Photo Album: Metromover

 

After driving to downtown Miami and riding our bikes, the next day we went back by train. We rode the Tri-Rail to the Tri-Rail transfer station where we picked up the Miami Metrorail and rode to Government Center. There we boarded the Brickell Loop of Metromover.

 

		Metromover VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

T.Y. Park/Ft. Lauderdale

 

We stayed at T.Y. Park, short for Topeekeegee Yugnee Park, a Broward County park full of spreading live oaks, a lake with fountain, and a campground renovated since the 2006 hurricane.  It’s an attractive park and campground with the exception of badly placed hookups.  And the Tri-Rail commuter train, Amtrak, and freight trains frequently pass behind our campsite.  (George considers that a plus).  

                   

We bicycled on the Hollywood Beach boardwalk and enjoyed lunch there.  It was a lovely sunny day and lots of people were sunning at the beach and attending the Canada Fest which included music on two stages.  We drove north to Boca Raton to an art show and enjoyed seeing both the show and the area. 

                   

We had a great bicycle ride on downtown Miami’s new riverwalk.  After driving to Miami in the truck, we began at Bay Front Park and bicycled on the River Walk along the Miami River.  We crossed the US 1 bridge south to Brickell Key and continued our ride along the paved trail by the water around the island.  It was certainly a different bike ride to see Miami’s skyline as we rode as well as the beautiful landscaping.

                  

                  

                  

After seeing trains pass by the RV park all week, George was eager to board the Tri-Rail near our park, connect with Metro Rail, and ride into Miami. There we connected with the Metro Mover, an elevated train which moves in three loops around the downtown area.  We had amazing views of Miami from the Metro Mover as it threaded through and around skyscrapers.  It was a great last day in this area.

                  

                  

                               

Photo Album: Extreme Canines Stunt Dog Show

 

Extreme Canines Stunt Dog Show, which we saw at the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach, had some talented canines and was an enjoyable show.  Here are a few more of its stars.

 

		Extreme Canines Stunt Dog Show VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Photo Album: Flagler Museum

 

Seeing the Flagler Museum was a peek back in time to the gilded age.  Though lived in only 6 weeks per year, the home had all the latest innovations like electric lights and indoor bathrooms (with double sinks in the master bath) and a few luxurious touches like gilded ceilings in the public rooms.  Except for one room, the ceilings were gilded in gold.  But the drawing room used aluminum.  Doesn’t sound very grand, does it?  But at that time, aluminum was new and was more expensive per ounce than gold.  And surprisingly, it gave a lovely soft glow to the room.

		Flagler Museum VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

John Prince Park/Palm Beach

We returned to John Prince Park in Lake Worth for our third year.  Visitors are welcomed by palm trees surrounding the park sign and lining the street as they enter the park.  An outstanding feature of the park is a seven-mile paved trail which circles the lake.  Our RV site was on the lake, and we enjoyed seeing wading  birds from our window.   This park is a place where we feel a sense of tranquility.

               

The South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach coincided with our visit this year.  We enjoyed seeing some of the shows including Extreme Canine Stunt Dog Show and Bella Luna Cirque. 

                                      

The dogs were impressive, but the cirque was extraordinary. 

               
               

A Palm Beach Post article entitled “111 Reasons to Enjoy the 2011 Season” gave us a few pointers.  We ate lunch at Panama Hattie’s as suggested and took the water taxi for a tour of the Intracoastal Waterway with views of luxury homes, yachts, and sub-tropical plants.  What a way to live!   The Delray Beach art show beckoned us also.

               

We learned about Green Cay Nature Trail from a couple we talked with at another park.  With an outstanding boardwalk through 1 1/2 miles of wetlands, it’s a great place to see birds, turtles, alligators, and grasslands.  Irene had fun photographing every kind of bird she saw.

  
Okeeheelee Park is another location which is great for bicycling and birding.  The paved trail there circles the lake also and offers varied scenery.  Okeeheelee is also a Palm Beach County park, all of which are well maintained and nicely landscaped.  We are very impressed with the Palm Beach County parks including John Prince where we are staying.

            











We visited the very grand Flagler Museum, the winter home (for 6 weeks each year) of Henry Flagler and his third wife, to whom Flagler gave the home as a wedding gift.  It looks much as it did when they lived there with many of the original furnishings.  Flagler was a partner in Standard Oil with John D. Rockefeller and later built the Florida East Coast Railroad, thus developing the east coast of Florida.  He also extended the railroad to Key West.  When we first began going to Key West, the highway bridges were built on the old railroad trestles and were quite narrow, but they’ve long been replaced with standard width bridges.

                       

The Most Beautiful Bike Path in the World – that’s what the Lake Trail in Palm Beach must be. We biked it today for the third time now. It runs along the bay side of Palm Beach island and passes behind fabulous Palm Beach homes. On one side of the trail you see homes and on the other side you see their yacht tied up. Most homes have a ficus hedge for privacy, but many homes’ back yards can be seen. Home owners maintain the area through which the trail passes, and the semi-tropical landscaping with palms, colorful bougainvillea, agaves, ficus hedges, and banyon trees is a verdant glory.

Today was sunny with temps in the upper seventies.  This wonderful balmy climate is due to the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and the southerly breezes from the Caribbean. It was a lovely Florida day as we biked our favorite trail on our last day in the Palm Beach area before heading further south.