I kept heading south and started my day in Fort Lauderdale, a place where I had spent considerable time when I was traveling for work back in the 90’s. I had loved the beach there and developed an affection for certain restaurants. But on this day, traveling with the dog in the heat, I was more interested in finding a friendly beach that allowed dogs–and for that I would need to get to Key Biscayne. I stopped at the Bonnet House Museum & Gardens for a house tour first. I left Tamu in the car, however, because I was not sure the swans would be able to chase away all the alligators at the site. It was my first house museum in Florida, the home of a 19th century tycoon who made his money in hardware and married a local girl who came from an old family with ocean-front property. They both had been married before and they put the house in a trust to protect it from development. As a result, it is the only stretch from Miami that was not developed in the later 20th century. It was beautiful.
The day was getting hot and Tamu and I needed some sand and water. So we headed down to the Rickenbacker Causeway Beach, which allows dogs. Technically, this beach is in Key Biscayne, but it actually is along the causeway between Miami and the Keys. It was surprisingly secluded that day. We played in the sand and waded into the water, all in view of Miami. I am not a big fan of cities where I know nobody, so we enjoyed our time in the sun. I was still trying to lure Tamu into water at that point in our lives together; as usual, he would jump out once his chest was wet.
I planned to head back into Miami in the afternoon to do a walking tour of the Art Deco architecture in South Beach before heading to Mass for Christmas Eve. We drove into the city and navigated to a very crowded South Beach. I was lucky to find some parking, but it was nowhere near the trailhead and way too hot to leave Tamu alone in the car to do the tour without him. And the circling for parking had eaten up a lot of time. Rather than the full walking tour, I drove up Ocean Drive and took in the scene. The night had not yet begun, but it was clear that the party was about to get started.
I had decided to go to Miami’s Cathedral of St. Mary for Christmas Mass that evening, simply because I had no idea what other church to find. The neighborhood surrounding the cathedral was a huge contrast to South Beach, with bars on the windows of residences and graffiti on all the infrastructure. I was expecting a holiday crowd at church, but the cathedral seemed almost abandoned. I arrived in shorts, covered in beach sand and asked a staff member if I could clean up for Mass. To her credit, she welcomed me without hesitation and directed me to a bathroom. When I re-emerged from it some minutes later, in pants and relatively clean, she looked visibly relieved.
Mass was in a small chapel of the Cathedral and the group of about 40 that had collected there was multi-lingual and multi-ethnic. We began by going around the assembly and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas in our native languages, which were many: Creole, Spanish, English, and others I could not identify. It proved to be the longest part of the Mass that night. The service was simple and gorgeous and I was happy I had found my way there. And then, I started to panic about leaving Tamu in the car in a rough neighborhood. For the rest of the service, that’s all I could think about. When we finished, I ran out to find him doing fine. The Cathedral’s security guard had been keeping an eye on him the whole time. He even hoped I would let Tamu out to play. Merry Christmas.
Since night had fallen and Tamu was safe, I went back inside to look around the Cathedral as members of the congregation mingled and people began to show up for the next service. I happened to be there when the choir began practicing the hymn, “O Holy Night,” and I paused to listen. Even in rehearsal, it was sublime. I had experienced a perfect combination of simple, intimate Mass and the big hymn of the night sung by a full choir, all in a welcoming environment. It had been a beautiful evening. I headed back into the dark night to drive us both to our hotel for the night.