Monday, March 2, 2009

Miami Beach

Saturday was our last warm February day in southern Florida. A cold front is to blow in on Sunday, so we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and hopped on the Tri Rail in Lake Worth and rode the rails all the way to Miami. From that train we transferred to the Metro Rail and got off in downtown Miami at the government center. A block away we climbed on the “S” bus and rode it out to Miami Beach. YES - the water is as blue as it is on TV when we all watch CSI Miami! We kept looking for Horacio or his Hummer but he was nowhere to be found. Maybe it was his day off and his “team” was busy at the office. The bus’s route took us near the famous Lincoln Ave where all the people who want to be seen are! IF it’s to be seen - you’ll see it there. ALL kinds, shapes, styles and colors – and not just the clothes! “Lincoln Ave” is a 3 to 4 block section that has been closed to traffic and filled with trendy shops, fountains, gardens and sidewalk cafes with big squares of colorful patio umbrellas to protect their dining patrons from the noonday sun. Our lunch was an Italian style pizza, baked over a wood fire, at one of the sidewalk cafĂ©’s that had pretty royal blue and white chairs and tables. Each table had a cobalt blue bottle with a large sunflower bloom in it. In spite of the look on my face – the pizza was really good!

All the roads from downtown Miami and out to the beach were lined with bumper-to-bumper cars and the beach itself was wall-to-wall bodies. This picture that H took does not show nearly the amount of flesh that was in different degrees of undress out on that huge long section of sand. The open area is where the lifeguard station was and must be kept open all the way to the shoreline. We took another bus back across the Intercoastal and then rode the People Mover back past the line up of all the mammoth cruise ships patiently waiting to depart from port. Back to the government center and the Metro: back to the Tri Rail and finally back to the “mobile motel” way after dark. Even after H pushed the wrong button on the ticket machine, the whole day’s travel for both of us only cost $10.50! The day was quite an experience – you’ll have to ask us for more details!

And now Sunday is just about over. At noon it was a warm 80 degrees but windy and it got more cloudy and more windy as the morning turned into afternoon. At 2pm the big black clouds rumbled in and it sprinkled but never really rained. At 9pm the temp was down to 59. All the awnings and sunshades in the campground are down and tucked away for safekeeping, including ours. We’re packed and ready to move north in the morning to Wickham Park in Melbourne. Ron and Nancy are there waiting for us!