Hello! I have been slack with this bog, but not with traveling! In April, I went to Florida (Daytona Beach, Miami, Orlando, and Clearwater Beach). We covered a lot of ground in the 8 days we were there. Number 1 travel companion (Paul) was with me, and I have to say, he is a very good friend. We rented a car, free upgrade, and he volunteered to be the only driver in order to say about $200 for the week. He was also patient and calm when I thought I was losing my eyesight.
Now, for those of you who don't know, Daytona was the hot spot for Spring Break in the 80s. Not so much today. Don't get me wrong, they have their big weeks, for example, the Daytona 500 and Bike Week, but other than that it is pretty dead. With that all said, it does have gorgeous beaches that stretch on and on for miles and miles. It is the perfect place for a sunrise run. The sand is not too soft and you can go on for however you want right along the ocean. One thing to be leery of in the waters . . .SHARKS!!!! Apparently, Florida has the most shark attacks in the world on average annually. So watch out. Sharks have become a theme for me lately in my vacation spots. Paul was swimming happily in the ocean as I stood in the shallow water when all of a sudden, I spotted 2 fins about 6 ft from Paul. I started yelling his name, but didn't want to scream, "shark!" in fear that Paul might freeze. He kind of looked up and said, "what?". If someone was screaming my name while I was in the ocean, I am pretty sure I would haul ass out of the water. But that's not Paul. He seemed more annoyed by my attempt to rescue him than grateful. Next thing you know, the two fins jumped out of the water, and they were just cute, harmless dolphins. He got to swim with dolphins for free rather than paying $200 at Discovery Cove in Orlando. I was a little jealous.
After spending two nights in Daytona, we jumped in the car and drove to Miami. I would highly recommend this city. I completely felt like I was in a different country. The architecture is very different than the Northeast of the Unites Sates and the rest of Florida. Now, I wouldn't choose the Art deco style that Miami has, but there is consistency with the buildings there that adds to the vibe of the entire city.
Our first stop in Miami was South Beach. Finding parking to go to the beach in Miami can be tricky, but we were able to find street parking and pay the meter using a credit card. After paying the fee, we moseyed on over to the beach with our gear which wasn't much. Paul and I have been known to sit on a beach with nothing but our bathing suits and car keys. However, we didn't have to be such minimalist on this occasion because you can rent chairs and an umbrella for $25.00 in total. I didn't think that was too high a price to pay for comfort. Warm water, good waves, and excellent people watching. On the downside, I have never encountered such filthy beach bathroom in all my life and I cleaned beach bathrooms in South Boston when I was in college. Come on, ladies!
At some point we realized we still hadn't booked a room, and I was having a crazy allergy attack in my eyes, so packed up (it's a relative term) and went hotel hunting. I am not the best sufferer in the world or maybe I am because I am so good at it according to Paul. Since I was nearly blind in one eye and they wouldn't stop running, I was basically useless as a navigator or travel guru. It was not looking good for us. We stopped in desperation to run into CVS for assistance, and that turned out to be as helpful as an umbrella in a hurricane. Useless pharmacist. Back in the car I pathetically started crying because my eyes hurt so much. I knew at the time that Paul would laugh at me at some point for this behavior, but he knows me enough to let it slide until the drama is over. Eventually we found our way to the Riveria Suites South Beach on Liberty Ave. I found availability, on my phone, there while siting outside the hotel so Paul ran in to book a room. We soon found out that Expedia offered a much better deal on the room and we booked it through them. Well Paul did anyway. With the state of my eyes at this point, I was not in any shape to enter credit card information on my iphone. Checking in was smooth and quick, and I ran to the room to get some relief in the form of a shower.
The room was gorgeous. It was tastefully decorated, modern, and brand new. It had a good size living room, a small dining table, a kitchenette with all new appliances, a spacious bathroom, and a large dark bedroom. The shower helped relieve my eye pain, and I went to take a rest after. The bedroom curtains were amazing at blocking out the light. It felt like midnight in there. In this space, I found solace! Ha! Just being dramatic. No, but seriously, I finally felt better. As we headed out to dinner that night, Paul said, "I really hope you die in your sleep." I asked, "for my sake or yours?" Paul responded, "For yours, you just couldn't handle it any other way."
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