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| Miami Vacation Apartments |
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The Miami Vacation Apartments are located in an area that offers oodles of
interesting places to see including:
Parrot Jungle Island, not far away from any Miami Vacation Apartments, thrills horticultural types and bird lovers,
but even dog-and-cat guys like me are sure to enjoy a visit. It first opened in 1936 when about 100 visitors paid
25 cents each for admission to hear owner Franz Scherr talk about his birds, trees and flowers.
See killer whales, dolphins and sea lions leap and play at one of Miami's best-known attractions, Miami Seaquarium.
It's always fun to be a voyeur into the lives of the truly rich and famous, and Vizcaya Museum and Gardens fits
the bill. Built in 1916 by Chicago industrialist James Deering, this huge Italian Renaissance villa on Biscayne
Bay contains stunning art and furnishings and is surrounded by gardens. Don't be intimidated by this villa, still
your Miami vacation apartments are a great place to spend your vacation.
If you're still nostalgic for Christmas, visit Santa's Enchanted Forest in southwest Miami. This seasonal
attraction is open evenings from early November until a week after New Year's Eve. Three million lights decorate
trees; hundreds of displays show Christmas scenes; pony rides and a corral of reindeer delight kids aged 1 to 100.
This is probably one of the attractions located further away from the Miami Vacation Apartments, but still
reachable by Metro Rail, bus or a cab.
Thirty-five miles outside Miami, Everglades National Park is home to pristine salt marshes and myriad species of
wildlife: pelicans, sea turtles, manatees, and bald eagles. Neighboring Big Cypress National Preserve is a watery
wilderness that protects the Everglades watershed. Of course no Miami Vacation Apartments located within reach of
this Park, but you could take a tour to explore it. Shuttles will pick you up from any of the fine locations of the
Miami Vacation Apartments.
Created in 1947, Everglades National Park was meant to preserve the slow-moving "River of Grass," a freshwater
river 50 miles wide but only 6 inches deep, flowing from Lake Okeechobee through marshy grassland into Florida Bay.
Trees and flowers, including ferns, orchids, and bromeliads, share the brackish waters with otters, turtles, marsh
rabbits, and occasionally, that gentle giant, the West Indian manatee. Not so gentle, though, is the saw grass.
Deceptively graceful, these tall, willowy sedges have small sharp teeth on the edges of their leaves.
Some 40% of what is commonly called Big Cypress Swamp was established as Big Cypress National Preserve in 1974,
to protect Everglades National Park's watershed. Big Cypress is devoted to balanced land use, which includes
preservation, research, and also visitor use. The preserve's politically dictated policy is "use without abuse."
Hunting, off-road vehicle use (airboats, swamp buggies), and cattle grazing are some activities allowed here that
are prohibited in most national parks.
Unfortunately, Miami's backyard wilderness is threatened by suburban sprawl and agriculture. The result is
competition among environmental, agricultural, and developmental interests. The biggest issue is water. Originally,
alternating floods and dry periods maintained a wildlife habitat and regulated the water flowing into Florida Bay.
Starting in the 1930s, however, a giant flood-control system began diverting water to canals running to the gulf
and the ocean. As you travel Florida's north-south routes, you cross the network of canals built by the South
Florida Water Management District, whose symbol is a smiling alligator. However, many Floridians find this
"Protector of the Everglades" ironic because they feel the canals have done more for the developers than the
environment.
All in all, plenty to do in Southeast Florida, and plenty to enjoy at the well appointed, fully furnished Miami
Vacation Apartments.
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