South Beach - Part 1

More of the same today, high 80s with a lot of that sun thing. So different from what we're hearing about back in Canada! We decided to head into South Beach today because it is supposed to be rainy on the weekend. On the way in we saw a Home Depot and I had to stop to check things out. I was disgusted to learn that we are paying $20 more per can of the paint  I like to use. And they also carry all the good lawn chemicals that we can't buy!!! End of rant.

As we drove into South Beach, we fluked a parking spot right on Ocean Drive. And, it was basically in front of the hotel where we'll be staying on Saturday. 

Here you can see our rental car and the Park Central Hotel where we'll be staying.

After parking we immediately headed to the beach. It was incredible! Sort of like Sauble Beach times 10. It was quite windy but very hot just the same. We walked along the beach for quite a while, looking at the people surfing.

 

This is looking back at our hotel from the beach.

Here's a shot of one of the lifeguard stations with a lifeguard doing some exercises. Marilyn suggested this picture. 

We walked to the end of the beach and found South Point Park. There is a nice walkway and some great views back into downtown Miami.

After we got off the walkway, we decided it was time for lunch. By complete fluke, we found Joe's Stone Crab, a Miami institution that's been in the same place for 100 years! I knew about the place but had read that you had to wait for hours to get in as they had no reservations. We walked in and I asked if there was a possibility of having lunch, and they  said no problem! I was amazed and we were shown to our table. Here's what we had...

This is the bread basket, one of the best we've had. It was one of those that you had to try not to eat all of before your lunch arrived!

Since we were at Joe's Stone Crab, I had to have stone crab claws. I chose the classic lunch that had claws, their Hungarian slaw, creamed spinach and hash browns. The mustard sauce with the crab was amazing. I will be looking up the recipe.

Marilyn had a Crab Nicoise Salad that we'll be making at home. This trip is providing a lot of recipe ideas!

After lunch, we started walking. In the end, we did 14.5 km which was maybe enough to counteract the calories from lunch! We went to the Art Deco centre and picked up the walking tour mp3 player. It was really interesting to see some of the old buildings that were saved from destruction by the historical society. For those of you who remember the 80s and watched Miami Vice, many of the buildings shown in that show are in the art deco district. 

As you can see from the picture, it was hot! So we decided to stop at one of the Ocean Drive bars to have a "fancy drink". I would have preferred a beer but we decided that we needed to try something that the other people were having. We ended up with a Miami Vice (me) that was a pina colada, daiquiri mix. Not my usual. Marilyn had a strawberry margarita. Marilyn insisted on a picture of me to prove that I was actually drinking a Miami Vice!

Traffic out of South Beach is brutal because there's one bridge that everyone uses. By the time we got back to Key Largo, we decided that dinner would be cheese and crackers and wine. Have I mentioned Publix? Great store with food, wine and beer at great prices. Tomorrow, we are taking it relatively easy. Going to Islamadora in the keys to see the artist colony and have lunch. Then back here to hang out by the pool and relax. Dinner will be at someplace with an ocean or gulf view.