Squatters at the Ritz

We have been here at the Ritz several days now. The weather has been consistently good after the shaky start we had on our arrival. Even with the grey skies though, the temperature has always been warm and shorts and flip-flops have been 'the order of the day', all week long. Lately, the skies have been blue and the sun has been beating down on the pool deck. The Boss has been reading and getting rays and I have been reading and trying to shift umbrellas so that my pasty-white appearance can be maintained. We have both been enjoying the tropical climate and it definitely beats the hell out of the weather at home in Calgary.

This is what is has looked like the past few days, at the pool

We have also been walking everywhere since we have been here in South Beach. We do one hike per day of about 3-4 miles and then if we need to go somewhere to eat, shop or sight-see, we walk there too. The pathways are wonderful here and they stretch from one end of South Beach to the other. To the north we can venture out along a mostly wooden boardwalk past the 'W' Hotel, to the most northern point along the beach about 2 miles from here. To the south, we can stroll about 1.5 miles along a winding brick walkway, that runs almost continually to the channel that separates South Beach from Fisher Island, where Oprah Winfrey has a home.

The boardwalk near the W Hotel

looking across the channel to Fisher Island (southern most point of SoBe)

A few days ago we hiked west to check out a couple of green spaces that are about 6 blocks apart. The first was the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial which occupies a full city block about 6 blocks from our hotel. The impressive outdoor exhibit is built primarily of Jerusalem stone and that light limestone is contrasted by black granite on which most of the exhibits have been carved and etched, including a history of the Nazi atrocities and a memorial to those families known to have perished. In the middle of the memorial, is a massive iron sculpture of an arm raised to the heavens. The arm is being scaled by the victims of The Holocaust and prominent on the wrist of the giant arm is a numbered tattoo from a Nazi concentration camp. You must see this for yourself, it is a hauntingly beautiful memorial.

The Holocaust Memorial built on a Jerusalem stone island surrounded by a reflecting pond

victims of the holocaust scaling the outstretched arm

black granite walls with the history of Nazi atrocities and known names of the families of those who perished

About six blocks west of the memorial, you come to the western shore of the Miami Beach barrier island and the shore of Biscayne Bay that separates Miami Beach from downtown Miami. At the point where the Venetian Causeway starts across the bay, there is a very well-kept park at the corner of Dade Blvd. and Purdy Avenue. One can stand on a pier here and look across to the Venetian Islands which are linked by the Venetian Causeway, between Miami and Miami Beach. This park was dedicated to Maurice Gibb in 2007. I believe the Gibbs' still have a home here, but it is rumoured that it may be for sale.

Beautiful park near Venetian Causeway

looking across the Biscayne Bay to downtown Miami

Finally, I want to try and describe the area to you. Most of Miami Beach is in the Miami Art Deco District dedicated in 1979 as a historic district. It contains almost 1000 historic buildings built between the 1920's and the 1940's. The whole area including our hotel, is painted pastel colours and built up with interesting geometric patterns and shapes.

examples of the pastel colours

a view down Ocean Drive along Lummus Park (the beach is to the right of the photo)

The Bentley

We have two more full days here. I will not post again until we are on our way home. At that point, I will try to sum up the success of our invasion of the Deep South.