CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR: ART! BIRDS! KEY LIME PIE! ART!

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR: ART! BIRDS! KEY LIME PIE! ART!

We’re tied up at Marina del Mar in Key Largo. We (the Admiral, Barbara and I) arrived here on Monday December 8. Barbara stayed until the 10^th, when I drove her to the Ft. Lauderdale Airport to return to California. It was a short visit, but a great one – filled with works of art. Our slip on the New River was just a few blocks away from the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Art. That was our first stop on the way to the world-renowned shops on Las Olas Boulevard. We spent nearly two hours in the museum, and we could have spent another hour at least, exploring the wings where their permanent collections are housed. What we did see was an exhibit called “Café Dolly”, which features the works of three artists, Francis Picabia (French, 1879-1953 – with Spanish heritage); J. F. Willumsen (Danish, 1863 – 1958); and Julian Schnabel (American, born 1951). This exhibit was put together by the Willumsen Museum in Copenhagen in 2013. It was a hit there, and I expect it will be a big hit in Ft. Lauderdale. The title for the exhibit “Café Dolly” refers to Dolly, the first cloned sheep, because, like Dolly, these artists have “challenged cultural norms, notions of authenticity, genuineness, as well as ethical and moral issues.” That’s what the exhibit flyer says, and it sounds pretty good. It’s also right on. These guys have done some weird paintings – also some incredibly beautiful ones. Does the name Julian Schnabel ring a bell with you? It did with me, so I looked him up, and lo and behold, he’s a film maker too, born in Brooklyn and educated at the University of Houston. His films include Before Night Falls (Javier Bardem’s Oscar nominated role) and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, nominated for 4 Oscars. When he’s not directing films, he breaks a lot of plates, literally, then affixes them to large canvases, and finally paints his subject (portrait or landscape or something in between) on top of the broken plates. Okay, it may not sound appetizing, but it is really delicious. Check it out on line, or better yet, go to the Ft. Lauderdale Museum between now and February 1, 2015 to see his technique live. I’m not going to spill the beans about Willumsen’s eccentric style – you’ll just have to see it yourself – hint: broad black or white brush strokes across an otherwise “traditional” portrait, so that eyes are “blacked out” or other body parts “whited out”. As to Picabia, let’s just say he loves the female body and leave it at that.

We followed through on our threat/promise to take Barbara for ribs at Li’l Red’s on Route 84 in Ft. Lauderdale. The place was jumpin’. That 450 pound deputy sheriff was not there, which is good, because there was no room for him. A large family had taken the booth and long table which he usually fills by himself. The ribs did not disappoint, and the French fries are not slackers either. This dining experience made our stay in the Yacht Capital of the World complete, and we were ready to head to the Mia Marina in Miami the next morning. Fortunately for Barbara (and me), I had to return the rented car on Monday morning at 7:30 a.m., when the Enterprise office opened. So we did not leave before dawn. We made a very civilized departure at 7:45 a.m. And we were expecting to travel all of 25 miles or 3 to 4 hours to the Mia Marina. But, of course, we had a (let’s say it all together) “change of plans”. The Admiral pointed out to us that the ocean was unusually calm – he was correct. It was not exactly a mirror, but very close to it, certainly like a bath tub with no waves, hardly a ripple. He said he could not guarantee us such calm seas the next day, and he strongly suggested that we would be NUTS if we didn’t take this rare opportunity of smooth waters to cruise all the way to Key Largo on Monday. He predicted that we could arrive at Marina del Mar before “The Princess”, a huge glass bottomed boat, came barreling down the narrow canal at 4 pm and before low tide, which also was scheduled for 4 pm. It would only require turning our planned 25 mile excursion into a 90 mile cruise and bypassing Miami and the pleasures it held out for us. I told you in the last blog that Barbara is a gamer, so she signed on for the day long ocean voyage, and off we went -- hello and good bye, Miami!

We kept an eye out for porpoises, but this was not their day. They love the Indian River, Hawk Channel not so much. We also looked for turtles, because we had seen a huge green turtle swimming next to Slow Motion on the trip north. But, alas, no turtle sightings either. However, we arrived at the narrow canal entrance at 3:15 pm, plenty of time to avoid a collision with The Princess at the aptly named “Crash Corner”. And here we were in Key Largo on Monday, December 8. That meant we had all of Tuesday to play in the Keys. And Barbara and I quickly determined that we could visit the Chihuly Glass Sculpture Exhibit, which opened December 6 at the Coral Gables Botanical Gardens, on Wednesday, December 10, on our way to the airport. So the change of plans worked well – as it usually does, when the Admiral suggests a 10 to 12 hour day of cruising over a 4 to 5 hour one.

Tuesday I took Barbara with me to my tai chi class – at first, there were about 5 of us. Lyle was the instructor, and he’s excellent. He’s in his 80’s and has the best legs – he should wear only shorts. He is also extremely well versed in the tai chi moves and knows how to break them down for us novices. We ended up with a packed class, as about 20 more people piled through the Lions Club door at 9:01 am. There were a lot of good tai chi veterans to watch and imitate, as I struggled to remember the various forms. The names of the moves are priceless – “carry tiger to mountain”, “push fan through back”, “part the wild horse’s mane”, “white crane spreads its wings”, “step back and repulse monkey”. I am not kidding. And as we concentrate one hundred percent of our brain power and body movements on doing these positions one after the other, we are driving out the “monkey brain”, as Lyle calls it – banishing all mundane thoughts and worries – making every tai chi move “intentional”, even the “empty steps”. The vocabulary for tai chi is sensational. Barbara fit right into the class, having taken a few beginner’s tai chi classes during her travels in Asia. After the class, we rewarded ourselves with a Keys breakfast at Doc’s Diner, where the malted waffle reigns. None of the wait staff was certain what a malted waffle is, but one waitperson said it has “malt” in the batter, just like beer has malt in it. With that ringing endorsement, Barbara ordered the malted waffles, and according to her, they were lighter than other waffles and very tasty.

Realizing that we had a lot of driving to do the next day, we put off a drive to Key West, and went to a few of my favorite places in Key Largo. The Wild Bird Refuge is one of those locales. It’s not really a tourist trap – there is one sign that you usually notice after you have passed the tiny entrance to the Refuge. There is no charge to tour the grounds and visit all the birds; they simply ask for donations. But if you want avian excitement, this is the place to go. Once you get past the very homely turkey vultures and the carnivorous owls, you come to the land of the shore birds and water birds, where giant pelicans rule the roost. They are so used to humans walking around in their habitat that they make no effort to move, as you approach them. It’s not like you want to pet them, but they give you so much pleasure just watching them waddle around on the wooden walkways. The snowy egrets and white ibises have to take a back seat to the pelicans in personality, but they are amazing creatures in their own right.  I have visited this place three or four times, and I always want to go back, especially when the birds are being fed – talk about a feeding frenzy – do not get between a pelican and her food. I repeat: Do not get between a pelican and her food.

Since we gave up our day of shopping at the Mia Marina mall, I took Barbara to Shell World, a huge store – okay, tourist trap – which carries much, much more than shells. However, they do have thousands of shells too. And they have coral from Indonesia. It’s a huge no no – a crime – to take any coral from the reef along the Keys. So tell me why do we allow coral from Indonesia to be imported and sold in this country? If we keep elephant tusk ivory from being imported, can’t we also keep fragile coral from being ripped off the reefs in Indonesia by refusing to import it? I’m just asking.

The last stop for our Key Largo Day was at Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen. The Admiral joined us for dinner there. It was, are you ready? – prime rib night. The prime rib melts in your mouth, like buttah. I told Barbara this, but she wanted to “go native” with a seafood motif. So she ordered conch fritters as a starter. That is not what Mrs. Mac’s is known for. And they still will not be known for them, so long as they serve them slightly burnt and greasy to the max. When the manager asked how everything tasted, we mentioned that the conch fritters were not palatable, and he whisked them away and took them off the bill. That’s another reason we love Mrs. Mac’s. Barbara did much better with the mussels. And she was given a complimentary dessert to make up for the fritters debacle. You guessed it, Mrs. Mac’s famous Key Lime Pie. Now that is a dish which always lives up to its hype. So we may have started weak, but ended very strong with the creamiest Key Lime Pie in the world. And did I mention that the prime rib was like buttah? (It was.)

On Wednesday, Barbara and I drove to the Coral Gables Botanical Gardens to see the Chihuly Exhibit. This is something you have to see – but you can only see it at the Botanical Gardens – until April 1. Chihuly himself placed some thirty or so major glass sculptures at perfect locations throughout the 80 acres of the Gardens. This is his third show in this venue. And it is fabulous. First, you ride a tram around the Gardens for 45 minutes, as a guide points out both the art works and the flora you are passing – at a very slow speed. Then do as we did, walk back to your favorite places and take lots and lots of photos, each one a work of art. I could have taken thousands of photos. It was a sunny day, and the sun makes some of pieces sparkle like crazy. You can tell that Chihuly is very familiar with this environment, as some of his glass sculptures blend in so well with the plants around them that they can be mistaken for plants. Chihuly is alive in Seattle – blind in one eye – but going strong. Get a Chihuly calendar for 2015. It will brighten any room where you hang it. Thank you, Robin and Nancy Miller for introducing me to Chihuly. And thank you, Barbara, for telling me about this show. It was amazing!

Say hey, if you want to visit the Admiral and me between now and April 1, I guarantee you that I would drive you to the Chihuly Exhibit, if you show the slightest interest in going. Or we can do the more watery things – like snorkeling, glass bottomed boat cruising or diving. Well, you can do the diving. Also, there are 4, count them, 4 pools, to swim in – fully covered with sun screen. And we’ll always have Mrs. Mac’s. So get your rear in gear – and come to Key Largo while we’re still here. Today, December 22, it was sunny and in the 80’s. Oh, I might have mentioned that before. My apologies to those of you heading out the door with a snow shovel or an umbrella. We really like sharing this paradise with our friends and family members. Keep that in mind, as you try to make it through another dreary January or freezing February. I’m just sayin’….

Closing note: Thank you, Sister Sue, for giving me my new favorite T shirt, which says: “Earth without Art is just “Eh”. I don’t know where you find these things, but that’s a winner on Slow Motion.