Monday, April 22, 2013

16th Century Spanish Galleon

Living in a big city sometimes presents little and big surprises. Frequently there are many surprises to fall upon, but sometimes those surprises fall upon you. As I walked my sisters dog down the long and winding path through bayfront from my building at the end of Biscayne, I start to see a large wooden ship with huge masts. The first question I asked myself......was this an actual Spanish Galleon? Hmm I dont know lets find out together mind. So me and my mind, oh and my sister's dog strolled closer and closer. I could see that this ship was well taken care of and had to be a reproduction (which it sadly was), but still breathtaking.
As we got closer I saw the line of tourists being overcharged to walk onboard and look around, I couldn't deny that I wanted to as well. However, I admired the large galleon from the exterior which was nice.
I couldn't resist a black and white
16th Century Galleon of Spain's West Indies Fleet
 
 
 
Quick Vid
 
Hope you enjoyed!
 
Best,
 
Cory
 
 
 
 

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Charles Deering Estate

Today I took a little trip down to Homestead and visited the Everglades Outpost and Rescue where they house all sorts of animals abandoned by idiots that bought a tiger because they thought it was cool and then realized that tigers will not be good house pets. I was surprised to find the people who ran the place to be extremely cool and knowledgeable. They even took out two 6 week old wolf cubs for us to play with. After this quick stop we went to Robert is Here for a milkshake and all the other things they sell there such as homemade jams, honey, BBQ sauces, hot sauces, mustards, salad dressing and a farmers market with all sorts of fruits and vegetables. After many recent visits here, I was demanded to get a smoothie by the tourist information lady (Listen tootz, im just asking for the time, not to buy up a fruit stand). I listened to her kind referral and got a milkshake which was the shit, you could taste the fresh fruit, it was awesome.
 
After our 10,000 calorie milkshake we drove over to The Deering Estate, once owned by Charles Deering (Half Brother of James Deering who owned the Vizcaya Estate). Although much less impressive than his brothers beautifully large mansion and gardens, I must admit that I felt a quaintness to this estate.
 
 
 
The houses are open to the public but are almost completely barren besides works of art around the houses which I couldn't understand. Im here to see the inside of some historic guys house and how they lived, not flower paintings that I can buy from Costco. This dissapointed me because Vizcaya was left the way it was when the Deering family gave it to Dade County (besides the signage all over the place). however the grounds made up for it.
 
Above: Looking back at the houses from the boat entrance.
Below: Looking out from the houses to the boat entrance.
 
One of the pathways through the lush property.


A nature path originally built by Charles Deering for guests, employees, and public. He also built a Public Dock on the other side of the property for the public to use. 

 
   I SAID NO BOATS!

 

 

 



My final thoughts left me wondering why they didn't preserve the interior of the houses more. The grounds and the houses leave a lot to be desired compared to the Vizcaya estate, but hey Charles wasn't the super-wealthy one in the family-James was. However this should not deter one from visiting this Historic Dade estate.
 

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Planes

Photos of planes normally at Miami International Airport

Iberia (Spain)
The new American (JFK)
AA (MIA)
Korean Air (JFK)
The new American 
American (MIA)
AirBerlin (Berlin)
AirBerlin 
Delta (Frankfurt)
Old school Lufthansa (Frankfurt)
Lufthansa (Frankfurt)
Alitalia (MIA)
Virgin Atlantic (MIA)
AirFrance (MIA)
Below: Lufthansa A380 landing at MIA 









Out and About in Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade is a large county which encompasses a lot of land and many great sights. Here are some random photos from around Dade County, mainly downtown where I reside.

Abandoned RC Cola Factory 




Old Freighter 

Old rv and bus


Forklifts 

Antiques
Abandoned bakery below
Antiques
Abandoned tour bus

Antique
Junkyard 
Hialeah 
Antiques


Looking out at Brickell Key (forward) and Virginia Key in the background
 Soho House at Night on Miami Beach

 Virgnia Key Historic Beach Park
 Crandon Park Beach (Best Beach in Miami)
 Bill Baggs State Park Lighthouse
 Downtown At Night
 A look at South Beach from Virginia Key

 My old car. Matte Black Audi B8 A4 '09, i miss her.
 Looking at Mid-beach from Soho PH


 Miami Auto Show
 Downtown Sunset
 A look at Downtown from the Rusty Pelican on Virginia Key
 Bills Baggs State Park
 DWNTWN

 Key Largo (Gulf Side)

 Port Miami from 395






 Bank Of America Building
 A tanker heading up the Miami River
 Soyka @ 55th Street Station
 Downtown Miami from top of the Rickenbacker
 Oak Tavern Design District
View of the Rickenbacker from Virginia Key
 No Name Harbor, Bill Baggs, Key Biscayne.

 Virginia Key
 Bayfront Park
 Port Miami South Side
 Zeus (my sisters dog) "Should i jump on these rocks? huh?"
 Bayfront
 Bayfront


 Matheson Hammock County Park
 Matheson Lagoon





 South Pointe Park, South Beach, FL
 Tri-Rail Station Hialeah Market, black skies
 Bank of America Building

Rocket man
Sunny isles looking west (below)
Metro
Downtown from Virginia key
Beautiful skies
Heat Parade 2013
NĂºmero 1
Abandoned cement factory below
Miami from 10,000 ft