Back from vacation and back to work – ugh. It was nice getting away, but it was also nice coming home – to mount laundry! Na, it was good to get back to familiar surroundings (my own bed and shower). We flew into Tampa to visit my daughter and son-in-law who were married last April in Vegas and had since moved to Tampa during last September’s hurricane. My son also came in from Baltimore for a couple of days while we were there. It was great to see them since we missed seeing them last Christmas holiday, due to the snowstorm! Although we didn’t stay with them, we stayed fairly close in downtown Tampa. I found out that I will be a grandfather – god willing. We visited the river walk, the armature works, aquarium, and lettuce lake, and I also got to ride an electric scooter! It was nice going out to dinner and catching up, watch a sunset, and just hang out.
We then travelled to Key West. The vibe reminded me a lot of New Orleans – a slushie bar on every corner (or so it seemed). I got to see the Hemmingway house, the lighthouse, the Southernmost point in the continental US, where US 1 starts (mile marker 0), a butterfly conservatory, roosters, some kitschy houses, Key-lime pie, and walked ragged. It’s tough keeping up with a determined woman on a scooter 🙂
After Key West, we traveled up the Key’s to Islamorada to check out “Robbies”. An interesting little place that had awesome milkshakes and where you got to feed the Tarpon and “fence” with a pelican. From there it was off to Miami!
Miami was interesting and really made me appreciate Spanish. Everyone spoke the language and for the first time in my life, I appreciated it and wished that I had learned it. We rubbed elbows with the famous at Fontainebleu on Miami Beach. Wow, is all I can say – a fish out of water 🙂 We went and saw Wynwood Walls (a very cool graffiti museum) and visited the art deco district of South Beach.
-Rat
