Miami Beach Art Deco

By Claire

We left Miami this morning and headed to Miami Beach-- a separate city, not just some sandy appendage of the metropolis across the bay.  SoBe, or South Beach, is the heart of Miami Beach. It's the American Riveria, funky and eclectic and hip and young and eccentric and historic. Its residents are artists and writers and models and musicians.  I loved it.  Arriving early, we wandered around the main drag and Ocean Drive, where our Art Deco walking tour would begin.  We had been told to allow at least 1-1/2 hours for the 25 mile drive across town, due to the vagaries of Miami commute traffic.

 

Ocean Drive

 

The beach is amazing--huge, white and scattered with cabañas.  The water is a beautiful aqua.

 

Cute lifeguard station

Uh oh, is Dexter nearby?

Even the Miami Police Department is housed in a nice building

 

 

Our tour began inside the Miami Design and Preservation League Building. This is a Mid-century Modern, or Miami Modern, as they call it.

 

Directly behind it, is the Beach Patrol Headquarters.  It was designed to resemble a cruise ship.

 

Our guide, Kenn Finkle, told us that Miami Beach used to be referred to as "God's Waiting Room" because everyone was old.  He remembers his grandmother sitting on a webbed beach chair on the porch of her hotel, along with a number of other old ladies.  After they all died off (that's what he said), younger people began coming and the whole area changed. The area went through many stages and eventually fell to ruin during the sixties when drugs were sold everywhere and many of the old hotels were vandalized and nearly destroyed. 

Barbara Capitman became a preservationist in 1975 as a means of making new friends after the death of her husband, William, at 53.  Within four years, despite opposition by the Miami Beach city manager and Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Capitman and her Design Preservation League won listing of the mile-square district on the National Register of Historic Places, providing federal tax incentives for restoration. The area is the only district with 20th-Century architecture in the register.

 

This Mediterranean Revival-style Edison Hotel is where Clark Gable was billetted during WWII.  They had to keep moving him around because he was being bombarded by autograph seekers.

 

This all white Art Deco style is what all the buildings were until the eighties. Note the "eyebrows" over the windows.  The term "art deco" was coined in 1966, after an exhibition in Paris, 'Les Années 25,' sub-titled Art Deco, celebrating the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) in Paris that was the culmination of style moderne. 

 

An example of the marquee style--The Congress Hotel

 

Detail from The Congress Hotel

 

Another formerly all white building--it wouldn't sell so they "spruced" it up with a touch of blue. But, it is still on the market. Interested in a condo unit for a million bucks?

 

Porthole style with curves

 

Gianni Versace's house. The Italian designer was gunned down on the steps of his mansion, the only privately owned residence on Ocean Drive.  It is the 3rd most photographed private residence in the U.S., after The White House and Graceland.  It now houses a restaurant on the ground floor.

 

A mix of Miami Beach styles

 

Hotel Victor is one of the most celebrated and revered of all South Beach resorts since it's original opening in 1937.  The historic hotel's origins date back to the work of famed French designer Jacques Garcia, an artist whose striking creation of the gorgeous Parisian hotel known as Hotel Costes gained renown for him overseas.

 

The first scene in the first episode of Miami Vice was filmed in front of this hotel, The Carlyle.

 

Lummus Park, where Sonny Crockett chased down some bad guys--directly across from the Hotel Carlyle.

 

1939 Cardozo Hotel, where Frank Sinatra filmed "A Hole in the Head."  The hotel is named after Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo.  "Owned by International Superstar Gloria Estefan and her Grammy Award winning producer–husband, Emilio, this prestigious hotel possesses the couple’s flair, pizzazz, and multi-cultural ambience." 

 

Tallest building in the area

 

 

I guess it's easier than paint

 

Parking Garage

 

  
Nice cars

 

I'm trying to imagine this all white

 

Our guide referred to this as a "monstrosity."  The regulation about new buildings is that--though they need not copy adjacent buildings--they should not conflict with them.  This structure seems to flout that rule.

 

Love the curves and eyebrows

 

Designed by Henry Hohauser and built in 1938, the Essex House Hotel and Suites Miami Beach is said to be one of Hohauser's best designs. The hotel has been painted to bring out its nautical modern quality.

The rules of restoration in Miami Beach refer only to the outside appearance of buildings; owners are permitted to do pretty much what they please with the interiors.  I suspect this is a general rule, as we have encountered this in other locations on the trip.  This makes sense; otherwise it would be even more difficult to re-purpose and revitalize the buildings for modern clients and guests who have come to expect amenities not originally available--air conditioning, for example.  Otherwise, the buildings would likely be destroyed and lost. 

Inside Essex House.  Those mail slots sure would come in handy for absentee ballots.

 

Note the lobby's original fireplace and mural of the Everglades from the thirties by Earl LaPan.  And therein lies a story.  When he originally did the mural, tourists were so unaware of Miami Beach, confusing it with the Everglades, that they believed alligators cruised the streets at night, eating the unaware.  So, the owners insisted that this Everglades scene contain none of these exotic creatures.  Wanting the commission, LaPan reluctantly agreed.  After many years, hard times and significant deterioration, new owners heard the artist was still alive and wanted him to restore the work.  He had one stipulation:  That they let him include his alligator.  He was thrilled at this opportunity to complete the painting as it was intended 50 years after the fact.  He died 3 years later.  If you look very closely, above the rear of the canoe, where the water meets the land, you can just barely make out a dark squiggle--that is the alligator. 

Our tour went beyond 2 hours and we were hungry.  We found a café nearby and both opted for the tamale casserole which turned out to be more of a soup with white rice and plantains.  Outstanding!

 

We heard reports of Hurricane Sandy heading for the east coast of Miami.  Our next destination is in the Keys so we were concerned.  I checked weather reports and contacted our condo in Key Colony, but no one seemed particularly worried and the weather reports are mostly for a tropical storm with some wind and rain.  It was 88º so it isn't anything like a winter storm.  We decided to go ahead.  Unfortunately, after the stress of getting out of Miami--the traffic is murder--we saw a large digital sign warning us of a major crash about 40 miles ahead in the Keys.  Sure enough, the traffic eventually came to a standstill and stretched as far as the eye could see.  It probably delayed us an hour, and we finally came upon an enormous motor home that had crashed and burned.  We don't know what happened, and just hope the people inside made it out safely.

We did finally arrive at the Continental Inn, our vacation spot for a few days.  Each of the units is privately owned and ours is very nice. The bathroom and kitchen are quite new.  We were delighted to be greeted by a Welcome Bag of starter items, including coffee, trail bars, salt and pepper and two bottles of water.  It has a complete kitchen with eating area, a living area with sofa and chair, and a sleeping area with a king size bed.  We overlook the pool.  The best part is that with our AAA card $10 discount and fall prices, it's only $85 per night!  We plan to enjoy ourselves and ride out the storm.  After all, if we survived Le Mistral in Provence in a camper, we can surely weather this.  I just hope we don't lose power.  At least I have my Kindle and my reading light.  We certainly won't freeze.  The low tonight will be 79º.

 

You know what they say about architecture, it's like frozen music.  ~  Izzy Moreno (from Miami Vice)

Little Havana

By Claire

Today was full of nice surprises.  The sunrise was the first; I leaned out on the railing to take it in and enjoy the soft, warm air--it was already in the 70s.  I love it and I'm loving Florida.  This, I didn't expect.

 

We had quite a few things to accomplish today:  drive to Miami, lunch in Little Havana, shop at Costco, relax at our hotel.  I'm frankly amazed at how well we do with the driving.  In fact, we drove to the exact spot we wanted to be in Little Havana on Calle Ocho (8th St.), El Pub.  I had looked up places to eat on Yelp for authentic Cuban food and this one got great reviews.    We found a place to park right in front.  While I took some photos, Chuck went in search of the parking pay booth.  He kept trying to use his credit card when a guy came up to him speaking in rapid Spanish with lots of hand gestures, tried to tell him that it takes cash only.  I think the expression on Chuck's face alerted the guy to the fact that he didn't understand a word he was saying.  Fortunately, he kindly switched to English.  We cautiously walked into the restaurant.

 

 

And authentic it was.  The waitress barely spoke English.  In fact, everyone was speaking Spanish and we felt as if we were in a foreign country again!  We ordered café con leche and what a delight it was.  We were each served a cup of steamed milk with a small cup of espresso for us to add.  Delicioso!  And I thought the cappuccinos in Italy were so great.  Our motivation for coming to Miami was really all about one of our favorite shows, "Dexter."  We even listened to the soundtrack as we approached the city (thanks Pat!).  And then, of course, there is "Miami Vice."  I just really wanted to see Miami, and Little Havana is right in the middle of it all.  We had to try a pork sandwich--it's Dexter's favorite!

 

I'm not going to say it was great; but it wasn't bad.  It was sliced pork (not pulled pork with barbque sauce) with mustard and pickle.  The bread was buttered and grilled.  It was pretty enormous so guess what we're having for dinner?

The restaurant had lots of murals and Cuban memorabilia, a number of old Cuban guys sitting around, with a few tourists sprinkled here and there.  I'm sure we blended right in...

 

The outside area was where the cigar smokers sit.  We chose to sit inside instead.

 

We strolled through the neighborhood noticing the color and the music.  Cuban music was flowing out of a couple of shops and one guy was playing on the sidewalk.

 

 

We spotted this ice cream store and headed in. It was 90º and the humidity was cookin'!

We wondered what the Mantecado flavor was; the guy at the counter told us it was vanilla ice cream with nutmeg and cinnamon.  How could we pass it up?  I ordered the tiniest one I could and when he started to put a second scoop on I told him to add it to Chuck's, which he did.  Wow!  What a great flavor.  I'm going to try to make it at home.

Nicely refreshed, we strolled some more.  I loved this Domino Club.

 

Each table had domino games going and you can see they also had lots of spectators.

Next up was Costco.  We have a 3 day vacation on the beach coming up, so we stocked up on fruit and sandwich things.  The driving was a little hairy; but I kept telling myself it was no worse than San Francisco.  There are lots of cloverleafs and toll booths.  We saw signs that told us we could not exit unless we had a Sun Pass--no cash accepted.  It was all quite confusing. What are out-of-towners supposed to do?  The other problem that came up a few times was when the toll booths that did take cash were always way over on the right and Vicky was telling us to get to the left to merge onto another freeway.  Our favorite was the sign that said "Pay Toll by License Plate."  There was no choice in this, and I guess we'll be getting a bill for $.75 (50 cent toll plus 25 cent administrative fee). 

In spite of the twists and turns, we drove like pros and found all three destinations without a hitch (well almost--I didn't mention taking off a little too soon and driving a few more miles to correct ourselves.  Thank goodness for those cloverleafs--Vicky is quite good at correcting our mistakes).  Our Marriot Courtyard is really nice--and brand new.  Our room is huge, and the pool and hot tub were welcome.  We have one more day here, and I'm looking forward to more of Miami.

Dexter Morgan:  Tonight's the night. And it's going to happen, again and again. It has to happen. Nice night. Miami is a great town. I love the Cuban food. Pork sandwiches. My favorite. But I'm hungry for something different now.  

Lt. Maria Laguerta:  So then he must have already had the head with him in the front seat. Huh, that's weird. Why would he keep it there?

Dexter Morgan:  I don't know. So he could use a carpool lane?
  

St. Augustine, Florida

By Chuck

Ever since childhood, when I first heard about St. Augustine, I wanted to visit the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the United States.  Well, it was less than I expected, but I do get to check it off my bucket list.  The problem is that we have seen so much and are beginning to be jaded about our historical expectations and becoming less tolerant of the tourist atmosphere and offerings--even though we are traveling out of season.

We stopped for lunch at Columbia, a Spanish restaurant, said to be the oldest in town.  It's been in operation since 1905.

Claire's choice, Gazpacho Andaluz: puree of ripe tomatoes, green peppers, onions, cucumbers and garlic.  Topped tableside with finely diced vegetables and toasted Cuban croutons. Delicious!

 

Chuck's choice, Cuban Sandwich:  Originally called the "Mixto," it was created in the 1890's for the cigar workers as they walked to and from work.  The sandwich underwent changes as immigrants from different countries arrived.  The Spanish brought the fine ham, the Sicilians the Genoa salami, the Cubans the Mojo marinated Roast Pork, the Germans and Jews the Swiss Cheese, pickle and mustard.  It came with plantain chips.  What a combo!  We had the remainder of this as our dinner.

 

 St. Augustine

 

The Fort--Castillo de San Marcos

 

 Sea wall beyond the fort

 

 The fort and the wall

 

This is the oldest wooden schoolhouse in the United States; The exact date of construction is unknown, but it first appears on tax records in 1716.

Pretty street in St. Augustine

 

Our home for 2 nights:  Best Western Seaside across the street from the beach.  Only $55/night! Hot tub, pool, breakfast and a huge room.

We did get to test the water in Florida--a first for me.  It was slightly windy, and the water was a trifle cool at first, but we quickly acclimated and enjoyed a little body surfing and bobbing up and down on the ocean waves.  We read for a while before we decided to play it safe and escape the sun, retreating to our motel and the comfort of its warm tub--it really felt like a slightly overly-warmed swimming pool.  The pool looked inviting, but after the beach and the tub, it felt a little cold. 

St. Augustine Beach--it just keeps on going

 

Today, we walked to a little place for lunch that serves Caribbean food and each ordered the same thing:  Corn Cakes stuffed with Monterrey Jack cheese, garnished with pico de gallo, sour cream, salsa verde, fresh avocado, and drizzled with Santa Fe Sauce.  Yum!  I keep hoping to order a piece of Key Lime Pie, but I'm always stuffed.  Claire couldn't finish hers.

It is windy and cloudy, today, and we have not yet felt motivated to try the surf.  But, it is still early afternoon... Maybe when Claire finishes her book, we can venture across the road and down to the beach for another day in the sun...and we did!  It's been a nice break from our usual routine.

Ballots update:  We just received word from Susan at the County Clerk's Office.  She has sent two new ballots via Fed Ex to our hotel in Florida City.  We will get to vote after all.

Celebratory dinner--Key Lime Pie

My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that's the law. ~ Jerry Seinfeld

Another Day in Savannah

By Claire

Travel has its stress factors and we've had a few.  Last week, driving to my mother's in North Carolina, we stopped to get gas and I saw a car wash at the station.  You have no idea how hard it is to find a car wash when you want one.  So, we filled up and Chuck waited and waited for the receipt that would have the secret code.  He finally gave up and walked over to the office to get it.  Unfortunately, this little step threw him out of his routine and he forgot to put on the gas cap and shut the little door.  We drove through the car wash with it open; we only discovered this when we came out and grabbed some rags to dry the car off.  He panicked, especially since it was a pressure wash and "touchless," something neither of us has ever experienced.  Instead of brushes rolling over the top and sides, it hits the car with high pressure water from all sides.

We sat in the car for a while trying to figure out what to do.  We called everyone we knew who might be able to tell us and then realized the place we were in was an auto inspection/gas station and maybe someone there would know.  The guy in charge said it was no big deal but to add some gas additive, even telling Chuck that we could find it cheaper somewhere else.  No one we called was sitting at their phone ready for our call, so we decided that we would go.  Talk about stress!  We were waiting every moment for something terrible to happen.  Then the calls came in from Tai, Jim and Bob.  All reassured us and agreed on the gas additive.  We did stop for some at another gas station, and it was a fraction of the cost at the other place, but the instructions said to put it into an empty tank.  So, the end of the story is, we added the stuff to a very low tank and we have had zero problems before or after the additive.  One other thing: our gas tank does not have the little spring-loaded door in the filler tube that keeps water and dirt out. 

The next big stresser has to do with our Election Ballots.  Long before we left for this trip, I contacted the County Clerk's Office where I spoke with a friend of Diane's about getting our ballots mailed to one of our hotels along the way.  It's complicated because we had to work out when they would be mailed and wanted to choose a place where we would be for more than one night.  I contacted the Hilton hotel here in Savannah to make sure this was something they could handle, then I emailed Susan at the County Clerk's Office with the information, attaching a document with our signatures.  Should have been easy, right?  I even called the hotel again to let them know they were coming.

Then I called them 4 days ago to ask about them. After identifying myself and asking if some mail had arrived for me, the woman I spoke with said, "Would they be absentee ballots?"  I was thrilled and waited while she put me on hold to go find them.  That's when it all went bad.  She was certain she had seen them a few days before but didn't know where they were now.  I'm certain she saw them too.  She recognized Chuck's last name and how else did she know what they were?  I had expected them to be sent in a large brown envelope without anything identifying what they were.  Oh, and she said she'd call me back when she found them.  Nope.  So, we arrived yesterday and they have been searching for them ever since.  We leave tomorrow and it's not looking very likely that they will magically turn up.  I'm pretty upset about this turn of events.  We are now trying to figure out where to have another set of ballots sent to us, IF that is even possible.  Time marches on and we need time for them to get to wherever we are and time to get them back to Davis before November 6.  More on this later.

Today we were feeling like we had seen enough of Savannah and wished we could just get on the road and head to the beach.  However, with the ballot issue and the fact that we have reservations here and at the next place, we are stuck.  So, we made the best of it and headed into town for a river cruise.  But first, I wanted to see the Juliette Gordon Low house.  She founded the Girl Scouts 100 years ago this year and the day is the same day as my birthday.  I always enjoyed sharing that day, especially when it meant having a special party at our Girl Scout meeting.

 

City Hall with gold dome

 

Our cruise was to begin at noon so we stopped for coffee.  Naturally, Chuck had to have the Turtle Latté--coffee with chocolate, vanilla and caramel. 

 

The weather continues to be perfect and we were able to relax and enjoy the day floating down the river with South Carolina on one side and Savannah on the other.  One thing we learned was that Savannah is almost directly south of Cleveland, and is the westernmost port on the eastern seaboard.  It is the 4th largest in the U.S., and is now the largest container port.  The captain pointed out one of the newer tugboats:  It had a 6,000 horsepower engine and cost $19 million--no more your 'Little Toot.'

Chuck:  I remember reading Shogun years ago and was surprised by the importance of pilots in navigating ships.  Well, this continues:  Pilots are required to guide ships up the Savannah to the port.  The bottom clearance is 50 feet, here; this is necessary because many ships require 40 feet and the tide differential here is typically 8 feet.

Boating is popular, here, but no one has yachts; instead they have 'big ole boats.'  

 

This tugboat is a free ferry across the Savannah River to the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center.

 

 View of Talmadge Bridge, very similar to the Arthur Ravenel, Jr., Bridge in Charleston

 

After our cruise, we went in search of frozen yogurts--and a cupcake for Chuck--then drove to Forsyth Park in search of the Fragrant Garden, created for the blind.  We lucked out and found a parking place and some really wonderful homes.  The park is fantastic, too, and today was just right for kicking back on the grass.

I love this porch.  There are two on the house, but there are so many trees around it's difficult to actually get good pictures.

 

 

 Forsyth Park

 

Fragrant Garden structure

 

Inside the Fragrant Garden

 

Fountain in the park at the amphitheatre

Chuck:  I thought I recalled from grade school History classes that convicts were the original settlers in Georgia, and I was surprised that no one had mentioned that--until today:  The captain mentioned that Oglethorpe sailed with colonists released from debtor's prison to make room for other prisoners.

There are signs all over town for SCAD.  Our guide explained that the Savannah College of Art & Design has been a leader in restoring and adaptively reusing many of Savannah's architectural treasures, and has earned recognition from the Historic Savannah Foundation and many others for this work.  Apparently, students are actively involved in the restorations and get academic credit for their work.  They have been successful fundraisers and finance some of their own preservation operations.

Claire:  Some good news--gas has been as low as $3.45!  Bad news:  There are lots of smokers in the South.

We decided on an early dinner since we had skipped lunch.  Sweet Spice, a Jamaican place, sounded really good and it turned out to be a perfect decision.  The minute we walked into this tiny little hole in the wall, I felt comfortable.  Deacon, the owner, welcomed us and helped with our choices; he even brought me a sample of the steamed vegetables when I asked about them.  We both ordered the Jerk Chicken and I added some plantains to go with my steamed vegetables. The food was spicy and delicious.

 

 Red Velvet cake for Chuck, $3.00

 

Lemon cake for Claire

 

 Deacon on the right with his crew.  What a happy group.

Life is not about avoiding the storms; it's about learning to dance in the rain. ~ Vivian Greene