Miami Monday: The Colony

From the outside, The Colony Hotel stands out on Miami's famous Ocean Drive. Its vintage art deco neon sign is a showstopper (despite a few letters not being on). The interior leaves a tad bit to be desired. In other words, once you enter the front doors, the show is pretty much over.



The art deco style is still visible in the lobby, but there is no "wow" factor that would draw you to the check-in desk. In fact, because I arrived so early in the morning and cleaning was going on, I had a difficult time figuring out where I was supposed to go. The place looked like a storage facility with chairs stacked all over.



In defense of the hotel, the space is small, and they do a pretty good job of utilizing it as best as they can. Love the vintage elevator that is still in service. However, I chose the stairs after my first slow ride up to the third floor.



My standard hallway shot:



The room itself was fantastic. Spacious with a gorgeous view of the ocean and Ocean Drive.





Bathroom was a bit small but definitely functional...once I figured out that the toilet paper holder was BEHIND the door and that the hot water was really the cold water and vice versa. All good.



The restaurant at the hotel was out front, called The Columbus. Definitely serviceable, but the main focus is getting patrons to buy the drinks. The wait staff was very good at drawing people off the street to sit in the shade with a great view of Ocean Drive.



What you typically see on Ocean Drive during the day:



And what you typically see from the hotel at night:



For location, friendly staff, and a well-appointed room, check out the Colony Hotel.

See more Miami, Florida photos at my main website.

Traveling Thursdays: Key West

This was my second visit to Key West; and most likely the last one to occur in August. For some reason, the heat and humidity seemed even worse than it had been in Savannah. Still, that didn’t keep me from shooting photos like a mad man; I just had to keep wiping off my lens to get rid of the fog that continually accumulated from the heavy, humid air. I tried a new hotel this time: The Truman Hotel. Recently refurbished, it was fairly priced, clean, and had a hip vibe. I still prefer The Marquesa, which is where I stayed on my previous trip. The pool at The Truman looked cool, but was more of a poser pool than one that could actually be used for swimming laps.



Duval Street in Key West is the main commercial drag; plenty of cool architecture to snap there:



I’m not a big Walgreen’s shopper, but I do appreciate their adaptive reuse of this old theater:





I sure could go for a tasty Sloppy Joe sandwich at Sloppy Joe’s right now!







This visit, I actually went inside the historic St. Paul‘s Episcopal Church to shoot some of the beautiful stained glass windows:







Another first on this trip was a visit to the Butterfly Conservatory.



I could have spent the entire day just watching these fascinating and colorful creatures:





The Southernmost Inn at the end of Duval is beautiful, but a little too Laura Ashley for my tastes. I went in to inquire about the tours that were advertised on the sign outside; I was told that they didn’t give tours, and only kept them on the sign for historical purposes. Huh?



Two of the more well-known commercial establishments on Duval:





Ocean artist Wyland himself was attempting to sell one of his pieces for charity:



One night, I went on a neon tour of Key West, snapping a few of my favorite examples:









This is one of those places that looks so cool and nostalgic at night; during the daylight hours, it’s a different story.

















In Disney related news: I just read the book Disneystrology by Lisa Finander. What a fantastic combo of Astrology & Disney! You can look up your birthday, read your astrological profile, and find out what Disney character you resemble. Big, bright, colorful illustrations are on each page, and the best part: it covers not only recent Disney/Pixar characters, but some of the classic (and lesser known) ones as well. I discovered that I am aligned with Louis the Alligator from “Princess & The Frog”!

See more Key West, Florida photos at my main website.

Cypress Gardens, 1982

A high school band trip in 1982 yielded these green and lush photos of the famous Cypress Gardens in Florida. The southern belles on the shore were a nice touch.







For more Cypress Garden photos, visit my main website.