Miami to the Everglades: From Concrete Jungle to River of Grass

Añadido: 2026-06-04

[00:00:00]Today we're exploring the home turf.

[00:00:02]This traveler, the OG Pelican head, came from Orlando on the Brightline [music] and we're going to explore Miami from the concrete jungle to the river of grass, all in one day.

[00:00:19]>> [music and singing] [music] [singing] [music and singing] >> Well, hello and greetings from downtown Miami.

[00:00:39]I haven't been here in a while, so this is all new to me. Parked Starship on the street here.

[00:00:45]And that's the Miami Central railroad station. That's the Brightline station and uh Yeah, pretty cool. Last time I was here, this area was kind of run-down, but they're building condominiums and all kinds of stuff.

[00:01:03]Yeah, before I go into the station, let's uh let's check out this area a little bit.

[00:01:08]I should I should We should do the the Brightline one of these days.

[00:01:12]Check it out. Yeah, the last time we did a train video, you guys really liked it, so we should do that more often.

[00:01:19]Anyway, the reason I'm here is this traveler, the original Pelican head, is coming to Miami and I'm going to give him a tour of our ever-changing Magic City. And then we might go down to the Everglades to see some gators. Yeah, this is one of those areas of Miami that used to be kind of sketchy, so in the back of my mind, you know, I still have that mentality, you know, looking around everywhere. This is the new Miami.

[00:01:44]And that's the old Miami over there.

[00:01:47]Yeah, I came over here to get some footage of the train arriving, but apparently it already arrived. Anyway, let's go into the terminal and see what it looks like inside. We are This is the Brightline Terminal.

[00:01:59]Let's go inside real quick, even though we are not traveling today, but our friend this traveler is here.

[00:02:09]We have some eating establishments.

[00:02:15]And this is very cool.

[00:02:16]Yeah, the Brightline Terminal, very modern.

[00:02:19]It's been here since 2018. Unbelievable.

[00:02:22]I just don't get out much in Miami anymore.

[00:02:25]Let's go to the upper level.

[00:02:30]I guess this is as far as we can go without paying, so Hmm.

[00:02:39]Pretty big place.

[00:02:42]Hmm, let's go back down.

[00:02:45]Oh, hello, sir. You You seem lost.

[00:02:48]>> [laughter] >> It is this traveler. Oh, here we are, #305.

[00:02:58]And we emerge in Overtown, Miami, Florida.

[00:03:03]Open sesame.

[00:03:05]Yeah, we'll be back. Maybe take a train.

[00:03:09]All right, let's do the driving tour of the city. And when I say city, I mean downtown, Brickell. Miami is a huge place if you count the suburbs, so we're going to save uh Little Havana, Coral Gables, [music] Kendall for a different video.

[00:03:24]Let's cross south of the Miami River towards the [music] Brickell neighborhood.

[00:03:37]Turning left on 8th Street here, this used to be my daily commute from around 2011 until 2017 when I quit my [music] office job to become a full-time YouTuber, which means I saw all these buildings get built, [music] from the big foundation hole on the ground to seeing them grow a few floors higher every week.

[00:03:58]>> [music] >> We're also approaching the eastern terminus of US-41, >> [music] >> the Tamiami Trail.

[00:04:04]I wanted to go to Brickell Key where my office used to be, but as of this filming, they just demolished the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, so Brickell Key is closed.

[00:04:15]Bummer, it was a nice hotel, too.

[00:04:18]I just noticed that they have no crosswalks. Those weren't here before.

[00:04:22]Like, when I used to walk around here every day when the weather was good, which usually meant winter, I tried to get out of the office as much as possible for lunch.

[00:04:32]This is Brickell Avenue, also US-1.

[00:04:35]Crossing the Miami River back to downtown.

[00:04:39]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Over here, US-1 becomes Biscayne Boulevard.

[00:05:04]The metal structure on the right, that [music] would be the Challenger Memorial. Coming up, Bayfront Park.

[00:05:10]We're really overdue for a walking [music] tour of the city, but we're going to have to wait until winter for that.

[00:05:28]Good, we got most green [music] lights.

[00:05:31]That's rare.

[00:05:32]Coming up, the old building on the left, that would be Freedom Tower. Originally the Miami News built in 1925. In the 1960s, the building was used [music] to process Cuban refugees, and that's why many people see it as our Ellis Island.

[00:05:47]It reopened to the public [music] in 2025 after a massive renovation, so we may visit sometime.

[00:05:55]On the right, that was the Miami Heat Arena. Kaseya Center, it's called nowadays.

[00:06:00]On the left here, we have some interesting architecture. And in front of us, the elephant in the room, the bridge of eternal construction, [music] which someday, hopefully in our lifetimes, will be finished.

[00:06:14]Let's go to Miami Beach.

[00:06:21]>> [music] >> It is Sunday, so all the cruise ships are in town.

[00:06:25]They call Miami the cruise ship capital of the world for a reason. Fun fact, I worked at the port in the early '90s at the duty-free shop.

[00:06:33]>> [music] >> It is no longer there.

[00:06:35]I was also the DJ at one of the older ships for a week.

[00:06:40]If I counted correctly, there are seven ships in port today.

[00:06:43]That's a lot of passengers coming in and out.

[00:06:46]>> [music] >> That port is a chaotic place.

[00:06:49]As I said earlier, this is just going to be a driving tour, so let me know if you would like me to do a walking tour. Or better yet, how about we do a video about all the South Florida beaches?

[00:07:01]Because yeah, this is the one that most tourists come to.

[00:07:05]You have the Art Deco architecture and the nightlife, but there are certainly other places to go if all you [music] need is sand and salt water.

[00:07:13]Less crowds, perhaps. Going north on Washington Avenue, this is kind of the heart [music] of South Beach. It used to be dotted with nightclubs.

[00:07:24]I wonder if it still is.

[00:07:26]No longer my scene, but anyway, good times.

[00:07:29]This area has a lot of character. It definitely wasn't always this nice.

[00:07:34][music] It was outright dangerous in the 1980s, a little run-down in the '90s, and then everything changed. Imagine >> [music] >> having the foresight to buy something here back then. It would be worth millions today. Espanola Way on the left and the Cameo Theater on the right.

[00:07:51]We've seen that one in one or two movies. Ace Ventura used to live right next to it. Everything looks about the same, just a bit cleaner. Different businesses. Club Madonna is still there.

[00:08:03]So is the iconic digital clock and thermometer [music] atop that building on Lincoln Road. 75° on this early April morning. Here we have some lavish oceanfront hotels.

[00:08:15]Oh, Ocean Drive is closed. There must be some kind of event going on. That was the main reason I decided to come to Miami Beach. I mean, there are Art Deco hotels here on Collins Avenue, too, but it's not the same.

[00:08:30]We're going to start heading back to Miami and then the Everglades.

[00:08:43]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> There's that bridge again and all the traffic provoked by its construction.

[00:09:34]And today's Sunday. You really don't want to be here during rush hour.

[00:09:39]And the day they inaugurate this double-decker, I'm not going to drive through here immediately after. Let's just say Miami has a reputation for falling buildings and bridges, like unscheduled spontaneous demolitions.

[00:09:53]This, by the way, is State Route 836, also known as the Dolphin Expressway.

[00:09:58]You can barely see it, but that's the Florida Marlins stadium on [music] the left. We are now going over the Miami River.

[00:10:05]Yeah, this is the part of the double-decker that looks kind of scary.

[00:10:09]Next time, I'm taking Flagler Street.

[00:10:13]>> [music] >> We are now heading west towards the Everglades.

[00:10:23]>> [music] >> Now crossing Krome Avenue, which is kind of like the unwritten boundary between the city and the swamp.

[00:10:35]After some on-the-go research, we decided to come to Cooperstown, the original airboat tour.

[00:10:41]>> Well, we've made it to the Everglades with this traveler, and now we're going to see if we can get on an airboat.

[00:10:46]All right, let's do it. And here we are, right off Tamiami Trail over there.

[00:10:53]And there's a food truck.

[00:10:55]And the restaurant.

[00:10:58]>> Frog legs, alligator tail, hmm, definitely swamp food. I love it.

[00:11:04]>> Good. Put your sticker there. Here we [music] are, we had to sign some waivers here, and uh and the airboat tour will begin soon.

[00:11:12]Here we are, about to enter our airboat tour.

[00:11:15]>> This is very exciting. I haven't gone on an airboat tour in several years. By the way, the whole experience is about $44 per person, so that's not too bad.

[00:11:24]>> That's a big airplane engine back there.

[00:11:30]With this traveler.

[00:11:31]>> This is very nice. We're enjoying the last cool days of the season because you don't want to be here in summer, trust me.

[00:11:38]Hot, humid, mosquitoes, and the wildlife almost entirely disappears.

[00:11:53]Good again, slowly, but we'll soon change.

[00:12:00]Normally I put music over these types of noisy adventures, but since we're going cinematic for this part of the video, I want you to get the full effect.

[00:12:09]I want you to feel like you're here.

[00:12:13]It is a river of grass, I tell you.

[00:12:24]Hey, wildlife.

[00:12:26]That seems to be a great blue heron, but I'm certainly no expert.

[00:12:31]So interesting. Depending on how he's steering the boat, it goes almost sideways sometimes. Like it takes it a while to catch up to whatever the rudder is doing.

[00:12:41]I wonder if that's normal. It certainly gives the whole ride a more sense of adventure, like we're drifting or something.

[00:12:54]Oh, look at that.

[00:12:56]This is really cool.

[00:13:00]Another blue heron, perhaps?

[00:13:02]All these birds, they must be so annoyed by all the boats making noise.

[00:13:10]By the way, we are inside Everglades National Park, so had I not had the annual pass, we would have to pay an extra entrance fee.

[00:13:18]And this seems to be a great egret.

[00:13:24]>> All right, guys. This is the walking part of the trip.

[00:13:28]Go 20 miles south here to our right.

[00:13:30]This runs into salt water to the 10,000 Islands.

[00:13:33]>> This is where we begin the return trip.

[00:13:35]The whole thing lasts about 45 minutes, which seems plenty for what it is. Now, let's just hope we get to see a gator and the tour will be complete. Hello to wherever you are, gator.

[00:13:48]Apparently, there are alligators lurking all over this vegetation. They just don't let themselves be seen, especially since it is getting warmer.

[00:14:04]There it is. Look at it.

[00:14:07]This is pretty cool. Sometimes all you get to see are the eyes and the nose.

[00:14:14]I don't think he or she likes us making all this noise over here.

[00:14:24]>> Well, we finally found one.

[00:14:31]Now, you can tell exactly how big this gator is just by looking at its head.

[00:14:34]From the eyes to the tip of the nose sticking out of the water, that's all it's part. How many inches that is exactly how many feet long it is.

[00:14:42]>> All right, we continue. I think we got our alligator fix, but there are 200,000 gators in this swampy water, so we're bound to find more, right?

[00:14:51]One of these days we're going to Big Cypress, my favorite part.

[00:14:56]Even if we don't see any more wildlife, it is still a beautiful and fun ride.

[00:15:18]Here we've got another one, on dry land, too. Well, as as it gets on the Everglades.

[00:15:26]And one more. I call this trip a success.

[00:15:29]>> well, couple things before we dock the boat. Make sure y'all stay in the seat for me till I get the boat tied up.

[00:15:35]Keep your hands in the boat. Other than that, y'all enjoy the rest of the season.

[00:15:43]>> That's all.

[00:15:45]We're back.

[00:15:46]This adventure is over. Well, that was a fun trip, and we saw not one or two, but three gators.

[00:15:54]Back to Miami we go.

[00:16:00]That's the Miccosukee Casino on the left announcing we're approaching the city.

[00:16:18]The building coming up on the right used to be Discovery Channel Latin America. I used to work there, too.

[00:16:24]Oh, this is a very large corporate hub very close to the airport surrounded by this natural freshwater lake called Blue Lagoon.

[00:16:33]The Airport Hilton, barely visible on the right, had a very famous nightclub called Mystique. I played there many times with [music] a 10-piece salsa band Orquesta La Llave in the very early 1990s.

[00:16:46]Fun fact, I also lived in one of these buildings on the right in the early 2000s. It's kind of weird making a video [music] in the home turf, right?

[00:16:59]Deez and I are going to eat at Catch of the Day.

[00:17:02]I haven't been here in years. It is generally kind of touristy. I mean, most people [music] eating here are staying at the nearby airport hotels.

[00:17:11]But, the food has always been pretty good, fresh seafood, hence the [music] name.

[00:17:24]Here we are.

[00:17:28]The world famous catch of the day.

[00:17:33]>> [music] >> Here we are.

[00:17:36]She's got the fettuccine.

[00:17:39]And I got the snapper.

[00:17:41]>> [music] >> Well, this one was short and sweet, huh?

[00:17:46]But that's all I've got for you today.

[00:17:48]On the next one, we're going back to the Florida Keys and this time we're getting on a boat. We're going to be snorkeling at the coral [music] reef and frolicking at the sandbar. Until then, thank [music] you so much for watching and see you on the road.

[00:18:19]>> I'm riding. [music]