Miami Nice

We started Wednesday with an Art Deco tour of Miami Beach. The tour was run by the Miami Design Preservation League. Usually, tours run by a nonprofit are good. Unfortunately our tour guide did not manage time well, spending too much time on basic introduction to Art Deco and less time on touring the area. Nevertheless, we learned a lot about Art Deco in Miami Beach. First, tourism in Miami Beach developed in the early 20th century as a playground for the wealthy elite. However, a powerful hurricane hit Miami in 1926 and destroyed many buildings. They were rebuilt in the popular style of the time: Art Deco! That explains why Miami Beach has such a large collection of Art Deco buildings along the waterfront. However, these Art Deco buildings look a bit different from what we saw in Paris last fall: we learned that the Miami Beach buildings are in a tropical Art Deco style, using tropical and pastel colors. When the Miami Beach Art Deco buildings fell into disrepair in the 1960s and 1970s, a movement grew to preserve these buildings, which was also bolstered by the hit TV show, Miami Vice. Now you know, too! These buildings are mostly boutique hotels, and Art Deco architecture is found both in the exterior and interior.

After the tour, we drove back to the mainland. As we passed the cruise ship terminals, we were surprised that they were totally empty. Seems that cruises don't start on a Wednesday, not even during peak season. Next, we went to Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden. The garden has several different ecosystems including a rainforest and a desert, though the latter seems odd for Miami. The indoor exotic butterfly garden was Amy's favorite, and Greg enjoyed photographing the butterflies. They also had a Chihuly sculpture, but we see plenty of those around Seattle.

We walked throughout the garden and saw perhaps the largest crocodile of our trip.

For the evening, we visited Irv and Irina, colleagues of Greg for over 25 years. We spent a long evening discussing work, travel, retirement and more. It was Irv's suggestion to visit Fairchild Garden, which was perfect for us. Irv and Irina have a lovely home with a huge bar and an even more impressive orchid garden. And they made sure to get a key lime pie from Fookem's Fabulous, and it was indeed fabulous, as advertised. Visiting friends has been a highlight of this trip. Who knows, dear reader, you might be next! In fact, we're starting our return trip tomorrow, taking about a month to visit friends and places along the way. We will be driving the next few days, so it may be a bit until our next update.