Day 9...
Today is Cody's birthday.
This trip wasn't planned for him, but seeing as how it was planned over the boys' new 2-week fall break, and that break coincided with Cody's birthday, then a few special things were planned. What he did request was a dinner at Hooters, being the dog he is, and so we fulfilled that a couple nights ago. He also wanted to go to Miami.
So, it was down to Miami for our last full day here, which is about an hour from us. We all trouped up in a newly rented Suburban (nice!) and made the trip all the way down to the Miami Seaquarium. Now, while it was indeed Cody's request to go to Miami on his birthday, Ginger was the one who guided us to the Seaquarium. Because they have dolphins.
And if there's dolphins nearby, Ginger wants to see 'em.
And the Miami Seaquarium has lots of 'em, not the least of which is the World Famous Flipper, although I suspect the one they introduced as Flipper is probably not the original, but I don't think anyone cares. And one of the dolphins in the Flipper show was claimed to be the son of the dolphin, Snowflake, from Ace Venture fame, so there's that.
We had a really nice time, with some cool pictures, highlighted by Ginger's Mom's generosity that allowed us to all to get to pet and have our picture taken with one of the dolphins, much to the delight of the little girl inside Ginger. The Seaquarium is a very cool place and if you get the chance to go, you should go.
From there it was off to South Beach.
The beaches of South Miami are very big, and as such, I assume, ripe for loads of people. As we got there later in the afternoon, our hunger dictated that we eat first. So we chose a place called Finnegans and by the time we were done, it was too late to catch some of the finer South Beach ambience -- if you know what I mean. But we had a good time anyway.
Driving down Ocean Boulevard on South Beach, it appears that the fare and vibe of that beach lends itself to a slightly more adult clientele, than, say, Panama Beach, which is a haven for teenagers and young adults. I'm sure South Beach gets its fair share of young beach-goers, but the shops and restaurants seem to appeal to an older -- and dare I say -- more sophisticated customer. Just my impression.
But I can tell you this... I'm not sure I'd want to spend a lot of time there as that beach filled up. It's huge, and as I look out over the balcony now from where we are staying, I'll take the beach here at Delray anyday. We're here in the offseason, I know, and so I'm sure even the beach here can get pretty full at times, but I suspect South Beach is full all the time. No thanks.
I'm gonna miss it here. We hit a home run with the weather, as its been spectacular from the get go, and its been a great time of relaxing, reflecting, and renewal. Everybody needs a chance to reset from time to time, and I'm the first to admit that not every vacation offers that chance. That's my fault, mostly. Most of the time, when I leave for a vacation, I want to see and do, but this time, I just wanted to relax. There were many days we just sat around the house until the afternoon, all of us just reading in silence. I think we all needed that.
There will come a day -- very soon, I suspect -- that I will yearn badly to come back here, and there's lots of stuff I want to see and do while I'm here, but this time, I'm just thankful I had the chance to reset.
I'd be lying if I said I'm ready to go home. I'm never ready to leave a vacation. I'm ready to see my friends, and our puppies, but I'm not ready to leave. But I'm thankful -- very much so -- for the time I've gotten here to relax.
Oh, one more thing... wherever I go, I have my family with me. My boys and my beautiful wife. So every place is a good place to be.
It's important I don't forget that.
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