am) and consisted of about 10 women. Our first session was mostly in the classroom where we talked about ourselves and what brought us there and then learned about Golf from a theoretical perspective.
My Saturday morning classmates – I’m gonna miss these ladies
Let me tell you, there is a lot to learn here. Golf is truly a game of and for life… Throughout our introductory 5-week course Marissa Kulig Crow, our LPGA Coach and Club Professional, patiently taught us the following:
Essentials – equipment selection and approprate golf attire
Golf Clubs
Golf Course Layout
Golf Terms
Golf Scores
Forms of Golf Games
Golf Shots
Networking
Stretching and Yoga
Golf Etiquette 101
Lesson 1– The Driving Range
My first time on the Driving range in a long while and I’m a little rusty…
Lesson 2 – The Full Swing
The full swing – one of my personal favorites
Lesson 3 – Chipping/Pitching/Sand
Tubing – catching golf balls on the Green with a long tube. By the way, Chipping/Pitching/Sand Wedge was probably one of the most difficult lessons
Lesson 4 – On the Putting Green
This is where I need the most practice – it’s called ‘the short game’
Lesson 5 – The Apple 9 Hole course
It felt funny golfing on this 9 hole course after spending time practicing on the driving range and putting green. We played 3 holes during our last lesson. I’m soooo looking forward to next Summer and Fall where I can start perfecting my game (smile).
Marissa Kulig Crow, our LPGA Coach and Club Professional and yours truly on the Apple 9 Golf course
I was having a tough time deciding where to go away on vacation this year as funds were tiiiiight! However I kept at it as I knew we both neededand wanteda place far far away from Connecticut to unwind and decompress. And we were looking for a place that involved the sun, the sand, and the beach.
As luck would have it, my friend and former co-worker Marnie listed her Freeport, Bahamas timeshare on Social Media. Turns out that she and her family were not able to use their 2 weeks this year. So she ended up selling me a one bedroom condominium unit for one of those two weeks for just $750 – the price of their maintenance fees! We were, however, on our own for airfare, ground transportation, food and drinks…
We chose the last week of May (which included the Memorial Day holiday) to go on our vacation so that we could use 4 vacation days instead of 5 (smile).
We flew from Bradley Airport on Saturday May 27th and returned the following Saturday, June 3rd.
We arrived at Island Seas Resort on Saturday (2 airplane rides and one taxi cab ride later) at midday and boy were we starving!
It didn’t take us long to discover that there was only one bar and grille at the resort (Coconuts Bar and Grille) and one restaurant (Seagrape Grille).
We also found out from our new “friends” that the resort’s Wi-Fi, although ‘free’ in the units, was at best, ‘spotty.’ They did however tell us it was completely clear as long as you were poolside…
Here we are (with new friends we literally just met) eating lunch at Coconuts Bar and Grille on our very first afternoon. We hadn’t even changed into our vacation gear yet!
Enjoying good, but pricey resort food
So after inhalingour lunch at Coconuts we finally headed to our unit. Island Seas Resort consists of 10 buildings – all named after mammals – we were booked at Dolphin and found, to our surprise, that our building was just one of two buildings on the resort that was ocean side!! Yay!
Long shot of the two ocean side buildings on Island Seas Resort
Up close exterior shot of Dolphin, where we stayed
Discovering our new Happy Place (smile)
The view of the ocean from our deck
Perfectly sized unit for the two of us
Our one bedroom unit also included a full kitchen
On Monday morning we (and a bunch of other resort couples) took advantage of the complimentary shuttle into Port LuCaya for the Island Seas Grocery Run. It was a trip though because we had exactly one hour to shop for groceries or we would be forced to take a cab back. I felt like we (and the other couples from the resort) were all on a reality game show as we dashed around with our shopping carts from one aisle to the next frantically searching for the right food and other stuff to make it through the week. Not easy to do when you first of all don’t know the store, or the merchandise, or the prices. If it wasn’t so serious it would have been funny but at the time we were on a ‘mission’ (smile).
On Tuesday night, after spending all day on the beach, we headed to the ‘Bonfire on the Beach’ event which we heard cost just 20 bucks and included BBQ, 2 drinks, and live entertainment.
On my way to the Tuesday night ‘Bonfire on the Beach’ – could not help taking advantage of the beachy photo opp…
On Wednesday (after finding out that we could not participate in any of the tours that we were looking to book due the effects of Hurricane Matthew) we spent the day at Port LuCaya Outdoor Marketplace for shopping and the much talked about fresh conch salad at the marina…
Yummy fresh conch salad made right before your eyes!
We were officially on Island Time now and can I tell you?!? It was sooooo nice sleeping in late everymorning despite being greeted at the crack of dawn with bright rays of sunshine and 80 degree temps.
BTW, this is where folks from the resort would camp out every morning (especially if the tide was in)…
At night these same folks (including us) would walk barefoot on the beach for miles as it felt real safe in Grand Bahamas Island…
And how freeing it was regularly sporting shorts, tank tops and flip-flops and eating fattening fried foods (smile).
My typical daytime attire
Eating fattening fried foods — Goodbye clean!
And I won’t lie, decisions still had to be made, so here is what became the biggest decision of our loooong, leisurely sunny days…
the Ocean…
or the Pool…
At night our decisions were a tad simpler:
The strawberry frozen margarita…
or the Mango Bahama Mama…
By the way, before I forget, here are some good local spots to support that are within walking distance of the resort and which serve up authentic Bahamian food and drinks:
The $2 dollar Bar at the end of the beach (wish I had a picture of it…)
and Michelle’s Kitchen located right on the beach – good food & good prices!
Michelle’s Kitchen – good food & good prices
Michelle’s Kitchen right on the beach
On our final night (Friday) we took the last free shuttle from the resort back to Port LuCaya Marketplace for some outdoor shopping/dining/bars/marina activities. We had just spent the entire day there a couple of days earlier but had heard it was much more interesting and exciting at night.
It took us while to find a restaurant to eat dinner at as there were so many to choose from — each with attractive food and drink specials — but we finally settled on Agave and were not disappointed…
Dinner and drinks at Agave Restaurant – asian fusion cuisine – Delish!
Afterwards we walked down to the marina to hear live entertainment.
Really good 3 piece band – at Port LuCaya Marketplace
We ended up taking a cab back to the resort as it was late and the resort’s shuttle service had already ended at 615p. It was real easy hailing a cab and it felt very safe.
We awoke early the next morning (Saturday) and made preparations to leave. We felt sad saying goodbye to the cool ocean breezes, the bright sunshine and the lazy, carefree days. Truly our new Happy Place…
The end of our vacation – at one of Charlotte International Airport’s restaurants – taking our sweet time eating dinner as we had a 5 hour-long layover…
