The Intracoastal of Fort Lauderdale Florida

We absolutely love living at the beach but sometimes we can't help but think that it would be more interesting to be on the Intracoastal.

Yes, we get to enjoy a sunrise over the ocean from our balcony and walk out our door in beach attire and immediately feel the sand between our toes but sometimes we feel like we're missing out on a few things.

At night, the ocean is black, no lights, no action. You might see a few lights in the far distance from a boat or two but the truth is that once the sun goes down, the show is over. There's really nothing to see.

In the day, depending on the surf conditions we do get to enjoy seeing some marine life but that's mostly in summer when the water is calm and crystal clear. In the winter months the ocean is too choppy and most of the fish and wildlife seem to head out farther away from shore or to warmer waters.

Lucky for us though, we spend a lot of time at some friends who live on the Intracoastal on the big canal. They have a terrific place with a backyard terrace and pool area that faces the water.

We always marvel at the constant parade of boats that sail past their windows both day and night 365 days a year.

Their scenery is constantly changing with each new dinghy, party boat, and yacht that cruises by. It's a lot of fun and reminds us how fortunate we are to be in a tropical setting.

One day last winter, they had some visitors swim up to their dock--a family of famous Florida manatees. They are wonderful and gentle creatures and we couldn't help but take out our iPhones and capture it on film.

We love being at the beach but living on the Intracoastal has some benefits that we would enjoy just as much!.