Florida Winter Wedding

It's winter outdoor wedding season! Sound like an oxymoron? Well, not in South Florida. Our friend Omair was getting married in Ft. Lauderdale, so we booked an AirBnB with our friends Alexis, Thomas, and Petros, packed our bags, and flew to southern Florida.

We arrived on a Thursday night and picked up some groceries before retiring to our AirBnB. It was a nice house on a lake/canal, with great outdoor spaces and a pool. The canal view was of a Rooms to Go, which was quite hilarious.

Our AirBnB pool at night.

On Friday we visited downtown Ft. Lauderdale. It has a small but nice touristy center, and we walked along the riverside path and through "Old Fort Lauderdale" before having lunch at The Downtowner.

Next we went to a wedding social event for people who had arrived early. It was on the rooftop deck of an Irish pub overlooking the beach. We enjoyed some drinks and snacks and enjoyed hanging out with the grooms. From there we wandered down the beach to get cocktails at the bar in the Four Seasons before heading back to the AirBnB where we ordered some delicious empanadas from Amado Market for pick-up. 

What a view of Rooms to Go from the backyard!

Some iguanas in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. These are an invasive species that are now everywhere in South Florida.

There were a lot of draw bridges around Fort Lauderdale.

We're the beating heart of this city!

Brightline train heading to Miami. New American high speed rail future?

Small historic site along the river in Fort Lauderdale.

Downtown Fort Lauderdale is super bougie.

View out towards the ocean from the Friday welcome venue.

Los of fancy hotels along the beach in Fort Lauderdale.

Hi!

Petros and Alexis say hi too!

Late dinner empanadas.

Saturday was the wedding day. Thomas, as best man, went to rehearsal events, and the rest of us took the rental car down to Miami, about 40 minutes to the south. We, unfortunately, weren't feeling the best today. We both picked up a cold somewhere on the way to Florida. Luckily, it never got too bad and we were able to soldier through with some cold medicine... but it put a slight damper on the weekend.

We started our half day in Miami at Wynwood Walls, an outdoor mural exhibit. From there we drove down to Miami Beach, and spent a few hours walking on Ocean Drive, checking out the beach, and having lunch. While at Miami Beach, we also visited the Art Deco museum to learn a bit more about the history of South Beach's unique architecture.

Oh, did Miami not tell the rest of us enough times that Messi plays on their (very bad) MLS team?

Wynwood Walls statute. Man-child hulk?

We really love the colors in this one!

This mural is from Atlanta native Greg Mike.

Miami has a really pretty setting.

South Beach is an art deco paradise. This few block stretch was closed to traffic.

The Leslie.

We briefly went down to the beach to put our feet in the water.

Very Miami.

Random Polish car club. Everyone was speaking in Polish.

The Art Deco Museum is very small, but tells the history of the architecture's presence and preservation in Miami.

Paul's an art deco flapper!

Leaving Miami Beach we drove back to the AirBnB to get ready for the wedding. The wedding was at the historic Bonnet House Museum & Gardens. This venue was a very beautiful, densely vegetated oasis among the strip malls and hotels that lined Fort Lauderdale's beachfront. The service and reception were both lovely. 

Our AirBnB had a great back patio! Unfortunately, we didn't have too much time to lounge around this trip.

Outdoor wedding in February? Why not! The weather was beautiful.

David, Alexis, and Petros posing by the lake.

Great venue!

 

David and Alexis all dolled up.

Cocktails after the wedding but before the reception.

After the ceremony and reception, we called it a somewhat early night and headed back to the AirBnB with Alexis. Thomas and Petros kept the party rolling with the grooms well into the early hours.

On Sunday morning we grabbed some coffee and pastries for takeaway from the Alchemist Cafe, which was a super cute restaurant/coffee shop with a large patio and a homey vibe. After showering and chatting for a bit, we headed to Bo's Beach for the post-wedding brunch. Shortly after we arrived the sky opened up in a torrential/very Florida storm that lasted 15 minutes before clearing out.

From Bo's the five of us went to a nearby coffee shop to hang out for 30 minutes before parting ways and heading to the airport. All in all a great 3-day weekend and happy event to celebrate with friends in south Florida.

Summer coastering - both Busch Gardens!

After a long couple of years with very few roller coaster trips, this spring/summer I've ventured back to parks as COVID cases remained relatively low. I signed up for two events with the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) - one at Busch Gardens Tampa in Florida, and the other at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia. These events are fantastic because they offer exclusive ride time and a lot of other perks.

The first trip was the annual spring conference, a three-day weekend in Tampa and Orlando. I drove down on a Thursday, and the next day began bright and early at Busch Gardens Tampa. Their newest coaster, Iron Gwazi, had just opened recently. What a ride! This is an intense and breathtaking coaster, and quickly moved in to the upper echelon of my coaster rankings. I enjoyed two days at the park, mostly with good weather - the rain held off, although it was hot and humid.

Iron Gwazi is the new kid on the block.

Some nice theming in the Egypt section.

Cobra's Curse spinning through Egypt.

Montu has been going strong since 1996.

Cheetah Hunt is a cool looking coaster.

We had several behind the scenes tours.

We got to tour Sheikra's maintenance bay.

Getting up close and personal with the Sheikra train.

I also did a tour of the animal nutrition center.

Backstage view of Iron Gwazi from the animal nutrition center. 

Scorpion is a classic. We had ERT on this ride too.

It really is a photogenic park.

I thought this was interesting - they label walking routes for exercise.

Having a local beer - kind of. It's actually a Georgia brewery. :)

The last day of the Florida ACE event was at Sea World Orlando, focused around their new coaster, Ice Breaker. We started off the day with some great ERT, and then rode some more and had a behind the scenes tour before enjoying the Seven Seas Food Festival. It was a very hot and sunny day, and the park got relatively crowded because it was the last day for the food festival. Unfortunately I had to leave in the early afternoon to drive back to Atlanta.

No lines during morning ERT.

Coaster-themed drinks in the food festival!

The new Ice Breaker coaster on a sunny Sunday.

Just hanging out with Manta!

Our behind the scenes tour of Manta took us on to the break run.

About a month later, I visited the other Busch park - Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia. This was another great ACE event, complete with more ERT. Once again the weather was beautiful. The new coaster, Pantheon, is excellent, and we had some pitch black night rides. Between Busch Gardens Tampa and Williamsburg I'm not sure I could pick a favorite. Both are beautiful parks with great roller coasters.

Coasters for days!

The newest coaster, Pantheon, seen from the river cruise.

Of course we rode the log flume!

On Sunday I spent a few hours at nearby King's Dominion (yay, more roller coasters!), before briefly heading in to Richmond to eat lunch and see downtown. It was a nice wrap up to a fun weekend. Hoping to make it to another ACE event soon!

Welcome to King's Dominion!

Lunch at ZZQ in Richmond. Would recommend!

Gotta try the local ice cream. Gelati Celesti was delicious.

A cute mural in the Scott's Addition neighborhood.

Downtown Richmond.

A civil rights statue.

Buildings around the capitol grounds.

The capitol grounds were under renovation, so this was the closest I could get.