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…
A view of our hotel through the swaying palm trees
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 hottt – 80’s perfect beach weather
Loved the resort lounge chairs all set up for us at the beach and on prime real estate
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!
Our Waiter rocked and he introduced us to Meiomi wine which we loved!
Day 2 – Carlucci’s Trattoria– a Pompano Beach Restaurant – I was famished after walking a couple of miles and this place hit the spot!
We enjoyed al fresco dining on the street while under a big umbrella
Seaside Grill – a Pompano Beach restaurant (night of Day 2)
Our Concierge James recommended this restaurant which was quite 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)
9Face Sushi – in the corner of this pix
By the way, even though we were on vacay we still took the time every day to work out in the hotel gym
The fact that the hotel gym faced the ocean was a pleasant surprise
On Day 4 we Uber’d over to Nauti Dawg Marina Cafein Lighthouse Point – a restaurant my friend and former News 8 co-worker Terri recommended.
Couldn’t go all the way to the East Coast of Florida without looking up my good friend and former co-worker Terri Guerra and her husband Paul Guerra. We all met for a fab lunch at the Newt Dawg Marina Cafe – a must try restaurant 😎
Sun Surf Sand (S3) – Fort Lauderdale Beach (night of Day 4)
S3 came highly recommended by another News 8 former co-worker – we were late to the party so to speak so we could not get inside but we still enjoyed drinks and apps in front of the restaurant🥰.
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 – not used to golfing with borrowed clubs either (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 looked like in South Florida (smile)
Traffic – It wasn’t really a concern for us as we Uber’d everywhere (smile)
This is what traffic looked like in South Florida (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…
Loved Delray beach!
This strip reminded me of California with the palm trees and all
We had just missed seeing Coco Gauff play at home by a week!
One of Delray Beach’s many cruise boats
We love, love, love oysters so City Oysters was an obvious choice for drinks and apps
For dinner we decided on Italian at Vic and Angelo’s – it was decent
Our last night in Pompano Beach…
Cocktails outside on the moonlit deck of the Marriott hotel tiki bar and later, a warm inviting hot tub.
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 though once we saw that the resort (although not as new as the promotional video pictured it) was nonetheless cute and quaint (smile).
Sirata Beach Resort (a Marriott Hotel)
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.
City view as opposed to Ocean view…
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).
Loved Loved Loved Crabby Bills (smile)
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!
Very active Dolphin tour which we learned that day is not always the case
Excited to see baby dolphins – a rare sight indeed!
Afterwards we ate outdoors at The Hut Bar and Grill while we watched lots of other tours and boat activity. Great day at Madeira Beach.
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.
The Tiki Bar party featured free drinks to resort residents 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 a nice stroll at the marina, sightseeing downtown St, Petersburg, a free movie night on the Green, late night snacks outdoors at a popular restaurant and live music session at Ruby’s.
Here we are on a rooftop lounge indulging in adult beverages
Late night snacks on the street (smile)
We loved our time in St. Petersburg and we 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 one of our last nights on the beach.
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
_gac_
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
