The week’s cooler weather is a great excuse to check out some outdoor spaces that have changed perhaps since you were last out. Just a short hike or bike ride from Alice Wainwright Park towards Key Biscayne, you’ll find the north side of Hobe Island has been rebuilt after a long project to recover from Hurricane Irma and rebuild resilient infrastructure. It’s a favorite spot to watch the lights of Brickell across the water during an early evening picnic. Quite romantic.
Further along the Rickenbacker Causeway, the south side of Virginia Key provides easy access to a long, shallow beach often used by athletes in training and families chilling. Food vendors scattered through the parking areas make sure that you don’t go hungry or thirsty too long. A special treat is a dog-friendly beach found on the eastern end of the beach area nearest Miami Seaquarium.
Crossing to the north side of the road and in the far right corner of the immense parking lot, you’ll find one of the entrances to the new Miami Marine Stadium Basin Trail. This mile-and-a-half long walking/biking trail outlines the perimeter of the basin. The Miami Rowing Club is a good place to start your outing.
Old-timers that go looking for Virginia Key’s former landmark insider hang-out place, Jimbo’s, may be surprised to stumble upon Lamar Lake Boat Dock in the same general area. Today instead of a bocci ball court and a cold beer, you’ll be able to rent a kayak or borrow a picnic table. A little farther up the road will bring you to Virginia Key North Point Trails. Mountain bike trails surrounded by Biscayne Bay and beaches? Strange but true and if you ride them, you’ll have bragging rights when you rendezvous with your friends at The Wetlab for a beer and sunset. Their low-key vibe dances to the regulations of U-Miami, so call ahead to make sure they’re open.
Save Me a Seat
The Crandons come to the Barnacle’s Moonlight Concert Friday, 1/10. Gates open at 6:00 p.m. Music starts at 7:00 p.m. As always, perfect for romantic picnics. (The moon will be high and cool. Perfect cuddling weather.) Advanced tickets are available.
The Three Kings Parade through Little Havana will start at noon, Sunday 1/12 at SW 8th Street (Calle Ocho) and 27th Avenue and head east to 17th Avenue. Floats, holiday music and talented performances are the signature attractions of this Miami tradition. Free.
With the return of the school year, comes recital season at U-Miami’s Frost School of Music. These usually-free concerts showcase the best and brightest of U-Miami’s rising talents as they start their professional careers. Performances throughout the weeks are described in their online calendar here.
The finals of the National Chopin Piano Competition will see the finalists compete for the $100,000 grand prize as they are accompanied by the Chopin Competition Symphony Orchestra in the Maurice Gusman Concert Hall, Frost School of Music, U-Miami. Modestly priced tickets are available in advance. A live stream of the performances is also available here. Finals are scheduled for Saturday 1/11 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday 1/12 at 3:00 p.m.
