Last Ramblings from Miami

When we began this trip, which was coined the ‘Invasion of the Deep South’, we set a few informal goals. We wanted to confirm that southern hospitality still existed, we wanted to check out some historical sites, we wanted to look for historic people with the name of Moore, we wanted to find eating establishments that served chicken and waffles, we wanted to check out some beaches and some golf courses and we wanted to find the Raven on Miami Beach.

During our first week away, we drove north out of Florida and visited Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. As it turns out, according to certain reference materials, Miami doesn’t qualify as part of the Deep South, so our invasion didn’t really start until we had driven north on I-95, and some would say, right out of Florida. This was smart because who would have expected Canucks to invade the Deep South from the south. 

A certain encyclopedia describes the Deep South as, the lower Confederate States, that were part of the Cotton Belt, including South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.  So we invaded two of them. North Carolina was actually in the Upper South as it turns out. 

Did we find southern hospitality? Yes, and we found it in the Deep South. Our stays in Savannah and Charleston were the highlights of the first week. Both cities have done a great job of preserving their historic districts and you really feel like you have stepped back to antebellum times when you are exploring them. And yes everyone is hospitable, the way you think that they should be as Deep Southerners.

Did we visit any historic monuments? Yes, we visited the British Redoubt at Spring Hill In Savannah, the Moore’s Creek National Monument near Wilmington, Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor and the Battleship North Carolina. We drove by many other places that were worth visiting if you are an amateur historian like me but Mrs. Gym has her limitations. 

Did we find any Moore references on our journey? Yes, we found references to famous Moore’s from the Colonial War and the Civil War. In a previous article about the Moore’s Creek Battlefield we showed you the monument to Colonel James Moore of the Continental Army and we also learned that a James Moore served under the Union General Anderson, at Fort Sumter, in the first battle of the Civil War. In addition, we also found living examples in the Moore family that owns and operates the Graystone Inn, in Wilmington North Carolina.

Did we find any restaurants serving chicken and waffles? Yes we did! But, the only one we found, in Georgia, was an IHOP and we didn’t meet the minimum weight standards so we couldn’t get in to try this combination.

Did we check out the beaches and golf courses in the Deep South? We sure did! Hilton Head Island was beautiful and Mrs. Gym and I would go back there in a minute. Both the beaches and the golf courses were great there and the adherence to strict architectural code on the island blended in with the natural beauty of the place. On the other hand, Myrtle Beach and the surrounding area may have some nice golf courses and beaches but the whole area is a tasteless jumble of runaway development like the kitschy mess around Orlando, Florida. Both places could have learned from the way Hilton Head Island was developed. I will give Myrtle Beach some kudos though, it has more Mini-Golf establishments then any where else in the world, even more than Orlando. The gold medal of beaches has to go to Miami Beach though, and I am not the only one that thinks this, come here and experience it on any weekend. 

Miami Beach 5th Street Lifeguard Station

A cruise ship passing between the south end of South Beach and Fisher Island

A typical day on SoBe

Did we find the Raven? Yes we did, and we captured him on film! Now, who is this guy anyways? Well, he happens to be Robert “Raven” Kraft and he has run 8 miles on Miami Beach every single day since January 1, 1975. Yes, every day! That is what you call a streak runner and he is the king of them. As of April 20, 2012 he has run 109,000 miles but more importantly, he has never missed a day. Mrs. Gym was impressed! 

The Raven arrives for his daily 8-miler

Raven's running mates gather

...and off they go

A final word on Miami: this very young city is a true melting pot of recent immigrants to America. The flavor is very Latin, with measures of every other creed and color of person from around the world. What struck me most about the residents is that they were very happy because they were living the American Dream.  From the Cuban taxi driver who is proud of his $2500/month income to the Brazilian hotel employee that owns three rental homes, they take nothing for granted and do not regret coming to Miami. For us Canucks though, it’s the weather that brings us here and this week was a great week to be here, because it snowed in Calgary. Yes, that’s right, in May!

Here are some final shots from Miami Beach:

Netherland Hotel - another cool art deco building

Hotel Victor - highly rated boutique establishment

check out this funky stuff, not only round windows but round holes in the balcony floors

funky parkade at the end of the Lincoln Mall

The Lincoln Mall

G Barton Hotel, formerly the Versace Mansion, Versace was murdered  in front of the gothic archway

Downtown Miami from Miami Beach with Hibiscus Island in between

It is Monday night and we are spending our last evening in the Ritz which has been a great venue, as were all the places we stayed during our road-trip. We say goodbye to Miami tomorrow and we fly United via Houston back home. We will be back at work on Wednesday:(

Don't worry, we have plenty more places to see in the world. Stay tuned!

Gym

  

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.

Moping in Miami

We are finally back in Miami after a long road trip. Unfortunately, the beach time that I promised my dear wife is not materializing.  Current weather conditions are grey,windy and rainy. The Boss is sad, but she has a good book and is stretched out on the funky settee in our hotel room here at the Ritz Carlton South Beach. We will be camped out here for the rest of the trip and hopefully we get some nice weather soon.

This is what the pool looks like right now and although it is hard to tell from this picture, it is raining pretty hard.  Note that there are no people in the lounge chairs;(

We turned in our rental car today after putting almost 2000 miles on it. We had a heck of a deal from Sixt, a car rental agency that I had never heard of before this trip. We paid less than $20 per day for a brand new, full size car, with unlimited mileage. Sweet! Stay tuned!

Chasing around Charleston

Our base camp here in Charleston, is the Planters Inn. It is located at the corner of Market Street and Meeting Street and without really knowing exactly where it was, we found it by feel yesterday. It was easy to find because old Charleston is built on a peninsula and it narrows as you work your way south from US 17. With Mrs. Gym acting as reluctant navigator, we inched south and eventually hit Market Street at a point about a block from the hotel.

This is a swank boutique hotel that is right in the middle of the action. We have a wonderful big room with a separate sitting area and two bathrooms. The second bathroom was nice today when we had less than an hour to wake up and get ready for a full day of touring. In addition, I can leave the seat up in my bathroom, if I choose.

bedroom

sitting room

We had a full day today. We explored the oldest parts of Charleston by horse-drawn carriage and later on foot. We also took a boat ride out to Fort Sumter which was built on a man-made island out in Charleston harbour.

Last night we had pre-arranged the carriage tour which was set for 9:30. The carriage was to pick us up at the front door and when we strolled down at 9:20;  there it was waiting for us. Our guide Ann, was at one end of the reins and Henry the horse, was at the other. We jumped in and proceeded down a predetermined route which took us by many of Charleston's historic landmarks and many of its beautiful antebellum (pre-Civil War) homes. Ann was a great entertainer and because this was a private tour we had a wonderful introduction to the city.

Ann

Henry

Right after the carriage tour, we decided to take the noon cruise to Fort Sumter, out at the eastern end of Charleston Harbour. The site is a National Monument, so it is ably managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The ride out and back again was smooth and a recorded narrative was provided on the boat. When we got to the island a park ranger provided a detailed account of the battle that began the Civil War. The most amazing part about the story of the battle was that after a 34 hour bombardment of the fort by numerous surrounding confederate batteries, which fired thousands of times, there were no casualties. 

approaching Fort Sumter from Charleston

re-mounted cannon facing Charleston harbour from inside the fort

This illustration depicts what the fort looked like in 1860 before the Civil War

monument to the Union troops that endured the confederate attack (note that there was a James Moore here too)

looking back over the ruins of the fort toward Charleston

the flags that flew over Fort Sumter during the Civil War include the two Confederate Flags at the top, the North Carolinian flag in the middle and the two U.S. flags at the bottom (the U.S. had added two states from the first flag to the second)

Following the Ft. Sumter tour we had lunch and walked back along the route we had covered in the carriage, to take some pictures of some of the stuff we missed getting good shots of earlier in the day. Here are some of Mrs. Gyms photos of Old Charleston:

St. Philip's Church on Church Street

Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon

One of the numerous beautiful antebellum mansions

The Calhoun Mansion. This guy was a blockade runner during the Civil War and because he was paid in gold he did very well.

the last cobblestone street

White Point Gardens and The Battery at the tip of the peninsula

another beautiful home

and another

We leave here tomorrow and head back to Miami so that Mrs. Gym can enjoy the rest of our vacation on South Beach. Stay tuned!

Wandering around Wilmington

For two nights we stayed in another 4 - Diamond AAA B & B called the Graystone Inn in Wilmington, NC. The house dates from 1905 and Frommer's refers to it as the grandest of Wilmington's Inns. The main floor is all common areas which includes a dining room big enough to seat Gym's entire family for Christmas Dinner, a music room, a front room and a library where wine is served at 6 PM. The second and third floors are connected to the main floor by a beautiful grand staircase carved from red oak. Each floor is 4000 square feet, so the whole mansion is 12,000 square feet. Our room was on the third floor so it was quite a workout getting all the luggage up and down those stairs.

The Graystone is right in the middle of the Historical District and we were three blocks from the riverwalk which runs for a mile along the Cape Fear River. All the good restaurants and shops are just a few blocks away from The Graystone.

Graystone front door

Our room

music room

Dining Room for 30ish; note 14' ceiling

parlor

library

 

Staircase built around fireplace back of front foyer

second floor foyer

the sign outside prooves Moore's have been a big part of North Carolinian society for centuries

Thursday was our only full day in Wilmington and we spent most of it touring the biggest attraction on the Cape Fear River. Just across the river from the historic downtown, is moored the WWII battleship, North Carolina. It was moved into its permanent mooring here in 1961 after the people of the State of North Carolina banded together and saved it from being scraped. It has been authentically restored and is a National Historic Landmark now and a memorial to the 10,000 North Carolinians of all branches of service that gave their lives in WWII. Retired USN officers manage the site today.

Boarding this highly decorated ship on the self guided tour - looking forward from the aft deck

This is actually the same type of floatplane that was used on the North Carolina, a Kingfisher; one heroic pilot from the North Carolina rescued 10 downed naval aviators in the Truk Island campaign

We climbed up and down this tub for 2 hours. It was a great workout! Inside the ship there were many pictures of the sailors that ran up and down these stairs dozens of times a day and they were young 18 year-old men. I'm sure that they had no issues but as a 50+ guy, I sure did.

dining room

bedroom

inside a turret

Capt. Gym on the bow

We have arrived safely in Charleston and we are staying in a very swank place that is right in the thick of the historical district. We had a nice, slow drive down here from Wilmington but I was very disappointed with Myrtle Beach. It was like the southeastern equivalent of the worst of Las Vegas. Having  said that the beach was nice, especially with Mrs. Gym on it.

Mrs. Gym on Myrtle Beach

Tomorrow we are going on a buggy ride and a boat trip!