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Old 1 Apr 18, 03:25 PM  
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WileyCoyote
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Keep Calm & Have a Cocktail March 2018:Day1 Miami:Ocean Drive,Sawgrass Mills,Shulas Steakhouse

The day before is HERE

Saturday 10 March, Miami

We both fell into a deep sleep and when I woke up I felt pretty ok - none of that eyes feeling superglued together malarkey when you haven’t had enough sleep so when I looked over at my Fitbit I was quite pleased to see it said 0830 - Wowsers, that’s been a great first night sleep then.

Of course, that would be the Fitbit that was still on UK time as I hadn’t plugged in my phone to re synch it.

It took me at least 30 minutes to work that out

Given the realisation it was in fact only 0330 when I woke up, I still felt quite ok

As it was a Saturday there was no need for any messaging home this early so I did manage to drift off and doze until 5.30 when Andy woke up and was wide awake like a meerkat, despite my insistence he should “think sleepy thoughts” and try and get back to sleep.

He tried to message home and started to become increasingly frustrated at not being able to get hold of DS2 - as by now it would be almost 11 and he wanted to make sure the dogs were ok.

Sigh

First holiday hiccup

You can’t write these things can you

Ds2, in his infinite teenage wisdom, had invited some friends over.

This in itself is fine, yes it would have been nice to know in advance, but its not a huge deal.

Except it turned into one.

It wasn’t a full-on house party, no damage done, no annoyed neighbours. So that wasn't the issue

The issue became that Andy was increasingly frustrated at seeing messages delivered and read but not answered - so by the time he did get to speak to him, he got himself into a “never doing this again, can’t be trusted blah blah” state of apoplexy.

Now not the time then to intervene with thoughts that this hadn’t caused the world to end and it was being pretty normal teen behaviour.

So they had a bit of a difference of opinion and it wasn't exactly a great way to start the day.

Got to say that at 6am, after not a lot of sleep and a crummy hotel room, I was all for getting on the first flight back home. It was a bit of a downer.

I will say it did blow over and that its now reduced to an eye rolling story - so it didn't cast a cloud for long. Just not a great start !

The room looked marginally more appealing in daylight.

Although the burn mark in the desk and the overall ambience of the carpet hadn’t improved.

The carpet was that horrible greyish stripe stuff that is part brillo pad, part AstroTurf and not one you really wanted to walk on barefoot.

I tackled the cases again after my epic hissy fit last night and managed to shove in the bits of hand luggage we wouldn’t be needing.

I think the problem was that one case had the stuff we were taking to Andy’s family and I was trying not to mess with that case before we got there.

Sometimes my stubbornness is just totally impractical -

It would have been easier to do a repack instead of pushing and shoving stuff into the other case when it clearly wasn’t fitting!

Still feeling a bit fed up at the mildly disastrous start to the day, the mood wasn’t improved by the crappy weather forecast - a storm coming in later that morning/afternoon and somewhat trashing our plans for an afternoon on the beach.

We are not really beach people and this further cemented my opinions on it!

I did feel better after a shower - the mini toiletries here certainly met that description, being the most “mini” I think I have ever seen.

We decided to head off now to the beach to scatter the ashes before the bad weather set in.

I know it probably feels like it was midday by now , but it was only 8 am!

I was really paranoid about the room being visible from the road and spent an age finding ways to hide the cases from view.

It was nice to step out into the sunshine although not a very scenic spot but it was warm and the sun was out.



It took about 40 minutes to make our way to North Beach part of Collins Avenue in Miami



and we parked up near some shops on the opposite side of the road to the beach.



Andy’s Mum had come to the same hotel in Miami for a number of years and had recalled stories of sitting under a particular palm tree on the beach.

Our mission was to try and find that spot to scatter the very small amount of ashes we had brought with us.

The hotel she had stayed at was long gone and replaced by a new Trump building




but we could work out the spot by the street numbers.

The beach was pretty deserted - a few joggers and birds but otherwise empty.



You could see the storm clouds gathering



and it was incredibly windy but after a bit of going back and forth we determined we had the right spot and released a handful of ashes into the windy air.



So, Andy’s mum finally got to be back in a favourite place.

It was quite emotional but also really nice that we had been able to do this - It had been the only reason we were making the stop here so it was great it worked out.

We thought we might be able to get back to the road through the hotels



but all key card entry so we trekked back and by 0930 were on our way to the South Beach and Ocean Drive, hoping to beat the Saturday crowds. We did like looking at the amazing houses and boats along the way



and some random artwork



We did get stuck in some roadworks and it was clearly mobbed at the very start of Ocean Drive already, so we just took a slow drive to take in the sights of the Art Deco buildings



and just drove along the beachfront until we could find a spot to park and eat - declining the $25 valet fee places!

We found somewhere that was $4 for an hour and walked a short way to some pavement cafes. Settling on the Jalapeno Kitchen who were offering 2 mimosas for the price of one - that’ll do nicely.

Edited at 08:10 PM.
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Old 1 Apr 18, 03:26 PM  
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We sat and watched the world go by - the cafes were near some apartments so it was quite weird having people squeezing their way past the table to the beach in not a lot of beach wear!




We had mimosas to sip in the sunshine.





Andy went for a triple sandwich thing that looked a bit yellow for me.



I had pancakes with sausage.






Breakfast was ok - nothing stands out special but it was nice to sit out, see the ocean (or the public loo block which we had managed to sit right in front of) and just enjoy a bit of Miami madness.

We were back in the car at 1130 and set off to find Little Havana - passing the port and the mahoosive cruise ships



but were unsuccessful, probably a bit too early in the day.

We made a brief stop at a Starbucks to get a YAH mug, to be told they were out of stock as everything was stuck up in the North with the snow.

We decided to make a trip to Sawgrass Mills as it was sort of on the way back to the hotel.




This place is just huge - its like a small town. We were overwhelmed with the size of the place.



Andy picked up a hoody and jogging bottoms in Adidas as we had a feeling we would be in need of warmer clothes in New Orleans.

I didn’t really have a shopping head on - the place was really busy (Saturday afternoon) and I was getting messages from home asking if we would restore the internet now - not that we had done anything to the internet but it clearly wasn’t working.

We stopped at the Starbucks and asked again about the Miami mug - to be robustly told we were not in Miami and they didn’t have any. That told us then!

We had a couple of hours wandering around and set off for the hotel around 3pm, which was 30 minutes or so.

Andy managed to restore the internet settings so peace was made at home and this mornings hiccup put behind us and I was hopeful a quick kip would revive us.

Andy had a deep sleep and wasn’t hugely impressed when I woke him up at 5 - we had a reservation for dinner at 6 and it was going to be a good 30-minute drive.

We had originally planned to spend the afternoon around the beach and be closer to Shula’s but the weather and a bit of tiredness had put an end to that.

I must admit I was really quite grumpy now and not that keen to make the trek - especially on finding it tanking it down with rain on opening the door


Edited at 08:05 PM.
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Old 1 Apr 18, 03:26 PM  
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WileyCoyote
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It was raining heavily and the traffic was heaving so in the end it took almost and hour to get to Miami Lakes. It looked a really nice place



The restaurant is inside the Shula hotel



It was empty when we arrived but soon filled up



I had a raspberry Martini





We had the sampler platter to start



It came with some dips. It was all totally delicious

I had the 6oz filet with loaded potato and Caesar salad



It was lovely but the potato and salad defeated me.

Andy had ribeye with fries and veg



It was good too.

Great steaks, a creditable third spot I think on our all-time Steak great list behind YO in Dallas and Shula’s in Orlando.



I did order cheesecake to go ... That was tomorrow's breakfast.

The bill $142. Definitely worth it. This was the first in a few places where the tip was already added in.



By the time we had finished, we were both really tired and the prospect of a 5.30 start the following morning was looking not such a brilliant plan. It had been a lovely meal though and the day ended much better than it had started.

Andy manfully coped with the drive home and fortunately it had stopped raining and the traffic was lighter so only took 40 minutes.

We were back by 9pm and after last minute labelling of cases and laying out our travel clothes, we were both asleep by 10.

Edited at 08:04 PM.
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Old 1 Apr 18, 06:14 PM  
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Goldia
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An emotional morning, I'm sure this must have added to the stress of the party/dog/non contact of the teens at home. Lovely though in the end to be able to spread the ashes somewhere special that meant something to Andy's mum.

Shopping in the afternoon just sounds like it added to the stress of the day.

Hmm, not the first day holidays are normally made of. I'm glad the teens were saved from a lack of internet at home...I dread to think how they would have cooped if you hadn't been able to turn the Wi-Fi back on.

I'm looking forward to more fun in the next few days, fingers crossed!
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Old 1 Apr 18, 06:23 PM  
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What a rollercoaster day! The morning must have been a poignant moment for you both.

Shame the weather didn't really cooperate!

Dinner looks lovely!
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Old 1 Apr 18, 06:29 PM  
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So lovely you managed to take Andy's mum back to one of her spots. It was quite emotional to read so imagine it must have been very touching for you both.

You packed a lot into your day having been up so early anyway. Such a shame the teens were the cause of trouble when they weren't even with you! (Funny they thought you had sabotaged the internet though haha!). That first 24 hours after arrival can make for some spectacular family 'moments' I find. Saying that... it can happen anytime cant it? We had 24 hours in Miami on our last trip which was on our last day. I saw enough of the place to get a feel but not as much as I wanted to. Our DS kicked off big style with one of his 'what's the point of wandering like this?' performances mid sightseeing - things escalated as they do so we turned around and went back to the hotel. Not funny at the time but can laugh about it now.

Seems like you were relaxed by the end of the day after your lovely meal so let's see what tomorrow had in store x

PS Happy Easter -hope there are cocktails with your chocolate.😉
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Old 1 Apr 18, 06:30 PM  
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i love jack
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I love that you chose breakfast by the fact they were offering 2 for 1 mimosas
And thinking it was 8.30 bet you were gutted
Lovely looking steak though
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Old 1 Apr 18, 06:51 PM  
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Oh no - we are leaving the teen at home this year for first time! Gulp…

Love Sawgrass Mills - it's often our stop before flight home - dangerous that, and we have got lost in their before.

Love the Miami pics.
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Old 1 Apr 18, 07:51 PM  
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WileyCoyote
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Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
An emotional morning, I'm sure this must have added to the stress of the party/dog/non contact of the teens at home. Lovely though in the end to be able to spread the ashes somewhere special that meant something to Andy's mum.

Shopping in the afternoon just sounds like it added to the stress of the day.

Hmm, not the first day holidays are normally made of. I'm glad the teens were saved from a lack of internet at home...I dread to think how they would have cooped if you hadn't been able to turn the Wi-Fi back on.

I'm looking forward to more fun in the next few days, fingers crossed!
It was spooky co incidence about the internet - it is temperamental though - Andy was really quick to sort it out so the morning issues soon passed. Must have been some divine karma . These things do just escalate sometimes, it was a bit of a storm in a teacup. I think you are right, maybe it was more emotional than we both thought . It definitely got better

Originally Posted by Melbatb View Post
What a rollercoaster day! The morning must have been a poignant moment for you both.

Shame the weather didn't really cooperate!

Dinner looks lovely!
It was an odd day - but things worked ok in the end
Lovely meal , it did end the day on a good note
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Old 1 Apr 18, 08:03 PM  
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Originally Posted by CuriousAlice View Post
So lovely you managed to take Andy's mum back to one of her spots. It was quite emotional to read so imagine it must have been very touching for you both.

You packed a lot into your day having been up so early anyway. Such a shame the teens were the cause of trouble when they weren't even with you! (Funny they thought you had sabotaged the internet though haha!). That first 24 hours after arrival can make for some spectacular family 'moments' I find. Saying that... it can happen anytime cant it? We had 24 hours in Miami on our last trip which was on our last day. I saw enough of the place to get a feel but not as much as I wanted to. Our DS kicked off big style with one of his 'what's the point of wandering like this?' performances mid sightseeing - things escalated as they do so we turned around and went back to the hotel. Not funny at the time but can laugh about it now.

Seems like you were relaxed by the end of the day after your lovely meal so let's see what tomorrow had in store x

PS Happy Easter -hope there are cocktails with your chocolate.😉
Happy Easter to you too ! Yes a Bucks Fizz with dinner. Very nice.

We were so pleased and we didn't feel as upset as we thought, I think more relieved than anything that we had managed it - the sun was shining and the beach was quiet - a perfect way to remember her there. So happy thoughts for Andy.

I can so relate to that story of yours - I did feel that DS2 didn't help himself by just not texting to say - its all ok, the longer he left it the more cross Andy got and then you forget the original reason you were cross in the first place !

But in reality he was fantastic looking after himself, the dogs and house so we really couldn't be that cross ! And the day ended with all being well .

Originally Posted by i love jack View Post
I love that you chose breakfast by the fact they were offering 2 for 1 mimosas
And thinking it was 8.30 bet you were gutted
Lovely looking steak though
Ha ha, I do love a bargain cocktail ! How dim was I not realising the fitbit was on the wrong time, doh ! And dinner was fab.

Originally Posted by stupet11 View Post
Oh no - we are leaving the teen at home this year for first time! Gulp…

Love Sawgrass Mills - it's often our stop before flight home - dangerous that, and we have got lost in their before.

Love the Miami pics.
Ah it will be fine - he did really well, he looked after himself and the dogs, did the laundry and cleaned the house . He just didn't use his common sense the first time we tried to get hold of him ! It all blew over by the time we got back. Its one of those roll your eyes stories now

Eesh that place is so big, we were really overwhelmed and we love our shopping !

Ocean Drive is so cool, loved seeing it.
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