Miami, Florida

We had this trip planned for months.  It just happened to piggy back on Hawaii.  So, too bad for us – Two tropical vacations in two weeks’ time! 

Jeremy has an aunt and uncle (Ned and Judy) and two cousins (Lori and Stephen) who live in Miami.  We have been saying forever that we would come visit.  We finally decided to do it.  Gloria joined us, and we caught a plane on Monday, March 26. 

We were able to stay with Ned and Judy for the three nights and four days we were there.  They are excellent hosts.  Plus, it gave me a chance to get to know them better.  They also have a pool, which the girls were very excited about. 

Lori and her husband, Ryan, met us for a good Cuban meal at La Carreta.  We enjoyed plantains (fried, sweet, and mashed), pork, chicken, black beans, rice, and more.  It was delicious.  We went to Ned and Judy’s to relax and settle in for the night. 

On Tuesday, we ate some cheesy scrambled eggs with sausage and toast for breakfast, fixed by Chef Ned.  We gathered our things and headed to Coopertown to get an air boat ride through the Everglades.  It was a good time.  We saw a variety of animals, including some alligators.

              

At the end, we were able to hold a baby alligator!

         

From there, we went to Everglades National Park Shark Valley Visitor Center.  We walked the boardwalk a short distance.  We even saw two alligators in the wild here! (There are alligators in both these pictures in the grass.)

   

We headed home for the rest of the day.  The girls took a swim in the pool with Jeremy; I went on a walk on a really nice walking path around a park near their home.  For supper, Lori, Ryan, Stephen, and Paula (his wife) joined us for grilled hamburgers/hot dogs and sides.  It was a relaxing evening visiting with one another. 

 

On Wednesday, we started the morning with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.  It was a great place.  We went on a tram ride of the entire gardens.

              

Then, we walked back through some of it to see the Tropical Butterfly Garden, which was super cool.  It was alive with so many butterflies. 

    

The flowers were colorful; they had a whole orchid garden.

                          

The second half of the day we went to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne.  It was a nice beach.  The weather was so comfortable, the beach was almost unnecessary…. meaning, you didn’t really need to cool off.  It was still a good time.  Ellie enjoyed the water; the waves were much gentler here than Hawaii.  I think because they broke on a reef or sand bar fairly far from shore first.  So, we played, jumped in the ocean, and dug in the sand. 

                   

That night we had everyone back again for Pollo Tropical (restaurant in town) food and stone crabs – YUM!  The girls reluctantly showered and headed to bed before the party was officially over. 

Thursday morning the girls swam for about 2 hours, while we watched and chatted. 

    

Finally, we packed up, showered, and headed out around 11:30am.  Our flight left at 3:55pm which gave us time to enjoy lunch before going. 

We arrived home around 9pm and fell into bed.