Toby goes to the doctor; we go to Vizcaya

At 7:30 a.m. we were in line at Blake Chevrolet in Homestead. we made this appointment before we went to Key West because when we left Wildwood, after the jack repair, the digital readout on the dash that shows the mileage, the gear you're in, etc. had streaks in it and was hard to read. This is also part of the Workhouse chassis, not the Winnebago part, so we didn't have to find a Winnebago dealer, which is a good thing. The two we called had 6 week waiting periods for an appointment. Blake Chevrolet is an authorized Workhorse repair facility so here we are. When we made the appointment they said it could be a 3 or 4 day job, depending.


So we left Toby and drove north to Miami to visit Vizcaya, the winter home of James Deering, vice president of International Harvester. It was built during 1916 and 1918 on Biscayne Bay and had all the modern conveniences including central heating, automatic electric telephone switchboard, two elevators, refrigeration, and a central vacuuming system. We were not allowed to take photos in the house, but it was spectacular. The 16th through 19th century European furniture, lighting fixtures and fireplaces were purchased by Mr. Deering on shopping expeditions to Europe. Reminded me of the Biltmores who brought home whole trainloads of furnishings for their home in Asheville. This house is much smaller than that, but during construction there were 1,000 workmen on the property. The population of Miami was 10,000.



The original property was 180 acres and included a dairy, poultry house, mule stable, greenhouse, machine shop, paint and carpentry workshop and staff residences. Mr. Deering died in 1925. Miami-Dade County purchased the property in 1952 and opened it as a historic house art museum.

Mr. Deering constructed a great stone barge in the Bay that was intended as a breakwater. It is an impressive sight from the terrace. Here are John and I on the terrace.

Mid-afternoon we got a call from Blake Chevrolet that Toby was staying overnight, so we had to find a place to stay and go back and pack up some clothes. Homestead Air Reserve Base is close by. I had gone to the Fitness Center and we had ordered Disney World passes here. They have a motel so we went to check it out. They had a vacancy for two nights so we we went to get clothes and our toothbrushes out of Toby and checked in. The rooms are very nice, complete with a desk area, microwave and small refrigerator/freezer, and I can walk to the gym.