Miami, the largest city in sunshine State Florida, is known for no winter, but winter did come to Miami around Christmas 2022. The icy rain, freezing wind and sub-40C temperatures made me wondering why I was fleeing from cold New York city to the colder Miami.
Visiting natural beauties such as Swamp Park was quite a challenge in such weather. Fortunately, heavy coats brought from New York helped us a lot. Many people who went to the swamp park on the same boat with us had flushed cheeks and chins from the cold wind, and I could see a trace of jealousy in their eyes for our thick protective layer. Aquatic plants and trees seemed to be doing okay in such cold days, green as usual. Only the alligators were sluggish and, except in the nursery centers, hardly moved.
Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, just an hour’s drive from Miami. We visited the park for a few days. The red mangrove trees in the swamps, the trunks of redwoods, the corals on the beach, and the birds in the forest were all unique scenery that attracted us. On Christmas Day, we drove for 4-hour to Key West, the southernmost point of the continental United States. My moment on visiting the Ernest Hemingway Museum in Key West have been blogged earlier (see “Ernest Hemingway’s Home in Key West, Six-toed Cat and His Poems”).
Miami is also a beach city with a large Hispanic population, and its delicious food and outgoing culture reflect the local reality. There are many mansions along the beach owned by the riches. The tour guide kept telling us the names of the owners of each house, but I couldn’t remember at all who owned house because it didn’t really matter to me. It is important to me that everyone could enjoy these natural beauties here. In fact, everyone, rich or poor, is just a hurriedly visitor, passing through the city, natural beauty and life.
迈阿密是阳光之州佛罗里达最大的的城市，以没有冬天而闻名，但冬天恰在 2022 年圣诞节前后来到了迈阿密。冰冷的雨、寒冷的风和低于 40 摄氏度的温度让我疑惑为什么我要从冰冷的纽约逃到更冷的迈阿密。
在这样的天气下，游览沼泽公园等自然美景是一个很大的挑战。 幸运的是，从纽约带来的厚外套帮了我们大忙。 同乘游船去沼泽公园的人，许多被冷风吹得双颊和下巴发红，我能看到他们眼里对我们厚厚保护层的一丝嫉妒。 水生植物和树木在如此寒冷的天气下似乎还不错，像往常一样绿意盎然。 只有鳄鱼行动迟缓，除了在育苗中心的以外， 几乎一动不动。
大沼泽地国家公园是美国最大的亚热带野地，距迈阿密仅一小时车程。我们在公园里玩了几天。 沼泽湿地的红树林、红木的树干、沙滩上的珊瑚、林间的鸟儿，都是独有的吸引我们的景色。 圣诞节当天，我们驱车前往美国大陆最南端的基韦斯特，车程4小时。 我在基韦斯特参观欧内斯特·海明威博物馆的感想已经写在了早些时候的博客中（请参阅本网站中的“欧内斯特·海明威在基韦斯特的家、六趾猫和他的诗歌”）。
迈阿密市也是一个海滨城市，有大量的拉美裔口， 其可口的食物和奔放的文化反映了当地的现实。 海滩周围有许多富人的豪宅。 导游不断地告诉我们每个房子的主人的名字，但我一点也记不住谁是谁的房子，因为这对我来说并不重要。 对我来说重要的是每个人都可以在这里享受这些自然美景。 其实每个人，无论贫富， 对于城市、自然美景和生活，都只是匆匆过客而已。
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