Karel and her Jim agreed to take us on a quick trip to Miami and Miami Beach. It was cloudy when we started out around 11am. The traffic was backed up on I-95 due to an accident, so we had a slow time getting there. Here are some of the sights we saw:
Sun Life Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins and Florida Marlins
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Miami skyline from the Julia Tuttle Causeway
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Cruise ship in the Port of Miami
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Another view of the Miami skyline
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A view down Collins Ave. in South Beach
Outside cafe, South Beach
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Fort Lauderdale Beach
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I’d always been leery about visiting Miami because of its reputation for crime. But I was pleasantly surprised at what a beautiful city it is, and Miami Beach is REALLY beautiful! And driving through Ft. Lauderdale was like a homecoming for Jim. He was raised in this area.
It started raining on our trip back. We had to get back in time to make dinner for our get together with Jim’s friends and their families. Karel is a wonderful cook, and she prepared ham, roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, fried okra, and I made a sweet potato casserole. It was all very tasty.
This is Karel and her son Chuckie putting the finishing touches on the spread.
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My Jim, Chuck (Karel’s ex-husband), and their son Chuckie.
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Chuck
Chuck and Karel were Jim’s neighbors here in Margate when he was growing up. Jim’s dad died when he was 15 years old and Chuck provided a lot of support to him and helped him through a very emotional time. They were both thrilled to see each other again. And Chuckie was 7 years old the last time Jim saw him. That was 40 years ago! Chuck and Karel divorced years ago but they remain very good friends. Chuckie introduced us to his wife and her daughter and grand daughter, and it was great to meet them too.
It was a wonderful evening of good food and good memories among the best of friends. Truly an evening we’ll remember for a long time. Tomorrow we will say our goodbyes and head back to Wauchula. But it’s nice to know we’ll be in Florida again next winter so we will definitely meet again.
Only 31 days until we head north.
3 comments:
I was 19 the first time I went to Miami Beach. It was very art deco then, no crime, and I had a wonderful time dancing to Cuban music every night. I've never been back, and would probably be disappointed now. The skyline is really pretty.
We too were leary about spending time in Miami while we worked the Antique Show in February. But, that apprehensiveness was short lived as we enjoyed our time there, both at the show and in our RV Park.
The drive into the convention center every day was terrible in the traffic but going over the bridge and seeing the beautiful skylines were breathtaking.
The only part of Miami we've ever seen is the inside of the airport :)
Your photos are very nice. It looks like a place to add to our list when we're in the area...some day.
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