Thursday, February 1, 2024 - Today we left Monument Lake in Big Cypress for a long weekend in Miami. When I was booking this trip a year ago, I found a state park in North Miami (Oleta River State Park), which looked like a fun spot with biking trails, kayaking and a nice beach. There wasn't any camping but they had 14 tiny cabins for rent ($75/night). I checked in with a few friends to see if anyone wanted to meet us in Miami for some sightseeing, but no one took us up on it. While I was waiting to hear from people I forgot to book it. It was a bit shocking to check in at the ranger station and be told, that cabin #6 was not reserved for Jennifer Anderson. Luckily we're good at finding last minute spots, even when it's the weekend. We decided to stay at the Hard Rock Casino Hollywood, and Kevin was happy since he hasn't had any chance to play poker this trip. I've also wanted to get a Harvest Host membership and decided now was the time to try it out. It costs $85/year and there are about 10,000 locations in the US and Canada. Most locations are vineyards, breweries, farms or attractions. The hosts let you park in their parking lot, field or yard and you support them by purchasing something from them. We'll give it a try!
Friday, February 2, 2024 - We slept well in the casino parking lot and decided we'd spend the morning getting chores done before heading to Oleta River State Park for the afternoon. We debated about trying a distillery in Fort Lauderdale for our first night using our Harvest Host membership, but settled on the Hard Rock again.
The parking lot we woke up in. There were quite a few other RVs and a few semis, as well as cars of people still gambling at 7:00AM
Who doesn't want to do their laundry at Laundry Heaven!?
It was also time for an oil change. We always look for a Jiffy Lube that has an in ground bay, since our van is too big to put up on a lift (and there is too much stuff under our chassis - generator, tanks and assorted lines). The guys here were so excited to talk to us about our travels. One guy said he'd never seen snow and the other guy was extremely interested in hearing all about our trip to Alaska.
biking at Oleta SP
Cabin #6 that I had picked out to rent for the weekend. Maybe we'll give it a try next time we're in Florida
Nice bike trail in Oleta River State Park
We had to try out the novice mountain bike trail
Oleta SP is on the Biscayne Bay
should we go for a swim?
Tiny is soaking up some sun and charging our batteries
The State Park had a nice (but small) beach. We enjoyed the view and a crossword puzzle
Back to the Hard Rock for night #2
Pretty view when Kevin came back from the poker table
Saturday February 3, 2024 - We got up early this morning and headed for Miami Beach. It was a 35 minute drive at 8:00AM and we were happy to find a great parking spot in a lot close to the beach. We had breakfast in the lot, and then went for a bike ride along the beautiful Miami Beach Ocean Walk. We also biked along Ocean Drive and enjoyed seeing all the old art deco hotels and buildings. We also stopped in at the Art Deco Museum ($7) which gave a brief history of the Miami Beach area. We had Cuban for lunch and then headed out of Miami to our first Harvest Host, at a local church in Homestead. This will put us in a good location to head back into the Everglades on Sunday for a night in the Long Pine Keys Campground so Monday morning we're only a 2 hour drive from Bahia Honda in the southern Keys. After our crazy weekend in Miami we'll be happy to have 14 days at Bahia Honda SP.
We followed this skater, who took up an entire car lane for quite a few miles.
The Miami Beach Ocean Walk was a great spot for a bike ride (but a bit crowded in spots, since it was a beautiful Saturday morning)
View of Ocean Drive from the bike trail
The beach volleyball courts were hopping
we rode back on Ocean Drive
We enjoyed the small Art Deco museum. This is an architectural model of the Hotel New Yorker built in 1929
Art Deco Beach Patrol Headquarters building
Miami Beach is a really wide, white sand beach
Each of the lifeguard stands was quite unique
and colorful!
Miami Beach is a really beautiful beach
the next lifeguard stand we happened on
a rainbow lifeguard stand
and rainbow crosswalk
interesting architecture
Lunch at Havana Vieja on Washington Ave
nice outdoor patio and great Cuban food. We split a Cuban Sandwich and beef croquettes
more bike riding
and more beach views
even the Miami Beach fire house has interesting architecture
Downtown Miami as we leave town
we passed by the Miami airport right as a plane was landing over top of the highway
Our Harvest Host was on Krome Ave in Miami, but close to Homestead
Sunday February 4, 2024 - From our Harvest Host we're only a 30 minute drive to Long Pine Key in the Everglades. We stayed here a week ago, and just needed a one night stay before we travel back to the Keys, tomorrow for 2 weeks at Bahia Honda SP and 2 weeks at Curry Hammock.
The church was on a large lot, with a pavilion and playground. There were two other RVers that spent the night. We're looking forward to our next Harvest Host stay.
Today is supposed to be a rainy day. As we drive through Homestead, we can see the storm coming in over the sugarcane
In the Everglades we see a lot of panther crossing signs
Tiny across the lake at Long Pine Key
a rainy afternoon
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