FFA Miami
That’s “Face Full of America” for those just tuning in 🙂 – After a leisurely 7 day crawl down A1A (Florida’s “PCH”), I finally got to Miami last Saturday late afternoon. That “crawl” was primarily in search of old funky Florida, which, it appears was either blown away by hurricanes or washed away by a tidal wave of big development bucks. It’s ironic that the less populated areas to the north were the victims of those calamities, but funny how Deerfield, Pompano and North Ft Lauderdale retained semblance to the groovy and affordable.
The more things change…
After an obligatory stop at Mango’s in South Miami Beach (SoBe to u hipsters) I crossed the McArthur causeway (the one by the cruise ships) into downtown Miami, then south to Coconut Grove, past Mercy Hospital from whence I came.
I said "I'm just goin' to check out LA for a couple weeks" - back in1980
Going down Bayshore Drive, I stopped to see the house that I left May ’80 when I drove cross country to Cali. In the photo, you’ll see my area was upstairs with a rooftop party scene.
It has since been remodeled but not as drastically as other houses Ive seen here. We had 20′ hedge around the property that included a side yard. Very private and clothing optional. This was right before you crossed the bridge to Grove Isle, four 30 story condo towers that were developed on a deserted isle.
I took this shot sitting on the seawall. The clouds come at will around here. That explains the insane GREEN!
View of Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean from the seawall on Bayshore Lane
I was watching an episode of the cable show “Burn Notice:” that opened with a scene at the lighthouse on Cape Florida. That one viewing was enough to send me over the edge and finally commit to riding back and check out old stomping grounds.
old light house we use to climb as kids in the 60s and 70s before they restored it
If you’ve been hanging around me for a while, you’ve prolly heard me say “the only thing i miss about Florida is the warm water”. This spot of beach on Cape Florida didnt dissapoint. the ocean was bath water warm and something I sorely needed.
That said, the sun was so hot, it was gonna rip my face off. And this is just April. Not gonna wait around til summer.
As much as I love the color of the sky and the bright sun, I remembered you really needed the shade of Coconut Grove to survive Miami. Otherwise, you come from an air conditioned house, jump into an air conditioned car to an air conditioned office or store… there’s simply no other way around it, unless you’re on or near the water or in the wind. No wonder Florida red staters say “Nuke their ass and take the gas”. They’d never survive otherwise.
Next stop – Key West. Then go from the fryin pan into the fire, up to central FL before getting to Marietta, GA for pop’s 80th b-day bash.
Stay tooned 🙂
100 MPH Daily 