Miami (without Dexter)

To end our East Coast road trip we had a great hotel on South Beach (Sagamore). It was spacious, minimalist and full of art. We had adjoining rooms and with a free bottle of wine quickly got into a bit of a party mode. The beach area is huge and we largely had it to ourselves when we set off for a pre-dinner walk.

Miami claims to be the Art Deco centre of USA and the beach front has many good examples albeit very much a noisy strip. We settled for dinner at an Italian restaurant where a good guitarist helped the ambiance Unfortunately some of the time his efforts had to compete with the next door entertainment of someone crooning Frank Sinatra numbers. Initially, I thought is was a karaoke night, however I was wrong. Helen, is the first to admit she has never knowingly hit a note – this guy was not only worse but additionally did not recognise his inability. It was disappointing for us - but imagine working as a waiter and listening to that each night.

The pool area was too enticing even for Helen and we had a great half hour to ourselves after breakfast albeit the water was slightly more invigorating than originally anticipated.

We decided on a Hop on Hop off tour which involved two buses – one around the beach area and the second around the city. Boats and mansions abounded on the first bus with gated communities on islands accessed by their own bridges. If only we recognised some of the names that were flouted.

However, the high rise backdrop was never far away.

The city tour was perhaps the worst bus tour we have experienced with little to see while travelling at high speed. Mind you it was the first to travel along a freeway. What commentary was available was made inaudible due to the high speed generated wind. One exception was this camouflaged building, it would be nice to imagine it was the HQ of Greenpeace but was more probably a car park. Helen was particularly perturbed that despite her interest in Miami thanks to the TV series Dexter, he never rated a mention by anybody. Another dream dashed!

Back on the beach for the evening we decided on a Cuban restaurant and were recommended one on Lincoln Road. It was excellent, different but great food with the best service we had experienced all trip (he was Italian). An excellent last supper. 

The shops along the street were also of a high standard with some great Art Deco examples.

Some extraordinary specialty stores – anyone for earrings?

And a great ambiance. We did stumble across another Peter Lik gallery and this time Helen and I managed to part with some funds.

We returned back to the hotel and once more Robin could not help playing up (note the signage between him and Pam).

A wonderful road trip with special thanks to Pam for all her planning and Robin for his regular quips. As for the trip I have a few headline memories:

• Never being able to say thank you to a waiter without generating the response "Your welcome" - still at least its a change to the last visit's response of "perfect" which this time we never heard once!
• I have never seen or had so much lobster in my life.
• We never saw a Happy Hour that was actually 1 hour long.

Del Tura (Fort Myer) to Key West

From the Golf Hall of Fame we had a long drive to Pam and Robin’s house in Del Tura near Fort Myer on the West coast of Florida and arrived close to midnight. The next day was for recovery and comprised a local tour and then drinks in the courtyard to watch the sun go down. 

The back overlooks the 1^st hole which rather epitomises this part of the world which since the coast South of Washington has been staggeringly flat. The car had an elevation reading and I cannot recall going above 20 metres anywhere and on more than one occasion was "up to" - 8 metres. 

The drive around included Fort Myers where there is the winter home that Edison designed and built for himself in 1885. He brought his new bride a year later and in 1916 his good mate Henry Ford also decided to build next door.

All the building materials were brought in from Maine as there are little but mangoes in the area. Also imported was this Banyon tree which was the first in the area and is about 140 years old.

Our first visit South as we headed off to the Keys was Naples. This is millionaires (+) strip. Some of the houses here were enormous with many half a block wide.

Pelican housing was a little more crowded with “hot post” often required.

Our Key West hotel overlooked the Gulf and had a wonderful bar with live music and Happy Hour from 4 until 7. Great Pina Coladas.

After which we had to make our way across the flamboyant suspension bridge over the resorts own quays to the restaurant.

We spent some time relaxing by the pool being entertained by the occasional goanna. There were security personnel around and we soon realised it was there job to chase of these beasts! One actually got up on a chair and helped himself to someone's lunch which gave rise to some panic, squeals and oaths!

The lively intrusion was in stark contrast to the view.

The Keys are a series of islands in a SW direction from the Florida peninsula. The Southernmost point is a mere 90 miles from Cuba. Some 46 of the islands are now joined by the “Overseas Highway”. This is an amazing construction that cost over 200 lives in 1935 when construction workers could not be evacuated in time before being hit by a category 5 hurricane.

The longest connection is called 7 Mile bridge (it really a little under that) and was preceded by a now abandoned railway bridge completed in 1910.

“Keys” is derived from the Spanish Cayo, which aligns with to our more usual Quays. Alligators abound and we saw this one at a viewing point on the way down.

At Key West we stayed at Chelsea B&B. This was a little different to any B&B I have been to with no sign of the owners, staff from Europe and South America and breakfast outside by the pool which is OK except when it rains.

We were around the corner from Hemingway’s house and from the balcony you could see the original light house. This is the high point of the area at some 3 metres.

Hemingway was at his most prolific here during his marriage to second wife Pauline. She purchased and provided the house and also built the pool. It cost more than the house as it had to be hand excavated. Hemingway reportedly tossed his last penny in the pool implying that its construction was frivolous and now he had nothing – a bit ironic being as he was supported by all his (4) wives. As a reaction he brought a urinal that was being thrown out from his local. It was integrated into the garden with the help of a large vase and can be seen in the bottom right of the photo.

He was cat mad and particularly liked those with 6 claws. Their (40 – 50) descendants still live on the premises and seem to find the additional appendage very tiring.

Interestingly they do have enough energy to reach across and drink from the water flowing over the side of the vase rather than from the old urinal.  

This at first glance may seem like blocks of flats but is in fact the cemetery built above ground due to the high water table and hard coral bedrock.

We decided on a sunset cruise on this party boat.

As is often the case cloud got in the was of a pure sunset but it was nonetheless colourful.

It was particularly pleasant on the lower deck at the front where the bow water could be heard over the caribbean party music of the upper deck. A wonderful evening with perfect temperature.

On the way back we were drawn into a Peter Lik gallery where Pam and Robin dispensed a few thousand dollars. Peter is an Australian and has some remarkable photos and developing techniques (worth googling).

Finally we ended up at a bar for a nightcap watching the Supremes. These ladies have been strutting their stuff for some 30 years and were very entertaining.

Washington revisited (an apology from the editor)

When we were in Miami we had a chance to catch up and read the papers. This made interesting reading it appears that contrary to my conclusion that the activity at the White House was an exercise it appears to have been a real incident. The earlier commentary regarding the man on the roof videoing the incident was incorrect as he has binoculars on a tripod.

 

Below is an article from The Nation 23 September 2014. The incident we saw was on Thursday 11 September rather than the reported Friday. 

Nonetheless it was pretty exciting and Robin got some great video which is worth watching (unlike me there are only a couple of occasions where he has videoed the floor). This is the uncut version which, as I have not managed to save it in a suitable file format, is provided as a link. I hasten to add that any commentary is not necessarily supported by this blogger!!

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bxo9sLqTPvC4U2E1Y19PRi1OYTg/edit

The World Golf Hall of Fame

Being avid golfers Pam incorporated a little stopover between Savannah and their winter pad in Fort Myer. It is near St Augustine and is a large golf resort with the Hall of Fame in the middle. Robin and I did the tour while the girls did a bit of shopping. Within the Hall we were the only two visitors – we did see three people working. From our perspective it was great although how the finances work is a mystery.

The museum is over two levels and has a tower.

The displays start with a number of rooms featuring Bob Hope. The attraction of the range of videos running was hard to get away from – he was a very funny man.

 

You then move into a history of golf. An early form of the game was Kolf (first recorded in 1296) where the targets were doorways, posts etc and used feather stuffed balls. Chole was another form where teams of three hit towards a target up to 12 miles away. When each had had a turn the other team hit back to the start. (It sounds like this could easily be an all day affair).

One of the earliest shots of the modern game was this of the Old Couse Swilcan Bridge c 1855 which was originally built to enable packhorses carrying mussels to cross the burn. 

The Hall itself is spacious and has brass plaques of those who have been invited into the hall.

Here are two well known non-American culprits.

We then travelled up the tower where there is a great view of the course (it is  immaculate but again not too busy).

The view to the other side is also awesome and shows the tee for “The Challenge” (bottom left) and the target (middle distance).

At the top of the tower is a crystal sculpture comprising 162 lead crystal prisms each of which took 48 hours to produce. They apparently follow the arc of a “Perfect Swing” which is the name of the sculpture. I am guessing that my swing looks nothing like this.

Towards the end of the exhibits is a locker room. Here is the “Golden Bear’s” equipment which was similar to what he used in 1961. He was in the class of 1974 induction.

Almost as ancient is this golf buggy and behind it a mechanical golf swing machine for testing clubs.

As part of our entrance fee we were allowed two attempts at the Challenge. Robin’s swing may need a little work given what we learned in the Hall of Fame. As for the result – well that is secret men’s business.

A Tale of two cities (mainly)

After a great rest (equivalent to at least two days at sea) we headed South. Steve and Jilly also joined us for these couple of days. We had a quick leg stretch at Georgetown en route to Charleston. The water front has two distinct views. The Boardwalk to cafes and pleasure craft. 

And the other way to the industrial area of scrap metal and pulp mill! The town itself looked to be a little quiet however we did manage to get a good coffee in town as well as introduce the proprietor to the potential marketing of the application “Bean Hunter”. (The application suggested the nearest coffee shop was over 80 kms away!) 

However, our main focus for the day was an overnight stop at Charleston. We explored the town on foot in an effort to be energetic rather than succumb to the horse and carriage mode used in our last visit. It is a wonderfully colourful town with its own architectural style. One aspect is the penchant for balconies at the side of buildings. This helps to catch the airflow generated by breezes between the buildings.

The gardens that some of these balconies overlook are very neat with plenty of cool shade.

Another trait is the Charleston brick wall which is distinct but pleasing when tempered with lots of greenery.

The town was heavily involved in the various American wars and the confluence of the Cooper and Ashley rivers as they enter the bay has the mandatory Battery park.

Some of the cannon (or mortars) on display were remarkable. This 13 inch 1863 mortar was one of 4 on display and are some of the oldest in the world.

En-route to our second city we called in on the “Angel Oak”. This is a very old tree estimated to be somewhere between 300 and 400 years of age and apparently about half way through its life.

The branches have got progressively heavier over the years and are either propped up or have met the ground and then try and  rise  upwards again. The resultant configuration is right out of Tolkein.

Here are some of the more modern day but no less small Hobbits.

Upon our arrival at Savannah we had a quick rest and then went to explore. The city has the normal grid plan but, at every other block intersection, there is a park with large shady trees and surrounded, in most cases, by historical buildings. It is just wonderful to meander around. Again we were good and did not succumb to other forms of transport despite the heat. I think the horse preferred this treatment to working anyway.

Many had fountains….

All had wonderful trees…

And the surrounding architecture was varied (brick, masonry, timber) and in most cases (ignoring the one with a modern day car park) pleasing….

Closer inspection also threw up some quaint ideas such as these fishy downpipes.

or the more quirky (note the dead one at bottom left).

Our hotel (the Bohemian) was in a prime position on the waterfront. The waterfront has been claimed by new buildings but the old river wall still remains behind them with (fixed not draw) bridges to enable access.

Upstream is a thriving port and our balcony on the 4^th floor had magnificent views which were occasionally blocked by huge vessels. The ships were so close that it was not possible to get them all in one shot even with a wide angle lens.

Below our balcony was the WWII war memorial aptly named “Worlds Apart”. The only down side to what is an imaginative sculpture is that Australia is in the foundations! However, a local proudly showed us a little pin mark which shows the location of Savannah.

The hotel (like many others) had the normal Happy Hour from 4 – 7 (really Maths here needs improving) which was held at the rooftop bar. We were treated to a spectacular sunset.

The following morning we had a further walk around more of the squares, said goodbye to Steve and Jilly (having made plans to catch up next year) and then headed South to Florida.