A Rough Day on South Beach

 

The Nikki Bar

This is the logo for the City of Miami.

 

Newly constructed in Art Deco style, the main office
for the professional guards who man the Life Guard Stations
sits off Ocean Drive behind Lumus Park.



Just about sunset, the cruise ships get underway.

Art Everywhere

One night at dinner I asked the waitress the name of the Miami Art Museum or its location. Her reply was that Miami wasn't really an "artsy" town. We may not be home to van Gogh or Rembrandt, but Miami is so an artsy town! The art is everywhere, and on a larger than life scale. Just check out what we found on two miles of Brickle Avenue on the way downtown.

This is one of my favorite buildings.
The reflective design awes me everytime we drive by.





Framing the Rickenbacker Bridge. 



These sculptures can be found
at Bayside Park, home of many an art
and music festival,
and the Miami Boat Show.

 

Beach Shrines at Homestead Park

On Tuesday this past week we drove down to Key Largo to visit Jersey friends, Bill and Laurel, who vacation there each year. The winds are blowing a steady 15-25 these days, more like steady 25, so we opted not to sail down the Keys. We had a great day and chose not to mix activities, the day was about our friends. But Rick loves a road trip so the next day we ventured back to Homestead an hour south of us. Our goal was to explore the Biscayne National Park and check out snorkeling trips. This is a beautiful education center but there is no beach in the park. But, as you leave the Biscayne National Park you can turn left to enter the Homestead Park which does contain a tiny beach. It is actually an atoll, a pond of coral that fills with water from the bay and empties with each tide. We found the three lifeguard stations charming, complete with what is known as "beach shrines" built of action heroes and toys left in the sand.

 

Falling In Love With South Beach

It's not a long drive, depending on traffic and sightseers, to the paradise of South Beach. We keep returning for the view and the white powdered sand. This week is SoBe's Food and Wine Fest and the Today show took over the Lowes Hotel. Not being fans of large crowds who find the cocktails first, we have watched the events from a far. The weather has been spectacular and we are counting down the twenty nine lifeguard stations with delight. It is like going on a scavenger hunt. Rick drops me off, I start the march down the beach until one comes into view. By the time I have shot three or four stations, I meet Rick and we wander back for shots with different light.

In case you wonder, the stations are rarely "straight" as they are subject to the elements. The head lifeguard for the Miami group tells me that they repaint and decorate a few stations a year, so what we capture now may be different in the future. Though newer ones are movable, some stations are lost to hurricanes. Others have been replaced for safety reasons. Newer stations are all of one design so you'll recognize older stations as more shapely and unique, round or funky so to speak. We love them all. Stay tuned and find your favorite by the time we walk up to 86th. Street!

 

Art Deco on the Beach



When it's blowing no one wants to sit on the beach-
too bad, it was a gorgeous day!

 

 

 

Government Cut, South Beach, Miami Florida

 

 

This is your view to the left when you enter
 Government Cut at South Beach, Miami.
 



Fisher Island is accessable by ferry only.

 
 

Condos for the rich and famous,
 including Oprah Winfrey who owns two units,
 sit on a beautiful golf course.

In front of you is the Port of Miami and Government Cut,
the path to the cruise ships.

 To your right are the "towers," new Miami Modern constructions, full of luxury hotels. They are guarded by the first of So Be's famous lifeguard stations constructed after Hurricane Andrew. Each has a different theme and all are unique. This one sports a mirrored glass top and is called the Towers or the Jetty Station.
 

 

Florida Light, Bill Baggs (Key Biscayne) Park

 

 

More Lost Boats

We spent the day photographing beach sights on South Beach and Surfside, FL, but when we returned to the marina we were fascinated to see the end of the boat reclamation project, a photo op we hadn't planned on. The barge moved to the row of shrimp boats where the sunken ship lie on her side, leaking oil and the contents of a fisherman's life. Her demise was complete save the last bite from the crane and the clean up in the water when we arrived. The crew had to float the listing boat to take her. The City Manager told us they have taken all the floating boats they could tow in but there are fifteen sunken boats left in the anchorage and mooring they will work on tomorrow. It seems an incongrous task on such a beautiful sailing day.