Billion-Dollar Fort Lauderdale?

Hello friends, and welcome back to Let's Talk Lauderdale, your front row seat to the people, places, and events of Fort Lauderdale and our greater South Florida area. I'm Marv. And I'm Jen.

And whether you are born and raised here in Broward, or just discovering our vibrant corner of Florida, get ready for some fresh insights, lively banner, and new ways to connect with the community you love. Where's the pulse of Fort Lauderdale or something like that? Well, the last time when I said fizzle, that kind of ruined it. You had to remind me about that, yes.

But we are back. Yep. Yep, we're back.

And so, you know, while you were gone, I did record another episode and I had to work through the opening a couple of times because I kept getting to the part where I'm Marv and then you weren't there. Whoops. Sorry about that.

No, no worries. You could have just like pretended you were me. I could not.

But we're back. You're back. How's life been for you? It's been busy.

Yeah. Definitely that time of year. It is.

It is. Yeah. Work's busy.

Life's busy. But all good. Can't complain.

Yeah. Yep. Yep.

Yep. Any interesting things happen while you were gone? Interesting things. Gosh.

It's been work. Nothing completely out of the ordinary. I think I mentioned months ago that I'm running the 10K in Disney.

In January. So I am in full mode training mode for that now. Up until a couple of weeks ago I was running but nowhere near with a plan and seriousness.

But now I'm on four day a week run. Because you had not mentioned that and I was wondering if you were still going to do that. I am.

Because for me I would have thought you would have to train like months. Well, I probably should have. But, you know, when's the best time to plant a tree? 20 years ago or today.

There you go. So are you actually, are you running now or are you just doing the stamina stuff? You know, on the elliptical, the bicycle. Running four days and a day of strength training and two days of rest.

So yeah, yeah. And I found, I heard a couple of people talk about zone two training with your heart rate. What's the word? HRV.

Which I can't remember what HRV is. But basically it's like, you know, there's one day where you're basically in zone two which you can run at a conversational pace for 30 to 40 minutes. So I do some of that.

I do some alternating zone two, zone four. Zone four is when you're really pushing it. So I'm doing some of that.

I'm doing one day where I try to extend the distance each week. So there's a lot of thought into it. I made the mistake last year of trying to increase speed and distance together and that hurt my knee.

So I'm training smarter now. I wonder who came up with the zone two and HRV stuff. I have a feeling they had to sell something.

And I'm sure they did and it's fine. I listened to a daily coach cast and he was training, the guy who does it, his name's JB Glossinger, he's the morning coach. And he was training for marathons and he's the type of person where he, when he focuses on one goal, one project, he's all in.

So I heard him start to talk about HRV and I was like, eh, I don't need to worry about this. And then a couple of weeks ago I was on a flight and I was looking at my little digital screen and I saw little few minute video tutorials and I can't, Cynic, what's his name? I can't remember his name. But actually he had an HRV expert on.

And when he started talking about the training, I'm like, hmm, let me learn a little bit more. So it's working for me. I can tell you I'm building my endurance and I'm increasing my distance and I'm not injured.

So it's working for me. All right. So I remember a little bit of running training.

So in high school I ran track and during the school year I ran sprints, you know, the 100, the 220 relays. But in the summer I ran for the AAU team, the American Athletic Union, whatever it was. And they had their own version of, you know, the junior Olympics.

So I did run for a team where we competed in that, but I wasn't fast enough for the sprints. So I got moved out to the distance. So I almost would prefer the sprints, the 880 in the mile.

And it is completely different training. So as soon as you said trying to increase speed and distance, you're right. They don't work together.

Yeah. I was not using an educated plan, informed plan last year and I paid the price. But you're not a professional.

No, no. But, you know, common sense should set in once in a while, but sometimes you have to learn the hard way. Yeah.

So yeah, I'm enjoying it. And how about you? What are you up to? Well, I am finished with traveling. I just spent three weeks on the road, as you know.

And the first two, actually, I think we talked about last time where I was in Philly and had a cheese steak. That's right. So last week was Orlando.

So not a huge travel, but it's, of course, you know, basically a week away for a tech conference. I did some podcasting while I was there and then visited some clients. Stayed at the, people want to say lovely, Rosen Shingle Creek.

Okay. I mean, it's nice. Not lovely? Well, so my room wasn't so lovely.

Okay. Now, I have to clarify, I went as a podcaster, a member of the media. So my room was paid for two of the days and then I had to pay for the third day because I'm not that good of a media person, I guess.

So did you get the bottom of the barrel type room? I got a very basic room. And normally when I would travel to Orlando or Tampa or a client for, you know, travel for stuff, I'm used to taking food with me and drink with me so I don't have to worry about eating out or ordering. And we usually get either a suite where I've got a full fridge and kitchen, or if I do get a non-suite, at least I'm used to a microwave, well, the room that I got at the Rosen Shingle Creek did not have a microwave.

And it had a little tiny dorm room fridge. Okay. It doesn't fit much.

And I was thinking, this is a resort. How can they have dorm room kitchens? You got the free room. I got the free room.

It's more like the servants. They wanted you to pay for the food downstairs. It's the servant quarters.

But you're right. That's exactly what those places are for. So the Rosen Shingle Creek is one that a lot of the tech conferences use, and then also the Gaylord.

Okay. Which, of course, they're big, beautiful, large resort-style hotels, but they've got the hotels on site and that's what they want you to do. Or if you're not there, you're supposed to be at the parks.

Exactly. I was going to ask you, did you go to Mickey's Merry Christmas? No. So the one conference had a party night at Universal.

Okay. That's fine. So you kind of go there.

Did you ride any rides? No, I did not. No. Those are for kids.

Or college. And grown-up kids. Yeah.

So, no, I did not. And we had, so that was one night, and then one night the Goo Goo Dolls came and played at our hotel. Oh, nice.

All right. So we went on that slide and yeah. Yeah.

Okay. I didn't recognize half the songs. I know a few of their songs.

Yeah. Good. So that was, but that was my last week in Orlando.

It's busy. Busy, busy. Yeah.

So. I guess I did go to Jacksonville road trip. You guess? Yeah.

I forgot. I forgot we haven't talked since then. But so we made a little side trip to Buc-ee's, so that was a highlight of it.

The new Buc-ee's. The one in St. Augustine. Okay.

Yeah. That's the one that's been there. Which I heard the one in Daytona is a lot busier than the one in St. Augustine.

So we. Okay. Went to.

Stock up on those food. That food. Peanut butter caramel popcorn.

Yeah. I need to make another trip. Really? Yes.

Did you visit the wall of jerky? I did. I brought some jerky home for my son. Okay.

Yeah. Yeah. Is there a special flavor that he likes? Well, I did.

He has never been to Buc-ee's, so I just, I think hot and spicy and sweet kind. Okay. And a teriyaki kind and a jalapeno kind.

Oh, wow. So. It's hot and spicy there.

Yeah. So, I mean, it's a wall of jerky. They have every kind of flavor you want.

Well, yeah. I was going to say there's the sweet and sour. Yeah.

Yeah. I think there, maybe I got him a sweet and sour. I don't remember.

I just was like, I think he'll like this. So I brought it home. He's like, good choices, mom.

Nice. So I did well. Nice.

Yeah. Buc-ee's. We're getting one in Fort Pierce next year.

Is it next year? Wouldn't it? 2026. So I think they're doing one in Gainesville now, right? I don't know. I know Fort Pierce.

Okay. But probably. They're popping up everywhere.

They are. They're genius. So it's going to be the battle of Buc-ee's and Wawa.

I actually want to take a trip up to Buc-ee's before Christmas because I could do some Christmas shopping up there. Get out. No.

Don't judge. Okay. It's just regular clothes.

It's everything. It's basically, isn't Buc-ee's like the same thing as a Costco or a BJ's? Oh, have you had their brisket sandwich? No, I've not had their brisket sandwich. Have a brisket sandwich and let's have this conversation again.

I never thought of Buc-ee's as a food destination. Oh my gosh. No.

It's about the food and the cleanest restrooms ever. Okay. I got that.

Yeah. Interesting. You're missing out if you haven't had the food.

So I'm reading that Buc-ee's locations are almost like small Walmart s, stocking everything from fresh barbecue to clothing and gifts. Everything. So there you go.

You're going to go get gifts at Buc-ee's. I'm serious. They have everything.

Have you been into a store lately? I went to a Buc-ee's in Texas. Oh, I had a conference in Texas. Which is where they were born.

And a friend was driving me from Texas to Oklahoma to do a meet up with some other Texans. We stopped at the Buc-ee's. My first and only visit.

We were there maybe 20 minutes, so I'm sure I didn't see everything. You didn't. And I'm going to tell you, retail stores are not stocking the way they have in the past.

They can't. Well, exactly. I get why.

But it's hard to shop for everything you need. I feel like Buc-ee's has everything I need. That just doesn't sound right.

I think we need to take a road trip to Buc-ee's now. Add that to the list. Can you do your hair while you're there too? Probably.

If not, that's coming. Oh my. Okay, sorry to sidetrack.

That's okay. That's quite all right. As usual.

It's interesting that you just forgot you went to Jacksonville. How much do you travel? I forgot we haven't talked since then. That's what I thought.

All right. It has been some time. Actually, it's been so much time that our friend Nosh that we had on the show a while back, she's been doing some shows and we've missed those.

Yeah. And there's actually one we are recording on Saturday, and by the time you all hear this, it will be too late, but she's actually playing again tonight. Got a nice little event playing at the Checkers Old Munchen in Pompano Beach.

That sounds like a fun place. And Nosh, if you hear this, sorry. We are trying to get there, but we're not getting those notices in time.

I'm so sorry I missed the yoga class. The yoga, yes. I would have enjoyed that.

So Nosh, if you're listening, let me know the next time you do that. Yeah, I want to hear what acoustic flow is. Have you ever, we've talked about this.

We've talked about a couple of things. So now I have in my head acoustic flow and goat yoga. Yeah.

I feel like acoustic flow yoga would be amazing. I'm in. Okay.

Goat yoga, November 23rd. All right. I'll be there.

So did you know that Fort Lauderdale does a state of the city address every year? I think I heard something about that. I don't know if it's every year. I just know that they listed a recent YouTube video as the 2025 state of the city address.

I imagine that's a good practice for them. Yeah. And I saw that on the YouTube.

So of course I watched and got an idea of all the things that Mayor Dean Trantalis was highlighting. Okay. And did you realize, we've talked about all the building that's been going on down there.

Right. They have invested over $10 billion in downtown development. Billion with a B. Downtown only.

Yeah. Downtown. Oh.

It has been new towers, modern offices, vibrant public spaces, and that has led to an 83% surge in families with children living downtown since 2018. Okay. Which I never would have thought families as living downtown.

I wouldn't either. I guess it's getting that New York vibe, right? There are a lot of families living in those condos and apartments. Well, if you put everything there, you put work, parks, there's a couple of schools there.

Right. Although with the way schools are now, kids are going pretty much anywhere they want. Oh, a lot of people are homeschooling too.

Yeah. That's interesting. And I guess it meets the transportation objectives because, you know, we have issues with our traffic down here.

We do. But you have everything in a walkable area. Yes.

Makes life a lot easier. It does. Eases the roadways a bit.

Yep. Hmm. So they also have been pushing to get more hotels.

So they are now saying that 30% of overnight visitors are now staying downtown, which is up. Wow. 7% from last year.

So I know that they've added a couple of hotels right there on Andrews, the Hampton. Yeah. And they're doing some others.

So that should be good. You know, people come in and they always end up staying on, what, 17th Street? Yeah. Or on the beach.

So recently I saw an event was hosted at the Hyatt Centric, which was in that area. And it's on Los Olas. And I never even knew that was there.

And I was looking at the website. I was like, Hyatt Centric, they do events. Yeah.

Because I plan events. So I'm like, let me check this place out. Too small for what I need.

Right. But the space, I think it fits like 200, 250 if you're doing like a banquet. Looks beautiful.

And the rooms look beautiful. Yeah. Yeah.

It's amazing. The only hotel that I remember growing up, the Riverside Hotel. Exactly.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're getting a little competition on Los Olas now. They are.

Definitely. But that's always a beautiful one too. Yeah.

Yep. Let's see. They also announced $130 million expansion of the Los Olas Marina.

Okay. Which now accommodates super yachts. And expected to generate nearly 20, no, 200 million annually.

Wow. So that is interesting. The yacht business down here is huge.

Yep. And then there is the D.C. Alexander Park and other beachfront projects provide new family amenities. And the Pier 66 has been restored as an iconic hotel and marina.

It's beautiful. Lots of stuff happening there. Lots of stuff.

What was that? Of course, the Omni. The Omni. I don't think it's quite there yet, but it's- No, but that's going to, I looked at the, I told you, I looked at the prices.

It's starting to show up in my Facebook ads now. Okay. Yeah.

So I saw this beautiful room with the gorgeous view. It's like, hmm. So I did take this quote that the mayor said.

He goes, Fort Lauderdale will be the city you never want to leave. A place where our neighborhoods thrive, our businesses grow, and our families flourish. Okay.

Together we're building a bigger, brighter future. So, quite interesting there. I didn't, I didn't, you know, I knew there was money coming in there because they keep raising our property taxes, but I didn't realize how much money.

Quite a bit of money. Well, I wonder if that's why the county wants to look to change their name. You've heard about that, right? I did hear about that.

Yeah. I was like, why? So there's an initiative statewide from Representative Chip Lamarca and then from the county commission-wide, Commissioner Michael Udine. And I think they have the backing of some of the businesses down here.

They're looking to change Broward County, which has been the name for, I want to say, hundreds of years? I was actually just looking up the name, the time frame. I don't remember. But they want to change it to Lauderdale County.

And they say that it would give Broward better name recognition for those who are looking to bring business down to this area or host events down in this area. It would just give us a better leg up. They said Broward, most people don't know where Broward is.

Like, where is Broward? But if we associated with Fort Lauderdale and turned to Lauderdale, it would give us better name recognition. I think there was an estimate of $200 million more. I have to double check that figure.

They don't really have anything that shows where they came up with that dollar amount that they think it could bring to this community. But they do think that there would be. So there's really nothing backing up that stat that they could bring more businesses here, but they believe it could.

I don't think you can generate that. I mean, how do you even do a study? I don't know. As to whether or not... And don't quote me on that name, because now I'm questioning.

But I think even without the number, there's really no way to know if this would be successful and what those efforts are. Well, I know it's going to cost them a lot of money to change stuff. All of the names, it's going to be weird.

Now, you asked when that name, Broward County, came about? Yep. October 1st, 1915. Wow.

When we officially organized government here. So over 100 years. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, one of the reasons, I was looking at why they want to do it. And so economic growth, which I talked about, it would attract more businesses, boost tourism, given the existing popularity of Lauderdale and tourism.

And it's true. When people from out of the state ask me where I'm from, even though I'm in Dania, I say Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale, because they're not going to know. I mean, that makes sense.

I mean, there's Palm Beach. Right. Palm Beach County.

Palm Beach County. And then there's Miami, even though it's Miami-Dade. But they did a name change not too long ago, too.

This was done. Yeah. So that's, they're trying to model.

And originally, Fort Lauderdale was just in between Broward and Dade. Yes. And that's how I explained it before, when people didn't know where this was.

So, I mean, I don't know if I'm okay with it or not. I guess it'll be a tough change. But it's better that than people just saying, oh, you live in Fort Lauderdale.

Good point. Good point. Well, I guess one of the other reasons they say it would modernize Broward's image.

But yeah, the people that are against it, which Commissioner Nan Rich is against it, as well as a few of the other commissioners. Cost and logistics. We don't really know what it's going to cost.

I think there was a figure that was thrown out for two years what it would cost the county. But I'm not sure that any thought's been put into all of those companies, non-profits that are built on the Broward name as well. Yes.

So, you know, I would hope that there will be some sort of funding available for all of those companies to do some name changing. Because that's, again, that branding, changing your branding is expensive. People are upset about the historical context.

I heard or read something somewhere where people are like, well, what about Port Everglades? Maybe we go to Everglades County. You know, there's a name recognition with Port Everglades. That's more of a stretch.

I agree. Just saying it's out there. I'm not saying I agree with that.

I mean, the Everglades basically stretch from South Florida all the way up to Kissimmee. Yeah. Yeah.

Good point. I'm still not sure why Port Everglades is named Port Everglades. Like, that's not in Everglades.

I'm going to say this publicly. We should reach out to the historical societies and have them on the show to give us some of these answers. Pat Liler, are you listening? Because I don't want to just go to chat GPT and ask.

We know that we can't always trust what they say. But I will tell you, Dade County, it was 1997 they changed their name. Yep.

So, you know, and again, the commissioner and the state representative, Marca and Eudine, they're saying people recognize it as people talk about it being stuck between Palm Beach and Miami Dade. So let's lift ours. So that is an interesting concept.

I remember talking to somebody a while ago and we were talking about all the cities around Fort Lauderdale. Plantation, Coral Springs, Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, which were all originally Fort Lauderdale. Fort Lauderdale.

And they all annexed off and stuff. They were asking me, well, why would these cities do that? I'm like, I don't know. I don't understand that either.

Where I live was unincorporated Fort Lauderdale. It's now Daney Beach. Right.

So, yeah. But it would be interesting to go back and look at all of these things as to why can't we just be Fort Lauderdale? I mean, it would certainly make a much bigger economic impact. Yeah, I'm not sure.

Because we could definitely boast of having at least a couple million people. That's a whole bunch of budgets that are going to have to be merged together. A whole bunch of commissioners that are going to be.

I could see that not going anywhere. It can't. I mean, even the police department.

The police departments, the Broward Sheriff's Office. Yeah. I mean, the state troopers.

I mean, people don't realize how much of all of that gets tied into it. And then, you know, all the first responders, all the medical districts. Oh, absolutely.

The beaches. I'm getting stressed thinking about this. Well, so I guess the Broward legislative meeting, they spoke about this earlier in the week.

They decided to defer it and let the Broward County Commission speak about it, which I think their meeting was happening later in the day. This was both Thursday, I believe. Both have tabled it for further, I guess, discussion and research.

But Chip Lamarca, I believe he's in his last year as a state representative. And so I think this is one that he's trying to accomplish before he steps out of his role. He's introducing a measure in Tallahassee for consideration in the 2026 legislative session season.

So it's not going away yet. More to come. We'll see how it goes.

Well, what's funny is you think about the name Lauderdale versus the name Broward. Most people don't even know where the name Broward came from. But it comes from a gentleman called Governor Broward.

Napoleon, right? Okay, I'm just reading what's in front of me. Sorry. And apparently he was big involved in draining the Everglades to help us do the development down here.

Controversial thing with draining the Everglades. But we wouldn't be here if they hadn't done that. Good point.

So I might have had the first $200 million amount wrong. Because basically that's what they're thinking the cost of the name change would be. No, that number's on the internet.

So it must be true. I mean, that number on there. And then of course they talk about the name change could be as much as $10 million.

Which I'm thinking that's not enough. And again, I don't know that this is going to factor in all the organizations that have Broward in their name. Yeah, the forecast.

It didn't detail the data used for the forecast. But said the estimated revenue increase is a very conservative forecast of less than 1% of total employment revenue for the county. I'm stressed.

That'll be interesting. But you're right. How many names, how many companies and organizations have the name Broward County in them? I mean, are you going to have to change your name? Right, right.

I mean, legally they can't force you to. You won't, but you're going to have an identity crisis. Somebody 20 years from now is going to say, why are all these places just moved down? Why is everything called Broward? We're going to have to do a little time capsule.

Right. And put it together. Remember when.

Remember, didn't we talk about this? When you had your area code of Broward, it was 954. I don't know if you were here yet. So I was not, but I remember when the entire area code from eastern, central, Florida, all the way down to Miami was all 305.

305, yep. I remember when we first moved here. It used to be long distance.

305 from 954. Yes. And then when they made the split, we got 407 up there.

Yep. And 305 stayed down here. And then they added the 561 for Palm Beach.

And all of that, yeah, that was. And then I guess they ran out of 305 numbers, so then 786 came out. I don't even remember 786.

Yeah. I mean, I remember, you know, 754 is down here. No, my late husband, his work number was a 786 number.

And then 954 gave birth to 754. Yep. And up east where my mom still lives in the Melbourne area, it's 407-321.

321. Which makes no sense. But yeah, those times have changed.

Back in the day. We had that corded phone at home. Yes, and it was either green or yellow.

Yep. With the long cord. With the very long cord.

From the kitchen to the living room. And did, how often did you take your phone calls and try to go out to your garage and close the door so people couldn't hear you? For my 16th birthday, my dad got me my own line. So I had my own line in my room.

Well, and I mean, truth be told, he worked from home and I was tying up the phone. So it was really self-motivated on his part to get me my own line. But I loved it.

I had my own phone, my own answering machine. Was he trying to find more boats? Yes. No, he gave up on that.

Oh my. Let's see, what else is happening down here? Go ahead, you got something? Well, I was going to say, first of all, the Ritz-Carlton. And just the name alone, I would have thought, smells of money.

Well, they filed for bankruptcy. All of Ritz-Carlton? So the homeowners association or the condo association filed for bankruptcy reflecting ongoing changes in high-profile hospitality projects. The condo association, so is it the one that's here in Fort Lauderdale? Yes.

So the Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale and I was looking up information to try to get more stuff, but of course, half the news is behind paywalls. Which is ridiculous here. But I did find out that it is considering a luxury oceanfront hotel, but it does also have condos that people can buy.

They're spacious, luxurious accommodations with furnished balconies and panoramic ocean views. Trying to figure out here as I look there, but I'm like, how do they that hotel isn't that old? Well, that's what I'm thinking. I can't imagine it's a lot of maintenance needs because it's not that old in being a Ritz-Carlton property.

I would have to believe it was built well. Yeah, but a lot of that stuff, remember when stuff was being built there so fast to get done? And it's on the beach, too. The lifespan of ACs and other equipment, they have a shorter lifespan out there.

Well, I wonder if also people that initially moved in, when they realized how much traffic and congestion, they're like, I can't live here with all these people on Fort Lauderdale Beach. A lot of them aren't happy with all the events that happened down there. So here's what happened.

So the actual entity is called the Castillo Grand Hotel Condominium Residences Association. They manage the condo slash hotel units. And they filed bankruptcy following litigation between the association and the owners of the hotel which are affiliates of the Brookfield properties out of New York.

Okay. And apparently there was a lost judgment which resulted in a debt of nearly $77.9 million dollars. So is this a way to get out of paying that debt? This is a way to restructure.

So they don't have to pay that debt. Okay. That makes sense.

That is a big debt. I had to dig into that because I'm like, wow. Yeah, Ritz Carlton and bankruptcy don't seem like words would be in the same sentence.

There's a lot of big names that apparently are associated with bankruptcy. Because here's the thing, rich people realize they can use bankruptcy as a way to just move money. For people like us, bankruptcy means we have no money to move around.

Well, I guess you think about all those retail stores and restaurants that have filed bankruptcy but they're still open years later. That was a lesson for me. So rich people problems.

Not my problem. I didn't hit that mega million. All right, what do you have? Have you heard of Trudy Jacobs, a Fort Lauderdale celebrity of sorts? If I say no, does that diminish the celebrity status? Not at all.

No, she's earned it. Channel 10 just profiled her earlier this week. 101 years old, still swims every day at the Fort Lauderdale Swimming Hall of Fame.

Really? She's 101, has swam for 97 years. She said she started at 4 years old in the Danube River in Austria. And she swims today 30 to 45 minutes a day.

Her favorite is the breaststroke because she doesn't like messing up her hair by putting it in the water. That makes no sense. Why? I want to trust this woman that swam 97 years.

But if you start that early, you just get used to the idea of your hair being wet. When you're a woman, when you're a kid, you don't care about your hair getting wet. So when she got older, it was a change.

Yes, it was a change. I wouldn't say at 4 years old, her favorite. But she still actively not only swims, but she competes.

Just past June, she lit up the pool at the June Krauser Invitational with two first place finishes at her first Master meet ever. Masters is above 55? I think every organization has a different name. Like in Jiu Jitsu, it's 30.

When I was competing at 45, I was going against 30 year olds. I wonder the age of the people she was competing against. I don't know.

Do not downplay this. She's swimming and competing at 105. But if she's beating 80 year olds, that's significant, right? I'm saying she deserves a medal for swimming at 101.

I don't mind. I'll give her the medal for swimming, but I want to give her a bigger medal if she's swimming against 55 year olds. Maybe we can ask Trudy to be on our podcast.

But you have to be nice. I'm not really liking where you're going. Because then again, you're thinking are there 10 other 100 year olds swimming? It doesn't say.

I'm sure if we dug a little, we could find the stats and see who she beat. I do say she's a dog mom, too. That's probably what got you.

Maybe. Her dog is Oscar. She's a mother of three, grandmother of six, and great grandmother to five.

That wasn't the only meet she's in. She says she does the 50 meter and 100 meter at events. Her advice is start swimming as early as you can. 

It's the best exercise for your body and spirit, and it's never too late to dive in. Swimming's hard. I would say swimming and cycling are the two that I have not really embraced.

Partly because I don't like cycling because it makes my butt hurt with the seat. Cycling is like golf. It takes too long.

You're just riding and riding and riding. The roads down here scare me. We don't have bike friendly areas. 

We have bike lanes but I've seen the way people drive around bikes and I don't like it. Swimming's just hard. Swimming is hard.

It's great. Especially if you're injured. That's what they say.

I never swam for injury. Of course, my pool isn't big enough to really swim for injury. If I had an Olympic sized pool I'd be different.

Three or four strokes and I'm pretty much done. There is one right around the corner from me that I've thought about but thought about it. Not motivated enough.

I suppose if I were ever in a position where I couldn't do anything else I'd take that on because I need to be active. That hasn't hit me yet. You've got a great news story.

I have another. Don't bring us down. It just shocks me.

I saw this and it caught my attention because first of all, have you heard of Snoopy's Smoke Shop? No. We're not talking about Snoopy the dog if it's a smoke shop. I thought it was Snoop Dogg.

Oh yeah. Snoop Dogg in a smoke. I wonder if that's why they named it Snoopy.

It's a smoke shop here in Fort Lauderdale and apparently it was robbed twice in the last week. Wow. This is now a string of similar burglaries targeting smoke shops across Broward County.

Just going for the product, smokes or both? They smash through the windows and they steal vape pipes, pens, cash in the register and of course other goods which we have to believe are weed or gummies. I've never been in one so I'm guessing what's there. Cover it up.

But I didn't realize that Florida is one of the largest states in the country when it comes to smoke shops and weed dispensaries. I didn't know that. Bigger than Colorado? Yes.

And Vegas? Of course the thought are we have a lot of elderly that are being prescribed medical marijuana. And of course we have the recreational stuff that's legal in some places and I'm sure that's being Well it's not recreational here, it's not legal. But now these smoke shops that aren't dispensaries, those are just smoke, smoke. 

Smoke shops but there is a certain level of THC that's legal. It's a very small percentage so those are in the smoke shops. Okay.

We'll have to find somebody who knows all that too. I have a feeling I probably know some people. Well the fact that you said THC you know some stuff.

I might know some people. Alright. Alright and so the perpetrators have not been caught yet so anyone with tips is urged to contact.

I would hope they have cameras. I would think so but then again I've heard some of these places run pretty lean. Yeah.

And maybe they don't want cameras because of their clientele. True. Their clientele might not want cameras.

You know kind of like the massage parlor where some ladies work. See those are two totally different. Smoke shop, massage parlor is totally different.

Yeah. Because three women got arrested at a local massage parlor. Oh see.

Now that's purely illegal. Doing more than massaging. That was a Lauderdale hot story too.

That's recently. Yes. I was driving off. 

I don't remember who I was talking to the other day. I don't know if you were in Fort Lauderdale and lived down here when they had Dream Girls and R Donuts in Fort Lauderdale. All along US 1 down by the airport.

Yes it was. It blows my mind that they had girls just sitting in the window. Yep.

And it was funny and the way that those shops are because some of those shops actually still look the same way they did. They're just regular businesses. Legal businesses.

And there was a sex store there. And then of course those hotels. Yeah.

Between 17th street and the airport you just didn't want to go to. Freddy's Anchor Bar. Freddy's Anchor Bar.

Which moved. That's off of 17th street. So that was one area and then of course Dixie.

Dixie. But you're right. Those stores on but now they all moved up to well they didn't move. 

Pompano had its own share of. Well I don't think they have a place where girls are sitting in the window anymore. No. 

Like that just blows my mind in this day and age. It's happening. And then R Donuts. 

The topless donut shop. That and the hot dog. And the hot dog girls.

The hot dog girls. It's a different time down here. Very different time.

Yep. So now we have the fort. The big old pickleball stadium.

The restaurant that they've been really talking about. I think it opened a month ago. Florida Room Restaurant.

Supposedly delicious. So it's run by it's a partner. Married couple I believe.

I don't know if they're married. They're together. Janine Booth, Jeff McInnis. 

They're celebrated chefs with James Beard nominations. And Top Chef acclaim. Worked from Miami to New York. 

Supposedly this place is amazing. What did I see online? People are raving about peaches and cream. Dessert? I'm guessing. 

Fried chicken and the surf and turf scallops. Among everything. I mean I hear everything is really delicious but those are the things I've seen called out on social media. 

Everything is crafted from scratch. They feature commitment to health. So it's entirely seed free oil.

Focusing on olive, avocado and tallow oils. And they are sourcing fresh local ingredients. Kind of like Even Peel does.

So I think I would love to check this place out. The view is beautiful. It overlooks that lake in Snyder Park. 

There's a lake in Snyder Park? Yeah. You know that? They have it set up like a little beach front area. I've only been to the front part of Snyder Park which is where the dog park is.

So the dog park and then there was a not for profit that I worked with that was in the main building on the right. If you go back further, I was concerned when they were building this because there's a lake where they have a dog jump. So a lot of people bring their dogs to swim in the lake.

So I was afraid they were taking that away when they built the fort. But they didn't. That still exists. 

And then they have this beautiful area by the fort with outdoor seating and a beach. The restaurants open Wednesday to Saturday. Right now it's just dinner only. 

4 to 10. Sundays from 4 to 9. They're closed Monday and Tuesday. I think they're going to adjust those hours as they get more up and running. 

Now is this at the fort itself? It is at the fort. So you walk in, you park on the south side of the fort. You walk in through this big building that I think, kind of like a walk through but then there's indoor pickleball courts on each side.

Then you walk through the outdoor courts and then get to the restaurant. They have event space also. It's a lot of walking to get to the restaurant.

They want you to play pickleball first, get up a hunger. Take in the whole vibe of the whole place. So I'm thinking we should check that out.

What we should have checked out was the 2025 World Pickleball Championships that was just at the fort. Just to let you know, Team USA defeated Hong Kong 4-0 to win the overall World Cup team competition. Then they did have some other matches.

There were singles for both men and women, doubles for men and women, and then mixed doubles. The top winner was Anna Leigh Waters. She won the women's singles.

She was a part of the women's doubles. Then she won the mixed doubles. Then Frederico Strachstrud doesn't sound American at all.

Won the men's singles and was part of the men's doubles but obviously did not win the mixed doubles. Still did okay though. I was trying to reach out and find history on Anna to see if she was local but I guess she wasn't.

Well, we missed it. So the next time it is here we can go we should have dinner at the restaurant before Not the restroom. But the restaurant I will.

We can do that anytime. Anna Leigh Waters she's only 18 years old. Pickleball's not for old people.

She's 18. She currently holds the number one world ranking. She has become the winningest player in professional pickleball association history surpassing Ben Johns with her 168th gold medal.

This is pretty much all she does isn't it? Apparently at 18. So we can find her. So she was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania but moved to Delray Beach.

She began playing pickleball at age 10. Okay, well no wonder why she's so good. When you learn something as a child, it's just so much you don't have the things you have to unlearn.

True. But I'm trying to remember when I first heard of pickleball. I think I made fun, there was a golf buddy of mine who hurt his wrist and I had reached out to him to play in a golf tournament with me.

The timing's about right because this was pre the year of our COVID and he denied, he said he couldn't play and that he was going to stop playing golf and start playing pickleball and I'm like, what is that? Yeah, that makes sense. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago but I could see it. So yeah, so we need to reach out to Anna Lee Waters of Delray Beach. 

I love that. Soon to be Lauderdale County. Delray's Palm Beach isn't it? It's Palm Beach County.

That needs to be Lauderdale. Delray should be Lauderdale. Take all of South Florida.

I feel Palm Beach shouldn't start until Boca and then everything south. It does, Delray's north of Boca. Oh it is? Yeah.

Isn't Boca like the southern part of Palm Beach County? Maybe I'm thinking of Delray. I must be thinking of Delray. Delray's south of Boca.

Delray's at Hillsboro Boulevard, which is... That's Deerfield. Oh, Deerfield. I'm like, what are you talking about? I figured Deerfield and Delray were right next to each other.

No. Boca's in the middle. DVD.

I don't leave Fort Lauderdale. No, I lived in Boca for a short period. That's why I'm like... You did? And then I worked in Boca. 

Really? Yeah, I worked in Boca in another period of my life. You don't have that Boca vibe. It did not last long.

Oh my. All those Christmas events are coming up. Are we ready to move on? Yeah, let's go ahead.

Hoffman's Chocolates Winter Wonderland. I think we talked about this before at Flamingo Gardens. That's coming up November 22nd to December 30th.

Anything that has Hoffman's Chocolates name on it, I'm there. Have you had Hoffman's Chocolates? No. So good.

They used to do this event up in their flagship Boca store, which closed maybe a year or two ago. They moved their Winter Wonderland, which was like a famous thing down here in South Florida. They moved it to Flamingo Gardens.

I'm excited about that. There's going to be a 40-foot Christmas tree, photos with Santa on select nights, and a chocolate pop-up shop and musical performances. Anybody with kids or just looking for a fun night out, there you go.

We've talked about Christmas on Los Olas lots of times. That's coming up Tuesday after Thanksgiving. For those who have been in this town for a while, you might remember the Fort Lauderdale Baptist Church, the downtown Fort Lauderdale Church.

First Baptist Church. They don't do that anymore, but I saw highlighted the Coral Ridge Christmas Spectacular at the Coral Ridge Church. I don't think they bring in the live animals, but apparently it looks like an amazing show.

That's December 5th. That weekend, I think they might be doing it two days. Hard Rock Hollywood is doing something for the first year this year. 

They're doing some light show. I'm sure they'll have lights on the Guitar Hotel and then some walk-through photo areas, some really good holiday treats. I don't remember when they're starting that.

It's going to be a $10 admission fee to get in, but it looks like it's going to be a pretty cool thing. All these things to get us in the holiday spirit. Next week, they start with the Marina Village on Seabreeze.

We'll do the tallest Christmas tree lighting. That should be interesting there. Of course, we talk about this all the time. 

Once again, I just got the dates for my family's Christmas at the cabin. Again, it's on the same weekend as the Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade. For the 20th year in a row, I will not be here. 

You can catch the Channel 7 video of it. That is Saturday, December 13th. Yacht Rock of Ages is the theme for this year's music.

I like it. They're still doing Breakfast with Santa at the Galleria before they do it. That will be at the Seasons 52.

They'll be doing that on December 6th. All these great holiday things. We don't get the cold weather to get in the spirit, but at least we can have these activities. 

It was cold a few days ago. It was. I brought the boots out.

It was iguana-dropping weather. I brought the boots and the sweater out. I had somebody send me a fireplace video from YouTube for the cold weather.

What a nice friend. Like you. Bad friend.

Light up Sistrunk. Light up Carter Park. All of those are happening as well.

Get into the holiday spirit, folks. With that, I guess we will start to say goodbye here. Any last words, Jen? No.

It's been nice catching up again. Are you going to be gone for two more weeks in a row? I don't think so. We'll have to check our schedule.

Since I'll miss the boat parade. Yeah. I have three or four things the night of the boat parade, but I'm in town.

All right. Well, folks, that's going to do it. Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Let's Talk Lauderdale podcast. 

If you are catching this by random because somebody forwarded it to you, head over to the Let's Talk Lauderdale website and find your favorite pod catcher where you can be alerted any time we have a release of the podcast. And then we also have a Fort Lauderdale Facebook page? We have a Facebook page. Where's he going with this? We have a Let's Talk Lauderdale Facebook page.

And you've got to get that updated with our latest episodes. You can tag us there and find out what also is happening in our area. That's going to do it. 

We'll see you all soon. Talk to you soon. Bye.