Turn north off Atlantic Avenue onto NE 2nd Avenue and the mood shifts: this is Pineapple Grove, Delray's arts district, named for the pineapple fields that covered this ground a century ago. The archway over the street announces it, but the murals do the real talking - building-sized works that change often enough that repeat visitors make a point of walking the block again. Around them sit working studios, galleries, indie boutiques and Arts Garage, the intimate venue where jazz, blues and theater share a calendar and you can bring your own wine.
Painters hauling canvases, gallery owners flying in for a hang, couples booked into a Grove-side inn for an art walk weekend - this drop collects an artsy crowd, and we treat the cargo accordingly. Framed work and portfolio cases ride flat, not wedged. From MIA the run is about 55 miles up I-95, an hour give or take ten minutes, on a fixed long-distance fare from $129. If you are timing your visit to a First Friday art walk, tell us and we will plan the pickup so you land in the Grove before the galleries pour the first glass.
The district also makes a calmer base than staying directly on the Ave: you are one block from the restaurants but far enough that the Saturday night hum fades. Old School Square, with the Cornell Art Museum in a 1913 schoolhouse, anchors the south end of the walk, and the beach is a fifteen-minute stroll east. When the return flight comes around, your driver is at the curb with the trunk open - the only thing you need to carry home is whatever you bought off a gallery wall.
What to expect
- Direct drop on NE 2nd Avenue - inns, studios or Arts Garage
- Artwork and portfolio cases transported flat and padded
- About an hour from MIA on a fixed fare from $129
- Pickup timing built around gallery hours or First Friday art walks
- Return pickups from the Grove with luggage help included