Dreaming of Key West

Well in Portland, it's rained the past 25 of the past 26 days of March, and we're on track for not only high rain totals, but low temps!  I've been wistfully looking back at out trip to Florida last month, and dreaming of Key West...although, come to think of it, it rained there too, although, fortunately not every day!

I love the Conch Style houses the make up most of Key West.  The are so unique and quaint in their Caribbean style.  I was surprised that most of the homes had metal roofs, and then I read about a big fire that destroyed many homes in the 1900's, causing wooded roofs to be outlawed.

 

The houses are so quaint.  I love the ceiling fans and porches that you find so often in the South.

And secret garden hideaways.  There's so little land, every inch of space is used

Oh, the flowers!

And quaint buildings.

and colorful,fun shops!

A lovely view to beat the winter blues!

Art Deco in South Miami Beach

We were so impressed by the amazing amount of Art Deco Architecture in Miami Beach.  There's about a 20-block district that's protected by the National Register of Historic Places.  The buildings were built between 1910 to post-WWII.  However, most that are still standing were built in the 30's and 40's.

 Many of my favorite buildings were on Ocean Drive facing the beach.

I loved the clean lines on these buildings, accented by little decorative touches like this flower inlay.  Most of the buildings that I saw had nature or nautical-themed inlays.

This was the foyer of the hotel we stayed in.  Many of the places we visiting had white battery operated candles that looked very realistic and are on a timer to go on and off at a specific time. Perfect for a party.

Neon signs were big!  A nice part of the modern look.

Everyone was eating outside at these hotels...definitely a great place to people watch.

This building was my favorite.  Lots of these fun hotels had classic cars parked outside to match.  Haven't seen one of these DeSotos in ages. When I was little, we used to call them "Pig Cars!"

Another fun car that definitely adds to the ambience.

View from the beach of some stately palms and classic hotels.