Blog No. 21 of 2025

In my e-mail last week I mentioned I might be doing a little Calendar of Events on Mondays. Well, I decided I’m just going to do a mini one at the end of my blog each week. I think that’s a lot more manageable for me.

Coach Guzman, Chris, Nick, George and Coach Cabrera

I want to start this week’s blog off by congratulating Nick and his basketball teammates. They did their best and finished fourth at the Special Olympics 3 on 3 basketball competition in Orlando. They played competitively but the other teams were just a little better than them. It was wonderful that we had so much family there cheering him on.

After his final game on Saturday, we went to lunch at Rusty’s at Port Canaveral with my sister Ana and then she came over to see the townhouse. It was a fun afternoon.

The Dock at River Rocks in Rockledge sunset view.

Sunday we found another park for Nick to play basketball and also a community pool at Indian Harbor where we cooled off. That night, Vance and I decided to celebrate our 35th Wedding Anniversary a day early at The Dock at River Rocks in Rockledge. We enjoyed a lovely dinner by the water and then afterwards sat on some stools at the dock to admire the view and watch the sun go down.

Kaitlyn on the white guitar in the black shirt playing lead on one of many songs while doing double duty as stage manager for the show.

Tuesday afternoon my great niece Kaitlyn had her final performance at her middle school’s annual Blast from the Past talent show. She showed off her guitar, bass and vocal skills and did double duty as stage manager. Congrats Kaitlyn!

Wednesday was sort of a “play tourist day,” which if you follow me on social media, you know is one of my favorite hobbies. I met my buddy George Neary on Miami Beach’s Ocean Drive, to check out his new digs at the Miami Design Preservation League offices on 10th St. and Ocean Dr. where he’s serving as Interim Director. I admire George for coming out of retirement to take on this role again more than a decade after he was the organization’s Director in the early 90s into the 2000s.

After a long chat at his office, we crossed the street and went a few blocks south to 8th St. and Ocean Drive and the Pelican Hotel & Cafe. I ordered a refreshing ceviche with mahi mahi and shrimp and George had the mussels. George said they’d recommended this place to him and I’m glad we tried it.

My favorite piece in the “Harry Clarke and the Geneva Window” an ongoing exhibit at The Wolfsonian.

Because I was just two blocks down from The Wolfsonian-FIU I just couldn’t resist and I paid the place another visit. I went straight to the fifth floor where they’re exhibiting “Harry Clarke and the Geneva Window,” one of my favorites there. I sat in front of the stained glass windows and just relaxed and meditated a bit.

Surfside beach

Today, after going to Surfside to pick up a cool chair I got for $20 on Facebook Marketplace, I stopped by the beach for a quick dip.

Got home, brought in the chair then hopped in the car with Vance and to dropped Nick off at his friend Geno’s house for some pool time then we went to Four Miami for a quick bite. It’s in the old Paradis Books & Bread location on West Dixie Hwy. right here in North Miami. There we split an eggplant and goat cheese sandwich on focaccia and a croissant filled with pistachio cream. I loved both and they went great with their iced chai with oat milk I ordered that surprised me with it’s spicy kick.

While we were out and about, I happened to see an e-mail hit my inbox from O Cinema on Miami Beach. It featured a documentary that’s starting it’s run tonight, one that sounds interesting. So… looks like we’ll be having a date night and watching “Secret Mall Apartment.” Here’s a link to the film’s synopsis, it sounds unusual and quirky, which is right up my alley. I’m not sure Vance will like it as much as I will but he loves the historic building O Cinema’s in that’s for sure. And we both definitely love supporting local indie cinemas.

Tomorrow night, Monica and I are attending “Revelations in Rhythm,” a dance performance presented by the Marshall L. Davis, Sr. African Heritage Cultural Arts Center. It’s happening at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens. Click here to read about it and buy tickets if you’re interested. It should be a spectacular night.

And here are a couple of parting photos. One of Vance being silly at Home Depot (the Diet Coke bottle has my name on it) and the other of a cute flower store, Flowers & More, that opened just a few blocks up the street from our house.

As promised, here’s my mini-calendar, featuring a few suggested spots to check out around Miami:

Homework Gallery and Locust Projects in Little River
Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood where admission is free and they always have cool events. This is also the home of Bookleggers Library where you can pick up a free book and come to their 13th Birthday Party on June 13.
Third Horizon Film Festival May 29 to June 1 with film screenings at the Koubek Center in Little Havana and Perez Art Museum Miami in Downtown.
The Black Archives at the Historic Lyric Theater in Overtown one of our city’s most historically significant venues.

Camp Gallery in North Miami located in Downtown North Miami where they present very interesting exhibitions.
Green Space Miami on Biscayne Blvd. another great gallery and event space.
And if you’re in the mood for an amazing sandwich (yes of course I had to recommend food), go to The Daily Creative Food Co. Their salads are pretty great too. It’s just three blocks from the Arsht Center and so good.

That’s all for this week! Have a great long weekend.