Dexter Filming Locations: Dexter driving in Coral Gables
The
location: Dexter driving (after Ricochet Rabbit)
Q.
What is it supposed to be on the show?
A. A public highway.
Q.
Where is it supposed to be on the show?
A. In Coral Gables, Florida.
Q.
When did we see it on the show?
A. In Episode 10, of Season 6, "Ricochet Rabbit".
Dexter is trying to find Holly Benson before Travis kills her.
He went to the marina where her boyfriend's yacht, the Ricochet Rabbit, was usually docked, but found it missing.
So, he managed to sneak inside the marina's security center, where video revealed Travis sailing the ship out of the marina.
While
there, he also managed to get the password to the boat's GPS/tracking
device, and used it to get the yacht's current location.
So, in this scene, Dexter is driving in his car to that spot, when he gets a call from Debra.
Deb has discovered that Chief Matthews was the person who was in the hotel room with the dead call girl, and is naturally concerned.
She asks Dexter if they can meet to talk, saying it's not something she can tell him on the phone.
But Dexter is obsessed with finding the yacht, so he blows her off.
Debra has
been taking sessions with a police therapist, so she has adopted a more
tolerant attitude towards Dexter's odd behavior, and she tells him its
OK.
Q.
What is it actually in real life?
A. A public highway - just not in Florida.
Q.
Where can I find it in real life?
A. This is Shoreline Drive, in Long Beach, CA.
To be more specific, Dexter is driving west on Shoreline Drive, between Shoreline Village Drive (yes, that's a different street, at the entrance to Shoreline Village) and Pine Avenue (the entrance to Rainbow Harbor).
The camera is looking south, out his driver side window.
First, we see him drive past the entrance to Shoreline Village. You can see the blue & white sign that is at the corner of Shoreline Drive & Shoreline Village Drive.
Then we see the Shoreline marina pass by, along with a glimpse of "33 Degrees - Harborside Pub" (the gastropub which was used as the nightclub where Travis & Gellar plotted to abduct a woman). That is part of Shoreline Village.
Then, as he hangs up the phone, we see "Famous Dave's BBQ" restaurant in the background. That is located at the south end of Pine Avenue, the entrance to Rainbow Harbor (at Shoreline Drive & Pine Avenue.)
Here are three screencaps from the scene. Pay attention to the view out the window.
I've provided three matching Google StreetViews (click on the links below).
When I went to Rainbow Harbor to photograph the Ricochet Rabbit
filming, I had lunch at a restaurant called "Famous Dave's BBQ", which
is a short walk from that dock. In the scene, when Dexter hangs up
his phone, you can clearly see "Famous Dave's" out his driver's side
window. That told me he was headed west on Shoreline Drive.
Earlier in the scene, you can also see the entrance to Shoreline Village
pass by, as well as the gastropub that was used in the filming of the
scene where Travis & Gellar were at a nightclub. So there was no way I could fail to recognize it.
As for the fake Florida shot, the key
here was that apparent forest on the horizon. Not too many of them
in Miami. And the driver is obviously on a bridge. So I
looked at aerial photos of the Biscayne Bay, looking for a bridge
leading to a forested area. When I spotted it, I dropped into Google StreetView to find the exact spot.
