Hello Friends and Family,

Florida, 1971, Part 2

Link to this year's index by clicking here.

Again I apologize for the colors of this indoor shot using Kodachrome 64 slide film. As Simon and Garfunkel sang, "Kodachrome, They give us those nice bright colors, They give us the greens of summers, Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah." But not so good with indoor lighting. But that's okay because baby sister Lisa and baby nephew Todd are the stars — we love them no matter what the lighting issues are.



Outdoors, in better light, is baby sister playing with her dog, Brutus. Lisa says he was sooo sweet but dumb as snot.



Bahia Mar was one of our favorite spots to enjoy the Florida lifestyle — the section of beach toward the south end of Fort Lauderdale's shoreline. It was wider here with plenty of room for picnicking or a game of catch with a football between Lisa and our dad.



With today's beach closures and social distancing, this looks like a bygone era — I guess it is but this is how I remember the beach at Bahia Mar.



Among my fond memories are the short cruises on the Jungle Queen. The boat has been cruising the canals of Fort Lauderdale since 1935. Yes, it was a touristy thing to do and still is — but great fun.



Fort Lauderdale is nicknamed "The Venice of America" because of the 300 miles of inland waterways that run through Greater Fort Lauderdale. Originally, the area was marshes and swamps until someone came up with the brilliant idea to dredge canals, putting the mud and sand on fingers of land — then selling the land at inflated prices for high-priced housing. So now as you cruise on the Jungle Queen or any other boat — and get to see how the well-to-do live.



Not only do these folks live along the canals, they also have boats tied up to their own personal docks. The bigger the boat, the better — or so it seems. All have easy access to the Atlantic Ocean and deep-sea fishing should they so desire.



The Jungle Queen makes several stops where one can see tropical birds such as these beautiful flamingos...



...and colorful tropical birds.



Eventually, the Jungle Queen stops at a simulated Seminole village, where a trained and experienced alligator wrestler does his thing — even to the point of putting the alligator to sleep — all without being eaten himself.



Heading back to our starting point, one is reminded that Port Everglades is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world. Additionally, it is a leading container port in Florida and among the most active cargo ports in the United States. These tugboats assist both cargo ships and cruise ships in maneuvering to and from their assigned docks.



We were fortunate on this visit to see the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship in port. It now looks rather small in comparison to the massive cruise ships waiting to resume service when it is safe to do so.

I was curious if the QE2 is still in service and discovered that it has been refurbished and serves as a resort hotel in Dubai. The rates start at $185 (USD) a night.



Life is good.

Aloha,
B. David

P. S., All photos and text © B. David Cathell Photography, Inc. — www.bdavidcathell.com