Miami Day 5 & 6

March 5, 2016

We did not have anything major planned for the day. We started the day with a trip to the Hard Rock Café Miami location so Mike could add another zippo lighter to his collection. The area around the Hard Rock had a lot of restaurants and shops. Next we checked out Miami’s “Little Havana”. We had a lovely Cuban lunch at Versailles. Luckily we got there early, the line was really long when we left. Service was a little slow, but otherwise an excellent dining choice.

Mike watches a lot of television. He mentioned that he would like to check out South Beach Classics, a show that airs on Discovery. The main guy of the show was there and was really friendly. There were a ton of cars to check out. We probably spent close to two hours walking around the lot and buildings.

Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

We continued north to the Hard Rock Café/Casino/Hotel in Hollywood. Mike got his zippo and we then headed to Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.  The visitor center was closed by the time we arrived. The national parks annual pass works for admission, otherwise it would have been $5. There was a nice boardwalk behind the visitor center. There are some hikes that are available around some lagoon areas, nothing too exciting. At the end of the road was a boat launch and fishing pier. The biggest alligator of the trip was found at the fishing dock. 

Once back in South Beach, we had dinner at The Playwright Irish Pub. It was good.

March 6, 2016

Lighthouse at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park

Again we did not have anything really planned for the day. We decided to check out Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park ($8/car) in Biscayne Key. The park is ranked as the seventh top beach in America. We were able to climb up the lighthouse (no additional cost – but only open for about an hour a day). From the park, you could also see Stiltsville. We learned a little about Stiltsville during our Biscayne National Park boat tour.  At one point there were 27 structures, but hurricanes and fires have destroyed all but seven. The structures are now located on NPS area and are maintained by a non-profit trust. There are many trails at the park, most being paved bike paths.

We had lunch nearby at the Artisan Kitchen and Bar. Since it was a Sunday it seemed they had a different menu than other days (breakfast all day or something along those lines). We both had Arepas. They were interesting, a bit like an English muffin sandwich.

After lunch we headed back to the airport for our flight home. We had nice smooth flying – until next time Bon Voyage!

Miami Day 3 & 4

March 3, 2016

Everglade Mangrove Tour

Another day at the Everglades. This time we checked out the Gulf Coast Visitor Center area. Thereare two boat tours available at the site. We took the Mangrove Wilderness tour ($42.40/person). The boats are relatively small, holding only six passengers. The tour was about an hour and forty-five minutes. We saw some birds, including a bald eagle, and some alligators. It was neat to take a boat right into the thicket of a mangrove forest. We learned a lot about the three types of mangroves in Southern Florida – red, white, and black.

Bird along the Everglade Mangrove Tour

After the tour, we had lunch nearby at the Havana Café (Chokoloskee). The food was good, but the service was not the quickest.

Near the Everglades Gulf Coast is the other Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center. It was really loud at the location, due to nearby airboat rides. There is a short boardwalk behind the building, but there was not much wildlife – we just saw a water snake. We participated in a talk about Mangroves and Manatees. The weather had been warming up so the manatees were moving to the north and we were not able to see any during our visit.

Down the road from the visitor center were a couple of different viewing areas. The best was the Kirby Storter Boardwalk. It was very peaceful, other than the road noise.

We spent the evening checking South Beach. The buildings are lit up really pretty - showing off all of the art deco building styles!

March 4, 2016

Biscayne National Park

Biscayne National Park is made up mostly of water (95%). Boat tours take you out to check out the keys. Boat tours had been suspended for the past year or so due to contract disputes and recently began tours again.  The visitor center shows a short video that is worth-while. The museum is also very nice. The boat tour ($29+tax/person) we joined took us out to Boca Chita Key and lasted about two and a half hours. The key was relatively small. There was a lighthouse, a beach and a hiking trail. The boat allows you about 45 minute to explore, that was plenty of time to check out everything.  On the return to the mainland we were able to check out a shipwreck.  Water levels to the key were as shallow as 3.5 feet!

Biscayne National Park - Boca Chita Key Lighthouse

There was enough time left in the day to check out the last portions of the Everglades. We stopped for lunch at Gator Grill. It was okay.  First, we stopped at the Royal Palm Visitor Center and then we headed down to the Flamingo Visitor Center. There was not much to see or do at the Flamingo location. There were boat tours, but since we had already been on two we decided not to do another. We did hike the boardwalk trail called Anhinga Trail (0.8 mile loop). On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the Robert Is Here Fruit Stand and got milkshakes. I had the Strawberry Key Lime – it was yummy!

Miami Day 1 & 2

March 1, 2016

Snow, snow, go away, come again another day! We had an evening flight out of Detroit Metro. Due to the weather, we barely made it to the airport in time. Lucky for us, the airport was really empty and the security line was pretty much non-existent. We boarded the plane at the scheduled time, but then sat in the plane for probably over an hour because the plane had some fuel related issue. Finally, we pushed off and de-iced. Then of course the runways were getting cleared. We finally took off about 1.5 hours later than planned. We were originally supposed to land at 11:20, but arrived at 1:40. Needless to say, getting a rental car was not going to work at that hour. $50 later we arrived to our hotel, The Penguin, in South Beach.

March 2, 2016

First things first, figuring out the rental car issue. We had booked thru Enterprise, since they were cheaper to use when it came to toll roads. Be sure to do your research when picking a rental car company. We opted to walk to the rental place that was about a mile or so from the hotel.

Bird along the Shark Valley Tram Ride

Alligator at the Everglades

The Everglades National Park ($20 for a week pass, or free if you have the NP annual pass) was our sightseeing destination for the day. We visited the Shark Valley portion of the Everglades (there are four different Visitor Center areas). The Shark Valley area offers two-hour long narrated tram rides and bicycle rentals. We opted to explore via the tram ride ($24/person with trams running hourly). The loop is fifteen miles long and the tour lasts about 2 hours. Our tour guide was Tammy from Miami – she was great – very enthusiastic and even jumped into the water to show us stuff. There was a ton of wildlife to view throughout the tour. There is also a short boardwalk near the visitor center that is worth checking out. There was a video at the visitor center, we watched some of it while waiting for the tour.

Near Shark Valley is the Big Cypress National Preserve – Oasis Visitor Center. Time was our friend and we were able to visit before the visitor center closed.  There is a boardwalk in front of the building that overlooks some water. There were quite a few alligators hanging out. Near the Oasis Visitor Center is a loop driving tour. The road was gravel and in okay condition, but in general we were not impressed. We did watch the video at the visitor center.

Shortys BBQ was our dinner choice for the evening. The portions were large and the food was tasty.