Miami Vice-Claw

[The Hooded Claw]

Statue of Julia Tuttle, the "Mother of Miami" in Bayfront Park.  Her great contribution was to convince Henry Flagler to extend his coastal Florida railroad down to the future site of Miami.  Tragically, she died at age 49.  Should I have told the lady she had an alligator on her dress?




Bayfront Park is in a highly developed hotel strip, but this Great Blue Heron quietly hides out in a secluded portion of the park.  I didn't realize when I took the picture, but it looks like he had caught himself a minnow!




Fountain and hotels....While I was in work meetings, the weather was beautiful, so naturally on my morning of sightseeing there was persistent come-and-go rain!




While taking shelter from the rain in a grove of palms, I noticed these tiny ants on a palmetto (I think) plant.




rainy palmetto




I had a great lunch in a Cuban restaurant--Palomilla steak, rice, black beans, and pan-fried plantains!  This is a cell phone cam picture, and the colors just aren't quite right.




Interior of Jesu Church (Catholic) founded 1896





This very appropriate stained glass was in between the pipes of the the church's organ.



A couple of more to come....

[The Hooded Claw]

Lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.  This is Lieutenant Dan's Drunken Shrimp, and it tasted good as well as looking impressive!




And of course I had to get Key Lime Pie





Fun decoration at a kid's playground in the park.





You can't have Miami without cocoanut trees and sky-high hotels!




The Freedom Tower--Doesn't have quite the look I associate with Miami, but it was the town's first skyscraper in 1929, and in 1959, it was leased by the US Government to serve as a processing point for the numerous Cubans entering the US to flee the Castro government in Cuba.  It is sometimes called The Cuban Ellis Island.

[spotsmom]

Do people in restaurants ever look at you funny when you're taking photos of food with your cell phone? 

[telracs]

Do people in restaurants ever look at you funny when you're taking photos of food with your cell phone? 

they look at him funny, but it's got nothing to do with taking pictures....
i KEEP telling him NOT to wear the cape...

[The Hooded Claw]

Do people in restaurants ever look at you funny when you're taking photos of food with your cell phone? 

When I photographed the wild boar, we were the only ones in the club so far, and my friend Cindy held the plate in the middle of the room where the light was better (far away from our table) while I photographed it.  Her husband is used to both of us being nuts, but the waiter did stare.

In SEVERAL places, the service has improved sharply after I took the snaps.  Once I was brought an unasked for complimentary dessert.  I usually try to get the photos when the waiters are distracted, but I think they sometimes think I may be a reviewer or writer!

[The Hooded Claw]

Missed this one before...Better shot of Lieutenant Dan's Drunken Shrimp