Recently celebrating 100 years, the Casa Marina Key West Resort opened on New Years’ Eve in 1920. The hotel was the vision of Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil. In 1912, Flagler’s Overseas Railroad, connecting the Florida mainland to Key West, was completed, and Key West needed a grand hotel to accommodate the affluent passengers who would make the long journey. Flagler would not see his vision come to life as he passed away in 1913, five years before construction began. The hotel was designed by Thomas Hastings and John Carrere, architects of New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House and the New York Public Library. The hotel lived up to…
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Looking for a beach vacation with the glamour of an historic hotel, without leaving the United States? The Confidante, Miami Beach is for you. The Confidante brings to mind the classic Florida hotels of the past. It is “retro chic,” a modern hotel with a nod to the elegant hotels from the golden era that made Miami Beach famous. Opened in 2015 as The Confidante, the hotel has been known by many names since its opening in 1940. Originally opened as the Lord Tarleton Hotel, it transformed into The Hyde Park, The Crown, and The Thompson Miami Beach. The hotel was built in the Art Deco style, 18 stories high,…
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One of the most exciting parts or our trip was exploring the Historic Art Deco District of Miami Beach. I loved walking the area looking for the details that make this area so special. I could have easily spent a week here, and would have loved to have a long lens on hand, but we will return! In just a few hours, I was able to see so many buildings in the style of Art Deco, Mediterranean Revival and MiMo (Miami Modern). The area was added to the National Historic District Registry in 1979 and can be found between 5th Street and 23rd Street, along Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue, and…
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Our first trip of 2021 took us to Miami Beach. I’ll share images of the Art Deco District in Miami Beach and our wonderful hotel, The Confidante Miami Beach, in a later post. First, let’s enjoy the people and sights of Miami Beach. Check out all of our posts on the road trip from Miami Beach to Key West: Miami Beach, Miami’s Historic Art Deco District, The Confidante Miami Beach, and our photo tour of Key West!
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A combination of winter plus COVID isolation got to me in early January, and I decided it was time to plan a trip. This year’s vacation would be different. It would be in the United States given that the restrictions on foreign travel added too many obstacles to an already burdensome process. I also had a certificate for two nights at The Confidante, Miami Beach, Florida, which I won with my gold medal in the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) competition last year. So we decided to tick an item off the bucket list and drive from Miami to Key West. I booked the tickets to Miami, booked the…
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Since joining the North American Travel Journalism Association in 2016, I have looked forward to the announcement of the winners in its annual awards competition for excellence in travel journalism. Each year, the competition honors the best in travel journalism, photography and destination marketing in the industry. I was thrilled to learn that I had received honors in three categories when the winners in the 29th annual competition were announced today. I received an Honorable Mention in the category of “Photography – Landscape, Seascape, Nature” with my image, “Meads Bay Moonset,” from our 2020 trip to Anguilla: I received a Bronze Award in the category of “Photography – Portrait, People”…
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I recently traded zines with Bill Thoo. If you’re a film shooter and don’t know Bill Thoo, it’s time to get acquainted. Before we traded zines, I followed him on Instagram and in several of the photography groups we share, and I always found myself stopping on his images. I would scroll, stop at a great image, see that it was Bill’s, and then scroll a little more, and here’s another one I love, and it’s another of Bill’s. I quickly became a fan. He’s known for incredible night shots on film, including stunning star trails, beautiful landscapes, and amazing travel photography. Bill’s zine is entitled NSW West. NSW is…
