Miami and Everglades

Our Air-boat.
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Our goal was to drive through the Everglades on our way into Miami for an overall feel of the area, and then go for a thrill ride on an air boat the next day to get a closer look at the wildlife. It is amazing how quickly your surroundings change when you hit the border of the Everglades. It is like crossing a line into another world. It was more like a giant savannah with a bayou feel than a tropical paradise (which is what I had been expecting). There was a profusion of exotic and very brave birds in what seems to be every direction you look, and a few birds ever came touching distance to us.

Me with a baby alligator.
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We took our tour with a company called Cooperland, who had a restaurant that sold frog legs and alligator tail steak to those who wanted the full experience, and also allowed you to touch and hold a three year old alligator after the boat ride. The company has been voted as the best Everglade tours for forty years, and is a decent drive from Miami.

It is amazing how quickly your surroundings change when you hit the border of the Everglades.

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I highly recommend going on an air boat if you ever have the opportunity. They are very loud, but we were provided with cottonballs for our ears...and the plus side really out-ways the negative. The airboats were able to go over areas that were so grassy it looked like we were cruising over land rather than water. The boat was also able to do smooth sharp turns and drive sideways to the joy of Derek, me, and everyone under 30. The things we saw are too many to list but my favorites were a male fifty year old alligator, and a crazy purple bird that tried to get into the boat...as well as the birds that DID land on the boat!

Monastery St. Bernard de Clairvaux
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After our Everglades adventure, we decided to travel back to Miami to visit some of the more popular destinations of the city...as well as some unknown wonders. In general, I didn't care for downtown, but there were pockets of areas that were very nice, and along the water the buildings were both intriguing and fancy. Along South Miami Beach, there were shops where a pair of shoes probably cost more than my entire wardrobe! The wealth of the area was amazing, and we didn't park like we had originally been planing because of all the people, a lack of parking spots, and the fact that an hour would have probably cost us an arm...literally. I bet the worst room in the worst hotel probably cost several hundred a night.

From there we went to North Miami Beach to visit the St. Bernard de Clairvaux monastery which was absolutely amazing! It was built in Segovia, Spain between 1133 to 1141, and transported to Florida in 1925 by William Randolph Hearst. The front gardens were done in a Deep South meets Jungle arrangement, with white religious statues of Mary and Jesus spotting the courtyard. The church and visiting area were closed when we arrived due to an upcoming event, but one of the ground keepers allowed us to walk the front gardens until we were told to leave by another man. Our pictures do not begin to give the monastery justice, and I would have loved to see the inside. Maybe another day?

Yes, and just so you know, Miami drivers are insane. I have been to a lot of big cities in the past, and I have never heard more car honking and yelling in my entire life. I think it might be a unique Miami hobby or past time. We spent a huge part of our day stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.