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Tuesday, June 29, 2021

hitting the beach

our last day in miami was a beach day.  the spot that the hub reserved for us the day before was ready and waiting for us, and it was perfect for us.  we had the doublewide lounge chair with the built in umbrella, and the staff brought over three more chairs and umbrellas to accommodate the whole family.  the kids spent most of their time frolicking in the ocean while the hub and i relaxed in the shade.









i couldn't help it, the backdrop was too funny.


there was a super sweet dog in the space next to us.  he was so good, just sitting quietly and snacking on the goodies that his people would put out for him now and then.

once we'd had our fill of sun and sand, we got ourselves cleaned up and headed out to do a little window shopping.  this super fancy car had everyone's attention:



there was some sort of professional photo shoot going on here, so we didn't get to take advantage of the photo op.  or, more accurately, *i* didn't get to take advantage...


art is weird.  


i'd spotted this bright and colorful mural from the freeway when we'd first arrived in miami beach.


of course, there were lots of high-end shops to browse through.  we didn't actually go into any of them, with louis vuitton by appointment only or a standby line with an hour long wait.  






this is what the bean did to kill time while we waited for the valet to bring the car around.


we stopped here for a quick treat.  artisan popsicles all around, although i ordered mine affogato-style.  always gotta be different, i guess.




for dinner that night, we decided to try something different.  the old lady and the fiancĂ© love to watch the "one bite pizza" review guy, and one of the places that he'd visited was nearby.  we were a little thrown off because the GPS took us to a super random looking office building that was undergoing renovations, but the security guard at the entrance assured us that we were in the right place.


the place was tiny, and at first they were reluctant to seat us as we didn't have a reservation even though it was empty when we got there.  the hostess made us promise to be done in under an hour, and then she seated us.  so weird.


we've never met a burrata/prosciutto plate we didn't like.


that extends to pizza, as well.


and we threw in a classic cheese pizza for good measure.


we were indeed finished in the time allotted, and the man in the kitchen (could've been the owner, or a manager, who knows) seemed to feel a little remorse for the harsh way we'd been treated when we arrived because he came bearing gifts - a plate of freshly made nutella-filled pastries for dessert, on the house.


and that's how we wrapped up our time in miami. 

Thursday, June 24, 2021

hot, sweaty fun in the sun

the old lady, the fiancé and i kicked off our first full day in miami with a sweat session in the hotel's gym, nicely located at the top of the building.



it was really well equipped, with lots of weights and treadmills and even two peloton bikes - which were taken both times we used the gym, so i still haven't had the chance to try a ride.  instead, i got on the treadmill despite its lack of fun features like the one i have at home.  whatever, i still got a good sweat on.


after we got ourselves cleaned up, we headed out on foot to do a little exploring in miami.  i was surprised to see this in the park - it was just like the seven magic mountains installation out near vegas.  

we parked the car and decided to walk through the art deco district, which ended up with me getting "bad boys" firmly stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

as you can imagine, it was sweltering out there between the bright sun and the high level of humidity.  and we were all hungry, so we ended up at a familiar spot - havana 1957, which the hub and i also visited the last time we were here.




as we started making our way back towards the hotel, the old lady took us on a detour to try a local coffee shop called crema.



as we got closer to the confidante, we decided to check out the beach scene.  the hotel has a little stretch of beach where they have lounge chairs and cabanas available for their guests, and while it was already pretty crowded for that day the hub managed to swing us a reservation for a nice spot the next day.




the pool scene at the hotel was pretty crowded too, but not unbearably so.  and they still had a couple of poolside cabanas available, so while we went upstairs to change the hub took care of reserving one for us for the rest of the day.  while we hung out like VIPs, he took the opportunity to duck out and visit a couple of his favorite cigar spots.  i love how he always makes it to where everyone's happy and having a great time, no matter where we are.






for dinner that night, he'd booked us a table at a restaurant that one of his well-traveled friends had highly recommended - pubbelly sushi.  the bean was STOKED.


and for good reason.  literally every single bite we ate was delicious.  even the old lady, who isn't really much of a seafood/sushi fan enjoyed the meal, although i'm pretty sure the top shelf sake helped.






between the workout, the walking, the sun, the pool, and all the tasty grub...we were happy to hit the sheets that night.  we may not be big partiers, but we still squeezed in a ton of fun in our first day in miami.

heading out to the big apple

like most of our best vacations, our christmastime trip to NYC was kind of a last-minute decision.  i don't even think there were six we...