11-23 & 24-15 2 nights in Pompano Beach at Wyndham Sea Gardens:
Time to use up the rest of our Wyndham points for this year.
But first---early dinner at our usual Monday night dinner spot for the $5 burger and $.50 wing specials---Lefty's. Best wings I've ever had and their burgers are really good, too!
Then we were on our way to the beach.
Just a few sights along our way---
Love how the plants down here grow in such neat forms! :)
almost a full moon. Was excited to get go to the beach when the moon was full!
By the time we reach the resort, the sun was setting. By the time we were checked in, it was over. Didn't time that too well!
I've already put some of our excess points into Trading Places for an exchange, but we had some left over from cancelling our reservations for Reunion in Orlando when I was able to get Bonnet Creek instead. So last week we spent a night in a 4 bedroom penthouse at Palm Aire (for half the price of a 2 bedroom) and this time we're in a studio at Sea Gardens (which I specifically didn't upgrade because I was hoping to see what the studios on the beach were like). Turned out, we weren't on the beach, we were put in Waterfall North. I was a bit disappointed, but was pleasantly surprised in the size of the room. I'm pretty sure the studio is about the size of our 1 bedroom apartment in Coral Springs!
From the front door.
More of the kitchen
into the livingroom/bedroom
looks like the tv swivels, but we didn't try to turn it.
I even really liked the decor.
small but adequate bathroom with shower/tub to the left. There was even a stacked washer and drier in these units.
We got settled in only to find the AC not really working. So a maintenance man was called over. He said it couldn't be fixed until the next day, so the main office gave us keys to 2 other rooms to check out---one being to a condo in the ocean front condos! They were smaller then the Waterfall units, but still quite nice (no washer/drier, though).
Looking towards the front door from the balcony door. Small kitchen to the right of the door.
View from that unit (2nd to the end unit in the South building).
bedroom/livingroom area
livingroom with bed behind partitions.
small kitchen by door.
love the decor here, too.
I was ready to stay here---for the view alone. But Ken wasn't as impressed. So on to the Waterfalls South building. It was basically the same size as the North Waterfalls unit, but slightly different layout in the kitchen and bathroom.
The Waterfall balconies were much larger then the oceanfront ones, too. Here there are chairs and a table, while the oceanfront units were barely large enough to stand on. We were close to 2 pools and 2 jacuzzis here at the Waterfalls. The concierge told us the pools weren't heated, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the one by the Ocean Palms building (pictured here) was heated to about 83 degrees.
Although the unit was pretty much reversed of the North Waterfall one we were in first, the door wasn't, so you didn't enter right into the fridge. Odd thing here, though, is the fridge doors opened on the wrong side. They also didn't try to match appliances in either building. No biggie---at least they worked!
stackable washer/drier in the kitchen
Most of the Wyndhams we've been in lately have a tablet now, too. Not for surfing the net, but with stuff like daily activities, nearby restaurants, nearby activities on it. Would be nice if they included all the stuff that use to be in the "resort book" like pool times, check out procedures, phone usage, ... . But I really liked the back ground picture.
We ended up taking the South Waterfalls building and finally settled in for the night.
Next day we had breakfast at Sunshine Bagel a short distance down A1A, then headed back to the resort. Spent a few hours in the heated pool and Jacuzzi. We were riding around near sunset and I wanted to take pictures on the beach, so Ken pulled into the ocean side of Sea Gardens and let me out. He sat in the car with it running and fell asleep. I wandered the beach for about 45 minutes watching the ocean.
Wild flowers on the beach
It was also the time that a cold front moved in (highs only in the 70s) and there were sustained winds of about 30m/h with gusts up to 45.
Being after 5, the rental chairs were free. I sat there for awhile.
There were a couple surfers near me. Looked like pretty good surfing conditions.
even better conditions for kite surfing. So I wandered down the beach to get closer to them.
Never saw so many kite surfers in such a small area before.
wonder if this was the kind of styrofoam thing the Cubans' (that we rescued on our cruise a couple weeks ago) boat was made of.
back to the chairs and looking towards Pompano's pier.
not the best of sunsets, but still nice. Although I forgot about the full moon since it was so cloudy.
looking inland
one final photo over the ocean
one more of the palm trees and wind.
At this point, I headed back to the car only to find Ken gone. Turned out the battery died while he was sleeping and he went to ask maintenance for a jump. While we waited, I went back to the beach. That's when the moon snuck out for a few seconds.
By the time I composed a picture, the moon was almost gone again.
Love the way this door is painted in the Wyndham south Ocean front building.
Back to the car, it was running. Maintenance was pretty prompt. We went straight to AutoZone. They checked the battery and said the connection must have been loose and that it was fully charged now, so off we went to Fort Lauderdale to see the decorations along A1A.
Tonight was the lighting of the snowman on the beach.
This is what Christmas lights look like in South Florida---or should I call them Holiday Lights.
We did pull over in a park and I tried to get some night pictures with the moon and the ocean, but with the wind and light rain getting all over the lens, I wasn't having much luck.
one more mediocre result.
Love that they light up palm trees down here.
the pier at Lauderdale by the sea.
entrance to one of the many hotels along A1A.
Next morning, just as we stepped out of our door, I witnessed a car bumping into our car. Somewhat surprisingly, the driver stayed and wait for Ken to get down there. Turns out there was negligible damage so he sent them on their way. Then he tried to start our car and found the battery was dead, again. Off to get maintenance, again. Before maintenance showed up, someone else stopped and asked if we needed help (which somewhat surprised me---when Angie and I had a flat tire, noone bothered to stop and help us!). By then maintenance showed up but the car wouldn't start. The other guy was still there so he pulled the battery out of his car, turned it upside down onto our battery and presto, Ken started the car. Ken kept telling him we had jumper cables, but he was intent on doing it his way. The maintenance guy and Ken looked at each other and said they'd never seen that before! We went straight to another AutoZone. They gave us a new battery since it was still under warranty. Hopefully that'll be the end of the battery problems. Not sure we can handle many more of these short stay vacations! On the other hand, at least we were somewhere where we could call on maintenance for help!
