Collins Avenue John Collins was a farmer and land developer who built the first wooden bridge from Miami to Miami Beach in 1913
Flagler Street
Miami Beach Celebrated its 100th Birthday this year (2015)
Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railway made connections to Miami a reality. Before 1896 there was no easy way to move goods or people out of Miami. The railroad arrived in April of that year. Henry Flagler is known as the “father” of Miami and his name pops up in many places in South Florida.
Biscayne Blvd This street takes it name from the Biscayne Bay
No longer connected – a section of the old railway bridge going to Key West, FL. Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railway made connections possible. It’s a shame it has long since disappeared.
Brickell Avenue
William and Mary Brickell owned a trading post on the south side of the Miami River. In the late 1800’s everything south of the river was called Brickell for many years.
Julia Tuttle Causeway If Henry Flager is considered the “father” of Miami then Julia Tuttle is the “mother” of Miami. She gave Henry Flagler a hard time and persuaded him to extend his rail line 65 miles south from Palm Beach to Miami.
Rickenbacker Causeway
If you’re feeling fit you can cycle across the Rickenbacker Causeway and visit Key Biscayne and Bill Baggs State Florida Park
This name comes from the WW1 ace pilot, Eddie Rickenbacker who then became the president of Eastern Airlines which had its base in Miami.
Killian Drive Dan Killian had a country store south of what is now called Coral Gables and was responsible for the first schools, streetlights and churches in the area
Don Shula Expressway Don Shula was the Miami Dolphins coach. He retired in 1997 and holds the coaching record for the most wins in the NFL (347). He coached the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team in the NFL history to play a perfect 16-0 season and win the Super Bowl.
Ives Dairy Road and Milam Dairy Road
Ives Dairy Road – no longer the home of the dairy!
Once upon time these roads went to actual Dairy Farms. Now Ives Dairy Road leads to the Sun Life Stadium where the Miami Dolphins play. Milam Dairy Road goes to the city of Miami Lakes. The Milam family chain of grocery stores can still be found in the area.
I think it is a shame that the Dairy Farms are no longer there and have been replaced by a stadium – what do you think?
Do you know any other origins of Miami street names?
Cryptozoology – The search for and study of animals whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the Loch Ness monster and the yeti.
In fact did you know there’s a Cryptozoological Museum?
The mission of the museum is to share items cryptozoologically collected, since 1960, by Loren Coleman and gathered from other donators to his collection.
They even have a cryptozoological map of the Monsters in America. Check out the monsters living in your state.
Watch out, watch out…there be monsters about…
Loren Coleman, author/co-author/contributor of over 100 books, is someone you’ve seen in Bigfoot and cryptozoology documentaries and reality television programs, since 1969. This museum is his legacy, and was founded in 2003. For more on the history of the Museum, click here.
Here in Florida we have the Skunk Ape. It’s also known as the swamp ape, stink ape, Florida Bigfoot, myakka ape, swampsquatch, and myakka skunk ape. It is a hominid cryptid said to inhabit the U.S. states of Florida, North Carolina, and Arkansas, although reports from Florida are more common.
Let me know if you spot any of these monsters. In the meantime, I’ll keep a lookout for the Skunk Ape…
Did you miss last week’s Dictionary Corner – Hump Day – why not check it out here
If you take a walk along the bay near Bayfront Park, look out for a well hidden treasure – a rock garden pond complete with mini bridge, water-lillies and lots of trees and plants.
Bayfront Park Miami
Bayfront Park
A relaxing spot to chill
A hidden pond within Bayfront Park
It’s very relaxing and tranquil and if there’s a spare bench why not sit and chill a while.
I had to go to Miami International Airport the other day to meet someone visiting. From time-to-time there are art exhibitions and artwork around the airport.
If you happen to be in Terminal J look out for a big bright and colorful piece of Pixel Art of MIA.
For those of you too far away to see it up close and personal, here’s a photo I’ve taken so you can see how fun it looks 🙂
This is the artwork currently displayed at Miami International Airport. Oct 2015.
eBoy explain that a Pixorama is a mix between the words : Pixel & Panorama. It is a Digital Art Work that is created pixel by pixel on a computer. It is a new technique of Art creation and its it allows great creativity.
For the first time, Mars Design Miami and eBoy bring their talent to a very specific project by pixelising MIA as a “city” itself.
The eBoyMIA Pixorama landing took place at the Miami International Airport with a presentation of a big print of the Artwork on the walls of the MIA.
For more information about the above artwork please visiteBoy Miami
The Beach and surrounding areas pixel style. Click the photo for more info at eboymiami.com
They also depict areas of Miami and Miami Beach in another colorful pixel artwork.
It’s fun to pick out areas that you recognize.
Can you spot the funky Lifeguard Huts on the beach, The Living Room from the Design District, the art deco hotels?…take a look and see what you can find. There’s so much packed into the artwork it may take you a while.
There are so many words to learn, understand and discover as well as some interesting new phrases that have cropped up over the years.
Welcome to Dictionary Corner
For example:What on earth does Hump Day mean?
I guess a Camel would be happy to celebrate Hump Day on any day of the week!
Does it mean – Grab your camels by the hump? Is Quasimodo in town and which day? What is going on with this hump? I see this phrase on forums and it seems to pop up more and more in general chats!
Hump Day actually refers to the middle of the week, and specifically, Wednesday. It has become a popular phrase, implying that you have to get “over the hump” before you can anticipate the weekend.
So next time it’s the middle of the week, see if you can drop the phrase somewhere in the conversation and see what reaction you get. At least if they look at you with a puzzled face, you can wow them with your new found knowledge or just direct them here to get the lowdown 🙂
To help you get the most of your Hump Day why not check out my regular Wisdom Wednesday articles – the posts that speak for themselves.
We are very lucky to have exotic flowers growing all around us in Miami because of the wonderful weather.
Whilst out walking yesterday I saw a bright orange flash of color and realized there were a number of Bird of Paradise flowers growing nearby.
I just had to snap a picture or two 🙂
These flowers earned their name because their shape resembles a bird.The Bird of Paradise flower is an interesting shape and has a very vibrant orange color.
Strelitzia reginae (Strelitziaceae)
Common Names:
Bird of Paradise Flower
Crane Flower
Crane Lily
Bird of Paradise flowers are associated with liberty, magnificence and good perspective.
This morning, early on the beach, we were entertained by an amazing collection of clouds that covered the arrival of the sunrise. They were dramatic and each one was different from the next. It would have been rude not to capture them considering Mother Nature was putting on a great show.
Now you can enjoy them too…here are the collection of Morning Sunrise Clouds courtesy of Mother Nature herself.
Morning Sunrise Clouds
Sunrise clouds hide the early morning sunDo you have a favorite cloud type?Cotton Wool cloudsThe morning sunrise cloud formations put on a wonderful show
It was amazing that so many different variations of cloud were in the sky all at the same time. It looked like an artist’s brush had painted the sky.
They appear depending on the atmospheric conditions which change throughout the day. Each one unique, and even though you will see similar clouds again, they will always be different.
The panoramic view of the early morning clouds is even more dramatic. The morning sunrise clouds hide the star of the show but they’re doing a great job stealing the limelight.
Do you have a favorite cloud? Can you name any of the clouds featured in these pictures? Let me know below.
I was reminded recently about how I used to have a proper writing set. A fountain pen with various colors of ink and blotting paper. It was fun to write with and could get messy, especially if the cartridge leaked. There was also a huge selection of interesting writing paper and matching envelopes to buy for all those thank you notes to family members at Christmas and Birthdays as well as pen pals to write to. I even used my fountain pen at school.
The fountain pen is becoming part of the dying art of writing. You can still buy them which is good to know…but for how long?
With the introduction of high tech, email and tablet devices, the art of writing a letter to someone using a pen and paper is becoming instinct.
I wrote an article about this – The Art of Letter Writing where I explain how a Round Robin letter works, and that some of us are attempting to keep the tradition alive.
It’s interesting, because once you start writing again, you realize your hand muscles are out of training and half way down a letter you can feel the real workout your hand is getting. Do you remember the little indentation you used to get where the pen pressed against your middle finger? Look at your finger…depending what “era” you are from and how old you are, you should have a nice writer’s bump by now 🙂
We’ve always found ways to communicate.
We’ve come along way from the times when our ancestors scratched across the papyrus with a quill and ink pot. Technological advancement and clever minded inventors make it much easier to have a similar experience without plucking any feathers today!
Although complete writing sets are harder to find nowadays, you can still come across some interesting writing paper should you wish to join me in keeping snail mail alive and brighten up someone’s unloved mailbox!
Let me share some fun stationery with you. I hope I can inspire you to keep the dying art of writing alive as well as some ideas on how you can ensure people still know how to write with pen and paper in the future!
Writing Paper
As Autumn/Fall is approaching I recently purchased some seasonal writing paper.
40 large sheets. Check your sizes before buying. This particular set was 8.5in x 11in (21.6cm x 27.9cm)
With this range you can also visit their online site and download templates which are relevant to the design you selected if you really can’t stay away from technology!
A decorative holiday writing paper which is good not only for Autumn /Fall /Hallowe’en writing but anytime of the year to cheer someone up.
I found the above pumpkin paper, made by Gartner Studios, at the Office Depot store, where they had a huge selection of fancy writing paper. They don’t always come with matching envelopes but you can always jazz up a plain envelope by using special stamps or stickers…but plain and simple is perfectly fine too.
With this range from Gartner Studios, you can also visit their online site and download templates which are relevant to the design you selected…if you really can’t stay away from technology!Candy Corn Stationery by Gartner Studios. Click on the photo for more info.
If that’s not spooky enough paper for you they also have a candy corn Hallowe’en design. Be careful of colors that are too bright or designs that takeover the paper – you want your recipient to enjoy the fun paper, but you also want them to be able to read your writing!
You can also find fancy writing paper online. I bought this Sea Flowers paper from Amazon. This set came with mix and match paper and envelopes together with some stickers to brighten up your letter or pop on the envelope.
Mix and Match Stationery by Jill Bliss. Click on the photo for more information.
Depending on the type of letter writer you are, don’t forget to check the paper sizes. The Hallowe’en style paper above was nice and large but the Jill Bliss Sea Flowers paper was much smaller in size and actually had fewer sheets – 16 stationery sheets as opposed to 40 sheets.
Once you’ve thought about the paper, you may like to check out a few other essentials like pens and notebooks as well as exploring creative ways to write such as Calligraphy. I’ll be covering these topics soon.
So next time your WiFi gives out and you’re sitting there twiddling your thumbs and feeling completely cut off from the world…you’ll be completely ready for the internet outage apocalypse. Whip out your stationery set, pen and paper and get writing to someone…but try not to mention that your internet connection is down, there are more exciting topics you can think of I’m sure 🙂
I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
When was the last time you wrote or received a handwritten letter?
Do you have a secret stationery supplier that you can share with me?
Do you think letter writing is becoming a dying art?
