A gay time in Fort Lauderdale

We spent just over 2 weeks in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Our holiday get-away was from December 18th to January 3rd. This was the third time in four years we have gone. (Last year we had to cancel our plans when I had to have my cancer operation.)

The first five days we stayed at The Worthington Guesthouse and Resort. It was the first time staying at this all male, gay resort. Friends of ours had stayed there before and recommended it. We had a nice large room with a kitchen. The place was clean and friendly. It had an interesting and fun mix of guests. A significant percentage of the guests were foreign. It is located two short blocks from the beach. It seemed to be a good value for the price.

The rest of the time we stayed at Pineapple Point Guesthouse and Resort where we have stayed at before. Pineapple Point is a first class, luxurious treat. It is pricy but the service and extra touches that the staff offers are amazing. Like us, many people return year after year. We have met some incredible people there. We have already booked our return reservation for next year.

We look forward to our return trips to Fort Lauderdale in order to visit friends we now have there. We have met people from the area on cruises we’ve taken, adventure travels we’ve done and from friends relocating to there. Most evenings we are out visiting someone.


Our typical day starts with a nice continental breakfast followed by several hours of relaxation around the pool, reading one of a dozen books we brought. In the late afternoon we go for a five-mile run along the beach and intracoastal waterways. We come back and get cleaned up for happy hour around the pool followed by dinner out. The evening is completed with a late night soak in the spa. On the few days that the weather wasn’t conducive to soaking up rays, we went shopping or movie watching. Saw “True Grit”, “The Fighter”, “Black Swan” and “I Love You Phillip Morris”.

There were a few new things we did this year:

We attended the Joe.My.God readers meet-up at Georgie’s Alibi and met über gay blogger, Joe Jervis. Joe’s blog, http://joemygod.blogspot.com/, is a wonderful resource of GLBT news, culture, music and stories. If you are not reading him, I highly recommend that you start.

Another activity we did was to go to a local benefit on a quite Monday night. I happened to see an ad for a GLBT fundraiser to purchase a vehicle for Father Bill Collins, founder of the Poverello Center and Food Bank. Poverello Center services the nutritional needs of people living with HIV/AIDS. The fundraiser was being held at a bar/male strip joint called Jonny’s. We thought it could be fun as well as supporting a worthy cause. As it turns out, I think we were the only “outsiders” there that didn’t know anyone. The entertainment was OK but I was expecting to see more strippers. We were soon bored and left after an hour. The following week I spied our picture in one of the “HOTshots” pictorials in HOTspots!, Florida’s largest gay publication. I think this is the first time we have been pictured in a gay bar rag.

We spent New Year’s Eve in Wilton Manors. Had dinner at Rosie’s Bar and Grill, hung out at Georgie’s Alibi, danced at Atomic Boom, and toasted the New Year at the outdoor block party hosted by the fabulous Cashetta.