Truer Words Have Never Been Spoken

Dania Beach   

My favorite quote comes courtesy of Isak Dineson: "The cure for anything is salt water -- sweat, tears, or the sea." The afternoon temperature here in South Florida has reached the low 80s with strong sunshine, perfect conditions to work up a little sweat while doing boat busy work. This trying week has already resulted in a few tears of "why us" frustration. Still looking for that elusive promised cure this morning, we took the advice of our service tech and headed to the beach. A short drive east on Sheridan Street took us over the ICW and right into Hollywood North Beach Park. We parked just steps from Keating Beach. Looking across the short cut through the sea grapes, we got the first glimpse of the blue water for which we've been longing. 

We exited the park and continued south along the Hollywood Boardwalk, a 2.5 mile brick-paved and palm tree-lined thoroughfare. At 9:00, it was already packed with people walking or enjoying an al fresco breakfast at one of the many hotels lining the oceanfront. There was very little elevation change from the surf zone to the boardwalk, perfect for beach access, but not so good during hurricanes. Walkabouts featured fountains with sculptures and plenty of seating. We were mesmerized by the iguana drinking out of a splash fountain.

Once satisfied, it scampered back to the shade and met up with a smaller iguana. One area of sand has been designated as a dune restoration area by Adopt A Dune. The young sea oats looked to be doing very well. One of the best things that happened on our walk was when a flock of green birds with yellow heads flew overhead. I'm no ornithologist and cannot determine if they were parrots or parakeets, but they were definitely cool.  

Colorful lifeguard stations were spaced out along the beach. Multiple flags were flying today warning of both high surf and stinging wildlife. We walked down the south end of the boardwalk then retraced our steps to the park. At the end I finally gave into the urge to kick off my shoes and go splash in the surf. 

I will confess that while I was walking along the edge of the sea those words rang true and I was indeed cured of everything that has been going on. Eventually, however, I had to return to the Boardwalk. Three-level showers are located behind pretty arched gateways all up and down the beach. I washed the salt water from my feet and we returned to the car to go visit Crossroads and check on progress. I should not have washed off all the salt water. Today's progress was slow and we're unsure if we'll be relaunched tomorrow as planned. We returned to the hotel and I made my way poolside for a few hours of afternoon reading ... and sweating. Barry returned spent most of that time on the phone in our room. We're praying there will be no tears tomorrow.