Now far away in my new neck of the woods, the Morbihan Breton, reminds me again of my Florida, The old Central and South Florida of my family and birthplace of my 3 sons, and I am nostalgic enough to tell you about other towns fond of us over the years. After doing the trajects America ,Europe, America , and back to Europe, I found me a picture in my cd rom vault that should be in my blog for you and me, I like to remind myself of Opa Locka ,and especially my trips to the flea market there over the years, Therefore, here is my take on this is Opa Locka !! Hope you enjoy it as I.
Opa Locka is located in Miami-Dade county ,it is 19 km (12 miles) north of Miami, It was founded in 1926 by American aviator and industrialist Glenn Curtiss , who was inspired by the Middle Eastern folk tales of the One Thousand and One Nights. As such, the city has the largest collection of Moorish Revival architecture in the Western Hemisphere , and many of its roads bear names such as Sharazad Boulevard ,Sinbad Avenue , Sabur Lane , Sultan Avenue , Ali Baba Avenue , Perviz Avenue, and Sesame Street.
As said my memory here is coming with my parents to the huge flea market that was held here by the airport, It had everything imaginable for you and many colorful characters singing out their trades, It was a nice pastime and we have continue it in other parts of the world , especially my new France,
A bit of history I like tell us that Amelia Earhart launched her historic trip around the world from Miami Municipal Airport, established by the city’s founder,aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss, then located in what is now the southern part of Opa-locka The German dirigible Graf Zeppelin visited the Naval Air Station Miami, which later became Opa-Locka Airport, as a regular stop on its Germany-Brazil-United States-Germany scheduled route In the 1950s, the Opa-locka airport specifically Building 67, became the site of a large CIA operation, PBSuccess, run by operatives including E. Howard Hunt. The operation helped launch the US led coup in Guatemala in 1954 and was a precursor to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961. The airfield center then served as a listening post for Cuba until the 82nd Airborne took over Opa-locka Airbase during the Cuban Missile Crisis, The sequence in the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger in which CIA agent Felix Leiter is tailing Oddjob, who is driving Mr. Solo to the airport, was filmed in Opa-Locka. It was, also for a while the base founding block of my university Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University which later in 1965 moved to Daytona Beach, where I went to school,
The city of Opa Locka on its history: https://www.opalockafl.gov/229/History
The official Opa Locka flea market: https://opalockamarket.com/
The official Opa Locka airport: https://www.miami-airport.com/opalocka.asp
The Florida state tourist office on flea markets, see Opa Locka: https://www.visitflorida.com/travel-ideas/articles/shopping-flea-markets/
There you go folks , now you more of this off the beaten path City of my Florida, We fondly remembered the Sunshine State, and love it. We made a decision to move to France and we do not regretted either as it has been a roller coaster of fun and memories. My dear late wife Martine love it too,and never to be forgotten. Again, hope you enjoy this nostalgic post on this is Opa Locka !! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
