Key Largo, FL

Homestead, FL

Davie, FL

Miami Beach, FL

Today, my destination was the South Beach neighbourhood of Miami Beach, to check out the Art Deco buildings there. I wanted to learn more about Art Deco, and I found the perfect activity to help with that without taking too much time and while enjoying being in and around the South Beach activity.

I drove directly east from my location in Davie, and came out at the Atlantic at Hollywood Beach. I crossed the bridge over the intercostal waterway to A1A, the closest road to the beach and headed south. Oh my goodness, it is built up so much all the way along the coast, with either hotels, condos, or private homes. And on the intercostal waterway side are hundreds and hundreds of homes worth millions with their private yachts tied up out front. I couldn’t get any pictures because there wasn’t really anywhere to stop easily. I almost got whiplash trying to drive and look at everything. As Nanci will attest, I might be guilty of lacking concentration on my driving at times like that.

As I got further south the traffic got heavier and heavier but I eventually got to the general area of South Beach, and actually found a parking spot. It cost me the arm and leg the alligator didn’t get yesterday, but it was handy and in the shade. Bonus. I headed for the Art Deco Welcome Centre and a very helpful woman set me up with an audio walking tour of some of the South Beach buildings that demonstrate the classic Art Deco features (and some that don’t for comparison). The tour was awesome. It was really easy to use, the instructions clear, provided just the right amount of information, (neither too sketchy or too much) and required just the right amount of time to do the tour (just over an hour). I always feel a little geeky doing an audio tour and taking pictures, and today I even took notes so I’d remember some of what I was hearing. But their system consisted of a really small USB drive device that clipped to my strap and small ear buds so it wasn’t so obvious.

Thankfully, there were some forward thinking leaders in the Miami community that managed to save many of the Art Deco buildings as well as some from the other dominant architectural style, Mediterranean Revival. The buildings in South Beach have their own twist to the classic Art Deco buildings that have been called “Tropical Deco”. Not surprising that the Miami South Beach area, has the United States largest collection of Art Deco architecture and it has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Miami Beach City Commission has taken many steps to preserve the district and it’s unique ambiance for future generations.

I won’t bore you with all the information I gleaned today, but some of the elements that were pointed out in various buildings included: etched glass, eyebrows (cantilevered window shades), finial spires, glass blocks, coral rock, and porthole windows. I’ve identified some of the elements in the comments of the pics.

After my walking tour I grabbed lunch at one of the restaurants on Ocean Boulevard in the heart of the action. The restaurant had several different areas of seating, on the streetscape (where I ate), an inner but outdoor courtyard, and an inside area which included women in scant but tasteful clothing dancing on pedestals. It was the most expensive Chicken Caesar Salad I think I’ve even eaten, but was worth it for the people watching! I even treated myself to an ice cream, something I rarely do. I walked the beach for a while, taking in “the sights”, and then headed home to get packed up for moving day tomorrow.

On my way home, I took the freeways (including a toll one where they are apparently going to bill me 59 cents referencing my license plate number) as I wasn’t up to fighting the traffic on the way home along the A1A. Going over the causeway over the intercostal waterway, I got a great view of the cruise ships all lined up. Since it’s one of the big turnaround days, there were 6 or 7 of them loading up with spring break vacationers.

Davie, FL

I started my day at Flamingo Botanical Gardens and Wild Life Sanctuary, just 10 minutes or so from my campsite. This is one of the oldest botanic gardens and attractions in Florida, and you can tell by the size of the trees. It was started originally as an orange grove in 1927 by Floyd and Jane Wray when his real estate business failed during/after the depression.

Their home is on the property and has been preserved in the way it was furnished in the 1930’s. After Floyd died, Jane turned it over to a Foundation to preserve and it has morphed into a botanical garden and Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary. They care for animals and birds that can not be returned to the wild because of their injuries and work with endangered species of plants and animals to try to perpetuate the species.

The gardens were quite magical, and the displays well done and educational. They hope to use the species on display as ambassadors, educating people as to the impact humans have on the natural habitat and the need for maintaining some wild habitat.

Next I was off to a couple of different air boat places. I couldn’t decide between them, so I went on excursions with both of them. First up was at the Sawgrass Recreation Park. They have open air boats, although they are pretty big and lower to the water than the one I was on up at Lake Kanasoffkee. The guide was excellent and we did see a couple of alligators as well as lots of birds, including a young osprey. The time on the boat was only 30 minutes which went by really fast. They had some exotic animals, and reptiles on display, I guess in case they don’t see any alligators in the wild.

Then I headed off to Everglades Holiday Park about 10 minutes south. It is a more professional operation, with many more boats, and more marketing. (i.e. they gave away a free picture to every group). The boats however were covered in and it took away from the wind in your hair feeling of the other boats but on a rainy or cold day, however, the cover would be much appreciated. The guide was excellent and funny, and being out for an hour allowed him to to explain a lot more about the whole Everglades area (three distinct sections and this is the grasslands one), and the birds, plants and wildlife. It also seemed like this air boat also went much faster when he opened it up.

They also had a demonstration explaining alligators and the owner showed some alligator “wrestling” techniques requiring amazing courage and trust and knowledge of the animal. He was quite the character. He’s just recently bought 1000 alligators from a man running an alligator park in Louisiana who wants to retire and was going to sell them for several hundred thousand dollars for the meat and hides, but the owner of Everglades Holiday Park doesn’t want them destroyed and so is raising the money to buy them. He hasn’t figured out where to put them or how to get them there but he seems determined enough to do it.

I stopped before leaving to have some “gator bites”, like chicken fingers only gator. As I’m sure everyone says, it tasted like chicken.

Tonight there was an Irish singer/guitar player at the pool/bar area for a couple of hours and it was a nice evening to sit around chatting.

Davie, FL

As you’ll note from my last post, my DSLR Camera wasn’t working so I spent some time over the last couple of days finding out what was wrong and doing some shopping for camera equipment. I found a great camera repair place in Winter Park, just to the north of Orlando, who determined the body of my camera was fine, but the lens was shot. It could be repaired but would cost less to buy a new one. I had been lusting after a 18-200mm lens so that I didn’t have to change out my lenses to get zoom capability and still have the ability to take wider shots. Figured now was the time to get that lens and I’ll replace the 18 – 55mm down the road. I bought a lower cost Tamron lens and I hope I’m not disappointed. I also replaced my point and shoot since it had been giving me grief and the technology has come such a long way. So my pics may not be great for a while till I get used to the new equipment.

Yesterday I waved goodbye to Micky and Harry Porter land and started to work my way down to the southern most tip of the continental US. (Key West).

It was all business today, from point A to point B, in the shortest possible route, and that was along the Florida Turnpike. Not an inspiring roadway to say the least, but it was fast and uneventful, always a good thing when driving in traffic. It was also expensive! U.S. $25 in tolls. At least they use a card system so there weren’t multiple stops to pay tolls along the way.

My destination yesterday was Davie, Florida. It’s just a small town a few miles west and a little south of Ft Lauderdale. It’s right near the edge of the Everglades and is again horse country. The KOA is not bad at all, quite small, pretty landscaping where there is space between sites (which is not much and non-existent at my site). It’s got mostly seasonal or permanent campers. Aside from being down last night, the wifi is great. They were hit with the bad winds associated with the storms that created tornadoes a couple of weeks ago and are still cleaning up from it. It’s really handy to Interstate 75 which I’ll take down to Key West, and it’s not far from Ft Lauderdale, Miami and the Everglades.

After setting up I spent a little bit of time cooling down at the pool. I’ve definitely found some hot, humid weather. Just last week I was freezing at night and it was only getting up to 15 degrees during the day. Today it was humid and 28. Not complaining, mind you. 🙂

Then I was off to orient myself. I’m just on the eastern edge of the Everglades here and there are multiple air boat companies taking tourists out. I checked out a couple of them, and I may do both today. There are a gazillion birds everywhere down here, both native population and those wintering here. I checked out the shopping and restaurant situation and found two places in the same mall competing for mani/pedi business so I stopped and took advantage of the cheap price.

Off to see what I can see today.

P.S. Here’s an example of the lens capability. The first pic is shot at 18mm, and the second at it’s telephoto end – 200mm

Port Saint Lucie, FL

Yeehaw Junction, FL

Kissimmee, FL

Orlando, FL

Today I awoke at the crack of dawn and was on the road by just after 8:00 am. Today I was motivated. Today was the day for Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure.

There are several websites and blogs that suggest tips for visiting the Parks. And they’re full of great information on logistics, saving time and money, making the most out of your time there, etc., if you have the time to peruse them. I quickly looked through a couple before taking off this morning and found them really helpful.

My first decision was what kind of ticket to buy. Since I mainly wanted to see the Harry Potter related things, getting a two park pass was necessary since those smart folks at Universal put one section in Universal Studios and one in Islands of Adventure. (But you get to take the Hogwarts Express to go between them.) And one of the tips was to buy the minimum ticket you think you’ll want and then upgrade on the same day if you find you haven’t covered what you wanted to, and want to extend your visit to two or more days. So I got a one day, two park pass. Another tip was that if you buy a ticket on line or on the phone from Universal you save $20 off the ticket kiosk price when you get there. So I made a call, and booked the ticket by phone. I may have saved $20 but it still cost me $165 taxes in. ($ U.S. of course). Anyway, it’s a once in a lifetime experience, right. (BTW, there are places all over town selling discounted tickets, and I didn’t take any time at all exploring that opportunity. Just not trusting enough to buy from a non-direct source)

Second decision was what to do about transportation. I decided that at the end of the day, I was going to be very tired and I ought to make it easy on myself. I did Valet Parking. $40 for all day vs $20 in the Self Park lot. A well spent $20 as my feet will attest at the end of the day.

There is also an Express Pass option, that allows you into a faster line but it was $150 or so and as a single rider and on a Tuesday before spring break really gets started, I figured I didn’t really need one and I didn’t. (Also, the nice young man on the phone told me I could phone back when I got the park if I decided to buy an Express Pass and get the discounted price.)

Next it was the logistics of what order to do things in. Several of the tipsters said to head for the back of the park first since most people work from the front of the park towards the back. And to hit the most popular attractions early in the day before the lines get worse. Pretty standard theme park advice. So I headed to Diagon Alley in the Universal Studios Park first and did the attractions there that I wanted, then took the Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure, and did what I wanted to in the Potter section there, Hogsmeade, then the attractions at the other sections in Islands of Adventure.

Then I took the train back (slightly different on the return trip) and did the things I wanted to do on the Studios side, including watching the parade at 5 pm (which I’m sorry to say is not quite up to the standard of that other Park who shall go nameless), and the 7 pm show Universal Cinematic Spectacular.

The Cinematic Spectacular, was great. Since it’s Universal’s 100 anniversary in the film business they showed clips from hundreds of the movies coming out of their studio. Was great to recognize and remember some of the old ones. They projected the images on a wall of water, and used fountains with coloured lights and fireworks to do a really great presentation.

Of course I came “home” happy but exhausted. I think tomorrow is going to be a pool day.

Oh yes, and just a PS, my DSLR camera quit working altogether yesterday after acting up for the past couple of weeks. So today’s shots are taken with my little point and shoot and my cell phone. Hope to also find someone to take a look at my camera tomorrow and see if I can get it fixed. Sigh.