november sunshine

The weather is starting to get nasty up north, so H-Mom thought she would share a picture of November in Fort Lauderdale.

The clematis is in full bloom and the sun is shining. (H-Mom thinks it's clematis. She is not much of a horticulturalist.)

This morning, before the sun rose, the temperature was 56 degrees, and by noon, when Madison got an afternoon walk through the lovely old neighborhood known as "Rio Vista," it was in the low-70's.

H-Mom even took off her fleece jacket and tied it around her waist. She can't believe that at the beginning of our third winter away from Chicago, she is becoming such a weather-sissy.

Rio Vista is a beautiful neighborhood for long walks, and today Madison was very well-behaved on the leash. Which means she didn't attempt to eat everything within snapping distance and actually WALKED instead of digging in her feet in a sudden irrational H-A-L-T or flopping out on the grass in total disregard of the direction of travel.

She is really starting to get this "walking" concept. Today H-Mom and Madison did a long walk, not too fast, with lots of time to appreciate the sunny side of the street and chat with locals.

H-Mom is very pleased because taking long walks was one of her favorite things to do with Booker, and she really misses that time -- exploring side streets and discovering little parks or peeking through fences at the huge homes, some old and some very new.

Just south of downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Las Olas shopping district, Rio Vista is one of the oldest communities in the area. Following WWII, the city of Fort Lauderdale numbered about 2,000 residents. Sixty years later, the population of Fort Lauderdale is near 153,000.

Fort Lauderdale is a very "young" city, and its neighborhoods are not very old.

The boom of the 1920’s created an era of growth, prosperity, and transportation that transformed the city from an agricultural to a resort community. Residential areas developed, and major landholder Miami resident Mary Brickell is recorded to have the first plat of the area. C.J. Hector purchased the land upon her death, and began his “River View” development concept and by February of 1923, approximately 5,000 feet of sidewalk was laid and streetlights installed.

This is one of the oldest houses in Rio Vista, sitting right on the New River, with lots of grassy lawn, a long, weathered dock with welcoming lawn chairs and fishing pole holders, and quirky little "Floridian" decorating touches, like the fish mounted outside next to the front door. The bronze plate with the street number says, "Built in 1923."

Another sign says, "Private Property." We guess it looks just a little too inviting to casual strollers.



Today, Rio Vista is kind of a little land-locked paradise in the center of Fort Lauderdale, with approximately 1000 homes bounded by Federal Highway (US 1) on the west, the New River on the north, and the Intracoastal Waterway on the east. It's southern boundary is a one-way street. Rio Vista is not a neighborhood that you can "cut through," and it is perfect for bike rides and jogs.

And dog walks.