Checking out the art deco buildings
Today we went to see how the other half lives. Or, if you believe the statistics that are out these days, we went to see how some of the richest 1% of the country live. And there are a bunch of them in Miami!
in the Miami South Beach area
We asked for some places to see and go at the front desk of the RV park. We were given a map and some directions to avoid the freeway and take a smaller road into the city. What a road! Most of it was tree lined, with interesting trees that sometimes met in a tunnel over us. The road followed the coast line into town. First we passed gated communities with many beautiful houses. Then we started passing mansions behind hedges and gates.
Complete with cigarette gals
Then we reached an area in downtown Miami. There were tall skyscrapers, huge hotels, business people, and yachts on the waterfront. We took a causeway over to the South Beach area. We read about an Art Deco area full of architectural wonders. We parked Howie on a sidestreet, and followed a walking tour brochure we had downloaded. This area was famous in the 1930’s, and had been restored mostly in the 1970’s. The buildings, mostly hotels, were all different, but distinctive and fun to see. We walked along the beach side of the sidewalk so we could see more of the buildings. We walked and walked in the hot sun, but there was a huge, dark cloud that was building in the north. The temperature, which had been in the high 80’s, suddenly dropped and the wind picked up.
Ominous black sky!
(waiters were shooing customers inside)
We started to turn around, and then the lightning started and the thunder cracked right over our heads. We stopped on a veranda of a hotel that was undergoing some restoration, but it was deep and sheltered. The heavens opened up, the rain started pounding down, and people were running for shelter.
And the rain CAME!
We watched the storm for about an hour, when the owner of the hotel came out and told us we’d have to leave this verandah, but we were welcome to come through the construction area with him to the lobby on the other side. We said thank you very much and followed him. He had 2 valets come to meet us with umbrellas and walk us across one unprotected area. We sat on another verandah and watched for another while. The thunder and lightning seemed to be gone, and the rain was letting up, so we decided to get back to Howie.
And then it stopped...
After a couple of blocks, the rain came back and soaked us good. But, at least it was warm! The air was cool, which felt good after the heat of the day. We had walked farther than we thought, and it was a bit of a walk back. But we made it. Alas, before we had left Howie, we had opened vents….you guessed it, there was a bit of water in the bathroom. But Howie sure felt good to us at this point!
What every house needs parked out in front...
Driving back across the causeway from South Beach to downtown Miami, we passed some off ramps that led to “islands”. These were full of huge mansions with yachts anchored in front….wonder who lived there? Nobody we know!
By the time we got back to our park, the storm was over. It had lasted about two and a half hours. We had a quick dinner and a dip in the pool and hot tub.
Driving the back streets back to our RV park
Total miles driven today=85
No comments:
Post a Comment