A study of contrasts: Florida and Vermont

[figarofigaro1]

B had a seminar in Fort Lauderdale and we decided to use it as a winter escape. So we tacked a weekend onto the schedule. After arrangements had been made, his boss invited him to be involved in a meeting the day after the seminar, so they changed his plans, and I kept mine the same.

We left on Friday, February 1. There was to be ice and snow that day, starting around noon and our flight was at 11 AM. It was already spitting snow when we left for the airport. Waiting for the plane the weather got worse and worse. They were planning for 1/4" or more of ice and had already closed schools and such. I think a lot of people with later flights tried to move them up, so there was a big stand-by crowd and our flight was full. They spent a long time deicing the plane, but we made it out, a bit late, but we made it. I bet we were one of the last planes out of Burlington on Friday. The weather did get pretty nasty from what I understand.

We were in Fort Lauderdale and checked into our room by 7:30 PM or so. We were staying at the Coral Reef. a men-only guesthouse near the Galleria. It was charming, with 8 rooms around a pool and hot tub, private and quiet. The staff was terrific if not always knowledgeable. They had an oddly limited knowledge of restaurants. Their forte was knowing all of the gay spots in town and being extra helpful with special requests. Wayne, especially, was helpful and funny, and it didn't hurt that he was gorgeous.

Friday when we arrived, everyone was already gone though. Our welcome note and key were in the mailbox and we found our way in and to the room with the help of two Scottish lads who had already been staying there three weeks.

This was my first time ever in Fort Lauderdale; B had been there once in his college days, I think it was. So we didn't have much of an idea of where anything was. We ended up being really hungry and opting for the Galleria since we'd seen options there from the car. We stumbled upon a place called Seasons 52. I wish we had one close to us: seasonal food, lots of grilling and good flavors, nothing on the menu over 475 calories. Yay! The desserts were served in tall shot glasses and were also under the 475 calorie bar. Excellent food, interesting atmosphere. We were able to watch the hilarity of über-glamor heterosexual dating, snowbirds, and girls' night out.

We returned to the guesthouse where we met Cliff from Philadelphia. His partner was already crashed but we stayed up and talked and made a new friend. The next morning we had breakfast around the pool and Cliff's partner Seth emerged and we hit it off with him, too. So we lingered over breakfast, talking, visiting, carrying on with Wayne.

A quick lunch later at Zona Fresca, a fast-food fresh Mexican place. Great fish and shrimp tacos in a bustling atmosphere.

The owners of the Coral Reef also have a yacht; a beautiful teak-trimmed boat. They offered to take anyone from the guesthouse out on the boat. So we met back at the hotel and were chauffeured to the marina in a Hummer. We toured the intercoastal waters for two hours. Cliff went, but Seth opted for a bike ride. We got to visit and talk a lot more, with the three of us hanging out on the back deck of the boat for most of the trip. Owner Bruce put out a spread of shrimp cocktails, cheese, grapes, crackers and dip. These guys really know how to make guests feel welcome.



Oh, and it was sunny and in the 80's that day... and ever day while we were there. Nice.



Other guests included an older gentleman from California and a bearish French Canadian who, as it turns out, owns a guesthouse on the Magdalen Islands in Quebec. He was thrilled to find out that we had been to the islands and we talked a bit about all that. Small world.

We decided to go to dinner with Seth and Cliff. The recommendation for seafood was a place called Old Florida Seafood House, which was on the edge of Wilton Manors (the gay area). The guys said it was mostly a blue-hair crowd but was fun, so we went. It was hilarious. The "show" was a large table of older women trying to figure out the check. The food was excellent, the portions were huge. The four of us had a marvelous time. And we went out afterward to a club recommended by Wayne, and we had a great time there, too.

Sunday was another leisurely breakfast around the pool with our new friends. Then we went and explored Wilton Manors since we'd not been anywhere over there yet. We did some shopping and had a nice lunch at George's Alibi. Then back to hang out around the pool. The guesthouse was not renting out our room that night, so they let us stay as long as we wanted. We finally left around 4 PM and moved over to the Hyatt, where B was having his seminar. It was a HUGE complex with a nice set of pools and sun decks. We explored for a bit and then got cleaned up and dressed for dinner.

We opted for dinner at Galanga which was excellent food in an elegant atmosphere with gorgeous waiters. It was a mix of foodies and gays in the crowd, but notably emptier because it was Super Bowl Sunday, I'm guessing. After dinner we went to Bill's Filling Station. Fun enough, but also a little strange. Had a beer and tooled around for a bit and then left. Returned to the hotel and had a nightcap in the hotel bar and ended up watching the last bits of the Super Bowl.

Monday was B's first day at the seminar. I had the day to myself and spent it at a gay resort by the pool instead of just hanging at the Hyatt. It was fun, but I think B was a little jealous since I was playing and he was working... or at least stuck inside for the whole day. I talked to the concierge and got a dinner recommendation for a good Cuban place. He told me that the proprietor was vivacious and "gay as they come" if you don't have a problem with that then you'll have fun. So I told the concierge that it would be OK, since we were gay. So then he talked more freely about the place and it sounded really fun.

Mario's Catalina Restaurant, it was. Mario behaved exactly as predicted, hugging and kissing us upon arrival. Throughout the meal he flitted from table to table, checking on everything, making guests laugh, flirting with the men at every table. He came over once and kissed B on the top of his bald head. The waitstaff was entertaining, too, with a variety of styles, from motherly women to muscle hunks to effeminate skinny boys. The food was excellent and the mojitos were delicious. The dessert tray had many many options, but we were trying to be good, so we didn't have any. I think the dessert waiter took it personally. After Mario's we went back to George's Alibi for a beer. We ran into one of the owners of the gay guesthouse in Ogunquit, Maine, where we stayed last summer. We chatted for a bit and then went back to the hotel.

Again to the bar for a nightcap. We ordered from the bar but moved to a table as we did the first evening. While standing at the bar, a very cute guy chatted us up a bit. He was standing off to the back edge of the bar. We went and sat down in a place near him but far enough away not to be invasive. But, hey, cute guys chatting us up is never a bad thing. So anyway, he gets a call and we hear him describing where he is standing, so we have the impression he's meeting someone. I heard him say, "Yeah, I see you," so I turned around and looked and in walked a normally dressed young guy and a provocatively dressed female. He hung back and she went over to the bar. As she got closer we saw that provocatively dressed was an understatement. The word is longer than her dress! His hooker had arrived. So we watched the entire dynamic. The bartender brought them drinks, the pimp left. The pimp came back to check once and she sent him on his way. They drank and talked and did an interesting courtship dance. Then they left. Heterosexual sociology field research. Heh.

Tuesday I scheduled a facial at the spa. It was nice and relaxing but the woman who did it was way too chatty for my tastes. I hung out at the hotel and then met B for lunch. He wanted to escape the seminar for a bit so we went and found a barbecue joint and had some lunch. Then I took him on a short shopping excursion and then back to the seminar. I just hung out some more at the hotel. I had to leave at 4 PM for my flight home. It ended up that the airport was really convenient to the hotel and I didn't have any trouble. My flight from JFK to Burlington wasn't until 10:55 so I didn't get back home until almost 1 AM. I had trash to take out, mail to pick up, and a whole bunch of other little "back home" chores to do before I got to bed.

Wednesday we got 9 inches of snow; dry powdery fluffy good snow. It made the roads a mess in the morning but by the time later afternoon rolled around, I had no trouble doing a couple of errands. It was beautiful snow, and I had no trouble making the transition from Florida to Vermont weather. Thursday we got another 6 inches of snow before B got back. But his flight had no troubles and I went and picked him up at the airport. B has had a lot more trouble making the transition from Florida weather.

This past Saturday we went to a party in Morrisville. There was some more snow falling, but not too bad. We were there until around 11 PM, and got to meet some new friends and get better acquainted with some recent ones. We left in some light snow that increased in intensity as we traveled. It is normally about an hour's drive, and it took about ninety minutes to get home. The snow was falling really hard on the interstate. It was slow going for a while and kind of hard to see. Then when we got as far north as Richmond, the snow stopped and there was nothing on the roads. Strange.

So, I've been on this social website for knitters: Ravelry, for a while. But not too long ago, I finally got around to starting to build up a profile there. (I'm figarofigaro1 over there, too, and it has nice links back to this blog.) Well just from sticking my head up for a minute or two on Ravelry, I've been in contact with two other gay guys from Vermont who knit. And they know a couple of other guys. And by complete coincidence, I made a separate friend who is gay and who knits. So there has been some discussion about putting together a small gay men's knitting group, just to get together to socialize and knit, maybe once a month or so.

So I set up a knitting date with one of them on Sunday. CF came over about 2 PM and we compared yarns, drank tea, talked, and knit just  a bit. He's a really nice guy with a tremendous amount of energy. And of course, I react to tremendous amounts of energy by being even more laid back than I already am. It was an enjoyable afternoon. Unfortunately when I set it up, I'd forgotten that we also had social plans for the evening. So we had to run CF off and go to meet other friends.

We met DN and AP at the movies in Essex. We finally got to see "Juno" and everyone loved it. What a fun, sweet, wonderful film. Afterward, we went to the NECI tavern restaurant, Butler's. B and I both had really tasty lamb shanks. They were huge and we brought a bunch of the meat home to use in pasta sauce, one of my favorite ways to use leftovers when I braise lamb shanks at home. Yummy.

This morning it was 5 degrees F and a 35 mph wind. Brrr. More snow later this week. Ah, remember Florida? And it's a Monday. Bleh.