Québec & Florida

Trip Date: June 2011

I already know what you're thinking, "the title of this post doesn't make a lot of sense" and you'd be correct, but let me do a little explaining and see if I can't clear things up a little bit!  Christine's parents spent some time in Fort Lauderdale, Florida while waiting to begin a cruise.  They enjoyed themselves so much that they wanted all of us to spend a long weekend down there with them.  We found a weekend that would work for everyone and booked the flights.  Unfortunately our timing wasn't great because our scheduled flights came at the same time as the Air Canada employee strike.  The six of us were travelling from three different cities (Regina, Edmonton, and Calgary) and the strike affected all of us differently.  Whether it was major delays or full-blown flight cancellations we were all stuck somewhere we didn't want to be.  When Sarah, Chris, and I landed in Toronto we were informed that our connecting flight to Fort Lauderdale had been cancelled.  After waiting in an extremely lengthy line we were given the choice of spending the night in Ottawa or Montréal and then catching a flight to Florida the next morning.  Although disappointed, the three of us jumped at the chance to spend a night in Québec's largest city.  

Montréal's metropolitan area has a population of 3.8 million people, making it Canada's second largest urban centre behind Toronto.  None of us had ever visited the city before and although we would only be there for one night we planned on making the most of our brief visit.  After checking into our hotel and grabbing a quick bite to eat, we caught a taxi and headed for Old Montréal.  

Old Montréal

City Hall

Nelson's Column located in Place Jacques-Cartier

Christine and I

Capewell sisters

The Courthouse

Old architecture and cobblestone streets

Enjoying a Blanche-Chambly in Old Montréal

After an unexpected, but pleasant, layover in Montréal we finally made it to Fort Lauderdale.  Fort Lauderdale is located on the Atlantic coast in the state of Florida, approximately 35km north of Miami.  The city, sometimes known as the Venice of America due to its intricate canal system, is home to about 168,000 people.  

We stayed at the Sea Club Resort

Ocean Blvd was lined with Palm Trees

This Parrot lived in the lobby of our hotel

Fort Lauderdale Beach

All along the beach there were small squares of sand roped off.   Each site contained a Sea Turtle nest.

It would appear Sarah and Chris made a new friend!

Out with the family

Soaking up the sun and enjoying the ocean

There was no reef around, but I still managed to spot this Snook swimming by

I also chased this young Barracuda, but he was way too fast for me to keep up!

Something big, with a sizeable fin, made a splash in the water really close to shore.  This was their reaction after running for the beach!

Whatever it was swam parallel to the beach for quite a distance.  I chased it for as long as I could and this was the best photo I got of it.  I still have no idea what it was, but we weren't the only people running for the shore!

This is deep enough now!

Fort Lauderdale is an interesting city.  It has a small-town vibe to it, but we weren't there during Spring Break!  Unfortunately we also had considerable delays on the way home and had to spend an extra night in Dallas, Texas due to severe thunder storms.  It felt like an extremely long weekend and we spent way too much time on the inside of airports, but overall it was fun and it was spent with great people.  No matter your situation your whole outlook can change if you're in good company!