Ft. Lauderdale and Family!

 Congratulations to Cousins Laurie and Miles for tying the knot!  It was great fun, thanks for inviting us!  I didn't get enough good pictures of the wedding, but this one shows the best man, brother of the groom, my cousin, Eric and his family, Nate and Kari.  Behind them are Laurie and Miles.  Sorry for the bad photo, I blame the open bar.  :P

Ft. Lauderdale area is pretty awesome.  It's all about the beach and the intercostal waterway.  Everywhere, there is a coastal island, a protected water channel, and then another layer of coast.  There are canals everywhere to connect to the water.  The best bars are outdoors on these channels.  Shown to the left is Two Georges, which is Miles and Laurie's favorite bar and the site of the rehearsal dinner. 
There are fantastic homes that are right on these protected waterways where one can park their boat right along their backyard. 

 Mid-June is the off-season for this area, probably cause it's hot!  Things slow down from 2-4pm here.  In wintertime, this place is jumping with folks from the Eastern Seaboard.  But for now, it's a little empty.  We stayed at this awesome room in Boca Raton with a view of "Lake Boca."  The "Lake" is a wide part of the Intercoastal Waterway, and the Atlantic Ocean is just beyond the tall condominiums shown.

Monday night we spent with Noelle's good college friend (rugby teammate) Niki and her husband Nick.  We were lucky enough to attend their wedding in Costa Rica in 2011.  Their home is furnished with the comfort of their French Bulldogs, Lola and Gus, in mind.  In this picture, Gus demonstrates that the only one who enjoys a dog-pile is the one on top.