My Kind of Restaurant

I haven't blogged too much about the food on this adventure, mostly because we usually eat at home or are grabbing a quick bite somewhere that's not particularly blog-worthy.  But while shelling on Sanibel Island, we passed The Island Cow at lunch time and decided to have a late lunch.  It looked fun and funky and like my kind of place.

The front patio

Be sure to read the small print!

"Almost" free beer!

The place was full of funny signs, lots of color and had a huge menu.  The iced tea was cold and refreshing and our entrees delicious.

Coconut Shrimp Spinach Salad

Paella

If you ever find yourself on Sanibel Island at breakfast, lunch or dinner time, stop at the Island Cow and give it try - you won't be sorry.  I only wish I could transport it to Colorado!

Until next time...

A Virgin No More!

A Margaritaville virgin, that is!  In all my travels, I have avoided going to any Margaritaville restaurant, preferring to wait to go to the original one in Key West.  Well, I finally made it!

Cheers!

The margarita was made with fresh lime juice, lots of tequila and tasted fantastic!  I'd have like to have had more than one, but, as some of you know, I pretty much a lightweight in the drinking department and I wouldn't have been able to walk if I'd had another.

And I had...a Cheeseburger in Paradise, of course!

Pretty mediocre for a burger, though.

The interior was quite laid back, only a small amount of tables.  We went for lunch, so missed the live music, but the screen above the stage played music videos of Buffet concerts.

The waitresses wore this tshirt.

One more item crossed off the bucket list! Oh, and I did find my lost shaker of salt!  :-)

Until next time...

The Florida Riviera

I've never been to the French Riviera, but Miami Beach's South Beach area touts itself as the Florida Riviera. The reason I wanted to visit was because I love anything and everything Art Deco.  And the Art Deco District is the country's first 20th century neighborhood to be recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.

We first drove down Ocean Ave (Hwy A1A) to get a feel for the area and find a place to park.  All the hotels and buildings had either retail shops or restaurants on the ground floor.

Ocean Ave looking south

Ocean Ave looking north

Lummus Park

On the eastern side of Ocean Ave, the park has access to the beach, volleyball courts, bathrooms and lots of shade.

We finally found a place to park a couple of blocks away and started walking and gawking at all the Art Deco buildings on the west side.

I liked the tower on this one.

Curved walls made appearances frequently.

The detail is hard to see in pictures, but spectacular in person.

This looks pretty plain in the daylight, but if  you look closely, you'll see the neon tubes on the front.  I imagine the whole street is breathtaking at night!

This hotel has been  renting rooms since 1935.

Another building with a "lighthouse" look.

These hotel rooms have all the modern amenities.

 Park Central hotel was the first hotel to be returned to its original splendor.  The hotel was a hangout for Clark Gable, Carole Lombard and Rita Hayworth, to name a few.

More rounded corners

Once the home of Versace and the location of his death on its front steps, Casa Casaurina is now an upscale restaurant.

It was crazy hot on the boardwalk (it's actually a brick lined sidewalk, but they call it a boardwalk) and way past lunch time, so I told Sid he had to chose where to have lunch.  This place looked happy from the outside and had great salsa music wafting out...

Mangos

Interior

Imagine our surprise when these guys hopped up on the bar and started their routine!

A feast for the female eye!

A little later, the guys got their desserts.  The girl on the left could really shake her booty!

We had a great lunch, but Sid will never live down his choice!  Then it was back out to check out the beach itself.

The beach was very deep and the sand is getting whiter and softer the further south we go.

The lifeguard shacks were colorful.

Beach Patrol headquarters and, more importantly, bathrooms!

Vendors on the beach

Driving through the rest of the area, there were plenty of unusual architecture everywhere.  I don't know where they come up with all the designs, because every single building was different in some way.

Loved the "wings" on top.

Oval shaped buildings

Hotels, condos must have amazing views

I wonder if there are rooms at the top?

Reminds me of a 50s type of building

Great street art

All four corners of this street had differently painted turtles.

Even Walgreen's is into the Deco look!

Home of the first tattoo reality show...

Miami Ink!

Just a fraction of some of the smaller yachts on the intracoastal.

Of course, I can't just show the good - there's also the bad and the ugly...

The bad - homeless sleeping in the park.  We saw quite a few.

The ugly - even South Beach has alleys.

The day was a total feast for our eyes.  Everywhere we looked was something interesting, beautiful or unusual to see.  What a great day!

Tomorrow, we pick up stakes and head to Key West!  I'm so excited, I know I'll have a hard time sleeping tonight!

Until next time...

Why's it called Beantown?

I ❤ Boston!!!

After having limited luck navigating large cities on our own (Nashville, anyone?), we decided to do another trolley tour as a way of seeing the most of the city in the short time we had.

Old Town Trolley Tours

The Trolley map

The green line is the route the trolley took.  As you can see, we pretty much covered the entire city.

There are several of these hop on/hop off narrated tours in the city and, for me, they are the best way to visit a large city with limited parking.  Our campground host was able to give us good directions to a garage in North Caimbridge where we could park all day for only $7 as opposed to $30 - $50 in town, and we took the "T", as Boston's subway system is called, into the city each day.

The days we chose could not have been more beautiful, weather-wise.  High seventies and low humidity made riding in the open air trolley and walking on our own very pleasant. I took a million pictures, but only later realized that the camera I was using was okay for distance shots, but gave me blurry, unfocused images when I zoomed.  Still, I managed to get a few images to share with you. 

Paul Revere House

The house has actually been restored to not what it looked like when Revere lived here, but to a typical house of the period.  Very disappointing for me.  Interestingly, the house was bought by Revere descendants in 1902 to insure the history was not lost.

USS Constitution Museum

This is a great hands-on museum for children.  For adults, not so much, although Sid enjoyed it.

Old Ironsides

The USS Constitution was in dry dock when we visited, so no one was allowed aboard.  Interestingly, the dry dock she is currently in is actually a National Historic Landmark, having been built in 1833.  Before this was built, ships had to be laid on their sides for repairs.

Massachusetts State House 

We ran out of time, so didn't get to go inside this state capitol building.  We did learn, however, that the gilded dome, originally copper laid by Paul Revere, had been painted several different colors before the state settled on the gold leaf.  During World War II, the gold was painted over once again to make it less of a target for potential bombers.

Old North Church

Arguably, the most visited historic site in the country.

Old cemeteries

These are found throughout the city.  We walked through a couple and I think one of the earliest tombstones we saw was from the late 1600s.

Fenway Park

The oldest park in Major League baseball.

TD Garden

Home of the Boston Celtics basketball team.

Boston Common

Not a great picture, but this park is so large it's impossible to take a good picture.  The park was created in 1634, making it the old park in the country.  Used for many things over the years, such as cow grazing, public hangings and protests, the park is still owned by the citizens of Boston and hosts a wide variety of events for the public.  

Street performer on the Common

Sid and his fishing buddy at the Frog Pond in the Boston Common

Bunker Hill Monument

I wanted  to walk on Bunker Hill, but we ran out of time.  Did you know the Battle of Bunker Hill actually took place on Breed's Hill?  Bunker Hill lies behind the monument.

Freedom Trail

The Freedom Trail is a walking tour of historical sites denoted by this line of bricks embedded in the sidewalk.  We walked about a mile of the 2.5 mile trail.

And, finally, it was imperative that we get some fresh seafood while in the city.  The restaurant has any type you could wish for and is delicious.  The crab cakes are to die for!

Although we saw and did a lot in our two days in the city, there is so, so much more to Boston.  The Museum of Art, the Trinity Church, Bunker Hill, the Boston Public Library, the Christian Science complex and just too many things to list.  I know that I hope to come back some day and discover all that Boston has to offer.

Oh, and the Beantown nickname?  Well, there's no definite answer, but Massachusetts has long been known for its baked beans, dating back to its Native American roots.  For other possible stories, check out this website and make your own decision!

Until next time...