Monday, July 29, 2013

Welcome to Miami: Worst Anniversary Ever is Redeemed

We went from the "worst vacation day ever" to never wanting to leave Miami Beach. I've calmed down since my latest vacation meltdown (I seem to have one each time we travel....examples here and here) so Jeremy is willing to let me take the reins on this post.

I'm not gonna lie, I was more than ready to up and leave Miami after FOUR Groupon fails in a row but I awoke the next morning with a new outlook and happy to have a husband that sticks with me when the grumpy and whiney Asha comes out. Not long after we woke up, I received a phone call from the parasailing company we had scheduled an appointment with later that day. Sadly, they had to cancel again due to the weather that was practically identical from the day before. This time, however, I couldn't bring myself to get upset. I accepted the fact that it just wasn't going to happen and to just go about our unplanned day. Yep. No plans that day. We were just going to go with the flow. And I was okay with that.

Although cloudy, there wasn't any rain that day. We started the morning off at the beach and were instantly happy that it was drizzle-free unlike the day before.

We (happily) napped atop of the sand. Totally opposite facial expressions but whatevs.


We put our feet in the ocean.


We drew in the sand.


We saw ACTUAL surfers.


And happened upon someone filming a commercial.


We walked to the edge of the beach.


Once we got to the rocks, it INSTANTLY reminded me of Free Willy, one of my favorite movies growing up. That movie seriously had me wanting to be a Killer Whale trainer throughout my childhood. I HAD to re-create the moment :)

This is awesomely horribly photoshopped.

During our down time on the beach, I for some reason, started thinking about the Kardashians. This is not something I want to admit but I may or may not watch their shows. Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kourtney and Khole Take Miami, Kourtney and Kim Take New York, Khole and Lamar, Kourtney and Kim take Miami...Yeah, all of them. It's sad but I get sucked into their crazy antics when they play episodes back to back to back.

We were in Miami and the Kardashians popped into mind. I put one and two together and I dragged Jeremy to Dash, the second location of the famous Kardashian boutique.   We walked into the boutique and instantly felt awkward as I felt like the security guard was watching every move we took. I took a peek at the sale section and my jaw dropped as a dress on sale was $300, regularly $550. A simple cotton t-shirt was $60! No thank you. We snapped a few pictures of the small boutique with their faces plastered all over (would they have it any other way?) and I left feeling giddy that I actually stepped into the "famous" little shop. No judging please.


It was well into the afternoon and I was willing to try our Gelato groupon again. Surely they were open this time. We nervously walked back to the store front and the clouds parted and angels sung. IT WAS OPEN! We happily taste-tested many flavors, settled on our favorite and enjoyed every bite of gelato as our Groupon was accepted. You better believe I was happy.


With gelato settled in our stomachs, we walked back to our hotel room with a skip in our step. We probably took a nap (don't really remember but knowing us on vacation, it's the most accurate) and we got ready to meet one of Jeremy's friends from high school for dinner and drinks. I finally got to meet Rachel and was happy to meet the one who answered every question we had about Miami before and during our stay. She advised to order mojito's at it was one of Miami's signature drinks. Oh. My. Goodness. That drink was SO good. And I don't like to drink! I'm pretty sure I could have thrown those back all night. But I didn't. I limited myself to two :)



After our delicious seafood dinner, Rachel gave us a tour of the city. We left South Beach, crossing over the bridge and into the city of Miami. We stopped by Miami Heat's home, American Airline Arena, wishing them good luck in the finals. We walked around Bayside Marketplace and later gazed upon the Miami skyline reminding us just how small the city of Charlotte is. I forgot my camera when we went out so you'll have to settle for not-so-good iPhone pictures below.



Jeremy with Rachel. She's pretty awesome.

We ended the night with a walk on the beach as we weren't quite ready to head back to our hotel. It was the perfect end to our last night in Miami.

The next morning we awoke sad to leave a place that I couldn't wait to get out of a few days before. Needless to say, our trip turned around for the better. We took our time packing up and enjoyed one last breakfast underneath the sea salt air of Miami. We ended on a good note with complimentary mimosa's to go with our food. We dragged our feet on our way out the door, trying to soak the last minutes of our short stay on Miami Beach. The city seemed to mourn our goodbye as it literally rained the ENTIRE 12 hours home.



Miami, we didn't get off to the best start but in the end, you had us in the palm of your hand. We can't wait to get back for a visit! Hopefully next time the weather will corporate and we'll get to parasail AND paddleboard. Until next time!

Oh, and all those groupons we weren't able to use? We got refunded. Woop! Woop!



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