Best Picnic Spot

Catching a quick bite in this quaint park on the New River, locals can become a tourist attraction. While you're gnawing on a sandwich, visitors to Fort Lauderdale may well wave and point as they float by on any number of tour boats that pass. The small park sits on a lot between two waterfront homes on the north side of the river, just a couple blocks south of Las Olas Boulevard. Only one full-fledged table occupies the site, but picnickers can lounge on a scattering of surprisingly comfortable metal benches, which are strategically placed in shady areas along a serpentine brick pathway. Heck, the lawn is so well manicured, it's even safe to put down a blanket without sitting on an ant colony. Most weekdays park patrons include moms and little ones, business people with takeout food, a few folks dropping fishing lines, and a guy who's usually there with his huge pet parrot (who always wants a cracker -- or whatever you have). The view of the serene river and the mansions across the way is periodically interrupted by the aforementioned tour boats and by ostentatious yachts headed out for daytime luxury cruises while you're on your one-hour lunch break.