Posts Tagged With: Miami Beach FL

2018 Trip 3: April 1-3: KY and TN

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Miami Beach, April 3

Miami Ship Channel

Sunday morning was Easter and we headed over to Miami proper to attend 11:30 AM Mass at the first Catholic church in Miami, Gesu Catholic Church. The current church building goes back 90 years. The first Jesuits landed here in 1568, said Mass, met with the Tequesta Indians (none remaining in the area today, any still alive accompanied the Spaniards to Cuba when Spain gave up Florida), performed a religious play for the settlers, and complained about the mosquitos. The service was long, with incense, blessings, over-talked homily, and the first free-for-all Communion service I have seen in years. Everyone just got up at once and started going forward; normally it is much more organized, going up row by row.

Gesu Catholic Church in Miami

We hightailed it over to the Miami History Museum, just a few blocks away. A 1 PM docent tour was our goal and we made it just in time. The docent wanted to wait for any last-minute attendees, so we did-to no avail. It was Chris and I and the docent. The gentleman appeared to be a college student who knew his history well. He gave us a forty minute talk as we toured the exhibits, starting with pre-historic times to current development. Paleo-Indians are thought to have arrived in Florida around 10,000 B.C. The Seminole Indians in Florida are descendants of Creek Indians of Georgia who refused to go on the Trail of Tears that President Jackson and Congress ordered beginning in 1830 removing all Native Americans from the southeast to what is now Oklahoma.

He seemed keen for us to recognize that the Everglades were once more vast than currently; the development of canals and drainage ditches for agriculture and later urban development resulting in a much reduced waterway with major negative environmental impacts. We had a general sense of Florida development, with boom and bust land sales in the 1920s and the big boom after WWII. It is now the 8th largest metro area in the U.S.

Pelicans getting their evening meal at South Beach

Sun and sand and surf were our late afternoon companions. We picked up some towels from the front desk, the blanket from our car and headed to the beach. Besides the normal people-watching, we were entertained by a flock of pelicans who demonstrated their aerial acrobatics as they dove for fish right in front of us. A dad and his four kids raced to build a combined dike and pool before the incoming tides destroyed it. It was a battle between late afternoon sun and increasing shade; and a battle between the sand fort and surging seas. Shade and seas were the victors. We stayed late enough to watch the four scheduled cruise ships departing the Port of Miami. Dinner was take-out from the local, uniquely Miami Beach sandwich shop two blocks away with dinner in our unit.

Monday was all day beach. We were there by 9:30 AM; this time renting an umbrella and two lounge chairs right by the ocean. We did not leave until 5 PM, watching two of the four scheduled cruise ships depart. Our memorable people-watching event of the day was a group of five who were at the beach as long as we were. Our constructed story for the five consists of Mom (Brazilian or French, recently divorced from her rich husband, and she has had some physical enhancements performed), her twin teen-age daughters, her teen-age son, and her much younger than her personal trainer/masseuse (PT/M). The PT/M must have rubbed several bottles of suntan lotion onto her body, along with some onto the three teenagers, although admittedly more on the daughters. Three couples from probably the Newark-New York area happened to move their chairs closer to the beach later in the afternoon. The three women turned their chairs back to the late afternoon sun and got an up close and personal view of the lotion application process. They had a great time watching and commenting. In contrast, Chris and I were much more restrained.

Several of the iconic Miaim Beach Lifeguard stations

We reminisced about past Miami Beach experiences: the severely ill or anorexic woman doing her yoga exercises; or the man who had obviously hired a woman for the day and was taking pictures of her in different poses; or the photo shoot (never did determine what the purpose of the shoot was) that involved both horses and bulls and young women; or the young men tossing bean bags at each other aiming for the other’s genitals; or the rainy weather that had us strolling the convention center looking for exhibits and vendors that did not involve us paying for admission; or the hours we used to spend at the library checking work emails (now that goes back a while); or the hucksters practicing age discrimination by visiting many young people on the beach to offer them free admission to night clubs but somehow never came over to us; or the young couple where the man spent the entire day on his cell phone talking to his investment advisor.

Dinner was at an Irish pub but we did not eat Irish. Instead, surprisingly good chicken and pork meals with excellent sauce provided enough food for last night’s dinner and a take-home container for later in the week.

Daytime views of Ocean Drive Miami Beach

Today, Tuesday, we went for a walk down to South Pointe, the southern end of Miami Beach that has developed remarkably in the last 5-8 years. The Miami Ship Channel is there with opportunities to obtain close views of the ships passing through. Nothing dramatic today though although we have been there previously when cruise ships have gone out. Several hotels, most notable being the Ritz-Carlton, the Tides, the Raleigh, are still closed and undergoing renovations from last fall’s hurricane.

The afternoon was back on the beach, nothing dramatic to report. Dinner was our splurge for the week, eating next door at the LT Steak House in the Betsy Hotel. Live jazz was the inducement to spend a bit more than usual.

Ed and Chris April 3

Epilogue: Snippets on life in America from Chris
Day 19: When did leisure time develop in our society? Many communities that we visit depend on big and small tourism. The railroads moved, manufacturing closed, farming changed. Towns that wanted to continue vibrant latched on to a tourist niche-art, nature, music, a unique experience. Come visit and spend your money here.

Categories: road trip, travel | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

2018 Trip 3: March 29-31: KY and TN

Posted on April 1, 2018 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Miami Beach FL. March 31

Cruise ship leaving Miami as seen from our lodging in Miami Beach

As promised, the blog posts are stretching out as we do more relaxing than traveling. The breakfast at Battleview B and B lived up to Chris’ comments about B and B breakfasts; nutritious and wide-ranging in items offered. Our plan was to not rush out the door since Atlanta is but 100 miles away and we hoped to avoid its rush hour traffic. Well, the plan was adhered to but the hope of avoiding traffic was fruitless. We even added on an extra, spontaneous stop hoping it might get us past traffic jams.

Breakfast at Battleview B and B

As we were driving down the road, a sign for Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park appeared. Google Maps was still showing red for heavy Atlanta traffic and we had not visited Kennesaw back in the fall of 2016 when we were last in this area. Who can pass up the chance to obtain one more National Park Service stamp in their NPS “Passport to Your National Parks”? Not us; we are around 220 of 417 and still adding more.

Kennesaw was busy, we had to park in the overflow parking lot a block away. This site is part of the battle for Atlanta as Union General William T. Sherman was pressing Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston for control of the area. Sherman was on his march to the sea plundering and burning supplies, buildings, manufacturing and transportation to destroy the Confederates ability to wage war. Atlanta was a key site. Kennesaw Mountain was the last major mountainous area between Chattanooga and Atlanta and Johnston had fortified the area well.

One view of Kennesaw Mountain

It was May of 1864 and the North was getting tired of war; Lincoln was facing opposition from General McClellan for re-election as President and it seemed only a major victory could provide for his re-election. A series of minor skirmishes and flanking maneuvers were not providing a victory although Sherman was getting closer to Atlanta each time. In late June 1864, a series of full force battles at Kennesaw Mountain forced the Confederates to give up the fortified positions and retreat. By early September, Atlanta was in Union hands and Lincoln had the victory that guaranteed his re-election two months later.

One poignant circumstance was detailed in the video and displays. At the “Dead Angle”, the fighting was fierce and numerous bodies, primarily Union, were left in the middle of the Battlefield with troops on either side of the bodies. After two days of a lull in the battle here, the two sides agreed to a brief cease-fire to bury the rotting bodies of the dead and tend to the wounded. Union and Confederate troops worked together to accomplish this, even going so far as to share food and water and spend some time in games of chance. When the cease-fire ended, they went back to killing and maiming each other.

We resumed our travel and arrived in the Atlanta area around 12:30 PM. The traffic was horrendous, six to eight lanes in either direction, fully clogged and moving slowly. We later discovered two facts: A. Atlanta is ranked number 8 in the world for traffic problems; and B. A couple from Atlanta we met later in the day indicated they had been driving there at the same time and thought the traffic was actually better than usual for that time of day.

Miami Beach Friday evening

Lake City Florida was our overnight stopping point before the final drive to Miami Beach. Miami is another traffic hotspot but we lucked out on Friday and had no major issues arriving at our lodging by 3 PM. Our room was ready and after unloading, we headed up the street to have a late lunch at the Front Porch, one of our usual hangouts. After a restful nap, we walked the boardwalk and enjoyed the almost full moon. This week, there are no major conventions or events going on; just spring breakers and regular tourists so the streets and walkways were quieter than usual. A pleasant way to wrap up the day.

On Saturday, we used the whirlpool and roof top area to relax and enjoy the weather. Saturday evening we headed over to the New World Symphony. New World is a training ground for musicians who aspire to join major orchestras as professional musicians. The students have already received bachelor and master degrees from major colleges around the country. 87 students receive up to three years of paid training; the goal for many is to land a gig prior to the three years being completed. Chris and I have been coming to their performances for years; they used to be housed in an old movie theater on Lincoln Drive. Now they have a Frank Gehry designed campus including a performance venue, practice rooms and living accommodations.

Home of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach FL

Before the concert, two of the musicians gave an informal discussion of the evening’s music, then answering questions about the music and their own background. Tonight’s music was described as relatively new compositions in a minimalist style. We were told the composers were more interested in process and in presenting rhythm and tonality. I hope that you understand that better than I did. Once I heard the music, though, the comments made more sense. Even I could recognize set tones being repeated with varying background changes.

My two favorites were the first piece: A Short Ride on a Fast Machine by John Adams; and the last piece: many loves by Samuel Adams (son of John Adams who was also the conductor for the performance). Fast Ride is well-known and one can hear recordings of it on the Internet-it is only four minutes long.

Ed and Chris April 1. Happy Easter

Epilogue: Snippets on life in America from Chris
Day 16: Sorry family in MN and MA. After two weeks on the road, we have finally arrived to sun and warmth-Miami Beach. We all know that we cannot control Mother Nature. Fortunately, we are driving this trip so we have multiple types of jackets, shoes, and warm headgear.

Categories: road trip, travel | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Blog at WordPress.com.