Tag Archives: miami

My Brightline Train Trip-Part 3

6 Mar

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

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My Brightline Train Trip:Part 2

28 Feb

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

New Years Day (1/1/2024 Continued)

I was surprised at how quickly the passenger exchange took place at the West Palm Beach station.   Within about two minutes the train was moving again.  The train picked up speed, and before long we had passed thru Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, and Delray Beach, before arriving at the Boca Raton station.  Another quick passenger exchange took place, and we were off again.  We quickly passed thru Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach, and Pompano Beach, before arriving at the Fort Lauderdale station.

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/fortlauderdale/brightline/station/

Since it was New Year’s Day, and most of the museums were closed, our plan had been to visit the Museum of Discovery and Science first, and then catch an Uber to a restaurant on Los Olas Street for lunch.  Then after lunch we had planned to catch another Uber to the beach for a stroll in the sun, before returning to the Brightline Station for our 3:25 pm return train ride back to Orlando.

Photo Credit: https://onthegrid.city/museum-of-discovery-and-science

However, when we exited the Brightline Station, and were looking around for which way it was to the museum, a Brightline electric courtesy shuttle (Ridecircuit) driver across the street called us over.  She explained that as Brightline ‘Premium’ passengers she was available to take us anywhere we wanted to go within a 5-mile radius, FREE!  We were not aware of this amenity, and immediately took her up on the deal.  Since it was getting close to lunch time anyway, and the Ridecircult shuttle was right there, ready to go, we decided to change our plans and have lunch first.

Photo Credit: https://www.ridecircuit.com/fortlauderdale

Our friendly Ridecircult shuttle driver took us to Los Olas Street and showed us the “Restaurant Row” area.  We checked out the many great restaurants as we rode thru the area and asked her to drop us off at the Cuba Libre Cuben Restaurant.   

Photo Credit: https://www.cubalibrerestaurant.com/in/fortlauderdale/

She gave us a phone number to call for our next FREE Ridecircult shuttle ride to the beach and she was on her way.  At the Cuba Libre Restaurant, we sat at an outdoor table where we could “people watch” and admire the many antique and luxury cars cruising up and down the crowded Los Olas Street.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

The Cuba Libre Restaurant doesn’t look all that big from the Los Olas Street entrance, but it is huge inside, because it is located on a corner lot that I didn’t notice when we exited the Ridecircult shuttle out front.  I can just imagine what last night’s New Year’s Eve festive atmosphere must have been like, with a full crowd and all that great Cuban music and dancers. Just the place to be to celebrate the New Year in.            

Photo Credit: https://www.cubalibrerestaurant.com/in/fortlauderdale/

However, at 11:30 am on New Year’s Day, as you can see in the photo below, there were nothing but empty tables, set for the lunch crowd, for us to choose from.  We ordered their Ropa Vieja plate (one of Billy’s favorites) served with plantains and black beans and rice.  There was enough for two, so we split that delicious meal.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that delightful meal, we called for our next Brightline FREE Ridecircult shuttle pickup for a ride to the beach.  This time the man who picked us up had a serious problem with his vehicle’s running gear (it was making a lot of noise) and said he hoped it would last until he got us to the beach.  We made it to the beach, and he dropped us off at the Cortez Street entrance to the beach, just north and across A1A from the Elbow Room.  Then he headed off to his repair station for a replacement vehicle.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

The weather was warm by now, and the beach was crowded with sun-worshipers.  We were both surprised at the sight, as it had been cold enough in Orlando (this morning) that we both had left our houses with jackets on.  It is amazing how different the weather can be in just a short distance traveled south this time of year in Florida.  We walked the beach for a while and then realized that the time for our 3:25 pm Brightline train back to Orlando was getting closer, and we needed to allow time for our Brightline FREE Ridecircult shuttle to pick us up and get us back to the station. We called for a pickup and watched for him, as the traffic up and down A1A was really heavy.  Our shuttle finally arrived and the trip to the station was very interesting.

Photo Credit: https://www.ridecircuit.com/fortlauderdale

—–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

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