For all you Northerners, you may think that Miami has no winter, but I want to explain to you that although it is not cold, locals, for the most part, do not swim here during Winter.  If you go to the beach during winter and see people swimming or water skiing, most of those will be tourists enjoying the non-freezing waters of South Florida.

Today we decided to go boating to take a visitor friend of ours around the tourist attractions inside Biscayne Bay.  The temperature started in the 50's and went up to the high 60's, the day was beautiful, but the breeze was pretty chilly and we kept our coats on.

To own a boat in Miami you don't need to live on the water.  The options are endless, you can keep your boat at a marina or you can trailor your boat to one of the many boat ramps around Miami-Dade.  

We keep our boat on the side of our house and trailer it to Pelican Harbor Marina and pay an annual pass to be able to come and go as we please.

Today we visited Monument island first - we let the kids play around in the sand and walk around the island, had lunch, and then continued our ride.  Here you can see the island when it was first built (courtesy of: Flagler Memorial Island monument. Florida Photographic Collection, 1922.), versus today.

Our next visit was Star Island, home to many Miami celebrities, and although I can share some photos I took today on the boat, I cannot tell you who the homes belong to, it would be invasion of privacy and I am not a Paparazzi.   But look closely at some of the art work/sculptures and you will be able to at least make out one of them.

Some other pictures are of the Port of Miami - the cranes are truly sculptural, and part of our daily backdrop.

Well known South Pointe is beyond the I-395 bridge (you can see Philippe Stark's Icon, Murano Grande, The Yacht Club and other great South Beach High-rise condos).

And lastly, I had to take some pictures of animals.  Look at that beautiful dog barking from the comfort of his own waterfront lounge chair!  How about the sea gulls and the Pelicans!

One thing to remember if you are winter boating in South Florida is to look out for ever changing Manatee zones - it is idle speed from November to April.  The boat patrols are everywhere enforcing speed to protect our Manatees which are an endangered species.

If you would like more information on Miami's waterfront properties, Feel free to contact Rick & Ines  and visit our website athttp://www.yourpropertypros.com/ www.miamism.com