Coconut Grove Adventures

Blue Heaven Rendezvous #21

We left the anchorage off of South Beach and did not have a definite place to go today. We knew we would not be going far, about 13-18 miles, but waited until we were underway to decide our final destination. We wanted to get water, fuel for the dinghy and a pump-out so we went into Crandon Park Marina on the north end of Key Biscayne. It looked like a very nice marina but usually do not have many transient slips available. Luckily we did not want a slip, but the other necessities mentioned. They had all three but the pump-out broke earlier that morning, just our luck!

Although the winds were out of the east, they were lighter (10 -12 knots) so we decided to go to the west shore and check out Coconut Grove. Due to the Miami boat show we knew they had no slips for a 41 ft. boat at Dinner Key Marina, because we had called a few days earlier. You can anchor out there and decided it wasn’t too lumpy so we that is what we did and put out two anchors just to be sure.

Al went once again to a neighboring anchored boat to get information. He hit the jackpot because the couple was local and knew a lot. This couple, Phil and Nell on Upside Down just sold their last vehicle because they plan to leave in March to sail the world the next five to ten years. They are living in a very nice suite in a hotel until they leave near the Coconut Grove Sailing Club to which they are members. You meet a lot of interesting people cruising.

After lunch we went into the public dinghy dock to see some of the area. We were told to be sure and lock your dinghy because of some unsavory characters that are around.
The condos and hotels have very modern and unusual architecture which was interesting. And of course, there were the usual nice shops and restaurants all around in the Coconut Grove Business District as well as a great gourmet-type market next to City Hall which is along the waterfront.

At the boat that evening, after dinner, Al was using a toothpick when one of his caps came off. Now what do we do?!! I said to Al, “I don’t know which is worse - having your ‘bod’ or your boat break down!” We figured nothing could be done until tomorrow so we went to bed.

The next morning we flagged down Phil who was the local. He said his wife would know who to contact and that they would be back in fifteen minutes. We followed them into the sailing club where Nell used the phone book to get the phone number of her friend who was a dentist. She called and they said to come right over. They then walked us over to the hotel where they are living and had the doorman call us a taxi. Nell used her Spanish to tell the taxi driver where to take us and off we went. We arrived, paid the driver and went to enter the building and saw the name on the door was not the name
Nell had given us. Our taxi had already left so we entered the dentist office and they said the dentist had moved her office about a year ago, but Nell must not have been aware of it. The dentist whose office we were in said they could take Al, so I called and canceled the other dentist while Al got his cap cemented back on. Next door was a grocery, so I picked up some things we needed. The dentist office called us a taxi and back to the sailing club we went and all done by 11am. Some things work out rather nicely, and all because Al met some nice local people!

After lunch we wanted to visit Vizcaya, the winter home of International Harvester vice-president, James Deering. We walked almost 3 miles to get there but it was well worth it! It provided a glimpse into the wealthy lifestyle of the early 20th century. It was built between 1914-1916 and designed to be similar to European estates that Deering had visited. He went on buying sprees and purchased all the furniture, lighting fixtures, doors and fireplaces all over Europe and had them shipped here. What I found amazing are the modern conveniences that were built in, including central heating, an automatic electrical telephone switchboard, 2 elevators, refrigeration, central vacuuming system and a fire control system. Remember, this was in 1914!

It is on the water and has a beautiful view of Biscayne Bay. Unfortunately, various hurricanes have damaged the Stone Barge which you see, but it is suppose to be restored in the near future. The surrounding formal gardens were magnificent. You can certainly understand why it is a designated National Historic Landmark.

The other interesting tidbits about this place are that in 1994 Clinton held the Summit of the Americas with 34 leaders of the Western Hemisphere here. In 1987, then President Ronald Reagan met the Pope here and Queen Elizabeth II toured the estate in 1996.

No pictures were permitted inside so I can only show you the outside. It definitely was worth the six mile walk to and back again, plus we got the exercise we needed!