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…
There’s lots to do in the state of Connecticut during the Summer, especially when the weather is cooperating. It is truly ‘hotter than July’ so there is really no need to travel anywhere, we have sun filled days and long nights right here in CT (smile).
Here is a short list of annual events that occur in the Summer months and involve food, fun, music, festivities, entertainment and more! The good news is that most are free to attend and some even offer free parking.
A Taste of Mystic (New London County)
This annual event takes place at the Olde Mistick Village (OMV) around the second weekend in June (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) and involves food and drinks, live bands, loads of entertainment, merchant specials and more!
Decisions…Decisions…
Admission is free (parking is also free). To participate in The Taste you buy sleeves of tickets for $1.00 each to be exchanged for food and drinks from the vendors.
Joyce of OMV being interviewed by Meteorologist Joe Furey of News 8
And the OMV Merchants offer money-saving specials as well!
OMV/Munson’s Chocolates, OMV/Sticky Situations and OMV/Jealous Monk
New Haven Music on the Green (New Haven County)
In New Haven the unofficial start to Summer kicks off with Music on the Green!
Ryan Kristafer and Teresa DuFour from CT Style along with Lifestyle Expert Jo Jo Pastors and her girlfriend
In Summers past we have been entertained (in our VIP seats) by such notable acts as Ronnie Spector, Debbie Gibson, Taylor Dayne, KC and the Sunshine Band and En Vogue, just to name a few.
Ryan Kristafer of CT Style getting down with the ladies from En Vogue!
And this year we had the pleasure of seeing Lisa Lisa on Saturday 7/20/19 and Morris Day on Saturday 7/29/19!
Lisa Lisa and her entourageMorris Day and The Time put on a phenomenal performance!Morris Day – 61 years young (smile)
The Hamden Free Summer Concert Series (New Haven County)
Beginning late June on Friday nights at 6pm at the Hamden Town Center Park, live bands play to diverse crowds made up of singles, couples, families, dogs and more! This free annual outdoor event truly features something for everyone. There’s no VIP but at the same time there is truly not a bad seat in the house. And if you come hungry you can feast off of the nearby food trucks or better yet, pack your own picnic complete with adult beverages. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and make a space on the lawn as happy people jam to the music.
Plenty of room at the Hamden Summer Free Concert Series. Lines galore at the delicious and ethnically diverse food trucks!
This year (2019) on Week 4 The Wailers, featuring Julian Junior Marvin, delighted the Friday night crowd.
The Wailers featuring Julian Junior Marvin
The Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz (Hartford County)
Jazz is alive and well outdoors at Bushnell Park in Hartford! This free annual event takes place over an entire weekend (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) in mid July. There are food and retail clothing vendors and folks completely covering the Bushnell park lawn with their blankets, lawn chairs, coolers and sun umbrellas. Big screen TVs on both sides of the stage ensure that everyone gets a decent view.
There’s no need for a VIP as the big TV screens ensure that everyone gets a decent view of the performers
The line-up of jazz musicians is awesome and the party lasts all day long and well into the night.
Could not help but enjoy the beautiful weather, good company and awesome jazz performers
Although this is a free event donations are gladly accepted…
New London Sailfest (New London County)
This coastal city comes alive during the Summer with its signature event, the New London Sailfest!
July is the month and the entire mid month weekend (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) offers something for all family members.
From Tall Ships to face painting to patriotic costumes, there’s something for everyone
Speaking of which, there are amusement park rides, face painting, delicious food options plus sailboat and people watching.
The food…the rides…the atmosphere…
So that’s my short list of fun things to do during Summers in Connecticut – enjoy!
We were desperately in need of a vacation – the goal was somewhere warm, beachy and fun – so the Sunshine state immediately came to mind (with the help of Karen, our travel agent).
We couldn’t of timed it better – we departed from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT on a rainy, dreary Sunday morning in mid-May at 720am and arrived to sunny Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Florida less than 3 hours later.
Our destination was the Sirata Beach Resort in Clearwater, Florida a half hour from TIA airport (but it took our shuttle service over an hour and a half to get there due to heavy traffic and multiple drop-offs).
It was worth the long wait when we saw that the resort (although not as new as the promotional video pictured it) was nonetheless cute and quaint (smile).
Sirata Beach Resort
After we checked into our City View (as opposed to Ocean View) suite at Sirata Beach Resort, we headed out the door for some much needed grub and a walk on St. Pete’s Beach.
Our first stop at the resort for grub was Harry’s Beach Bar because we were starving and because it was literally right in front of us (smile). The food at Harry’s was okay, nothing to write home about, but the peek-a-boo views of the pool and the beach were inviting…
After lunch we went for a long walk on St. Pete’s Beach, touted as the number 1 beach in the U.S. The breathtaking beauty of this beach reminded me of vacationing in the Caribbean- – white sand, baby blue water and lots of big waves.
While walking the beach we could not help but notice how it was sectioned off by resorts in that each individual resort (over the 13 acres of premier beachfront!) had it’s own matching cabanas, beach loungers, chairs and umbrellas perfectly lined up on their own property. Sirata Beach Resort property provided 2 complimentary beach loungers per room per day to their guests. If you wanted front row access (prime real estate) you had to head to the beach by 8am and pay the the attendant $20 for a Sirata Beach umbrella. This reservation ensured that your beach loungers and umbrella would be placed in the front row and that no one could move into your spot for the entire day. Nor could anyone park in front of you. We made front row reservations every day over the next 4 days (smile).
Sirata Beach Resort is a lot of things but it is not all-inclusive. However there are a total of 4 restaurants at the resort which are all decent. One of our favorite casual dining restaurants on the resort was Rum Runners Bar and Grill which also featured live music in the evenings.
And since Sirata Beach Resort is situated on Gulf Boulevard, there are a ton of good restaurant choices – most within walking distance. We discovered a really good seafood restaurant called Crabby Bills 5 minutes from our resort a few days before we departed. It was sooooo good we ate there two days in a row (smile).
Crabby Bills (love the name!)
As far as night life, we stumbled upon a beautiful hotel while walking along Gulf Boulevard during the day. It had a rooftop deck for drinks and apps and a fine dining restaurant below called Spinners (it literally spun while you dined). This hotel was called the Grand Plaza Hotel. We went there that same evening and sat outside on the rooftop deck for drinks and apps.
Grand Plaza Hotel
While reading about daily activities at the resort I saw that there was a free service called Beach Rides. These vans provide free local rides to resort guests but ask that you leave a tip since this is how they make their living. We called Beach Rides to take us to another local beach called Madeira Beach on our 3rd day. We chose Madeira as were interested in seeing the marina, stopping in the boardwalk shops and taking a dolphin watch tour.
Our Dolphin Watch tour boat
Our dolphin watch tour was for 1.5 hours and we found it was a quick and easy way to learn about the residents who lived around the bay as well as information about dolphin life. There were a lot of dolphins out that afternoon and we even saw a baby dolphin that the Captain told us had just been born 24 hours ago!
Dolphin Watch tour boat
Houses along the bayOur Dolphin watch was a big success – lots of activity!
Afterwards we ate outdoors at The Hut Bar and Grill while we watched lots of other tours and boat activity.
Outdoor lunch at The Hut Bar and Grill
The following day we were back at our resort. Oh, I forgot to mention that every night during the week the resort offered free drinks at the tiki bar from 730pm to 8pm. You had your choice of beer, wine or rum punch. It was here that we met a nice couple that happened to be Clearwater locals. They were telling us where to go in the short time we had remaining on our trip.
Tiki Bar party with free drinks every night
What stuck in my mind was when this couple told us about going to downtown St. Petersburg at night. From the way they described it, it sounded like our kind of town so we took their advice and caught a Beach Rides van to St. Petersburg, FL (15 minutes from Clearwater). We paid a flat fee of $25.00 since it was out of the beach zone and enjoyed seeing the following:
Free movie night on the Green
The marina
Sightseeing
Late night snacks
Rooftop lounge for Adult beverages
Live music (jazz) at Ruby’s
We loved our time in St. Petersburg and will definately plan on heading back when we have more time (smile).
Our final day at the resort was spent packing up, spending time on the beach for a last walk and eating out at Crabby Bills. Here is a picture of Clearwater from the balcony of our City View suite:
My good, good work friend and fellow CT blogger Jamie Taylor (jamieeverafter dot com) inspired me to write this blog today when she recently posted about the things she was not willing to give up in the year 2019. I “liked” her Insta post because this kind of thinking is the polar opposite of what you expect to hear from anyone in the early days of a New Year 😄.
At any rate, it got me thinking about my own will not give up list for 2019 so here is that list (in no particular order):
Coffee
I cannot leave the house without my coffee – nothing fancy, just a dark roast, completely black with natural sugar does the trick – I tried leaving the house without coffee once and it wasn’t pretty – I seriously thought I was coming down with something 😀
Edge Strong workouts
I cannot imagine doing what I do for a living without the benefits of a good workout each weekday morning. It is not only a stress reliever but it also keeps me physically fit: LJ: Stronger than before…
Social Media
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, Yelp, you name it – I’m on it and loving every minute of it 😀 R U Social?
Pampering (hair/feet/nails)
It’s no secret that I have a weekly standing hair appointment at the salon every Saturday morning so getting my nails and/or feet done on a monthly basis is par for the course: Put your slippers on…
Wine
I make my living as a TV/Digital/Social Media Account Executive in a highly competitive, pressure-cooker work environment. I do this all on 100 percent commission so a nice glass (or two) of red wine is more than welcome on the weekends 😀 10 things I cannot live without today
Movies
As I’ve posted about before in TVFL, Growing up Hollis my mother Jean would take her 7 children to the movies on Saturdays armed with candy and snacks: MovieBuff To this day watching movies on TV, Mobile tablets or even at the theater is a regular pastime.
Salad (with protein)
I loooooove salad any time of the year – not just the Summertime and I pile my salad with some or all of the following ingredients: romaine lettuce, fresh veggies, mixed nuts, cheddar cheese, hard boiled eggs, sesame seeds, chick peas, grilled chicken, homemade croutons and low fat dressing. The low fat dressing is a semi-joke considering what goes into building my salads 😀 New Haven, CT Fall(ish) eats!
Golf
I finally learned how to play Golf last Summer at Lyman Orchards Golf Center in Golf Fore Women 101 and I must say I’m truly looking forward to the Summer again so I can hit the links with my newfound lady golf friends! Ready Fore Golf
Beauty Sleep
Over the years I have alternatively read or heard that a good night’s sleep is overrated and you really don’t need that much rest for your body to function at it’s best. I disagree. When I get at least 7 hours of sleep at night I tend to be more mentally alert and better able to handle multiple tasks at hand the following day. What it means to be a woman of a certain age…
