Miami Beach

This week...Mady and I were fortunate to be able to tag along on Sara's work seminar in sunny Miami Beach -- sweet deal! Accomodations at the Trump Miami. Private beach. Pool. Spa. Can life get much better? The winning mega-millions ticket maybe...but this was a good start.

This was Mady's first flight. She did great, sleeping most of the way. Passengers around us were suprised to see her face when we landed....noting how quiet she had been.

We arrived to a record 96 degree day -- wowsers. If the whole trip is gonna be like this I thought, this will be trouble. Neither Sara nor I are beach people. We're in our element during the fall/spring. Summer heat and humidity brings out funky skin ailments that cause us to seek shelter. Gotta love it.

As I stood outside the plane, patiently waiting for Mady's stroller to be retrieved, Sara and Mady took shelter inside the terminal...which was only slightly cooler. Let's just say the air circulation was severely lacking. Stagnant might describe it best.

Luggage retrieved, we shuttled over to pick up our rental...a snazzy silver PT Cruiser, which we would later find out is a pretty popular pick :) I started seeing them all over the place.

35 minutes later, we arrived at the Trump Miami. Expecting a pretentious environment, we were pleased to find the hotel very laid back and accomodating. Our digs...entitled Run of the House... was basically an efficiency -- king bed, sofa/chair and kitchenette -- outfitted with a washer/dryer as well. We were spoiled rotten.

Sara spent her days at the seminar...starting early and finishing early. Mady and I relaxed at the pool, adorned with waterfalls and a convenient bar -- go figure. Weather remained in our favor, with each day slightly cooler than the previous. Outside of a night in South Beach, where we had a great dinner at Rendezvous On The Beach ( http://www.rendezvousonthebeach.net/ ), we spent most of our time on the hotel premises & beach.

Our final day we trekked to Coral Gables (after Sara saw an interesting ad on one of those visitor channels on the TV). Frustration nearly ensued as the destination was not clearly marked. Street signs were absent, replaced with painted stones that were only readible as you were passing the place you were supposed to turn at. Ugh.

Eventually we found a mall area (Shops at Sunset Place)...where I was pleased to stumble across an Irish Pub...the Irish Times :) After a quick Guinness & Smithwicks, refreshed, we did some window shopping and bought a few t-shirts at the Lucky shop -- one of our new favorite places. We finished with some authentic cuban cuisine and headed back to the comfort of our Trump oasis, basking in the pool for a final time.

All in all, a great time. As usual, Mady was full of daily surprises which brought smiles to our faces. Ba-ba, Ma-Ma and Da-da rolled steadily off her tongue. Forward mobility was firmly established -- this kid really likes to move. We're truly lucky and I could ramble on and on. Here are a few shots from the trip...