Once a year, the Queen sets up a special weekend for me for my birthday. She books a hotel room for a weekend in Miami, where we cram in as much fun, South Beach, shopping, sushi, pizza and donuts as we can. This particular week happened to have my birthday and Father’s Day fall close to each other, so it was a double dose of what I just mentioned above. Thank you to my Queen for being so sweet. Best wife ever.
This time we decided that instead of fighting the weekend traffic to get to South Beach, we’d see if there was a public beach closer and try that….and we happened to stumble upon this cool little beach/town called “Lauderdale-By-The-Sea” which was only 15 miles from our hotel in Sunrise.
Now to those in the know, it’s a quaint little quiet hamlet nestled in between Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach. It’s well known to those on the East coast. But to those who aren’t local, it’s a blink and miss it kinda place. It has a real Fort Myers Beach feel to it with many many restaurants and shops lining both sides of the street.
It’s also known for a living coral reef just 100 yards from shore – which we didn’t find out about until after we left. đŸ˜¦
The red arrows show where the first and second reef are located.
We GPS’d a restaurant on the beach and made our way a few miles from our hotel to a nice sized parking lot right across the street from the beach. Plenty of parking spots were available and it’s $1.75 per hour. We dropped a $10 in the meter and made our way over.
The sand is soft and brown, and the water – well, it’s beautiful and clear.
I didn’t waste much time getting in the water either. It was sparkling and warm with visibility over 20 feet. I didn’t find any shells in the deeper waters, so I stayed close to shore and searched for minis in the surf ridges with my mask and snorkel, with the Queen staying close by doing her own shelling.
If you’re visiting the East coast beaches and are afraid to get into the water, searching for minis is great. Strap on your snorkel and mask and stay in the shallows, searching the ridges. You’ll find so many it will make your head spin.
Like bubbles, nerites and marginellas.
and murexes, worms and dwarf olives.
…some baby’s ears and gaudys.
and yes, you will find cones. I wasn’t even searching for Alphies and this guy just ended up in the sand in front of me.
you’ll also find a boat load of shells that you may not even be able to identify!
Like this one above. I’d never seen one of these before. Thanks to Karen V over on Facebook, it’s a Pyramidella dolobrata. Otherwise known as a Ringed Pyramid Shell. Pretty daggone cool.
You’ll also find amazing pieces of coral (which are still soaking in bleach as I type this).
This really is a beautiful and quiet beach. It wasn’t packed at all, even as time passed. We soaked in plenty of sun (and got a little red in the process) and had a wonderful time together.
As I mentioned, the coral reef of located just South of the pier, about 100 yards out. I’m kickin myself for not knowing this before hand. However, the next time we visit (and there will be a next time), we’re gonna be out there.
Put this one on your “must visit beach” list. You will not regret it.
and a Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.
The Shell King 