A rather disturbing , pre-1954 view of the Railroad’s past.

Baby chicks hatching at the Miami Dade County Fair. Open though next Sunday, April 1st.

So my sister and her fiancee were in town this past weekend. They’re getting married in June and guess what the leitmotif of their wedding is gonna be? That’s right, you guessed it, shells.

Now in the old days I’m sure if you came to Florida seeking shells, you’d just skip on out to the beach, plop yourself down on the first patch of sand, close your eyes, bury your greedy meathooks in the wet grit, dump it all in a bucket and call it a day.

In the modern age of consumerism, dredging, and manicured white sand, there are no more sea shells on the sea shore (nor is Sally selling them on the pricey waterfront anymore) so if you come to Florida to collect shells, skip the beach entirely and head straight for the marvelous commercial establishments hawking all sorts of crustacean lucre along with huge helpings of nostalgia for the old days when you could actually find this stuff on the beach…
(more…)

For those of you (like me) who missed the Chihuly exhibit at Fairchild Tropical Garden last year, it’s back. And thank god, because I visited Fairchild (with Bennett) after the exhibition was over, loved the experience, and was really bummed I hadn’t gone during the exhibit.

We had put off going because the entrance fee seemed a bit on the high side. At $20 per adult for regular admission, and $30 per adult for the Chihuly show, that’s an expensive date – considering there’s no open bar.

Thankfully, Fairchild has a membership program which makes it worth going if you plan on visiting more than once. And you should, because …
(more…)