It's So Crowded Nobody Goes There Anymore

When you are hosting several different friends and family members over a period of 6 weeks you need to provide for both the visitor and yourself. There is a concern that a favorite tour, restaurant, walk or café is refreshing but even a prime destination can be frequented to the point of saturation. Also, not everyone has the same taste or preference in how to bask in leisure and free time.

So, thankfully, we were able to procure the above device to guard against these very instances. Our first vict…um participant was Kevin Richard,.our tenant from up north who was visiting us for two weeks and was last seen splayed across a banyan tree.

Using mostly the OSC and BYPASS buttons we were able to experience fishing and Hollywood simultaneously.

Kevin had his destination list for his southern excursion. It included many angling items. We provided him with the Honda Element so that he could fulfill his wish to go to Islamorada, a bastion of American fishing. His plan also included a trip to the IGFA (International Game Fish Association – he’s a member) Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum while he was there; a veritable double header.

Well the fishing happened but much to his surprise he discovered the museum had moved to Dania Beach, close to Fort Lauderdale – oops. So in a great humanitarian gesture we volunteered to drive him there the next day upon his return to Miami Beach. This would allow us to visit the Design Center of the Americas (DCOA). Voila! As the ibis flies they were less than a half mile apart – this was meant to be.

Here we have our guest hero emerging from aquatic bliss and enlightenment:



Meanwhile our hosting heroes were at the DCOA experiencing Film and Design: The Golden Age of Hollywood.

This is an incredible building described as: “…the largest to-the-trade design campus of its kind, showcasing 775,000 sq ft of extraordinary design products that suit the needs for any home, yacht or office project.” It is several floors of elegant showrooms arrayed throughout spacious hallways:



This is one of the atria on one end of the building.



Everything is an expression of art and style.

There was an incredible mobile suspended from the ceiling at the other end:



With the cooperation of many top designers they were able to dedicate showroom space to showcase 18 “breathtaking installations”. Each installation would be part of a “residence” where each room would be inspired by some Hollywood theme.

The ‘foyer’ was dedicated to:




The guest bedroom was dedicated to:



Well if this is business I’d love to see what’s reserved for pleasure.



And who would have thought that Chris would find the bathroom of his dreams? The piece de resistance was its cinematic inspiration:



This is the photo released by someone reviewing the installation but it does not quite do it justice:



That vertical piece of glass is at an angle to the wall but provides a splash-guard to the rain shower. An adjustable, hand-held shower graces the far wall. The ceramic column on the right is one of the two sinks. The drain for the shower is along the floor on the left and is only a few inches wide. Those are two cork stools in front of the glass. At the point where the stools are, the floor slopes very gently towards the drain. Here is a picture we took of the showers:



The black rectangles surrounding the mirror are cabinetry.
(You can click on the photos to make them larger)

What a day this was! We regrouped after our stereo experience and celebrated it at Taco Bell. The only reference at this point to summarize all this would have to be provided by Yogi Berra:




“If you see a fork in the road…take it!”