Fort Lauderdale Fun+Sun Travel

A funny thing happened to Greater Fort Lauderdale as it edged away from Spring Break revelry of old to glam it up with stylish resorts, tony restaurants, and cultural appeal spurred by a burgeoning A&E District.

Just as Spring Break seemed relegated to the dumper, along came global economic calamity. Then up popped the Great American Beach Party, memorializing "Where The Boys Are" -- the very 1960 flick that first put this Gold Coast town on the map. Now Fort Lauderdale's Great American Beach Party has become an annual Memorial Day Weekend event. Nothing fancy, but tons of fun.

So despite social-climber ambitions, Fort Lauderdale (neither as ritzy as Palm Beach or as glitzy as Miami) at long last has come to happily dance with those that brung'em.

A rainbow welcome mat now beckons the young, old or in-between, gay, straight or undecided, families or singles, well-heeled biz travelers or leisure penny-pinchers. Also quite welcome: Outdoors lovers and gaming devotees, golfers, swimmers, anglers, boaters, beach bunnies, pale faces and bronzed fun-bunners.

Fort Lauderdale Fun+Sun Travel Guide by Lynne Helm gives props when and where due, while keeping up on what's new, hot, hip and happening on the beachfront, on western fringes, uptown, downtown, and all around. This fact-packed app for the Gold Coast's Venice of America helps you get organized sun-drenched good times.

★ About the Author ★

Long before laps and apps changed the world, freelance writer Lynne Helm landed along Fort Lauderdale's Tarpon River with her Royal Sahara portable in tow. Since then, she's covered news and travel developments for metro dailies, biz pubs, consumer mags and travel industry trades. Assignments have taken her to far-flung locales from South Africa to the Pacific Rim. She's sailed from Djibouti, explored the Seychelles, partied in Rio, gotten lost in Kuala Lumpur, crossed the Panamanian Isthmus via rail, and fished for trout in New Zealand. Yet she unfailingly comes home to Fort Lauderdale's Blue Wave Beaches, where potential for tracking fun under the sun never sets.

★ About Sutro Media ★

This guide is published in partnership with Sutro Media. By enabling local writers to share their expertise on mobile phones, Sutro Media is making it easier and more fun to explore the world!

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