For a change of scenery, we headed back out to Biscayne Bay to take a mooring at Dinner Key Marina. It was windy the first day and the free water taxi was not running. We were entertained and swarmed by the local sailing club out enjoying the stiff breeze.
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| The local sailing club darting around the mooring field |
We decided not to wait on a water taxi so we headed into the dinghy dock with our dinghy. We literally had to squeeze ourselves in at the dinghy dock. We enjoyed wandering around Coconut Grove even with our masks on.
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| The famous Cocowalk tourist part of the grove |
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| Site of old Pan Am seaplane terminal near Dinner Key Marina |
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| Gigantic staghorn ferns along the sidewalk |
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| Cascading flowers |
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| Gigantic strangler fig tree |
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| Street sculpture |
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| Reflective sculpture against high rise buildings |
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| Art along the walking path |
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Vibrant blossoms
We were excited to go to the Coconut Grove Art Festival on Saturday and spent the entire day as it wasa huge event. We got pizzas to go at Harry's Pizzeria before the thunderstorm and steady rains hit. |
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| The festival shut down the streets along the marina |
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| The festival logo poster |
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| Loads of food truck vendors |
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| Amazing variety of paintings, photographs, fabric art, and jewelry |
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| Fantastic blown glass and clay pottery art |
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| Amazing glass art display |
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| Cute tab trailer Portuguese coffee spot |
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| Petroni beer had the right idea with lounge chairs |
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| Vintage t-shirts from festivals previous years on sale |
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| Artists painting murals near bandstand and bar tent |
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| First taste of an arepa |
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| Arepa is grilled cornbread with melted mozzarella cheese |
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| Tent over kid section |
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| Tropical plants for sale |
On Sunday we went to Binnacle Historic Site which is a lovely wooded hammock forest on the bay and home of the first yacht club.
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| The front porch of the historic home at Binnacle Historic Site |
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| View from the porch to Biscayne Bay |
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| Replica of a sailing dinghy on the ceiling of the pavilion |
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| A sailing beauty |
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| Hurricanes have taken out the dock repeatedly |
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| The old marine railway for boat haulout |
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| Reconstructed boathouse |
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| View back to historic house |
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| Condo with bird feeders along park attracted squirrels |
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| So many shops and restaurants and sights to see |
On President's Day, we headed ashore and walked along the festival fence to the CVS Pharmacy and then took a Lyft ride to Fairchild Tropic Botanic Gardens in Coral Gables. The huge gorgeous park with all its trails through the gardens and along the water exceeded our expectations for a beautiful walk in the park.
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| Gorgeous park in a heavily wooded neighborhood |
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| Stunning buildings |
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| Entry plaza |
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| Covered canopy walkway |
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| Crysalis in the butterfly garden |
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| Owl butterflies at feeder in butterfly house |
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| Glass sculpture at goldfish pond |
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| Cool misters at the garden cafe |
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| Rainy misters in the rainforest |
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| Landbridge from highlands to lowlands paths |
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| Old amphitheater |
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| Bar golf cart with wine and beer on tap |
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| Bench sculpture so lifelike |
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| Our quick view of the manatees back at the marina |
We headed ashore to do laundry at Dinner Key Marina. The laundry is on the second floor with a beautiful view of the bay since the building is on stilts and the ground floor is open with picnic tables. We then walked along the docks back towards Grove Harbour Marina and past Fresh Fields Market to find the waterfront restaurant for lunch. After lunch, we walked to Crook and Crook Marine Store which makes you want to browse the aisles to see what you may not have that you need. We had another spectacular sunset as we enjoyed happy hour on the flybridge as the young sailors breezed past.
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| Reminded me of the real peacock that crossed the road in front of the gardens |
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| The first Coast Guard Station was built in 1932 and is now used by the sailing club |
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| Monument to the hurricane that was raised from the wreckage |
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| Walkway between marinas |
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| Funny place for a beware of crocodiles sign |
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| Monty's Tiki bar for lunch |
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| Off our stern |
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| Sailing back in as the sunset |
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| Flying high |
Today we headed ashore to the Miami City Hall which is the historic Pan Am Hanger and boarded the free trolley out front after a quick lunch at Fresh Market of a panini and spinach stromboli. We headed down to Brickell Boulevard and got off in the financial district and found a European bakery for a second cup of coffee in their sidewalk seating. We then walked along Biscayne Boulevard along the Miami Riverfront stopping for the opening of the Brickell drawbridge. We then continued over the bridge to the Bayside Park adjacent to the Bay Market Place. We hopped a ride back on the trolley which stops right beside Dinner Key Marina.
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| Cozy spot amid the high rise buildings |
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| The old church next to the modern building |
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| Along the Miami River |
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| Historic Miami Circle Indian ruins |
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| A different view of drawbridge going up |
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| Port of Miami across the way |
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| Art along the bayside walk |
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| Live Caribean music dockside |
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| A cold beer tucked away from the busy marketplace |
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| The Ferris wheel at Hard Rock Cafe we passed by on the boat |
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| Near bay tour boat dock |
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| The shimmering reflection on the bank building |
We took the Coconut Grove trolley to the Metrorail station and rode the train out to Dadeland Mall shopping at Target and Best Buy before finding a little Italian cafe for lunch with sidewalk dining. We headed back to the train and got off at University Station and walked the University of Miami campus to the arboretum. It was a beautiful walk along the flowering trees all labeled with their scientific names from around tropical countries. We ended up walking back from the rail station so we got our 5 miles in.
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| Elevated metro rail trains |
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| University of Miami campus |
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| Griffin Arboretum |
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| Gorgeous campus |
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| Helicopter pad off our bow |
We got an early start taking the Brickell Trolley and then transferring to the Biscayne Trolley and finally ended up on the Wynwood Trolley which took us throughout the streets lined with graffiti art. We arrived right at our 11 am ticket reservation for the Wynwood Walls Museum. The art was impressive with a wide variety of subjects. We found a great Mexican restaurant with outdoor seating behind a row of cactus and marvelous margaritas a few blocks away. The trolley looped around the Wynwood neighborhood so we were able to be amazed by the abundance of street art.
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| Street sign |
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| Art carved on the face of the museum walls |
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| We would like to forget the masks |
Saturday is the Coconut Grove Organic Farmers Market so we walked by the Coconut Grove Sailing Club and the boat ramp where the manatees hang out and past Pelican Park and the CVS Store and founnd the tents for the market. The market was filled with fresh produce, dried foods, clothes, and loads of food vendors cooking an amazing variety of vegan and exotic foods. There were lots of free samples and so many different goods for sale. We weren't hungry so we bought coffeea and enjoyed it at the picnic tables in the shade before catching the Coconut Grove trolley to the Ace Hardware Store. We walked back to the boat for a relaxing picnic lunch on the flybridge watching all the sailing dinghies in the bay.
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| Coconut Grove Sailing Club |
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| Manatee surfacing |
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| Manatee submerging |
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| Peacock Park |
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| Farmers Market "in the grove" |
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| Dried goods |
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| Fresh produce for ratatouille |
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| Exotic fruits |
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| Unusual garments |
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| Everything under the sun for sale |
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| Baracuda hanging out at the boat ramp |
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| Everybody and their dog out on the water today |
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| Coming in the old seaplane channel |
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| Parading back in |
Sunday is the Farmers Market at Viscaya Village so we took the Brickell Trolley to Vizcaya Museum and followed the path to the museum entrance to find that the market is across the street. The historic garage buildings and vegetable gardens with a pleasant picnic area were the settings for the vendors. We had a delicious lunch of distinctive nachos followed by a purchase of biscottis and coffee from our Portuguese coffee trailer. We took home some great healthy crackers for happy hour on the fly bridge watching the regatta sail by. We stopped at the island off the city docks and pulled the dinghy up on the sandy beach to check it out.
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| Path to the entrance of Viscaya Museum and Gardens |
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| All headless statues? |
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| Impressive stonework |
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| Posing |
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| Viscaya Village |
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| Vegetable garden |
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| Huge ficus tree |
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| Viscaya Village |
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| Healthy quinoa goodies |
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| Great biscotti and sourdough crackers and snacks |
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| The best vegan nachos |
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| Unusual flavors and so yummy |
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| One of three islands off Dinner Key Marina |
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| Dock for offloading tourist boats alongside island |
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| View from island to the mooring field |
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| View from flybridge of transporting helipad past us |
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| Canadian sailboats in the regatta |
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| Parasailing out from mooring field |
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| Close calls and near-collisions on the flybridge |
It was a boat work and then a stroll through "the grove" to the marine store at Crook and Crooks. We noticed the happy hour sign at Berries Bar in the Grove so we stopped in for a beer with an excellent rosemary parmesan focaccia flatbread appetizer from their wood-fired oven. Another beautiful day in paradise with more sailboats surrounding us at sunset.
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| Starving manatees being fed lettuce at the public dock |
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| Interesting twisted high rise |
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| Love their tagline |
We spent the morning doing boat work and then went ashore and caught the Brickell Trolley to Brickell Key. We got off at the stop before so we could walk the bridge over and then follow the path around the island. We pass by here when heading from Miami Beach out to Biscayne Bay by boat and it gives you a full view of the Port of Miami, up the Miami River, and out to the Bay.
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| The colorful trolleys are hard to miss |
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| Walking across the bridge to Brickell Key |
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| Oriental gardens |
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| Looking toward Biscayne Bay |
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| At the mouth of the Miami River |
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| Looking across the river |
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| Looking towards cruise ship alley |
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| The beautifully landscaped path around the key |
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| Tall skyline along the river |
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| Distinctive trolley stops |
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| Another colorful sunset over the Dinner Key mooring field |
We woke up to a rainy morning which delayed our plans to visit Little Havana. The propane tank went empty while making coffee so we decided to take it to the hardware store for refill and Glenn would get his hair cut nearby. Turns out they only exchange tanks and do not refill them so we called the marina to find the closest spot. As it turns out the propane spot was only a block from Little Havana so we found a great little Mexican taqueria for a late lunch. After an eight-mile hike, we made it back to the boat before the black clouds rolled in,
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| Mural at entrance to the neighborhood |
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| Little Havana |
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| Not sure what the Carnaval is about |
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| The best guacamole and chips |
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| Interesting decorated door |
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| Bus stop advertisements show their support |
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| Our almost twin dinghy with custom cover |
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