We took a 75-ft Avanti yacht to Fisher Island...or rather, I hitched a ride on the white triple-decker boat with a wealthy Miami Beach couple to a fundraiser on the exclusive island. We sailed along the Miami waterfront past $20 million houses and 200 ft yachts owned by billionaires you've heard of and many billionaires you haven't heard of who remain quiet on social media. Last week I was washing my clothes at a 24-hour laundromat in Brooklyn listening to the Dem debates, and now I'm cruising by Trump 2020 flags flapping in the breeze as Miami's boating weekend starts.
The captain skillfully backed the yacht into crowded port and we climbed on to Fisher Island. If you grew up in Miami, you have heard the folklore of Fisher Island. It is the richest zip code in America. You can only get to it by boat. If you take the public ferry, your name has to be on the register to step foot on it. It was the abandoned estate of the Vanderbilts that a developer bought in the 80s and turned it around on a dream/scheme: make this ramshackle, broken-down land 'the it' place of exclusive rich. Oprah was one of the first people to purchase an estate here and many others followed. A community grew around the fact that you had to be rich enough to even go there, rich enough to have its name cross your lips.
An official Fisher Island golf cart was waiting for us by the dock. We scooted up to an amazing penthouse apartment with vaulted ceilings that was covered in art ART. Art with a capital 'A' that lets you know 'don't you even think about touching me.' Performers from A WONDERFUL WORLD sang beautifully around a grand piano. Cocktails and appetizers continued, but our ride wanted to leave shortly after the performance, so it was back on the yacht. I and a few others were dropped off at the southern tip of South Beach. We had dinner at Monty's among the flip-float brigade of tourists and students We took an Uber back to our hotels and apartments.
The captain skillfully backed the yacht into crowded port and we climbed on to Fisher Island. If you grew up in Miami, you have heard the folklore of Fisher Island. It is the richest zip code in America. You can only get to it by boat. If you take the public ferry, your name has to be on the register to step foot on it. It was the abandoned estate of the Vanderbilts that a developer bought in the 80s and turned it around on a dream/scheme: make this ramshackle, broken-down land 'the it' place of exclusive rich. Oprah was one of the first people to purchase an estate here and many others followed. A community grew around the fact that you had to be rich enough to even go there, rich enough to have its name cross your lips.
An official Fisher Island golf cart was waiting for us by the dock. We scooted up to an amazing penthouse apartment with vaulted ceilings that was covered in art ART. Art with a capital 'A' that lets you know 'don't you even think about touching me.' Performers from A WONDERFUL WORLD sang beautifully around a grand piano. Cocktails and appetizers continued, but our ride wanted to leave shortly after the performance, so it was back on the yacht. I and a few others were dropped off at the southern tip of South Beach. We had dinner at Monty's among the flip-float brigade of tourists and students We took an Uber back to our hotels and apartments.
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