Adventures along the River

Labor Day was a great day to visit the beach, hang out in the Grove and hang by the River. We went to Finnegan's which I hadn't been to in a really long time and remembered why I like this spot where you can either by lazy and chill while looking at the boats going up and down the Miami River, or be active and swim and lounge by the pool. It's a sports bar and the food's ok but it's a fun place to visit.

Plus this time around, I met the Boat Man (as I call him) and King Richard the Lionheart (real name) which made my visit even more special. The Boat Man helped tie up the boats as they arrived. I learned a few things too from the Boat Man, like what the enormous barges do, where they dump their dredgings (27th Ave), and how the islands around downtown formed (dredging deposits) and turned into what they are now, and noticed that these barges are from the Port of New Orleans (Miami doesn't have its own? But at least they are here and not bumping around the Industrial Canal breaking through levee walls, right?). It was a fun time and here are some photos:

The view:

Barges and the Miami River:

The Boat Man and King Richard the Lionheart:

Knee and Neon:

The fishtank:

Parking lot art under I-95:

Back in the Grove after dinner at Jaguar, steering the ship at Barracuda:

Miami Signs

To follow up with El Capitan's post of signs and neon obsession,



and Miamians wonder why we still have a Miami Vice reputation?

This is actually a drugstore and diner in South Miami that has been there forever. However I find it's terribly appropriate. (BTW I hear the food is not so fantastic)

SoBe landmarks

I've been here a few times, usually after a late night at Crobar (now Cameo but I'm old school)

In my three years on the beach I was obsessed with this place, and for all the right reasons. It doesn't fit in with anything else on the beach, it's shiny, it looks like a trailer, it's on Washington Ave and it has a neon sign that says "dinners and cocktails." what's not to be obsessed with it? i mean, other than the fact that the scrambled eggs seemed suspiciously to be of the "powdered" variety. But at 3 a.m., who cares, right?

I Like Neon

I really like neon and Miami is a fantastic place to be a fan of the noble gas. Hell, even our bridges are lit up like the colors of the rainbow (see the Port of Miami bridge and the MacArthur Causeway - one day I'll get these too). Plus I also really like random signs. Here are some from the Wynwood area:

Hot Nights in the Bamboo Garden

These wonderful, delightful neon poles called the Bamboo Garden are in my neighborhood and I think they are my favorite installment of random downtown Miami art. Sometimes it's fun to dance dance dance with the lights. It's a good time. You should try it.