Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

I want to go everywhere I haven't been, and back to everywhere I have been.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Floridaaahhhhh!



Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Is this winter getting you down, or what?

I can't remember a winter more mood-altering than this one. And I mean that in a bad-mood kind of way.

After months of frigid temperatures, and record snowfall, it got to the point where the Goo Shoes family had to...

Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


Staring out the window at mountains of snow day after day got Mr. Goo Shoes and I thinking a lot about relocating to a warmer climate someday. Many of our friends are planning to head down to Florida eventually, so it's a pretty good bet that we will, too. I mean, do we really want to go some place else where we'd have to make new friends at that point in our lives? As long as the current ones still think we're ok, we'll just go where they're going.

We decided to fly south for a few days and start to get a feel for areas we might be interested in, as well as some much-needed solar therapy.  Unfortunately, we only had four days, since that's all the time that Junior Goo Shoes had off from school. 

It was actually a small miracle that we were able to leave as planned the night of February 14 (remember I told you we were doing something fun on Valentine's Day?). Mr. Goo Shoes came down with the flu earlier that week, the dog was sick for a few days, and we had a huge nor'easter that dumped about a foot of snow right before we left. But the stars were aligned...it all worked out, and even our flight was on time. 

We stayed at the W Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. There are other areas of Florida that we like far better than Ft. Lauderdale, but we wanted to use our Starwood Hotel points for a free stay. As long as there were palm trees, a beach and no snow, we weren't complaining.

W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


The hotel decor is very contemporary, which is meant to appeal to a younger, hipper clientele, but they let us in anyway, LOL! Despite it's quirky feel, we enjoyed it. It's an excellent hotel, and the service was wonderful, with a special shout-out to Raul, the Concierge.

One thing did crack me up, though. Apparently, the rooms are not cleaned...get this...they are "styled"...not by housekeeping, or maids....but "room stylists."  LMAO!

W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


Check out the lobby...

W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


How cool is this bookcase? LOVE the fabric on those chairs. 

W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


The lobby extends outside, overlooking the ocean. Every time I saw that fire pit, I was tempted to ask for a giant pair of chopsticks -- looks like a humongous wok, if you ask me.

W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


I forgot to take a picture of our room before we messed ours up. You don't want to see one with Junior Goo Shoes' stuff all over the place, do you? You can see a nice, neat one here. We didn't have that view -- we had this one...

W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


Not too shabby. There are times when a hotel view really matters to us, but it wasn't a priority this time. This time, we just wanted to be near the ocean.

The hotel isn't directly on the beach...it is across the street. Because it's a public beach, the hotel can't supply chairs. We had to rent them ($12 per chair; $20 per umbrella per day). It really bugs me to have to pay extra for basic amenities, but in this case, I don't think the hotel has a choice.  Mr. Goo Shoes and I are past the point of parking our butts on a towel, so we had to fork over the bucks. Actually, they do let you charge it to your room, which was nice.

Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


We spent the first day on the beach...the weather couldn't have been better! Slowly, the icicles begin to thaw from our bodies...we felt human, again! 

Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


We also had a good amount of time chillaxin' at the hotel pool. Look -- they're serving orange beef at the pool, too! If you sit on those white cement seats, I guess you're between a wok and a hard place...ba-dump-bump.

W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


The alarm clock had to be set pretty early for us to get lounges facing the ocean, but it was worth it. It's a much nicer view than looking at people in the pool who shouldn't be wearing bikinis.

W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


See that plexiglass awning over the pool? 

W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


It is actually a stairway from the 4th floor lobby to the 5th floor pool. When you ascend, you can see into the bottom of the pool as if you were looking at a human aquarium. Some of those "fish" were scary looking!

W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


I had a great time standing in the stairwell taking about a hundred "underwater" photos of Junior Goo Shoes. Be thankful I didn't post them all.

Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


We did get to play "House Hunters" one day. I kept waiting for the HGTV announcer to introduce us...

 "The Goo Shoes family is looking for an escape from 
cold winters in NJ. Will they buy the ugly duckling 
with golf-course views, or the gorgeous home in the 
community where the average age is 95? "  

There is no way we are buying anything now, but all Junior Goo Shoes had to hear was "house in Florida," and he took it upon himself to become our real estate agent. Before we left for Florida, he researched houses, and put together a slide presentation for us. Of course, he should have been studying Biology, but that's another story.

Wouldn't you know it, he found some great houses...one in particular that we really liked, so we called the listing agent and arranged to see it. It was awesome! But, there was an even better one in that community. Can I tell you, that if we were truly ready to buy, we would have taken this house in a heartbeat?

Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


The beach in Delray is what attracted us to this area. Love the dunes! The sun was setting as I snapped these, so pardon the shadows and washed-out sky.  Delray also has a very "happening" downtown with great restaurants and shopping. Yeah, I could be happy there.
Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes  

Florida --- by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


The four days went quickly, and before we knew it, we were back in NJ, which had two more small snowfalls while we were gone. The weather has really warmed up these last couple of days, so all that snow is finally melting!

It was a great little break, enough to refresh us, and sustain us for the rest of winter a few days.

For those of you who are bloggers, I am SO behind in reading all of your posts after being away. I'm going to try to catch up over the next few days...because I've missed you all!

Cheers!



39 comments:

  1. The view is absolutely amazing. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable in such a tall building as the hotel... But wait, sea, sun and palm trees? I'm sure I can get used to height!

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    1. You could do it, Magali! We were on the 14th floor ... not so high!

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  2. What a fun mini vacay and I love all of the pictures! How cool is that staircase in the pool? I love W hotels and haven't stayed in that one. Great view! And, of course, as I sit here in FL in my tank top I think I can understand the need to get away from that crazy weather you guys have been having too. If you move we definitely have to plan a bloggy lunch and shopping date! :) SPring will be here soon - hang in there!

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    1. It was fun and mini...wish we could have stayed longer! Envious of you in your tank top. The temperature is dropping again tonight after 55 degrees today! I will look forward to that bloggy date at some point!

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  3. How I long for sunshine, warmer temps, and sandy beaches. Thanks for sharing - it's helps to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if we have to follow it to Florida - lol!

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    1. It felt so good, Eileen, to be out in the sun (with gobs of sunscreen, of course). I'm trying to hold on to the feeling, now that we're back in the cold :)

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  4. Well you finally featured an area that I HAVE been to! I was born in FL and my dad lives in Destin, FL. Both sets of my grandparents retired there as well. We usually go on our summer vacations there. We love it! Luckily, it's not too far for us to drive there though. In about 6-8 hrs we can be there. So, we usually rent a condo and take our beach chairs etc. So glad that you were able to feel the warm sun on your face. Your pictures are beautiful. I've never been there in February before. I bet it wasn't too crowded then. I've never seen a staircase that goes under the pool like that before. Very cool! My son would've loved that too.

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    1. You are so lucky to have family in Florida, and close enough to drive. I wish we could go more often! It was actually pretty crowded because lots of kids were off from school for President's week. So much traffic!

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  5. Oh good for you to have a get-away!!! This place looks so gorgeous!

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  6. Nice escape to paradise! We live in central FL and love it. Come on down!!

    Neat hotel and pool. I like your wok and hard place joke! LOL!

    Katherine

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  7. Although I'm based in CA, my company is in NJ... sounds like it's been an absolutely brutal winter. Glad you could escape for a while!

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    1. It's been brutal, and we were so happy to get away, if only for a few days. Better than nothing!

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  8. Awesome! I think everyone who lives in cold country should come on down to the South. I don't live in Florida, but Southeast Texas will do just fine. We do love Florida, however. And Ft. Lauderdale is a beautiful area.

    Good luck on any upcoming plans. I say life is too short to suffer through harsh winters.

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    1. I have about had it with cold winters! Usually they don't get to me too much, but this has been an unusually rough winter. But spring is coming :)

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  9. Dear Amy, What a great vacation. I love reading every word. The hotel, beach, giant wok! everything looks like a piece of heaven.
    I also love that house your son found. It really is beautiful.
    I think I could get used to Florida life after this winter too.
    Blessings dear. Catherine xo

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    1. This is the first year that winter really got to me. I would really love to move down there someday, at least for winters. We'll see...sigh.

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  10. I see a wok full of chocolate chips and marshmallow seats. "Wok and a hard place." So glad you were able to escape the cold for a few days. It sounds like you needed a get a way.
    Glad to have you back and I hope your temps warm up for a while. Ours have. It was 79 the other day. Pedicure weather!

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    1. I like your vision of chocolate chips! We needed to get away really badly this year. That's never been a problem for me before, but then has been one rough winter! Wow - how nice that you had such warm weather!

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  11. We were in Florida at the beginning of January during the polar vortex, and it's the coldest I've been in the last 2 years. It was even colder than when I was in Tibet. Your commentary made me laugh. I have also felt less hip than the standard hotel clientele. The "room stylist" is funny. Perhaps I can be a "room stylist" as well as a "bath stylist" while at home. I would have also taken many "underwater" photos from that great enclosed staircase. I hope you are withstanding the cold.

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    1. It's always "iffy" to go to Florida in winter, and we were SO lucky with perfect weather for 4 days. It was a great escape!

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  12. LOVE the pics of junior enjoying the water!

    Styled not Cleaned...too funny!

    And the giant wok...you crack me up! :)

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    1. Isn't that too much about the rooms being styled? And they call the employees "talent." For a minute I had to make sure we weren't in Disneyworld!

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  13. Wow! You packed a lot into your mini vaca. Love the photos. Makes me want to go there now! Enjoy what's left of winter!

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    1. We did do a lot, but got in enough relaxation time, too. It was a great mini break!

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  14. What a lovely escape from winter. I would love to leave the winters behind and move somewhere warm too. I love your photos, they even look warm.. Have a happy week ahead!

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    1. It was so nice to get away, even for just a few days. It definitely made us all feel a little better!

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  15. A nice place but costly to sit on the beach, and room styling is a new one to me.
    We've been in Clearwater for the month, we like it here and rent a condo.

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    1. Isn't that crazy that you have to pay to sit on the beach? I wish I could have stayed for a month, but 4 days was all we could manage! Enjoy your time in Clearwater!

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  16. Amy,

    So amazing that you got to get away to warm and sunny Florida, even for a few days; it made a difference, I'm sure. Your little tour of the hotel, the beach, the giant wok and the neat pool, and potential pretty houses was very entertaining. Paying for lounge chairs on the beach is not new to me, as there are beaches here in Greece that work this way, too. You'd think we're at Cannes or something! Don't agree with this, as they are PUBLIC beaches, not private ones. But, whaddayagonnado? When in Rome...

    Have a lovely week!

    Poppy

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  17. What a nice visit to Florida! Loved your mosaic!
    Rainey @ The Project Table

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    1. Thanks so much, Rainey! It was a great break from the cold and snow. Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  18. What lovely shots! And that hotel is amazing! 'Room stylists'!

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    1. Thanks, LadyFi! Could you just bust, with "room stylists?!!!!" Appreciate your visit!

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  19. Well well, looks like familiar territory! We moved from South Florida to the Carolina's around 8 years ago. We lived in Lake worth, and my husbands Parents and Grandparents live in Delray. It is a great area no doubt, but not for kids in public school. They are extremely over crowded. We loved downtown Delray and went at least a few times a month down there. Great dining, great beaches too. You vaca looked wonderful and so did that Florida sun. I do miss winters there and will be a snow bird someday.

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    1. You are lucky you have family to visit in the Delray area! We probably won't buy anything for 3-5 years - after Jr. Goo Shoes is in College. We hope to be snowbirds someday, too!

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  20. What a wonderful break from this never ending winter.

    Great to have you at Oh, The PLACES I've been!

    - The Tablescaper

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    1. It has been neverending, hasn't it? I'll be visiting Oh, the Places again soon! Thanks for stopping by here.

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