(bright music) - Located on the dazzling Atlantic Ocean, with an average year-round temperature of 76 degrees Fahrenheit, Greater Fort Lauderdale is the perfect beach vacation for your family.

I am here living my best life in Greater Fort Lauderdale.

I'm Colleen Kelly, and this is Family Travel.

(bright music continues) You're so pretty.

This is unbelievable.

Look at that.

This is incredible.

My name is Colleen Kelly, and when I was single, I lived abroad and traveled the world.

Then I became a parent and wondered how would I ever travel again?

So I set out to find a new way to travel and get back to exploring the world family style.

I'm here to guide you on how to get the most out of your family vacation.

Pack your bags and join me, Colleen Kelly, we're going on vacation.

Family Travel with Colleen Kelly is sponsored by- (upbeat music) - [Announcer] Family Travel with Colleen Kelly is brought to you in part by Star Clippers, purveyor of authentic tall ship sailing adventures.

- [Colleen] Referred to as the Venice of America due to its extensive network of canals and channels, Greater Fort Lauderdale is the gem of Florida.

On this episode, we are feeling the vibes in Greater Fort Lauderdale.

Our first stop was a mix of art and tech called Mad Arts, an immersive museum designed for your whole family.

Next, we took in the beaches, the activities and food at the Pompano Beach Fisher Family Pier.

A magical day at Butterfly World had us basking in the wonder of nature.

Followed by a scary encounter at the Ever Glades Holiday Park.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream at Jaxson's.

And we found a way for the family to beat the heat in Greater Fort Lauderdale with the perfect place to chill out.

And to end our trip, the crew and I enjoyed a segway tour, cruising through the famous River Walk, a tropical waterfront in the downtown center.

When I first think about Fort Lauderdale, I think about the beach because we all know their beaches are incredible and they're beautiful, and of course anything to do with swimming and boating and that type of thing.

But as far as what I didn't know, I had no idea that there was so much culture here and that there's just so many things to do here for families.

And that was a really great surprise for me to discover that.

First stop was Mad Arts, a playground for art and innovation, and a great place for families to let their creative minds soar.

I don't know what to expect.

I think it's gonna be a little crazy, but it's gonna be fun.

Yeah, it's incredible.

I walked in here and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is great for families.

- Yeah.

- What can people see here?

- We have artists from all over the world working in kind of new art that involves technology, whether that be projection mapping, motion capture, different kinds of sensors.

We have theater based artists that did rear projected dioramas with laser cut paper, so it kind of runs the gamut.

We actually set it up to be completely different than traditional museums have.

- It makes art fun.

- That's the idea, yeah.

It's supposed to be fun.

- Yeah, yeah, I mean, you've got kids, you know, they can get very bored, but definitely not here.

- No, I think the same's true for adults here.

You know, I think it's, if you have any kind of imagination at all, you just kind of get lost here, which I think is the point of the artwork.

So once you step in the building until you step out of it, you stay immersed the entire time.

- This is what I think is really cool.

The Children's Hospital, what you're doing for kids with cancer.

- Both Nicholas Children's Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, we've got different experiences that we've built that are going into those hospitals to kind of make the hospital not such a scary environment for the kids.

We reimagine the hemodialysis unit for Nicholas Children's to where these kids are, you know, in a chair for four to 12 hours while they receive treatment, and we're trying to make their- - Experience better.

- That experience better, yeah.

I mean, that's exactly it.

So they're able to be immersed in different environmental scenes or meditative scenes, and the nurses also often do karaoke with 'em.

So we've got like disco lights and dancing floors and stuff like that that happen as well, yeah, so- - I think that's so great because a kid with cancer, they've gotta sit there for hours, like you just said and this keeps them entertained.

- They've also shown that if you can bring the stress levels down, both in the kids and the parents, that the body is more receptive to the treatment and it can oftentimes have better effects.

- So you're really giving back here.

Well, I wanna to go see more, can you take me around?

- Sure, yeah.

- All right, let's go.

This is gonna be fun.

- This is a piece by a group outta Montreal.

- Yeah.

- It's their interpretation of memory.

So the idea is when you go through, it'll distort your image, and depending on how long you hang in there, it'll like really distort it.

- Oh!

(Colleen laughs) There's three of you.

- Yeah, but the idea is it'll go through and it'll stay for about 15 minutes and it'll interact with other images from other people.

And it's the idea that your memories aren't exactly as you remember 'em, and they get distorted and change over time.

- Okay, should I do this?

- Yeah, of course.

- So if I stand in the middle, wait, let's see, wait.

(both chuckle) Okay.

(Colleen laughs) - [Marc] Yeah.

- That's not how I remember myself.

(both laugh) Oh, all right, let's do it again.

(Colleen laughs) - [Marc] It's fun.

(bright music) - Butterfly World is a beautiful butterfly sanctuary that's fun for everyone in the family.

From tropical birds to butterflies, you and your family can get up close and personal with all the wildlife.

Alright, so I'm at Butterfly World and I'm with Jackie.

Oh my gosh, we are being surrounded by butterflies.

This is incredible.

What are we gonna see here?

- [Jackie] Thousands of butterflies, exotic species.

There's three species of birds in here.

We're gonna walk around.

Some might land on us.

- [Colleen] Oh!

- You're gonna be wowed and amazed.

So you ready?

- I am so ready.

- Well, here we go.

We're gonna walk through the rainforest.

Ready?

Let's go.

- Yeah, this is magical, it's magical.

- Sure is.

(bright music) - What is that?

- The Zebra Long Wing is our Florida state butterfly.

We have Florida State representative.

It's the coolest butterfly ever.

And the reasons why they have stripes is because a lot of animals like to eat butterflies.

Like birds and frogs and lizards.

- Yeah.

- Monkeys.

And the stripes mean, watch out, I might be poisonous.

- Oo, yeah, or taste really bad.

We like that.

- Yes.

- Keep 'em safe.

- Yeah, yeah, so that's what the stripes mean.

- Okay, this is incredible.

I don't think I've ever been in a place like this where I was surrounded by butterflies flying everywhere and they're so beautiful.

- [Jackie] They are, they are.

- [Colleen] What a gift.

- [Jackie] Yes, they are.

- [Colleen] It's a gift.

- Mm-hm, this place is a gift.

(Colleen laughs) (bright music continues) - I think Butterfly World is not only gorgeous as you can see, and just magical, but you're teaching people, you know, this is important, butterflies are important to the environment and you know, it's an educational experience.

- It is.

They're critical.

They are what's known as an indicator species.

So if you don't have a lot of butterflies around, there's a problem with your environment.

If you're very quiet, we do have a little Lady Gouldian feeding in the seed bin.

It's red and black.

- [Colleen] Okay.

- [Jackie] Turquoise, green.

- [Colleen] Oh my gosh.

- [Jackie] Yellow, white.

These little birds come in all different colors.

They're hybrids.

- [Colleen] Oh my.

- [Jackie] So that's one set of colors.

We could see some totally different colors on the next Lady Gouldian.

- [Colleen] And they're so beautiful.

- Your family is gonna love this place.

And I'm talking ages one to 100 because they come here and everybody's thrilled to see butterflies.

The babies are looking at them.

You're gonna love it.

And you need to come here to Butterfly World.

(bright music continues) - [Colleen] Butterfly World was magical and I keep using that word, and there's a reason.

It's because I had butterflies land on me.

I mean, I learned more about butterflies than I ever had in my entire life.

And then I had a bird land on my head, which has never happened, ever, which they say is good luck.

With over 24 miles of coastal shores, there are plenty of water activities for the family.

Boating, jet skiing and kayaking are just some of the water sports that Greater Fort Lauderdale has to offer.

I spent the day on the beach, and I had a great time kayaking.

(bright music) Pompano Beach, known as Florida's Warmest Welcome, is in the heart of Florida's Gold Coast, with over three miles of beachfront and a hundred yards of golden sand beaches.

We visited Pompano Beach Fisher Family Pier, and talked to Sandra King about this popular spot.

- This is a destination.

We're standing on the pier that was first built in 1963.

We redeveloped it, we built it higher, we built it longer.

We put up shade structures.

We have artwork on it so that people can learn some of the creatures that are in and around the pier.

We installed and launched a live fish camp.

It's an underwater camera, and you get to see and watch it and listen to it.

And you see all the fish swimming from little striped fish, little bait fish to bigger fish, to grouper all the way up to sharks.

It's so cool.

And you see them, they actually come up to the camera and they look at you, and it's really, really relaxing and it's a lot of fun.

Any skill set can fish on the pier.

You don't need to bring your fishing rods, you don't need to bring bait.

We've got all that covered for you.

For the whole day you can fish.

To come out here and just sight see, it's free.

It's educational, it's relaxing.

You can have fun fishing.

You can eat afterwards, and it's something the kids will never forget.

- I think there's a little bit of everything here for anyone who comes.

It's a beach or a restaurant.

- And I really like the water slides.

- [Colleen] And after fishing and spending quality time with your family, it's time to tiki, at Lucky Fish Beach Bar and Grill.

Enjoy this ocean dining oasis right off the beach and pier.

Fresh seafood, live music and a casual atmosphere make this a perfect place for you to relax into your vacation.

(bright music) I grew up fishing with my sister and my father, and we'd learned how to fish with him, which created a lot of memories.

Of course, we had to clean the fish too, but that's a whole other story.

And that pier reminded me of those days that I spent with my father fishing.

So Everglades Holiday Park was what I would say is an adventure.

So today we're at Everglades Holiday Park, and I'm here with George and some interesting friends of yours you can see.

- These alligators that we got here.

- I love the fact that you're teaching people about these creatures.

You know, not to be afraid, but to be careful.

- Yeah, respectful.

- Respectful is a good word.

Would you say they're more afraid of us than we are of them?

- Absolutely.

So another thing is perspective, right?

So on land, you kind of tower over them.

If they've never seen a person before, you kinda look like an alien.

They're like, Ooh, what is that thing?

But when you are in the water, completely different.

His eyes are only two inches off the surface of the water.

The second they see you swimming, all they see is your head bobbing up and down, and you look like a funny looking duck and that seems like easy prey.

They don't see the rest of you.

Not exactly a good thing.

- I had no idea all this about alligators.

I mean, it really is an education.

- Yeah.

- Okay, and then we get to see a show too, right?

- Yep.

- All right, George, we're gonna watch you do your thing and I'm happy to be on this side of the glass.

(upbeat music) We also went on an airboat tour and actually saw a real gator as well, out in the wild.

- So I'm here with Captain Dylan.

(Colleen chuckles) And I just finished the alligator show, which was really, really fun.

And now we're going on an airboat tour.

- Yes.

- And what are we gonna see?

- Okay, well, there's many different species of wildlife out here from birds to reptiles, but we're gonna focus on alligators today.

- Okay.

- Anything that's out in this ecosystem we're gonna find for you today.

(upbeat music) - The airboat tour is a thrilling ride and it was so fun.

We learned so much about nature, and we saw a gator that actually came up to the boats.

It was a little scary, but it was fine.

It was all safe.

So it was a really great adventure for us and really fun.

(upbeat music) (bright piano music) I took a stroll down memory lane at Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor and Restaurant, and it's known for its famous Kitchen Sink Sundae.

More than just ice cream, with its fun menu, country store, and candy stripe uniforms, it's a throwback to a bygone era and a perfect place for families to celebrate.

Hi, I'm here at Jaxson's with Linda, the owner.

And I walked in here and this place is so cool and it's been here forever.

- My father and my mother started it in 1956 after moving down here from Connecticut and Brooklyn.

My parents worked for my grandparents who had a restaurant, and then they decided to open their own restaurant.

- So when I walked in here I felt nostalgic and I loved the way it looked in here.

But how do you want customers to feel when they come here?

- The first thing is we want them to feel like they're welcome.

You know, when they come in, I feel like it's my family walking through the door.

So I want everyone to be treated as if they're my family.

- Everywhere I look there's antiques.

How did you get all these?

- Well, in the early days, Daytona Beach was actually the antique capital of the south.

That's all you would find here.

So when my father was thinking about how to decorate the restaurant, he said, what would be better than having it all old antique memorabilia.

Over the years, people that were sitting right in this area as it started to open up our little cigar boxes.

And we found on napkins that they started leaving us love notes.

- What?

- And really, I broke my, I started crying.

I could not believe the amount of letters that were in here.

- Yeah, I'm kind of crying.

Oh, that's so sweet.

- So as people would open they would leave it with their boyfriends, with their weddings and why they come, how much they love us.

- Oh, that's so nice.

- Or maybe just what they ate here, what was their favorite item on the menu.

- But you didn't know they were doing this?

- No, we didn't advertise it.

We just found it one day.

- On vacation from Pittsburgh.

Why am I getting emotional?

- Everyone gets emotional at Jaxson's.

- Yeah, oh my gosh, that is so cool cuz you're not just a restaurant or an ice cream store.

You're here making memories for people.

- [Linda] Exactly.

- And I think that's really special.

- It's a feeling and it's an emotional attachment, which, you know, it's amazing to me.

- [Colleen] Yeah.

- [Linda] I love my customers.

- And of course I had to try the famous Kitchen Sink Sundae.

(siren wails) - Oh!

(Colleen laughs) It's huge.

Oh my gosh.

- There it is.

(Colleen laughs) This is definitely the kitchen sink.

This is incredible.

- It's a July 4th party all in one.

(both giggle) - Alright, are we gonna dig in?

- Let's go, let's do it.

- Okay, I don't even know where to start.

- Oh my goodness.

I guess I just dig it.

- Let's do it.

- I might be here for a while, Linda.

- Ah, it could take days.

- Mm.

Cheers.

It's a good day.

Yum.

I'm here in Greater Fort Lauderdale and I found a unique way for your family to stay cool in Florida.

So I'm here with Melissa.

Tell me about this brand new facility.

- Oh, it's amazing.

We're in the Baptist Health Ice Plex, which is a brand new building that houses the practice facilities for our Florida Panthers.

Has two sheets of ice, has a seating capacity of about 14 or 1500, a Flagship Panthers retail store and also a brand new restaurant, The Federal.

And in addition to this building, we're also renovating a war memorial auditorium, which it was built in the fifties.

I mean, someone can come and shop in the retail store, and then go skating, have a dinner at The Federal, and then go for a show in the auditorium.

It really is possible to come here and spend the day and not get bored and have a great time.

- And everything's right here, which is what I like.

- Yes, I mean this really, the vision of the Panthers in the city was to make this a destination spot.

So in combination with the park as a whole, where you can come to play tennis, you can play pickle ball, you can go out on the roller hockey rink, you can take a lovely walk or a run around this beautiful park that we have around us.

And you now can do all these activities in the building.

- And it's just great for families.

I think multi-gen, just kind of having that time to spend together instead of being on our phones, as we all know, it's special.

- I mean, for sure.

That's one of the things that's really nice about ice skating.

It is literally a, you know, a birth straight through your life kind of activity.

- I also talked with former Florida Panther Pete, about his time on the ice and what visitors can expect here.

What a year you have had for the Panthers.

- Yeah, no, it's been great.

It's a great time to be a Florida Panther.

The team's been fantastic.

We are creating new avenues in the city.

We're down here in Fort Lauderdale for the first time and really enjoying all the things that we're able to do and all the things that we're, we're gonna be able to accomplish going forward.

- And I think what's so great too is, I mean, we're in Florida and we're at a nice rink.

- Yeah.

- I wouldn't put those two things together.

- It's the best part about it, right?

We can go to the beach, you can do all the play golf all year long and come out here and play hockey, the greatest sport in the world.

- And people can play here?

- They can play here, they can skate here, they can curl here.

We have a lot of different sports that we can play here and really get involved in the building.

- And this is available for anybody to come here just to, you know, as a family just- - A hundred percent.

We want everybody to come and experience this brand new beautiful facility that we built.

- Alright, Pete, thanks for talking to me.

I might get on this ice and try a couple moves.

I don't know how good I'll be.

- Oh, I'm sure you'll be great.

- But I'm gonna try.

- Absolutely, give it a try.

(Colleen laughs) - Oh, hi.

He's just gonna have to hold my hand the whole time.

Oh!

- [Pete] Sorry.

- Why did I say I wanted to skate?

Alright, now I can do it.

All right, I did my best to try to experience the ice, but I did need a little assistance from the crew.

I am so bad.

My crew and I joined Jon Rosen, owner of Segway Fort Lauderdale, for a tour of the river walk and downtown area.

- So Segway is all body motion technology.

To go forward, just put a little pressure on the toes.

And to stop, shift your weight back to your heels.

- All right.

- Colleen, here you go.

- I'll be the guinea pig.

- So hop on up.

- Okay.

- Eyes up and lean forward on your toes.

Now lean back to your heels.

Good.

Come again to the toes and lean back to the heels.

You don't have to bend down.

- Oh, just- - Shift your weight.

Exactly, just like that.

- Okay.

- Pressure on the toes and back.

Good, great job.

- I got this?

Is it okay?

Did I pass?

- Okay, yeah.

One more time, good job, good job.

Let's go guys, follow me.

- Alright John, let's go.

Let's make this happen.

An average day on a segue.

The crew and I glided down the river walk on our guided tour.

(bright music) Look at this view.

- So guys, this is the Venice of America.

- Wow.

- And it started right here with the New River.

That's this body of water.

And it's actually really old though.

It's been around since 200 BC.

But it was the first means of transportation here in Fort Lauderdale.

Originally used by the Taquesta Indians and it got its name, the New River, in the mid 1920s after a massive hurricane, which reshaped the mouth of the river.

Get some manatees that you might see every now and then.

- Oh.

- If you get a nice angle with the sun, you could see one.

We're also known for our beautiful yachts and mansions in Fort Lauderdale.

We're known as the yachting capital of the world.

About 45,000 yachts come in and out of our city annually.

- You have to do this when you come here.

All right, I'm gonna go fast now.

(bright music) - Here we go.

(bright music continues) - Look at this.

- That's gorgeous.

- You having fun?

- I'm having fun.

- I say, are you having fun?

- I'm having fun.

- High five.

(laughs) The segway tour.

Okay, it was my first time everybody, so I was a little rough in the beginning, I do know that, but then once I got going, it was pretty easy and I got a tour of Greater Fort Lauderdale and saw so many amazing sites.

It was my first time, but it was definitely an adventure and I would recommend it for all families.

From beaches and nature to ice skating and segways, Greater Fort Lauderdale has it all for your next family vacation.

So the one word I would describe Fort Lauderdale, it's hard to do one word, but I would say vibrant.

Everything here is vibrant.

It's so much fun and there's so much to do and yeah, I think that's a great word for them.

And that was our episode for Greater Fort Lauderdale.

I'm Colleen Kelly, and this is Family Travel.

Enjoy making memories on your next family vacation.

Woo-hoo.

(bright music) (bird caws) Don't mess with the hair.

(Colleen laughs) Actually I don't care, I don't care because I've never had a bird ever land on my hair.

- We do the best we can for them.

They got free room, free board, healthcare and stuff like that.

- Yeah, I'd like all that myself.

All right, so I'm with Melissa right now at the Baptist Ice Health- Wait, wait.

It's the War- - Baptist Health Ice Plex.

- But the other (indiscernible) yeah.

So I'm here with Melissa and tell me about the state of art facility.

It's incredible.

- Oh, what'd I say?

I'm here with Melissa.

And tell me about the state of this art- (Melissa laughs) - I told you we'd have some good outtakes.

- This is the fourth day.

(Melissa laughs) This brand new facility.

(bird caws) Hey, I'm Colleen Kelly and this is Family Travel.

(bird caws) This is an average day here.

- Family Travel with Colleen Kelly is sponsored by- (upbeat music) - [Announcer] Family Travel with Colleen Kelly is brought to you in part by Star Clippers, purveyor of authentic tall ship sailing adventures.

- [Colleen] For information on even more destinations and travel tips, visit familytravelck.com.

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