Road Trip 2009: Day 13 of 17(Palm Beach/Miami)

Palm Beach to Miami

The Breakers Hotel In Palm Beach (History and Virtual Tour)

Home in Pompano Beach where I lived until I was 7 (1966 to 1973)

Don't think there used to be sidewalks, but do remember climbing on the big tree to get on our roof

My old elementary school

Some old pictures from the house. Clockwise left to right:

1) Mar 1968 - Me and my bulldog Rosie

2) 1968 - Mom holding brother Jason and sister Kelley walking

3) Nov 1969 - Me, my birthday presents, and the tree I fell out of which led to an emergency room visit

4) Easter 1968 - On backyard swing set Dad holding brother Jason, sister Kelley. and Me

5) Nov 1967 - Me finding my "blanky" hanging on the clothes line

My T-ball team 1971 (I'm on top left)

On to Miami and South Beach

Still on US-1 all the way down the coast

Lots of neat architecture in Miami

View of Miami from across the bay on Key Biscayne

Enjoying the sights and trying to knock coconuts out of the tree

Wednesday June 3, 2009

We drove from West Palm Beach into Palm Beach to see all the ritzy sights. We stopped by the Breakers Hotel and toured the grounds. It was beautiful.

We headed south towards Miami and saw so many unbelievable houses (and boats). We have an ongoing joke about when I'm going to "step it up" and provide Helen with the lifestyle she deserves. It's a joke because my ambition (career wise anyway) is not much. In the face of all the surrounding wealth all I could do was shake my head, shrug my shoulders, and reply, "You chose unwisely."

I used to live in Pompano Beach (just outside Fort Lauderdale) from the time I was about 6 months old until I was 7. My mom is from South Dakota and I was born there while my dad was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base. We moved to Florida to be near my dad's parents.

I got the address of our old house in Pompano Beach from my parents and we made a stop there on our way to Miami. It's been almost 40 years since we moved! I looked through my parent's old pictures, but I couldn't find any that really showed the house. The kids couldn't quite grasp the fact that this was where their dad lived when he was little. Everything looks so much smaller than when I was little. The houses were small and fairly well maintained. We saw a real estate agent showing a house next door and he said that the area was very depressed and the house he was selling was going for around $25,000. We stopped by my old elementary school. The teachers were still there finishing up the school year. I remember walking to the school.

We drove into Miami and found South Beach (map). It was a beautiful evening and there were lots of pretty people out and about walking and enjoying the area. The sidewalk restaurants were hopping and parking was tough to find. There seemed to be plenty of nice beaches every 8 or 10 blocks. It all seemed very pedestrian friendly and accessible.

We thought about staying in South Beach, but decided against it. We drove further south through downtown and across to Key Biscayne. The view of Miami back across the bay at sunset was beautiful. We drove around Key Biscayne and got out and played at a park before heading further down the coast to find a hotel for the night.