A Slice of Life
Bill Lites
New Years Day (1/1/2024 Continued)
Our next RideCircuit driver, for the ride back to the Brightline Station, regaled us with the history and stories of the areas of Fort Lauderdale as we passed thru them, such as what was presently going on in the neighborhood where he lived.
Photo Credit: https://observernewspaperonline.com/2021/11/01/brightline-offers-door-to-door-transportation/
As we passed an old church building, he pointed at it and informed us that it had originally been built in 1921 as the St. Anthony’s Catholic church. When that parish moved to a larger building in 1949, they sold the building to the Lutheran Evangelical Church and the building’s facade was moved to its present location. The building was registered as a “Historic Landmark” by the city fathers, and sat vacant for many years. In 2017 the building was sold to a local developer and the “Holly Blue” Restaurant & Lounge project was begun. The restoration was finally finished in 2023, and that’s what I call a unique building transformation story.
Photo Credit: https://fortlauderdalecra.com/theabbey/FortLauderdale/neighborhood/
At one point a bunch of young kids on bicycles came riding at us, acting as if they were going to crash into us. I grabbed the back of the seat in front of me when our driver didn’t slow down, and the cyclists peeled off around our shuttle vehicle, laughing and shouting at us. When I asked him what that was all about, he told us about the gangs of young kids on bicycles that were stopping and terrorizing motorists in certain areas of Fort Lauderdale, causing the local law enforcement folks a lot of headaches. He said several cyclists had deliberately run into cars, and then sued the motorists for damages (No money had been awarded to the cyclists that he knew of).
Photo Credit: https://wsvn.com/news/video-shows-dangerous-behavior-involving-bicyclists-cars-in-fort-lauderdale/
Our RideCircuit shuttle driver dropped us off right in front of the Brightline Station. Billy and I had purchased coach tickets for our return trip, so we didn’t have access to the 1stCClass Lounge at this station. However, we did inspect the lounge and found that it wasn’t as plush as the one in Orlando, but was still quit comfortable.
Photo Credit: https://www.roadtripsforfamilies.com/fort-lauderdale/
At first, we heard an announcement that our 3:25 train was going to be a few minutes late, but then heard the call that the train was arriving pretty much on-time. We proceeded to the track-side waiting area, with the other passengers, and watched the train pull into the station.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
We had purchased a coach tickets for our return trip to compare 1st class seating, comfort, and amenities with that of coach. Of course, the price was half that of 1stclass seating and that had something to do with our choice of return tickets also
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
As we boarded the coach car for our return trip, we found our reserved seats (side-by-side with no table) and discovered that coach seating was a little more crowded than 1stclass, and not as roomy as first class seating (No tables between some seats, so less legroom).
Photo Credit: https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/brightline-
The train left the Fort Lauderdale station within a minute or two of our original 3:25 departure time and we were surprised to see that the car we were in was full. Once we left the Fort Lauderdale station, Billy accessed the “Speed” and “Google Maps” apps on his iPhone so we could keep track of our progress and speed for the return trip.
Photo Credit: https://apps.apple.com/speedometer-speed-tracker
—–To Be Continued—–
Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing. He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville. Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.
One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is: John 10:10
Old Things R New 
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