Sam and Henry felt right at home. We strolled with Jonny around their gated community in Pembroke Pines, a development northwest of Miami, on the edge of the Everglades. We got a little kid's view of its delights--trees to climb, swimming pool, and a playground with slides and animal-shaped vehicles to ride.
Next morning, May 6, 2017, we visited more tropical gardens and parks. Gardens and parks are highlights of Miami, we love them as much as Jonny and Jenny do, and they are also accessible to young families.
Our first stop was Fairchild Tropical Garden, with acres of lily ponds, waterfalls, butterfly enclosures, and walkways covered with clinging vines.
Mangrove roots are everywhere in Florida.
Sam loved running through vine-covered "tunnels".
He also liked the lily ponds.
Henry wasn't sure what that orange, yellow, and blue plant was.
One donor asked that she be remembered by a life-sized statue of herself, reclining on a park bench. She was in her nineties when the statue was made. If I ever have a memorial made for myself, that's what I want!
We walked through leafy alleys, with vistas of water beyond. Those views were iconic Florida.
After Fairchild Gardens, we ate lunch at the South Beach Mediterranean cafe which has become a favorite. I think it is named "Habibi's", but maybe not. Jonny chatted with one of the cooks, who had arrived the month before from Turkey. The food was authentic, for sure.
We arrived at the Oleta River recreation area, in North Miami, in the late afternoon. We saw the skyscrapers of Miami across the bay, but it was play and party-time in Oleta on this Saturday afternoon.
Kayaks plied the river, and we vowed to come back another time and paddle, ourselves.
Families partied on the picnic benches throughout the park. We heard many languages--Spanish, English, Russian.
Oleta even has a sandy beach. We shuffled into the water in our sandals, and Henry plumped himself down in the shallows. He got his third pants change of the day! Jonny and Jenny accomplished a maneuver I had never seen before--a vertical diaper change. Jonny dangled Henry by his armpits, while Jenny slipped off Henry's pants and replaced his diaper. How innovative!
We have been sampling ice cream stores all over Florida. The "Chillin' Nitrogen" chain was a new concept for us. The ice cream is chilled quickly using nitrogen gas, supposedly to make it taste better. Whatever. It was delicious.
Back home in Pembroke Pines, Sam the Entrepreneur plowed through grundles of pages in his second grade workbook to earn $2. Jenny hauled down Sam's possible purchases from the top of the fridge, and he bought the ultimate reward for his labor--a Batman book!
On Sunday, May 7, Dave and I attended Church with Jonny and Jenny and then said goodbye. We had spent a very fun week together.
Jonny recommended that Dave and I stop at the Morikami Japanese Gardens in Del Ray, Florida, on our ride back to Orlando to catch our plane. We adored this spot, filled with 11 separate gardens from different eras of Japanese history.
We especially enjoyed the bonsai display.
Dave warned me that we had one hour flat to tour the gardens, and that there would be no loitering. When I begged him to buy us some lunch, while I checked out the kimonos in the gift shop, Dave reappeared with the only item that the chef could pull together in less than 10 minutes--seaweed salad! Of course, we had nearly an hour to relax at the scenic Orlando Airport gate....
