Miami
Well, I was getting my rent-a-car and I asked the question…. How much more for a convertible? She told me that it would be $60 dollars, but she would give it to me for $30… nah, I could not quite do it… I told her no. Then she said that she might be able to get me one for $20… hmmm, something tells me that Hertz is negotiable… the end of that story is I am now driving around in a white mustang convertible! South Florida in a convertible. The large black woman at the checkout confirmed that I looked even hotter in that car. Ok, that was basically my words. I asked and she said yes, sometimes ya gotta use that customer service thing for your own good.
So I have got my car and south I go. I figured that I had all the time in the world so I would head to the coast and then drive south. I end up in Hollywood. There is a nice downtown area, so I park the car off the strip and go search for some lunch. I had a cob salad yesterday for dinner so it looks like I am eating kind of healthy. I walk around and pass up an Irish pub in favor of an outdoor café. I get a chipotle steak wrap. It was pretty good. Those wrap things have too much lettuce if you ask me… I jump back into my ‘stang and continue to head south right along the coast. I am on 1A1. I tried a couple of times to get closer to the coast, but was denied. Miami’s coast is dominated by large building on the beach with then road behind them. If you are not in or behind them there is no beach or ocean view. ANB tells me where to go and adjusts accordingly. I reach my destination and continue right on by to check out South Beach and Ocean drive. It is a nice drive. I think I recognize the place that I staid the last time I was in South Beach, but that was a long time ago. I head back to find the hotel.
I had booked through Priceline the night before and ended up at the Miami Beach Resort. How cool is that. It pleases me greatly to stay at Miami Beach at THE Miami Beach Resort. I was a little concerned that with a name like that it has been here since there was a beach… well it turns out that it has been here that long, but it is beautifully maintained. The lobby is awesome. I give up my car to the valet (something that never pleases me, might be a control thing) and walk on in. Very nice… I talk to the overly nice man and the counter and he is very helpful… Since I booked on Priceline I had no idea of what room they put me in, but I assumed that it was low and in the front (opposite of ocean view) so I ask how much it would be for an ocean front room. I ask if AAA would help… I am not sure what did it, but I ended up with a free upgrade to an ocean view room on the 17’th floor, sweet! I did have to go from a king bed to two doubles, but it was worth it. The room is very nice and the view is great! I ask about internet and it is $9.99 a day, insert big sad face here… I also find out that it is legal in Florida to talk on your cell phone while driving. Juan Carlos (no really) the concierge was well informed. I get settled and enjoy the view. I fire up my laptop and go to check out internet access… I just gotta, it is one of the first things I do when I land. Maybe a bit obsessively, but I will deny that. Anyway… it turns out that AT&T provide the wireless and my account actually works! I am quite surprised because it seems like a partner site and I didn’t think that my account would work, but it does so I do a little happy dance and continue to get settled.
No one would think that after walking all day the day before, the last thing I would do is take a walk, nope… I walk down the beach about a mile and half and checkout some guy practicing with his kite boarding kite… cool. I then seek access to the street. As I mentioned the resorts and high-rise building dominate the coast. I have to ask some people how to get access to the street. I make it. I then ask ANB to find me a convenience store so I can get some diet dew and some munchies AND a hat. I have the floppy that Marlo bought, but now with a convertible, I have to rise to a higher standard… :> I end up walking further away from the resort. I do manage to find diet dew, some bananas, pop tarts and chips… so much for healthy :> I buy a $.99 bag to save the planet and lug my haul back. It is a fairly long walk… a couple of miles… silly man… I wander back, not too fast. It’s not like I have to be anywhere. I walk over by the HUGE boats on the inter-coastal. The biggest boat is called “Never Enough” hmmmm… that does not sound like a healthy attitude. While I am contemplating the emotional well being of this REALLY rich guy I hear a strange gush of air. I look down next to the slip and there is a HUGE alligator!!! We are talking about 6-8 feet and over 3 feet wide! Some other people come a long and we watch it for a bit… I thought that I was clear of alligators… guess not… I talk to some people later and they have heard about using alligators and piranhas as means to deter simmers and trespassers… I would consider that crude, but effective… anyway I finally make it back to my room.
I ask Juan Carlos if there is a hot tub. He tells me that there is not! Major bummer! I was really hoping to soak my weary bones… oh well… I decide to make myself some ice coffee (I don’t drink that much coffee, so this is odd) and draw a bath. The tub is in the shape of the shower base and not that deep. I fill it up with hot water and take a nice soak. It works.
Now I have to consider dinner… I am not overly motivated to go out. I consider the hotel restaurant, and the hassle of getting the car from those valet people… I decide that I am on an adventure and staying in at the hotel is not at all adventurous. I Google Miami night life and a lot of South Beach stuff comes up that I dismiss, been there, done that. Then a bunch of Lincoln street and the Lincoln mall come up… hmmm, someone told me about that… I now have a destination. I put it in ANB and off I go. I ask about parking at the deak and they tell me that there is a garage on 17th street… Now, I am not a huge fan of paying for parking, so I hope for some on-street parking… well, I pass up the garage and pull into a side street that seems pretty close to where my rough destination is… score.
Now, I am alone in a strange city. Anyone who know me knows that I have a significantly impaired sense of direction AND I am leaving ANB in the car… I take GREAT pains keeping track of where I left the car. To make matters worse, the last time I was in South Beach it took me several hours to find my car. Yes, I lost my car in South Beach. Fortunately there was lots to do while I checked all of the side street, where I got the free parking and I eventually found it… hmmm.
Lincoln Street was interesting. It had lots of stores with lots of restaurants and clubs mixed in. I walked all the way up and back to check it all out before I decide where to eat. I wanted to sit at the bar to eat. Some places were too crowded and some were too empty. I found a place that was just right. It was called Van Dykes Café. Apparently there was some birthday party going on so the bar area was a little crowded. I make myself a spot and grabbed a stool. I had a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich, yes another one. I have them a lot. Well I have never seen one before that is so completely covered in cheese that you could not see the roll AT ALL! I had to eat it with a knife and fork. It was pretty good. They even had NA beer.
I am fairly tired and have ventured out. I head back to the room… I chill, read, surf and settle in to watch Hero’s. It is now after 12:00 and I am tired. I did get awoken at 5:40 that morning… I shut down Hero’s and turn off the light… the next thing I know the room is bright.. I never even moved… The good thing about a ocean view room is…. Wait for it… the view of the ocean! Now the bad news is that in that on this coast you get morning sunshine!!! It was 7:30 and it was a little bright… I adjusted the shades and went back to sleep for a couple more hours.
What was I going to do today…. Hmmmm Miami beach resort… maybe the beach! I wait for things to warm up just so and stake out my spot by the pool… why the pool and not the ocean… one reason, cushions on the chairs, Juan coming around giving me fruit cools towels. Before I left the room I was sure to totally coat my body with my spf 30 spray-on sunscreen and off I go. Now I am being very careful with the sun… again once burnt, twice shy… puny! The last time I was in South Beach I went back looking like a leaper… my nose and ears were peeling so badly that I looked the guy from the fly. There were chunks coming off of my nose… I was a hit at the airport bar… not this time. I am being careful. So I took advantage of a palm tree, I put up my umbrella, etc, etc… after the sun went behind the hotels, I decide to venture out to the beach. It was very nice. There was actually one woman who was not wearing a bathing suit top. I went for a short walk, no not just around the woman… and then took a nice swim.
After that I came back to the pool. I wanted to get and an clean the ocean off. Well the pool was 90 some degrees, nice! I had a nice chat with several people about different internet travel. Apparently I got a good deal through Priceline for this place. The others all paid more :> we compared sites and places and what not. It was fun. There was one woman that asked if I had heard of the netbook computers. I gushed about my asus. She wants one…
I got back to my room to find the answer to an email I had sent this morning concerning Key Largo and my next stop on the Florida 2009 adventure. I found a place that you could stay at and dive from. I made my reservations and will be diving tomorrow at 1:00! The address is already set in ANB:>
Back to the room and a nice shower. I figure that I will grab a bite to eat at the pool side bar, blog and people watch. Well that all worked out quiet well. I wrote most of this, had a very good mahi mahi sandwich. I finished most of my blog and then started chatting with a couple of people who attended the printfleet conference. We talked about computers and South Beach and what-not. That was amusing. They are dining at the hotel tonight and invited me… I might go, but I need to get some water shoes for tomorrow… should I go out tonight, or tomorrow??? Actually it might be too late for tonight… I guess I will go tomorrow. Dinner tonight and then next stop Key Largo!