Greetings – you are lying on your back – you can’t seem to remember what day it is – fronds, that’s what they are, yes, fronds – and such blue! Well this is an attempt to recover from the fact that I missed my coaches meeting today. I couldn’t get out of the driveway because of the four inches of snow that fell this morning and the Camry does not have snow tires!!!! Okay, breathe deep – the gathering gloom – no wrong direction again. Another breath, put three dimes in the grandfather clock and cue the organist ….
It is now several weeks ago…..
Rich and Val had left and sister Eileen was on her way from Orlando with her friend Kathy. She arrived safely but Kathy just had time for hi/goodbye and she was off.
Eileen loves Miami Beach – and Paul – and Gregg –
and staying with us. The visit is somewhat ritualistic in that we are guaranteed a lot of laughs, some great dinners and cocktails (courtesy of Eileen), visits to the Hotel Victor:
The key lime pie and crab cakes are especially good. There will also be at least one new adventure. This year it was the Hotel Mondrian on the Bay. Eileen decided she would create her new Facebook picture there:
Paul and I did manage to sneak away for a bike tour of the Matheson Hammock County Park in Coral Gables. “Hammocks are dense stands of hardwood trees that grow on natural rises of only a few inches higher than surrounding marshland that is otherwise too wet to support them” (thank you Wikipedia). In this case we are talking acres and acres of mangroves. It makes for a nice little arborway:
Coral Gables is fascinating. You might remember from the last blog it is also the home of the Venetian public pool along with the Biltmore Hotel.
Mangroves were the bane of the Army Corps of Engineers as they dredged and created Miami Beach at the beginning of the 20th century. Most of what is Biscayne Bay would be similar to what you see on the sides of the bike path in the picture without the hammock.
Coral Gables also decided to adopt some items from Art Basel in Miami when their safety became questionable – another roadside attraction:
Their antennae make for interesting directionals – but they are soooo slow!
We are actually a bit south of Vizcaya and north of Fairchild Gardens. Next year we hope to revisit on our bikes while dropping Kevin off to do some fishing.
….I called to say that I would not be able to make the coaches’ meeting. The athletic director was fine with it. We had returned two days ‘early’ specifically to make this meeting. The AD said that it was obvious that we came back too soon. I think I need more meditation on palm fronds.
