Up the Miami River

Today we took a river cruise, through History Miami Museum , with Dr. George. It was fascinating. Though only 4.5 miles long before it splits into two forks and then the north fork becomes a canal (cut to drain the Everglades), it is full of a rich history. Dr. George has memories of the river since he was three years old, and he has a historians knowledge of generations earlier.
Along the river he pointed out where the nine first inhabitants of European descent lived, where Henry Flagler's grand hotel, The Royal Palm was situated, where the Tequista villages were, where the drug shoot-outs of the 1970's and the hurricanes of the 1920's and 90's scarred the landscape, etc, etc.

see Tequesta Indian sculpture on pedestal to left of bridge

Dr. Paul George, author of Along the Miami River

cranes fill the sky

The city is full of cranes as every spare lot becomes a footprint for a tower. Buildings with a past are rapidly being shuttered and torn down. Called "safe deposit boxes in the sky" most of the new money behind the building craze comes from overseas. The towers are built right to the edge of the Biscayne bay.

lobster fishermen under Interstate 95

There are still a few working boat yards and lobster fishing businesses. We saw huge freighters being loaded with mattresses, bicycles, and more bound for Haiti.

Tug boats rested on a quiet day.

Miami, Dr. George said, now has the third most dense skyline in the country after Manhattan and Chicago. I believe it! We went under bridges almost to the airport before we had to turn around.

View under the Dolphin Expressway

turn around point, beyond is the Miami Okeechobee canal

So we crossed the "River cruise" off our Miami Bucket list, and we added another item: "dinner at Casa Blancas".

Casa Blanca on the Miami River