Taco Tuesdays (on Friday) in Delray and a Secret Agent Bar

Fort Lauderdale – 4 kilometres walked, 110 kilometres driven

As we anxiously watched the various weather apps and online forums for wind and wave predictions, we finished up some remaining chores. First thing in the morning I tested the generator we bought for our friends to good results. Ana and I took off shortly after that and filled up our propane cylinders then went food shopping at Walmart and Aldi. By the time we had it all packed away in the boat it was already close to 4 and the traffic was brutal as we made our way north up to Boca Raton for a final visit with Stillman and Ester.

 

They live in a lovely townhouse/apartment complex with a resort quality pool area so we sat together there for a drink while their two young girls played in the pool and our two older ones chilled in lounge chairs. After picking up a couple of Amazon deliveries Stillman had received for us, and accepting a pile of bug screen and security camera unit from Stillman's garage purge project, we drove up to Delray for the 6:15 dinner reservation they had made at Rocco’s Tacos as a final send-off for us.

 

Atlantic Avenue in Delray felt like a Hallmark movie scene and I almost could not believe my eyes. The streets and sidewalks were alive with people, the many restaurants and bars were full beyond capacity, the rows of palm trees patterning the boulevards were adorned with dazzling lights, a 100-foot lighted Christmas tree stood magnificent in the Holiday Village, and music flowed from all directions. It was like a larger and busier version of Las Olas Boulevard.

We had a smashing taco dinner at Rocco’s Tacos then went for a walk all the way up Atlantic and into the Colony Hotel, a classic inn with the most incredible pastel lobby, sunshine furniture, secret agent bar, ghostly ballroom, and a saxophonist jazzing it up on the front patio. It is an incredible space, the sort of venue you’d feel privileged to become a regular, even if you were a super spy. I bet this space is responsible for 100,000 romances, 10,000 solved mysteries, and 1,000 billion dollar ideas.

I really enjoy the time I spend with Stillman. He is one of the very few friends from university days I have regularly kept in touch with, maybe the only one. He's a deep thinker, has big ideas, and is also the only other person I can think of who takes extended periods of time off work to travel. When I did my first backpacking trip overseas in 1995 I stayed with him and our mutual friend Colin, at their Harrow-On-The-Hill flat in London. He showed me the ropes and got me up and running for what would be one of the most incredible times of my life living in that magnificent city. Since they we have met up many times, in various locations around the world, and here we are thirty years later still doing basically the same thing...but now with our families.

We said goodbye after an excellent evening (until we meet again…) and drove back to our anchorage for our final sleep in Fort Lauderdale.