The White House Invades Hallandale & Hollywood, Florida! 🏝

Hello! The White House has left for Camp David... Lol😂 Well... more like Hallandale, Florida! 

Before our vacation gets underway in Hallandale & Hollywood, Florida, I wanted to give you some helpful information about our resort, places to eat, and the surrounding areas. Hold on to your britches 🩲… I have a lot I want to tell you! 😁

First off some of you may not have heard of Hallandale and/or Hollywood, Florida. You are most likely wondering where the heck are these two cities? Hallandale and Hollywood are smack dead in the middle of Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach. Both Hallandale and Hollywood are beach front cities. We stayed in the Beachwalk Resort (on the waterway) and the stately, modern high-rise features 360* gorgeous views of the surrounding cities, water way and the ocean... The views did not disappoint! https://beachwalkresortfl.com/ The two cities are less than a 10 min. drive apart. As you can see from the map, Hallandale is just south of Hollywood. 🏝

Places to Eat:

Unfortunately, the Beachwalk Bistro Restaurant was closed due to Covid-19, but the food on their website, looks Devine! I can't wait to come back when it opens and sample some g👀oood food! 😋 There are plenty of restaurants, smoothies places and cafe's all within walking distance or a short drive. There was also a Walmart, Panera Bread Company and CVS not far from the resort.

The Design & Resort Amenities:

The inside of the resort is beautiful, modern, colorful and the rooms are just as gorgeous and feel like a home away from home. Everything you need is there and the views are to die for! There is a full kitchen with almost everything you need (no blender though)😥The rooms are spacious and the bathroom was huge with a large walk-in shower! You even have your own washer and dryer in your suite!😲Which is a plus, because we have learned to pack very light when we travel. It is really nice to be able to do laundry in the comfort of your own suite AND on your own time! 🕥

I like that we had a dining room table in our suite as well. It allowed us to play some games (that I brought with me from home) during our down time. It is so comfortable here, that you just wanna stay indoors (well... at least some of the time😊), take in those stunning views, order take-out, swim in that relaxing pool and play some board & card games! Now that is the best vacation to me! I like to run around and see all the sights, but I always want to schedule some down time to relax and recharge as well! 🎲🃏

Are there any negatives? Yep!... The carpet was old and filthy, the bed was very low to the ground and too soft. The couch needed a good shampooing (we didn't sit directly on it, we used a towel) and the dishwasher smelled like sewage when we tried to run it, so we had to wash our dishes by hand. 😥 I also asked several times for extra wash clothes... as we were only given one! So we walked across the street to Walmart and just bought some. 🙄

The pool was great though! It is large enough to do laps in, play volleyball or just hang back and relax with a refreshing cool drink! The resort has it's own transportation. The Buggy Beach transfers (it’s an electric golf cart!) will take you to Hollywood Beach, Aventura Mall and Gulf Stream Park (dining, shopping and horse race-track). The resort also has a nice workout facility as well. I worked out in it on the days we didn't go out, but I do prefer to walk outside and take in all the beautiful views of the outdoors! Although the views of the pool and surrounding buildings were not too shabby as well. 😏

Parking & Fees:

One last thing... the resort does offer parking at a whopping cost of $175 per week! Ouch!!! 😣👀 Wait... hold the phone!😲.

It is for this reason, that we opted not to rent a car, but instead, either walk, ride the bus, take the free resort shuttle service or catch an Uber/Lyft instead. When you add in the additional cost of a car rental, 🚗 parking fees when we are out exploring, the resort's parking fees, and not to mention, gas... the cost was more than double! So do your homework and see if renting a car is more economical or not for you! For us... it was a "NO BRAINER"! We had to SAVE SOME OF THAT HARD-EARNED CHEDDAR! 🧀 💰

Ok... well now that you have some pertinent information... There is a lot to show you guys and plenty to do in the area that is cheap or downright free! So let's get this vacation started!🤩

DAY 1 - Saturday

Me and my husband, Vel flew in from Phoenix, AZ to Hollywood Airport in Fort Lauderdale, by the way of Southwest Airlines. We had to get up at 4:30 am to drive and make our flight that left at 7:35 am. (That is just way to early to be anywhere! ijs...😳) At the airport the officials confiscated my blender. The person at the scanner told my hubby "The blade could be used as a weapon", WAIT?... but I like that blender! And I paid $200 for it!😲😢So our vacation didn't start off well!

Our two-flights were to total about six hours, as we had a layover in Nashville, TN. We were to arrive in Fort Lauderdale about 5:15 pm. But... There was a medical emergency on the plane, as a young man had a seizure. Vel and I quickly, prayed for the young man. The Southwest Airline staff, was amazing and didn't panic, they stayed calm. Praise God🙌, there was a medical person on the plane and someone on the plane, had anti-seizure meds that helped until we made an emergency landing in Tampa, Fl. We were there in Tampa for about 30 min. so the paramedics could retrieve the young man off the plane and fill out paperwork to transfer him to the hospital.

From there, we headed to Fort Lauderdale. Everyone was still pretty shook up about it! But before all of this happened, I was able to get some great shots from the plane, flying into Nashville.

At the airport we grabbed a quick bite to eat to go, we picked up our luggage, then we got a Lyft rideshare to our resort. After we checked in, we were pretty tired. We settled in for the night! By this time, it was just after 8 pm. We were exhausted!!!😜

DAY 2 - Sunday

Today we woke up late... three hour time zone difference. So we walked (3.2 miles total) to and from Panera Bread Company for an early lunch. It was "EXTREMELY" humid😫outside and it was really hot walking back to the resort. My clothes were soaking wet from sweating! I felt "GROSS"!😜After we got back, we rested up and then headed over to Walmart to get some water and groceries. Ok... it is always crazy at Walmart, but this took crazy🤪 to a whole other level. It was completely packed! It looked like everybody in the city and Miami, decided to shop that day. They were out of a lot of food too!

On a happier note, I was able to get some amazing pics of the stunning views, right from our hotel room's balcony! Just look at these views! The ocean is just to the right of the resort.

We were able to watch all the larger boats come in and wait for the bridge to rise, so they could pass through. When they passed, the bridge let the bridge back down and the alarm bells sounded letting cars continue on the bridge. Man... It is the little things that fascinate me! 🚗

DAY 3 - Monday

Today is "MONDAY FUN-DAY!" After breakfast, we took a Lyft to The Margaritaville Resort in Hollywood, Florida. We spent the morning at Margaritaville. We walked through Margaritaville Resort and took a few pics. The large flip-flop was cool! And pay very close to that unique chandelier... Notice what's hanging from it? If you guessed a whole bunch of margarita glasses, you are correct! 👍🍸🍹 After we were done, we got lunch at the Margaritaville Cafe, (check out the ceiling... In the words of the little guy on the old show, Fantasy Island... "The plane... the plane"!😹 ✈

The Ocean is right off the resort. Vel brought his snorkeling masks, so he could do some snorkeling in the ocean. We spent some time at the Hollywood Beach, walking the boardwalk and picked up souvenirs. Afterwards, we came back to our resort to wash some clothes and our wet swim stuff. The rest of the day, we just hung out at our resort, and watched a movie.

Oh yeah, got a video of some kids doing the Flow-Rider Surfing at the waterpark... this is cool, but I wouldn't be caught dead doing it😳… Someone my age can get seriously hurt on this thing! Nah... I will leave this to the youngins! 😊

DAY 4 - Tuesday

What a day we had today! We walked over to the Diplomat Beach Resort from our resort took about 20-25 min. so not bad at all. This is a beautiful resort! We took a few pics inside and then was treated to the views of all views outdoors. Let me say, "One of the most beautiful beach views and pools I have ever seen." 😲 We stayed there about 1/2 hr., took some photos and took in those gorgeous views!

After we left The Diplomat Resort, we took a Lyft Rideshare to the J.W. Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa in Aventura, Florida. What beautiful grounds it has! After we took some pictures, we went to our main attraction...

Right next to the J.W. Marriott Resort is their fun waterpark, Tidal Cove. We were able to visit the waterpark using a resort day pass. If you never used this service, it is an inexpensive way to visit another resort and use their pools/waterpark facilities for the day. If you go to www.resortpass.com you can look up resorts by states, then city and see what is available. The prices range from $15 - $100. It is a nice way to see and experience expensive resorts, without actually staying at them.

There were 6 waterslides, 3 pools, a lazy river, a children's fun zone and Flow Rider Surfing. The food was good, but super expensive. I could have got steak at the Keg Restaurant, Lol... 😹🥩 And you can't bring anything to eat or drink (other than water) to the waterpark... (They checked your bags and purses)!

Just to give you some perspective... my veggie burger🍔cost $18 (did not includes fries or a drink) and my husband's large green salad 🥗 (no meat), set him back $17 whopping dollars. 😲… Then on top of that, they hit you with a 18% resort charge for the pleasure of serving you their expensive priced food!😫Ouch!!! Are you kidding me? This isn't the tip?... Nope! I guess they are trying to pay for that waterpark I guess! 🤷‍♀️

So after getting the veggie burger🍔(that was as big as my head), large salad🥗(fit for a pack of rabbits), cup of fruit salad 🍓🍍🍇a virgin strawberry daiquiri🍹 and a generous container of golden French fries🍟 that would make Ronald McDonald say, "OMG!"😲 (really...they were large enough for 3 people to share)… Our bill with gratuity and that 18% resort charge was $72. 96. But wait there's more🤣… Let's not forget the cost of the resort passes at $75 each. Oh... so that total for that "super duper" fun day was... wait for it... $222.96.😲 So our fun day... wasn't so fun on our check card! 💰👀 But all in all, we did have a good time! Just wasn't ready for the sticker shock of those hidden charges and high priced food.

DAY 5 - Wednesday

Today was the hottest and most humid day since we arrived. It was miserable!!! I had to have lost 5lbs. from sweating and walking in the heat. So since it was too hot, we rented a car for 5 hours and did some local activities, sample the best taco's & salsa I ever had and did some sightseeing in the Miami Beach area.

First stop, was the St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church A.K.A. The Ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach. OMG!!! 😲This place is AMAZING! I can't believe how the staff have preserved this beautiful place for so many centuries.

The St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church (Spanish: Monasterio Español de Sacramenia) is a medieval Spanish monastery cloister which was built in the town of Sacramenia in Segovia, Spain, in the 12th century but dismantled in the 20th century and shipped to New York City in the United States. It was eventually reassembled at 16711 West Dixie Highway, North Miami Beach, Florida, where it is now an Episcopal church and tourist attraction called Ancient Spanish Monastery.

The grounds are gorgeous! The beautiful garden and unique trees with wrap around leaves were stunning. There was banyan trees (which I am obsessed with) too. You would never know this place exist. It is tucked away and hidden from the streets. There were a couple of photographers doing photoshoots. Look👀 for the young lady in the beautiful, red dress.

Afterwards, we went to the best taco and salsa & chips place I have ever eaten at... Taco Island Mexican Restaurant.🌮🍤🥤 YUMMY!!! Let me first say, that these taco's were juicy! The homemade tortilla corn shells were thin and soft, but had a little crunch to them. Still don't know how they did that! 🤔 The homemade tortilla chips were delicious and freshly made 😋 and the salsa was tangy, with just enough spice (not salty like most salsa's). I added lime🍈 juice to my shrimp taco's. Hey... you can never have too much lime! 😋

After our belly's were full and satisfied, Lol... 🤣 we drove through downtown Miami Beach. We didn't stop or take pictures as we had to make our way back to the hotel so Vel could drop me off and then he took the rental car back to Avis. It was only a 20 min. walk back for him. What a fun day we had, despite the heat and humidity! 😰

DAY 6 - Thursday

Initially we were going to stay here for 2 weeks, but after reports of Tropical Storm Fred brewing in Puerto Rico and would possibly turn into a hurricane with 65+ m.p.h. winds and hit Florida on Saturday, we cut our loses on our pre-paid resort stay, and changed our flight to return home today. We didn't want to risk being stranded in Florida without power, food, water or worst. It just wasn't worth it! 🤷‍♀️ So, today we packed up everything and took our flight back home to Phoenix before this storm hit. Better safe, than sorry! ✈🙏 Praying for Florida and the other islands.

Well... I hope you have enjoyed our virtual Florida get-a-way! We have enjoyed our time in Florida. We had the opportunity to see some new cities and participated in some new activities. The Fort Lauderdale to Miami areas are some of my favorite places to vacation to! 🍊

If you would like to experience our next vacation... follow me @aroundtheworldinalifetime.org! Until the next daytrip or vacation... see ya soon! 🏝 And remember... get out and explore your state, 🚗 go adventuring, then get out and travel! ✈