A Day Sail on Biscayne Bay

We've been working on that Miami Bucket List but a brief two day window opened for sailing. It was very reassuring to get out on the Bay if even for just one day. We thought we would enjoy a run straight out to Stiltsville to shoot the houses, and then maybe get over to shoot President Nixon's house on the other side of Key Biscayne. The latter didn't happen. As it was a beautiful day, every other boater went out on this Tuesday and anchored in front of the glass Nixon home, obstructing our view. We found Steven Tyler's house around the corner, well out on the point, the best privacy we've seen, with an amazing view of the Miami skyline at night!

Sailing was wonderful, reassuring at 10-15 knots all day. You'll see we picked up a hitchhiker about three miles out. Thirty minutes later he tired of me, not Rick, and exited close to Florida Light about a mile away in Bill Baggs State Park.

Our shots of Stiltsville were somewhat hazy. We could see a large smoke plume in the everglades all day, and added to the haze of the day on the water, clarity was hard to achieve. The brush fire lasted for days. 

To my reading friends, I recommend the 2010 novel by Susanna Daniel, Stiltsville. As a native of Miami, Susanna grew up in Coconut Grove and her family owned one of the original houses in Biscayne Bay. This novel makes a great beach read and you get the flavor and history of our stomping grounds. It is authentic and enjoyable in so many ways.

We have not sailed since, and it looks doubtful we will. Many of our local friends have taken off to Bimini or have headed north, insurance dictating that they make certain locations by specified dates. Summer heat has set in with the threat of strong storms and high winds (22-25 knots) keeping us tied in our slip. Waves at a moderate chop are 2-4, some to 6 or 8, with winds out of the east, not in our favor. Our travels include a flight back to DC to meet our new grandson at the end of the month. When we return in May we'll start back with a new itinerary and more blue water sailing. In the meantime, we'll get more blogs out of our "field trips" to sights in Florida! 

Rumor has it: Steven Tyler's House

Happy Easter from Miami

One of our favorite places to lunch-and-shop is Merritt Park Mall in Coral Gables. As rarely as we shop, this one is close and Villagio is just about Rick's favorite restaurant in all of Miami. As you can see, the seasonal decorating took on a new twist: giant rabbits constructed from recycled plastic. Six artist from South America have created the bunnies, alligators (which adorned the Cuban Freedom Tower last month,) snails we find around town, and a colorful collection of frogs. You can start your own "lawn installation" for $125 and add to the sublime if you have deep pockets. A gallery (one of many) in the mall represents them, hence the local display. For us, it was charming to find bunnies among royal palm trees, and we spent a lazy afternoon over a pizza in gorgeous weather.

 

The weather has taken another cold turn here and everyone is seriously bundled up, griping as are we, that you can't leave the slip. We made a Miami Bucket List and we've been able to keep busy, waiting for the weather to get out on Biscayne Bay. Another holiday without family will be strange, but it looks like we might get to a beach that day if not out for a sail.

It appears our last two postings didn't make it to the web, we'll try to figure that one out!

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.