Here we are more than half way through our stay  It’s been interesting!

The cottage is small but quite cozy and we have been very comfortable.  Some days, because of the rain, we haven’t ventured out, so we have taken advantage of this time to plan our trip to Europe; Jouko has worked on the flights and car rentals, while I focused on the Airbnb bookings.

Hoping that there would be free time, I brought a box of my Dad’s papers and old photos with me to sort thru and organize.  It has taken me hours!  With my phone I have taken pictures of the photos and plan to post them on the Keough Clan Facebook site.  Perhaps some family members have never seen some of the photos and hopefully others will be able to identify faces I do not know.

So our “down-time” has been well spent.

The Miami Botanical Gardens made for an interesting afternoon outing.  Of particular interest, were the butterflies.

There was an outdoor Butterfly Garden,

and an indoor one for exotic species.  On entry and departure, one went thru several doors with a pressurized air space in between, so no butterflies would escape!

As you can see, they attached themselves to us very easily, so on exist our clothing and shoes were inspected, too, to make sure none escaped and become a threat to the local population.

Just before we left, they released some newly hatched butterflies, which the children were able to enjoy!

Wandering thru the small Orchid Garden, reminded us of Singapore!

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One evening, when the weather had cleared up a little, we took a Boat Tour of Biscayne Bay.

This was not our boat, but it makes an interesting photo!

Our boat was a little more modern, and since it was open, we had good visibility.

Of course they showed us where the “Rich and Famous” lived, too. I’m not sure whose home this was, but I thought it attractive!

Once again, we saw a cruise ship sailing off into the sunset!  They are enormous!

As I think I have said before, we were amazed by the amount of wealth in the Miami area!  Huge yachts.  Enormous mansions.  Who are these people?!

By the time we returned, night had fallen and we saw the familiar sky line in an impressive array of lights.

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In the Business District, we had observed the Metro Train running up among the sky scrapers and decided that it would be interesting to see the city from a different angle.  So we hopped onto the free transit system and enjoyed the ride.

 

The automated, driver-less cars ran smoothly among some very impressive architecture.

When it was time to get something to eat, we exited and walked to the harbor for a snack.

Pelicans are such amusing looking creatures!

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At the very tip of South Beach , there is a lovely park and promenade along the mouth of the harbor.

Just look at the color of that water – and of course the handsome man!

Three weeks in Miami would have been enough, but as I said, we used the time when we weren’t out looking around to plan our upcoming “Big Trip”.  We did spend a few interesting hours at the Jewish Museum .

And the Plastic Surgery industry is alive and well!

And so we said good-bye to our little cottage and the very interesting hosts. Good-bye Miami!  It was very interesting.

Key West, here we come!