The Biltmore was originally built in 1926 and at one time had the largest swimming pool in the world. During WWII, the Biltmore was converted to a VA hospital by the War Department. Then in 1968 it briefly served as the University of Miami's School of Medicine. Finally, in 1987 it started its transformation back to a luxury hotel.

I didn't get much time to explore Miami while I was visiting, but I did find time in the evenings to walk the hotel grounds and get some good shots. By the way...you can't beat the weather in Miami. It was like 75-80 degrees everyday I was there.

         The world famous Biltmore pool.

         The Biltmore main hotel lobby.

         The Biltmore at night.

         The Fontana restaurant located in the center of the Biltmore.

                                                     Gargoyle in the lobby.

         View from my room's patio at dawn with Miami in the distance.

         Biltmore ballroom exterior.

         The Biltmore tower top...

I really enjoyed my Biltmore stay. The service was excellent and they really make you feel special...even if they do charge $6.50 to wash a pair of socks.

See the rest of the Biltmore album here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/archives/2012/biltmore-hotel

I did encounter a handful of Gators, like this guy, who was laying out in the afternoon sun. However, I didn't see as many Gators this time as I have in the past. I think this was due to it still being dry season, which is better for seeing the over 300 species of birds that can be found in the Everglades. I know nothing about birds, but must admit, they are fun to take pictures of, especially when you can get close to them.

For the photo geeks out there, I primarily used my Nikon D300 w/ 400mm and my Nikon D3 w/ 70-200mm. I used a monopod for the 400mm most of the time also. Getting close to these animals wasn't very hard. They are wild animal, but they are also pretty use to humans walking around and looking at them. It is way better than going to a zoo in my opinion.

The most interesting thing that happened on my little adventure was while I was lugging my gear around on a trail that went out to an observation point. I try and keep my head on a swivel, since you never know when or where you might spot something. So, there I was walking along when I saw something out of the corner of my eye, fall from the tree and make a small 'thud' noise. I look down and about 6in from my foot is small snake, about 1 1/2 to 2 feet long. It quickly slithered away, but needless to say, I wasn't ready for that. If it had landed on me, I probably would have screamed like a little girl.

Overall, it was totally worth going down there again. There really isn't any other place I've been to with that much accessibility to wildlife.

To see all of my photos from this Everglades visit, go to http://www.framehousephotography.com/archives/2012/everglades

**Previous Everglade albums: 2009's Trip Album and 2011's Trip Album

If you'd like to bookmark it, my blog can be found at www.framehousephotography.com/blog

Wish me luck!

AB