Blog No. 6 of 2025

Happy Saturday and you will see why I’m writing this blog today instead of yesterday as you read on and realize how busy a Friday I had (and it was totally intentional!)

But let’s go back to last Saturday. Our friends Shawn and Suzanne and their kids came by for breakfast. Suzanne and Shawn were in town to run the Miami Marathon.

Then in the afternoon, Nick, Vance and I spent the day together grabbing lunch at one our favorite local spots Evio’s and having fun at Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah. At Evio’s, I had a really great chicken caesar wrap for lunch then after, at Amelia Earhart Park we pedaled around the lake in a cute swan boat, catching glimpses of iguanas, geese, ducks and turtles and enjoying the relaxing views. We also took a long leisurely walk around the park, climbed their little hill and tossed the football and frisbee around. Seems to be a ritual with us lately, every weekend means a visit to another park and I’m totally fine with that! Just check out the pictures above.

That’s Shawn and Suzanne at the front of the table on the left side and the rest of us, at Southport Raw Bar.

Sunday after a leisurely day at home, Vance and I headed up to Fort Lauderdale to meet our friends at Southport Raw Bar. We all gathered to spend time with Shawn and Suzanne before they left to go back home to Baltimore on Monday. It was a great time at a place we all used to hang out when we were younger.

Surfside beach walk.

View from the jetty near Haulover Park and Marina.

Tippy tip of the jetty.

Let’s jump to Wednesday when I finally decided to head to the beach after Suzanne asked me why I wasn’t going to the beach more often. So I grabbed a towel and headed to Surfside where I enjoyed some time on the sand and took a long walk toward the jetty across from Haulover Park & Marina. It was a glorious afternoon getting my steps in with amazing views.

Thursday afternoon I headed to Liberty City to support a young up and coming artist Heaven Jones who I know through our work with the Arts & Business Council of Miami. She curated a show at her aunt’s hair salon which may sound like an odd place to host an exhibition but as she gave me a personal tour and explained the reasoning behind it I walked away with a warm, fuzzy feeling. As stated in the press release, the exhibition titled “Born, Bred, & Sheddin’ the Souf” “is an immersive exhibit dedicated to the exploration of southern heritage and identity through the lens of contemporary art. Curated by Miami-based creative Heaven Jones, this exhibition unites diverse artistic voices to examine the rich intersection of lineage, culture, and transformation.” At the conclusion of my personal tour I was so excited to hear that the exhibit will be moving to the Marshall Davis Sr., African Heritage Cultural Arts Center. I’ll let you know when it’s scheduled to show there.

Finally yesterday, I spent a majority of the day away from the computer and taking in some great Miami events.

The step and repeat for Juggerknot’s “Miami Bus Stop Stories: Tropical Dreams” at HistoryMiami

I kicked off the morning at HistoryMiami where I caught Juggerknot Theatre Company’s latest immersive theater experience “Miami Bus Stop Stories: Tropical Dreams.” In it, they take you through the museum’s “Tropical Dreams” exhibition, presenting a history lesson about Miami including Native Americans and Bahamians, the city’s founders, the tumultuous past and present of the immigrant population and ending with a touching candlelit gathering. During the entire experience, the actors who portrayed the historic characters, had us intently listening, participating, boarding the historic trolley that’s on display there, dancing to Bahamian and Cuban music and singing along making the trek through the exhibit a true community gathering. The show runs through Feb. 16 and I have a sneaky suspicion it will be extended, as most of their previous shows have been.

“Sitting Tree” sculpture by Mark Baum at the Main Library.

Book (and my pointy shoes) at Tropic Bound.

Gorgeous woodcut at Tropic Bound.

Lovely vertical book created with delicate paper and illustrations with the words to Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Tropic Bound.

After a quick stop at the Main Library on my way to the car, I headed to the Miami Design District to attend the Tropic Bound Artists Book Fair. I’d been waiting for it to return to Miami since 2023 and it was just as magical as it was two years ago. I stopped by every single table, talking to all the printmakers, book binders and book artists, learning about their craft and marveling at their beautiful creations. I have a ton of business cards, subscribed to all their e-mail lists and bought some beautiful paper. The event runs through tomorrow and it’s free! If you like beautiful books and even paper, yes paper, this is the show for you! Take a look at the photos above that I captured while there.

Vance’s dish at A La Folie restaurant on Española Way.

I ended the day on a date night with Vance. I introduced him to Silents Synced, an art cinema program that matches silent films to contemporary music. I saw the first one which was a pairing of “Nosferatu” to the music of Radiohead. Last night’s was Buster Keaton’s “Sherlock Jr.” paired with REM’s albums “Adventures in Hi Fi” and “Monster.” I was seriously impressed with Keaton’s talent given this film was made in 1924. We watched it at O Cinema in Miami Beach and then went to dinner on Española Way just a few blocks up the street to a quaint little French spot A La Folie. I had a delicious mushroom crepe with a crisp green salad and a glass of sauvignon blanc and Vance ordered the goat cheese appetizer. Both were delicious and I love that this spot is at the end of the quaint street where it’s a bit less crowded. I’d been there with my friend Monica and glad I remembered about it.

And that is all for this week, I’ll be back with more next Friday, when I’ll be writing this from Cape Canaveral where Nick and I are headed for the long weekend.

Until then…