This is the second article about our trip to Hollywood Beach in South Florida, you can find the first part HERE.

Why Did We Choose Hollywood Beach?

The reason that we picked Hollywood Beach in Florida for our vacation is that I used to live there. More importantly though, this is where my daughters live with their Mom, and returning to Florida is the only way that I can see them.

On Arriving

We arrived on the Friday evening, rather later than expected due to the hold up in immigration, and although we were tired, we decided to head off to the beach and take a walk instead of going straight to bed.

Of course by the time we unpacked our bags and changed ready for a walk along the beach it was 8pm, which was 1am UK time as far as our body clocks were concerned, but we still wanted to unwind and to stretch our legs a bit before heading off to bed.

Hollywood Beach

For those who are not familiar with Hollywood Beach, it’s a long stretch of beach between Miami and Fort Lauderdale on the east coast of Florida, on a strip of land that is separated from the mainland by the intra-coastal waterway.

Hollywood Beach still consists of a number of older buildings, some of which date back to the art-deco period, as well as some newer high rise condominiums and hotels.  Many of the older buildings are apartments and motels that are rented out to tourists, and although some have been modernised, others definitely show their age.  Nevertheless,Hollywood Beach does provide a relatively cheap place for “snowbirds” to spend the winter, and during the winter season it’s heaving with French Canadians and New Yorkers.

However, the summer months, which are hot and humid, and often troubled by tropical storms, are the low season, where prices are cheaper, and if you are lucky it’s a fairly quiet place to spend a summer vacation.

As part of the modernisation program undertaken by the City of Hollywood, the whole stretch of the Broardwalk that runs along the beach has now been rebuilt, with a nice promenade for walking, a lane for cyclists and skaters, the beach on one side and restaurants and gift shops on the other side.

For our first evening we decided to take a fairly short stroll along the broadwalk, and the smells from one of the restaurants made Debbie feel peckish, so we stopped for a bite to eat, Debbie having a Philly Cheesesteak while I had a Meatball Sub.   Many of the restaurants cater to the New Yorkers who come to visit, and so you do find a number of them selling New York style pizza and other Italian foods.

Having satisfied our food cravings, we headed back to the condo, and settled down for a good sleep, in what fortunately turned out to be a really comfortable bed.

Coming Up Next Time

CLICK HERE for Part Three, where we have a day to ourselves and go shopping and stock up on essentials ready for the arrival of my daughters the following evening.