Peacocks Again

Last November we wrote about discovering some peacocks living right near downtown. We thought they were awesome. Then we found these beauties walking around in another neighborhood several miles north of downtown.

We were riding in an area called Wilton Manors when what do we see but peacocks. These guys were just amazing. They were right at home in this neighborhood. We laughed as they were strolling around visiting their neighbors, checking out the carport, looking in the glass doors, and parading on the patio among the plants. Nothing seemed to faze them. They ignored us, acted like we were not even there. These guys were used to being kings and queens of the hill.

South Fork Middle River runs along this particular neighborhood. In fact Wilton Manors is often called the Island City because it is surrounded and bordered by the North and South Forks of the Middle River. The landscaping here is quite beautiful and shows how the residents take pride in their homes.

The view up the river was so pretty as you can see in these photos. We parked at the end of one of the small streets which dead end at the river.

It was a great ending to a day of riding, very peaceful surroundings. We almost did not want to leave and go home. But the peacocks had already staked out their territory and we were only allowed to visit and look and take a few photos.

Peacock Sighting

Today we discovered a lovely quaint area, just a few blocks in size and in shouting distance of downtown Fort Lauderdale. This must be what Fort Lauderdale was like years ago, before the development craze hit. There is a family of Peacocks living wild there, 30 or so we were told, so we decided to see if we could get close enough to take a few photos. They were not really in the mood to pose but seemed to tolerate our presence as long as we did not disturb their tranquility. We had hoped to see them spread their tail feathers, but guess the warm afternoon sun left them rather blasé. Couldn’t resist taking a shot of the wild flowers either.

Just so you can understand the oddity of the Peacock’s environment, look at what is just a few blocks away. The New River runs right thru downtown Fort Lauderdale and is surrounded by luxury high rise condos.

We had lunch at a local favorite restaurant right on the river called “The Downtowner”. The tables are right there at the river so one can watch everything from the smallest little inflatable, to yachts to big Cats. The Water Bus, also called the Water Taxi, is a popular mode of transportation here with both tourists and locals. I think they will take your bicycle on board but not your scooter. So Heinz and Frenchie were landlocked.

We made a stop at Borders Books and found a magazine called Scoot Magazine. If you don’t know about it, they have a website: http://www.scootmagazine.com/index.php This is their 10th anniversary, guess we are a little late finding it. There was a brief review of a book that sounded like it would be fun to read, “How to Live Well Without Owning a Car”. Not sure we could do it, but it might be a fantastic challenge to try.

Hope you all had a safe and fun weekend and spent some time on 2 wheels.