From the Mountains to the Fairies

July 4 is here, and it brings so many warm memories.  Yesterday Wifey and I were driving home from a full day stay-cation, and we spoke with D2.  We all recalled how that adorable little girl, now 25 and a business executive in NYC, used to mangle song lyrics, in the cutest way.  "God Bless America" had fairies instead of prairies, and Alannis Morissette sang "You've Already RUN me over..."

When the Ds were small, their JCC Summer Camp sponsored an early day parade, through the Kendall neighborhood where we lived, and ending at the campus.  There'd be floats, and a band, and the kids loved it.  I remember clearly the Ds, probably about 8 and 5, shouting ebulliently, "Happy Birthday, America!"

Yesterday, erev Fourth, Wifey and I decided to play local tourist.  I had seen that the History Museum had an exhibit about Hurricane Andrew, now 25 years in the past.  It was a seminal event in our lives -- most South Dade folks still refer to "before or after" and we know they mean the storm.  So we decided to go, and got into the girlie Caddy for the ride.  Wifey checked the web site, and learned the Museum was CLOSED on Monday.  Oh well -- plan B -- we figured we'd check out the new Frost Science Museum.

I parked in my office lot.  One of my cheapness qualities is I avoid paying tons for parking, when I can, and the Frost lot charges probably $25 for a visit.  Instead, we hopped MetroMover, the still cool to me driverless train, and it stopped right across the street from the Frost and its neighbor, the PAMM (Perez Art Museum of Miami).

We paid our discounted, for Miami folks, admission, and went inside.  We started on the roof, which gives a top down view of the new huge fish tank, as well as awesome views of the city.  Museum Park is at the very end of Government Cut, so you look down and get the view the cruise captains do as they go to sea.

A lot of the museum is sea and shoreline based, and we loved it.  I've had fish tanks since I was a boy, and the ones there were world class -- at the bottom of the half million gallon tank there is an "oculus lens" which lets you see all the creatures like sharks and dolphin fish swimming right above you.

We then went to the new planetarium, and saw a Liam Neeson narrated film about the Earth.  It brought back memories of laser shows with Pink Floyd and other Prog Rock group music in the old planetarium, back in the day.  Apparently the Museum is bring these back -- we might have to visit after a few martinis or other intoxicant...

After a lovely 4 hours, we hopped back on the People Mover and headed back to Brickell.  I watched them build the damn thing, and still don't fully know its route.  But a helpful fellow directed us to a loop change, and sure enough, we headed back across the Miami River and got off at Brickell City Centre.  You can now walk right into the place from the station.

As D1 noted, City Centre is like something you'd see in Tokyo -- huge and impressive.  They have a climate ribbon which is supposed to direct Bay breezes onto the promenades, and it worked.  It was most pleasant walking there.  We headed to the new Lux movie theater and bought tickets for "Baby Driver" -- we both love Kevin Spacey.  The movie was a two star for us, but the theater was something.  I'll go along again and nap while Wifey gets her movie fix.

From there, we made our way across the street, to my office, and back into the girlie Caddy.  It was a great way to spend the eve of the Fourth.

My righty friends defend Trump, and my lefty friends are convinced he's the second coming of Hitler.  I find him to be a comic book like representation of all that's bad about the US -- starting with the ignorance of a large swath of our citizens.  But Trump will pass, like Nixon did, and the US will be just fine.

My Ds are Fourth generation Americans.  I'm glad my grandparents relatives, whoever they were, made the brave trip here from Romania and Russia around the turn of the 20th Century.  This place has proven to be awesome for us -- bumps and wrinkles and all.

So today Wifey and I will head to Miami Beach, and watch the fireworks, and have great time.  Inside, I'll be thankful for this glorious country -- all the way from the mountains to the fairies.