Tony and Liz's Travel Adventures: USA: Miami, Florida

Venetian Causeway, Miami Beach, Florida

We weren’t sure what to expect of Miami because we had only spent one night there before flying over to Peru, and then it was in close proximity to the international airport and Bennigans Irish Pub so we didn't see much. This time we would be staying at one of those little Californian/Florida style Bungalows on the Venetian Causeway. It is also the place where many retirees from New York got to retire (and Australian holiday makers go to visit), very close to the famous Lincoln Road Mall and within walking distance to the just as famous Miami Beach. The area reminded us very much of the Gold Coast with its canals, high rise apartments stretching for miles and of course the white sandy beaches without the huge waves. We were told the Gulf Stream current passes Miami and in summer time the water temp rises to about 80 degrees F. and too hot to swim.

Over the next couple of days, our thoughts were confirmed that what we see on TV about Miami IS ALL TRUE.

For example: CSI Miami and those huge Hummers with Horatio in his sunnies. Not quite, but the Hummers are true. And I had always thought Miami is filled with New York retirees seeking out the sun and beach lifestyle. Tick. Sugar Daddies. Tick.Then, it is the blonde, collagen pumped up Barbies. Tick. Next, those Barbies are also filled with Silicon sporting their poodles. Tick. Then, those Barbies hang off the arms of Steroid filled Kens. Tick. And they all love their Tatoos and fake tans. Tick, tick tick. You could also tell with many the surgery has just gone horribly wrong.

Another thing we noticed here is that somehow the GFC isn't something that Miami folk know anything about. Just in one street alone there were parked Maserattis, Convertible Mercedes, Lincolns and an array of other luxury vehicles. Asking locals - 'how has the GFC affected Miami?' They get this strange look and answer - Awwhh the GFC - Great Florida Coastline is just beautiful. They have no idea of what the Global Financial Crisis is/was so who cares!

Now with Lincoln Road – it crosses about 10 streets before you get to the beach – it is filled with souvenir shops, cafes, bars and any other assortment of well to do, and well healed money making ventures you could imagine. It is also the place to be seen. Tony and I tried to fit in here as best we could. We were seen, at the café, at the pizza place, at the Coin Op Laundry, and we were seen at the beach. And one time we were even seen at Mcdonalds having a McCafe. Yes. We were SEEN in Lincoln Mall !!

Not only is Lincoln Road famous for all its little boutiques, souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants there are also quite a number of Galleries. One in particular that took our (my) interest was the Peter Lik Gallery. If you don’t know his name he is quite a famous Australian Nature photographer who fell in love with Cairns during his early career and still has many connections and still visits Cairns on a regular basis.

He is now based in Las Vegas and has about 14 galleries across the world. Just so happens that one evening at the Reef Casino Cairns I had the pleasure of standing next to Peter at a roulette table and we struck up the usual friendly roulette gamblers conversation. One of the things I noticed was he was betting on the same numbers that I was – and we were both winning. He must have seen I was on a lucky streak that night, and my bets were much, much less than he was placing on the table with each spin. I know I walked out of the Reef with many more dollars than I started with. He would have too. It also gave me reason to understand why he lives in Las Vegas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lik NB. he wasn't wearing his trademark hat - headwear not allowed in Oz casions.

Another interesting point we noticed on a huge placard in the gallery was that Peter Lik is the only natural environment photographer to sell the rights to a photograph for $1 million. That’s a lot of casino chips in any country !!

We've also been into a lot of souvenir shops on our travels and there were some eye openers in New Orleans but Miami is just about on a par. There were slogans written across T-shirts and assorted garments that would be banned in Australia. I'm not saying here that we bought up big on these particular ones but it momentarialy crossed our minds. You might have to zoom in to check out the writing. Iwas very careful here NOT to mention my thongs (my footwear).

Free Yard Sale

Typically with most big cities we've been to in the states, we've found that once you go any further than around 5-6 streets beyond the main tourist areas the rest is "tacky" central. This also goes for Miami. For example we wandered down Washington Avenue and within 5 streets there were the sex shops, the tattoo shops, money and check exchange stores and an array of others you wouldn't want to think about, amongst the odd museum. At one point we went past this place that was advertised for sale and someone in their right mind had deposited all the furniture and fixtures into the yard of the block. It was like a FREE garage sale and people were picking through anything that had any value. Ebay was quite busy that week !!!

One day we headed for the beach and we couldn’t believe the big crowds, the beach chair and umbrella rental shacks and that hardly anyone was swimming - on a Sunday. I also couldn’t believe that in my one piece swim suit, I actually felt OVERDRESSED. Then it came to me!! Their make-up would wash off, or that their beautifully coiffed hair would ruin – and that’s the MEN. LOL. It certainly wasn’t because the water was cold, it was beautiful and we can now say that we swam in the Carribean Sea.

Carribean Sea in Miami Beach, Florida

We also hired a couple of bicycles and rode for 4 hours….4 hours straight!!!

TJ cycling on his Deco Bike on Collins Avenue,
Beach, Florida

We needed another 4 hours before we could sit down again. But it was fun and saw most of the Deco area, north and south Miami beaches and some of the backstreets such as Espanola Way, the boardwalks (and still trying dodge traffic coming at me in the wrong direction and getting used to the traffic on the other side of the road here in the US).

Espanola Way near Art Deco Area, Miami

Finally when we could walk again we decided to master the public bus and train system. That was OK and we didn’t end up on any “Mystery Tours” for a change.

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Maurice Gibb Memorial Park,
Venetian Causeway, Miami Beach, Florida

Just up the road from the bungalow we would pass the Maurice Gibb Memorial Park, and sadly the day we saw it it was reported that Robin Gibb passed away. As we walked along Lincoln Road that day many of the establishments were playing Bee Gees songs, including Stayin' Alive. Quite touching !! It was also reported that same day that John Travolta was leading a double life and dressing up as a woman….Hmmm! He would fit in well in Miami.

We did get to see the Wolfsonian museum, The Art Deco district, many other historic areas during our 4 hour bike ride but decided against the World Erotic Art Museum. You just had to walk down any of the back streets of Miami Beach, North, South, East or west to see that - and it's free at that. Good laugh too!

Our stay here was ending, and thankfully for that because we had been just about blown away by a huge storm so bad that my umbrella turned inside out. It was Friday, and Monday would be the Memorial Day public holiday in the US. In our talks with Miami locals, they told us about the annual Hip Hop festival that goes for 3 days and whilst many locals leave (for good reason), people come from all over the nation for the event. We were told that last year 3 people were shot. That Greyhound bus couldn’t leave Miami for Washington fast enough for our liking.

Just getting to the Greyhound terminal was another adventure on its own. Having the all-purpose bus tickets to get around Miami, we found a bus service that would take us to the MIA (Miami International Airport). There we could change from that bus line to another that would take us directly to the Greyhound stop. Well that part of it was right except there was a long wait between buses which wasn't indicated on any of the schedules we'd look up.

From our first experience at the airport, MIA is pretty huge - three levels catering for buses, monorail, taxis, pedestrians, flight arrivals and departures, with all the airlines listed in alpha order. You could imagine how many that might be. I'm sure even Google would get lost trying to find all of them.

But getting back to the story.....We knew what bus we were wanting to board - the one to Hialeah. We waited and waited, getting anxious and because we had already lost time waiting for the bus, we gave up and decided to catch a taxi from that stop instead. Just as the taxi pulled up at the Greyhound he couldn't get a park to drop us off so he just Double-Parked. Big mistake ... right behind him was a Police car!! The cop tooted his horn, not once, but 2 times. The cabbie was still unloading our luggage from the taxi and he could see that. Instead what did the frustrated cop do - he decided to give him a blast with his siren and lights flashing, if that wasn't enough he then proceeded to get on his microphone and said "This is NOT a car park, I repeat, this is NOT a car park - move along now !!!". By this point everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, had turned to look at who the policeman was directing his attention to. It was like an animal being caught in headlights.

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Storm heading to Downtown Miami

Thankfully our tooshes made a quick recovery from the bike rides because our next bus ride to Washington and up the east coast would take 24 hours, with some brief stops in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Jacksonville, Savannah, Fayettville, Richmond then finally Washington. We were looking forward to seeing the nation’s capital, maybe a glimpse of some famous political figure and the Smithsonians. And away from the pretentiousness of Miami (secretly I had hoped to see Horatio here).

Just as the bus is pulling out of the terminal we looked across and we see the same police car parked under some trees, with the same police officer inside - ASLEEP at the WHEEL !! And we thought he must have been going to an Emergency.

Washington should be a refreshing change. Till the next instalment......

Liz and Tony

Postscript: When in Washington we read a newspaper report where Miami police shot a nude man who was found eating another mans face. Another memorable (Memorial Day) in Miami.

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