Miami Day 4

Miami Skyline

Today, we woke up to a shining sun! It was soo nice to see it since today we went to the beach. :) We were going to head to South Beach since I love the scenery so much, but by the time we got over there and were looking for parking, it appeared that everyone else was super excited to see the sun too... because they were all there also. lol. So, we ended up driving around at least, and instead headed over to Key Biscayne towards Crandon Park and Bill Baggs State Park. The fees to get in were much less than the cost to park in SoBe, so we figured we were good. And Key Biscayne is really nice. I mentioned that I would like to stay there next time because it's such a nice area. We got to Bill Baggs, parked, and headed to the swimming area. And we swam (after applying suntan lotion - the sun was brutal after hiding for a few days)! It was so nice to be in the ocean again... I love it so much! And there weren't a lot of shells of crabs to worry about stepping on, so that was nice. Anne's Beach down at Islamorada was littered with teeny tiny shells with crabs living inside them! We would pick them up, while looking for some good ones, and you could see the little legs coming out. I (of course) then proceeded to ::eeep:: and toss them away from me. hehe. After the 2nd time, I calmed down some though. Maybe all of the people at Bill Baggs made the crabs scatter... Fine by me!

Our loot from Anne's Beach - a bevy of tiny shells.

After the beach, we took a gander down towards Coconut Grove and then shimmied back over to Kendall. We killed some time at the Barnes & Noble after trying another piece of key lime pie from the local diner, while waiting to meet up with his Aunt Bunny and Uncle Arthur for dinner. It was nice to see them again and catch up! After dinner, we hit the road. And here we are just outside of Orlando for the night. Tomorrow, we finish our trek home, and it's back to reality. :)

Palm Tree Picture with some awesome clouds!

It's interesting coming back to a place fairly regularly, and I suppose that this is really the first time I've been able to reflect on it, but every time I've gone to Miami, it's been a different experience. This time felt more "real". We did the touristy stuff, sure, but we spent a lot of time hanging out with his friends and family, and being in Kendall. It gave me more of an opportunity to see what it would be like to live here, you know? You get to see the everyday activities and people. And while it's similar to what I'm used to, it's different. I know that the first time we came to Miami, we stayed in South Beach, and explored Ocean Drive, and when we visited with his friends, I was the newbie and we were definitely ::visiting::. The second time, we came down for a wedding and it was a short trip (I think Friday to Sunday), so it was rushed. The third time we brought Laura, so we did more of the touristy things. We went to South Beach, swam, and got to explore. We spent time with his friends, but we were still visiting. And like I said, this time we still did touristy things, but I felt much more comfortable here this time. And it's felt different for some reason. It's really good! It makes me want to make Miami a more regular trip if only to see the people.. and the beach! :)

Considerations:
5-minute-Funyuns, and really loud music are critical to night driving.
Leave-in conditioner would be a good thing to have on the packing list next time.
Oh, and the camera charger...!
Along with sunscreen, use bug spray!! The insects that attacked us Saturday morning in Key Largo, left welts that still itch like crazy.
Key lime pie is definitely better in the Keys! There's no contest at all... hands down.
Oh, and we have sand everywhere. We had no where to shower after we went swimming, so with the moist towels and swim wear in the trunk, I'm at least looking forward to showering here in a few minutes to get the sand out of my hair. :)