The photos below are what we saw.
From the
stairway to our hotel room, we got a view of a nice tree in
bloom. I am not sure of the species, but the blooms were
nice.
The
street outside of the hotel was converted into a pedestrian
mall. The roadway was in the process of being
redone. The cafe culture here is alive and well. We
ate on the street the night before and it was very pleasant.
One of
the objective of our walk-about was to check out the Art Deco
buildings in the area. The building above has all the
requisite attributes: shelves between floors, vertical accents
and pastel colors.
I have
no idea of the purpose of the balloon. It could be an
advertising stunt or a weather balloon gone astray or a
mechanism to stabilize a wall using the opposite wall as the
brace. But, independent of the actual purpose (if any) it
was odd to see.
We
walked down the boulevard and got a close look at some of the
Art Deco buildings.
This
advertising plane flew past the beach towing this banner.
As Scarface said: "Say hello to my little friend..."
A
powerful boat was making huge rooster tails close to the
beach. I assume it was a tourist ride, but never asked.
Whoa,
check out the legs on this....guy. One thing that Pride
Parades bring out is the colorful individuals.
There
was a variety of fair-food available.
There
were huge platter of garnishes to go with your food.
Plenty
of "chicken on a stick" if that is your thing.
Here is
trouble on the hoof. The gal in the bikini saw me as we
were walking by and commanded "take our photo". I assumed
that she meant with her camera, but no. She intended me,
as a stranger, to take her photo on MY camera even though I did
not know her. So above is the photo. Oddly, the gal
on the left is Dana Something and the gal on the right Something
Dana. Common first-last names. We would see them
again later in the day. Very curvy; very friendly.
Despite
this being the Gay Pride Parade, there were no shortage of attractive
gals.
THE hallmark
of South Beach is the Art Deco architecture. There is even
a preservation society that attempts to enforce integrity in the
original style. There were plenty of examples of this
style of architecture. Most of these buildings were built
in the 1930's.
Many of
the hotels had restaurants on the ground floor, but the Congress
did not.
A bit
later in the afternoon these places were hopping with tourists
getting food and cocktails.
Note the bright colors and ledges between floors
which are hallmarks of the Art Deco style.
This was
not crowded now, but give it about an hour.
A bit
later the entire sidewalk would be a sea of tourists.
Note the
bright colors and stucco filigree inlay.
This was
something unexpected: a motorized unicycle. This unit is
like a Segway, but has only one wheel. We spoke with the
owner briefly and he had nothing but good things to say about
it.
This
stucco pineapple is a good example of the architectural style of
the day.
While
waiting for Kathleen to get some water, I noticed that the ferns
had taken hold in the crest of a palm tree next to the
street. There must be sufficient moisture to support them.
Rather
unexpected: a convoy of 3 Hummers came down the boulevard.
They were clearly military as there were no license
plates. What they were doing there was a mystery.
We
passed "The Danas" again. The blonde Dana told me she was
a Playmate "back in the day" and based on the bust-line alone, I
accepted that statement. She has some miles on her, but I
have many, many more. Hell, I should be a highway.
I passed
this young beauty and asked her to pose with me. I assume
she is a "vagitarian" as her button says "I apologize if my
legal rights get in the way of your bigotry".
We
continued our walk north along the beach. From the beach
we could see a large cruise ship making its way out of the Port
of Miami to points unknown.
On our way back to our hotel, Kathleen passed a
place that was renting high-end cars, so she HAD to have a photo.
One of
the nicer Art Deco hotels in South Beach.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2017, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.