These murals are about a block or so away from Fort Lauderdale Beach not far from the intersection of A1A and Sunrise Boulevard.
To find them, look for the Primanti Brothers pizza place on A1A and wander around the shops and parking lots behind there.
I didn’t see any TV cops cruising down the street in a Ferrari on my most recent visit but I always enjoy strolling through the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida.
The best known section of this is the Wynwood Walls, which is surrounded by shops, restaurants and bars.
I spent some time just a few blocks away and found myself wandering by myself around an area that was off the beaten path near a construction site and yet still had plenty of amazing art work to explore.
I first saw him perform as the front man of Joe Jama and 100 Proof. He continued to perform occasionally into his 60s.
San Antonio Current: Joe Jama, a key figure in San Antonio’s West Side soul sound, has died
– photo by Joe Alexander
Mission Espada on its current site in San Antonio was built beginning in 1745 and completed in 1756, according to the National Park Service.
The Mission is on San Antonio’s south side just outside Loop 410 on Espada Road (Roosevelt Road exit from Loop 410).
It is the farthest south of the missions in San Antonio and is about two miles from Mission San Juan.
Official site: National Park Service: San Antonio Missions
The Essex Paint Jam Volume 4 attracted some of the area’s top local muralists back to Essex Modern City on the near East Side not far from downtown San Antonio and just a little ways south of the Alamodome.
While new work was going up, there were plenty of existing paintings to attract local art fans on the walls of the former manufacturing building near downtown.
– photo by Joe Alexander, all rights reserved
I was probably a week or two late to see the peak of the leaves changing colors, but there was still a lot of bright yellow in the trees. That made a vivid contrast to the red and tan striations of the rocky terrain in the park.
– photo by Joe Alexander, all rights reserved
Most of that drive takes you northeast up Interstate 15 through eastern Nevada, a sliver of northwestern Arizona and finally into the southwestern corner of Utah.
You never know what weather you’ll get when you book your vacation a few weeks out but I was fortunate to make the drive on a clear and sunny November day.
There were no traffic issues until I tried to park at the Zion National Park visitor’s center. I guess you need to get there early but I rolled in after 1 p.m. and the parking lot was completely full.
Amidst the crowds and hubbub of the international gathering of sports fans and gamblers, the Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo offered a place to find a little peace and quiet.
