Maserati, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Range Rover....

Our first day in Ft Lauderdale (actually Hollywood, Florida) was yesterday, and we spent that having a bit of work done to the tow car. As I've probably ranted and raved about in the past, the Jeep Cherokee has an electric steering mechanism, which suffers from a "Death Wobble", where the front wheels wobble violently from lock to lock on those occasions where the car is towed over a rough or rutted road at just the right speed. Cause? While towing, the ignition is off, and so the steering system in not powered, and the wheels can go pretty much where they please!

Long story short....Fiat Chrysler has stepped up with a wiring harness application to address the situation, and yesterday was our turn to have it installed at Hollywood Chrysler Jeep. Our advisor, Jules Martin, kept us informed all through the procedure, and apologized profusely for the long install. In his defense, there were some twenty two pages of install instruction, involving wiring connections, console removal, and the like. Fiat Chrysler provided a rental car for our use during the day, but we wanted to stay close to home, so we did a few errands and took a nice two and one-half mile around Topeekeegee Yugnee park with Sasha. She got pretty hot because the heat index was 98 and the sun was full on shining, but did well.

Today, Thursday, we had Augie (the tow car) back, so we decided to see what the rich and famous did in this area!

Since we are in Hollywood, Florida, we drove due east to Highway A1A, which runs north and south on the strand between the Atlantic ocean and the Intercoastal Waterway. We turned south with the intention of driving as far south as we could...stopping somewhere near Miami. The Hollywood section of A1A is lined with posh condo's and hotels.

Some, across the waterway, are small cities in themselves.

But this is an extremely beautiful area, well maintained as you might expect of an area where every other car on the road is valued at more than $100,000!

Of course, The Donald has a presence in the area.

South on through Golden Beach, Aventura, Sunny Isles and Bal Harbour we went, on overload looking at the huge buildings.

Hundreds of boats were docked along the Intercoastal.

Eventually we arrived in Miami Beach, home of South Beach, Art Deco, and elevenity eleven maseratis.

We parked in South Point Park, and walked along the entrance to Biscayne Bay.

Looking into the Bay at the shipping docks and Port Island, where cruise ships dock.

South Beach is all that we remembered it to be from a short visit way back when. Beautifully kept, soft sand and lots of it!

A few blocks north on Ocean Drive got us to the famous Art Deco District. This famous area of restored stylish buildings has deteriorated of late, showing signs of needing an overhaul, but still interesting.

The west side of Ocean Drive, away from the Atlantic, has morphed into a string of restaurants that feature loud, loud music, pushy barkers grabbing your arm to get you to go into their restaurant, and thousands of people. Most restaurants feature outdoor patios with chairs and tables along the curb as well as in interior patios. This leaves a narrow aisle for pedestrians and a perfect captive audience for the restaurants. The curbside tables all have sunshades matching the decor of the building behind them.

After a completely forgettable lunch at Jalapeños Mexican Restaurant (high prices, with only  adequate food), we hiked back to the car. After walking almost four miles up and down Ocean Drive and South Point Park, and taking another two and one-half mile trek around the county park we're staying in, we were ready to enjoy a sunset over the lake!