Fort Lauderdale: Rainforest Cafe in Saw Grass Mills

We decided to go here since we were already at Saw Grass Mills for the day. It's very touristy, but our son LOVED it. We sat right next to the tigers. Our son got mac 'n' cheese and corn (which he of course ate all of). My husband and I ordered off a special menu for their 20th anniversary that had some favorites from years past. My husband had Taste of the Islands (caribbean coconut shrimp, dynamite scallops and shrimp, and blackened tilapia topped with mango salsa plus a side of Caribbean rice) and I had an Awesome Appetizer Adventure (Chimi-cha-chas, spinach and artichoke dip with tri-color tortilla chips, cheese sticks, and chicken tenders served with fresh guacamole, marinara, and coconut curry sauce). We both really enjoyed our meals. I would suggest anyone with kids going here. However, if you don't have kids that are going to be really amazed by the animals that make noises every so often and the fish tanks, it's just an ordinary restaurant.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation: Saw Grass Mills

We decided to take a little trip to Saw Grass Mills. It took a little while to get there, but I'm glad we went. We started off at the Disney store, then got some truffles from Godiva, then made our own Lego people from the Lego store, then got some necessities from Target. After we were done shopping, we ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. We definitely got our daily workout in. This shopping center is huge and we walked all over it. My personal favorite is the section that had the outlet stores. Part of this mall is outside and most of it is inside.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation: Pelican Landing

We decided to go here after a little research about different restaurants in the area. Honestly, after we parked, the reataurant was a little difficult to find (across the parking lot, down the sidewalk, at the end of the pier, and up the stairs). But when we eventually did, we really enjoyed our experience. It was divided into two sections, an indoor seating area with a bar and an outdoor seating area. It was a little chilly outside (especially for Florida) but we still chose to sit outside because at sunset and after dark, the views are amazing! Pelican Landing is located right on the water.

The food was pretty good, too. The kid got a hot dog and fries. The fries were delicious! My husband got blackened swordfish and a side salad with passion fruit dressing. He thought it was awesome. I thought it was pretty good. I got Bahamian conch fritters and a side salad with ranch. The fritters were amazing. The salad was weird. It had some fruit and cashews on top. The waitress was very kind to our four-year-old son. I really appreciated that. She joked with him so he had a great time at dinner.

Overall, I would give this place a 4/5.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation: Swap Shop

We drove to the swap shop, paid $5 for parking, and completely wasted our time. We bought 1 t-shirt for Owen for $2.50, but that was the only thing we could find. It's basically a giant garage sale. I guess I thought it would be more like the place in the Bahamas where they mostly sold local stuff. However, there were people selling food and used clothes. Plus, the parking lot was so full of bumps, people were bottoming out all over the place. If you're visiting Fort Lauderdale as a tourist, I wouldn't recommend coming here at all.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation: Baci Gelati

Baci Gelati
1029 North Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
(754) 200-8834

We actually weren't planning on going here, but one night after dinner, we really had a taste for ice cream or something so when we saw a gelato shop, we just had to stop. This is real authentic Italian gelato place, people. It's amazing. My husband got Nutella and Creme Brulee. My son got Oreo. And I got mint chocolate chip. This was the best mint flavor in all ice cream and gelato I've ever tasted. We ate it outside at a table. They also sell other Italian pastries and food. Overall, I would give them a 5/5.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation: Zona Fresca

Zona Fresca
1635 North Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305
(954) 566-1777

I did some research (mostly on TripAdvisor and Fodor's guide) and found some different restaurants. We landed on this one one night. We went on a Saturday night in November. I don't know if I would say they were busy, but they weren't dead.
I would describe this place as a fast food Mexican restaurant in how you order alone. The food is delicious. And the prices are good too. The burritos are pretty good. I got the original and my husband got the Siesta maker while my son got a chicken and cheese taco with rice and beans on the side and we got a quesadilla to share. Everything got chips and there's even a salsa bar. Everything was really delicious. Overall, I would give it a 4.5/5.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation: The Beach

We only spent time on the beach near our hotel (Best Western). The water was pretty clear. The waves got a little rough and the water was pretty cold (we were there in November though) so we really only got one good day in the water. The first day we were there, the temperature of the ocean was perfect. It was nice and warm. There were waves, but they weren't too intense so my son was able to swim out to us and back to shore with no problem. He collected shells, too.

One morning, we went down to take sunrise pictures and my son found a playground...like right on the beach! He thought that was very cool. We had a great time.

Then, one day when the ocean was too cold, but the sun was shining, my son and husband built a sandcastle. It was very nice and we had a great time.

One other cool thing that doesn't necessarily have to do with the beach is the sidewalk. It twists and turns and is a very cool architectural detail.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation: MODS

Museum of Discovery and Science
401 Southwest 2nd Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
(954) 467-6637
www.mods.org

We went here on Halloween when they did their trick-or-treating at MODS. They had some very cool exhibits, but I don't know that it's worth the $40+$3 we paid for parking. We did everything we wanted in about an hour, maybe an hour and a half at the most. There was a nice small kids area. Most of the exhibits were interactive and my son really enjoyed it. For the most part, everyone we dealt with was very nice.
For Halloween, the kids had to find things and then when they got the right answer, they got candy/treats. It was a pretty nice idea. And for the most part, if you got the answer wrong twice, they helped you out and gave you the answer. However, there was this one guy, and he was kind of rude. My son is 4, so he clearly wasn't that great at it and got most of the answers wrong, but everyone was really nice and told him, "good try," and gave him candy. Then this one guy just kept telling him there were more skeletons and to keep looking. After about the 7th time he looked, they switched people and the nice girl who replaced him, gave him the treat. However, if you go here, you won't run into that issue (probably).

Fort Lauderdale Vacation: Dough Boys

Dough Boys Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant
829 Southeast 17th Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
(954) 761-7652

We ordered delivery from this place. They came earlier than expected so that was good. The pizza itself was really good. Everything else like the chicken parm and meatballs were just okay. The garlic rolls were just too garlicky for us.

Overall, I would give it a rating of 3/5.

Fort Lauderdale Vacation: Best Western

Best Western Plus Oceanside Inn
1180 Seabreeze Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
(954) 525-8115

We arrived at the hotel 1 1/2 hours before check-in on Friday, October 31st, 2014. Our room was already available. That was a nice surprise. It feels like a lot of hotels aren't ready until check-in (if not later in some cases). This Best Western, while not located directly on the beach, is so close, it might as well be considered on the beach. It would be nice to have a direct access, but you don't even have to cross the street to get there.

Everyone that we spoke to on the premises was very nice and professional.

Breakfast was really good. There was a great selection even though we were there during the renovation. They had waffles, bagels, eggs, bacon, sausage, muffins, cereal, fruit, milk, juice, etc. My husband and I even made bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwiches. Sometimes, you just have to get creative!

The pool was nice enough. It wasn't huge, but we were the only people using it so there was more than enough space for us. There were also plenty of deck chairs, on two different levels I might add. The only downside I could see here is that they advertise a heated pool and we had to ask them to turn it on. Then, it took about a day for the pool to warm up enough for us to use it. Then, after a couple days, it was almost too warm.

The room was nice enough, but I'm pretty sure we had one of the old rooms and they're renovating everything so a review of the room wouldn't be entirely helpful. I can say that it was quite clean though.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this hotel. Some people may complain that it's not directly on the beach, but the price is much better than the hotels that are so I say it's a win-win.