Florida 2015 in January

I was very happy to escape to Florida and visit my daughter and her family.  I appreciated the mild weather knowing that I was missing 24 days of some typical nasty New Jersey weather.  When I returned nature made up for what I missed by giving us some single digit temperatures with snow.  While everyday was wonderful in Palm Beach Gardens, the highlights were trips to wilderness areas,  a day trip to Miami Beach, a Segway tour of  West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Island,  and a matinee performance of "The Wiz" at the Maltz Theater in Jupiter.  

It always is a surreal experience to go "live" to a place you've only seen on TV and the movies but I finally got to the famous resort of Miami Beach.  We visited the pedestrian mall there called Lincoln Road:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Road

Shopping, live bands, street performers and good restaurants provided young and old with a good time. We also walked on the paved path along the beach and visited the beach as well.  I guess you can say we crammed the essentials in just a few short hours.  For some reason there was a hookah shop and a restaurant that featured those exotic water pipes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookah

Nice shot of an airplane taking off from Fort Lauderdale airport from the car window:

We visited Aventura Mall not far from Miami Beach.  We came upon two scenes with police activity.  One outside the mall and another in a residential area.  Like a scenes from Miami Vice------the excitement level was kicked up a notch.  In the mall was an intriguing store called All Saints.   The fashions, the store decor and the name itself ----so unique. For a person that keeps four old sewing machines on display in my living room, I was quite happy to see about 50 or more vintage sewing machines stacked up as a window display.  

If I were not worrying about

 being rude I would have had a better 

shot of this man getting a shave at

 this specialty shave shop. 

 I guess I should not have

 worried so much after all it 

looked like the art of shaving was on

 display for the world to see:

Only in Florida:

Here is a unique way to donate change for the homeless:

More of that famous Miami architecture:

My best photos came when I was practically on my back to get shots through the crowd that was watching a group of break dancers. Capturing one fellow head down feet in the air was a lucky shot.  Others were twirling on their heads:

Rockin....."I like Candy!" 

Dinner Guests:

Florida Night Life:

Maps:

More action shots:

Florida's Feathered Friends:

Florida's Flowers:

Nature Walk:

Here we are on our Segway tour of West Palm Beach 
and Palm Beach Island. We crossed a large bridge.
Such a delightful tour of a beautiful area---highly recommended by me.