Escape from Rochester - South Beach and Miami

Major power poles down on Winton Road, right around
the corner

After having no power for five days as a result of a horrific windstorm, we had power restored Sunday night around 8:00.  This was just in time since we planned to leave Rochester for Florida the next day.  Monday was especially important because of the pending nor'easter snow storm that was forecast to begin late Monday and last two days.  In short, if we couldn't leave Monday, we probably would not be able to leave Rochester till the following Thursday and likely Friday.

That's our house behind the snow mound!

As you can see in this photo, it was good that we were able to leave Monday.  The storm provided Rochester with over two feet of snow and pretty much shut down the city for Tuesday and some of Wednesday.  It didn't stop snowing until late Wednesday night.

While Rochester was preparing for this blizzard, we were driving south in a hurry.  We got to Charlotte the first night where we stayed with Liam and Marcie.  We left first thing the next morning but did have some time to visit with the kids.  Liam had to fly to Raleigh the night we arrived so our time with him was even shorter.

The next day we drove to Orlando and then the next day we arrived at our hotel in South Beach on Miami Beach.  While the weather was coolish, it felt really good to us, especially in light of what we had left behind.  We arrived by mid afternoon and began to explore.  Our hotel was right on Washington with five minute walk to the beach and to almost every other point of interest including Lincoln Road area which is essentially and outdoor mall with stores on both sides of the street except the street is closed to cars and is a pleasant pedestrian walkway filled with out door restaurants.

It was in one of these that we decided to enjoy some time with a hookah.  Marilyn added a mango martini.  While it was good, she said it didn't compare to a straight martini made by our good friend Tom McFadden.  (By the way, Tom and Monica are spending these three weeks in Florence Italy.)  Marilyn quite enjoyed the hookah.  In fact, she got better at it than I was and seriously considered loading up another pipe.

We were introduced to to the hookah by a charming young woman who served us.  Her name was Alexandria and she was from Serbia.  She was in the U.S. to improve her English.  Even though she has been uncomfortable by the propose changes in the immigration system and its impact on her, she looks forward to extending her time here, if possible.  She plans to return home and continue her studies in Agricultural Science.  She is specializing in milk and meat.  We had a great time with her but we didn't return for more hookah.  In part, that was because Marilyn decided to move on to mojitos which she enjoyed although still not as much as a McFadden martini.  You can view more photos of South Beach including our hotel some of the places we ate by clicking here.

The next morning, I got up early as I usually do and walked to the beach to see the sunrise.  I was not disappointed.  I took way too many photos...because I just couldn't help myself.  The photo above is a pretty predictable sunrise photo as nice as it is.  This one is a little less predictable but I think a better image because of the way it captures a part of a sunrise that most people probably missed because they are looking at the sun rising.  Natural, I suppose.  I also got down to the beach for sun rise the next day.  You can view more photos of both sun rises by clicking here.

The next day, we decided to take a tour bus ride around South Beach, Miami Beach and several communities in Miami.  There were some fantastic views, many of which we have all seen on television shows set in Miami.  We were seated on the upper deck, of course, and I managed to get some nice shots although traveling at highway speeds, I wasn't able to get all the views I wanted.  The one here is cool because a police boat was maneuvering  just we were passing over MacArthur Causeway.  I thought it has an kind of Miami Vice feel.  When I get home, I might clone that pesky pole out of the frame!

Girls posing and photographing in front of one of the
many murals throughout Little Havana.

Miami is an amazing city: diverse and vibrant.  We passed through a variety of neighborhoods:  downtown with soaring skyscapers, Brickell district known as the Latin American Wall Street,
Bay Front, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Little Havana, Wynwood, and the full length of Miami Beach with wonderful views of the art deco buildings which are all now protected against exterior changes.  We also saw work being done to prevent flooding from rising sea levels at various locations.  Funny how that science thing just won't go away.

We also went through the MacFarlane Neighborhood in Coconut Grove.  This is the area where Bahamians who had been brought to Miami to build Coconut Grove stayed after the construction.  It was essentially a ghetto and is still a poor area right next to an extremely wealthy one.  We also learned that in early 20th century African-Americans were restricted to a walled ghetto and could only leave at night with a work permit.  While Jews were not behind a wall, they too were restricted to live in only a section of Miami Beach.  When the 60,000 Cubans arrived as refugees from the revolution in the late fifties, no hospital would care for them except Mercy Hospital which is still caring for the community.  Today, more than 60 percent of the Miami-Dade population is Latino.  For more photos of our tour click here.

The next day we left Miami and headed for Key West.by   But we made a stop at Vizcaya for three hours to view this remarkable property.  "Vizcaya, the winter residence of James Deering (1859–1925), was built between 1914 and 1922 in the Coconut Grove area of Miami. The estate was entirely surrounded by subtropical forest—the Main House and the formal gardens appeared as a dreamlike vision in the midst of the jungle on the shores of Biscayne Bay. Today, Vizcaya is an oasis of silence and green, miraculously preserved just south of Miami’s modern skyline."  The property originally included a 180 acres which has been reduced to 80.  The house is an example of the Gilded Age in winter homes.  The gardens are large and formal and were meant, as was the house, to communicate wealth, power, culture and learning.  Click here to see more photos our visit of Vizcaya.

Next stop:  Key West.