Day 2 Positive Vibes in South Beach

 Ah, waking up at 8:30am should have been great but after going to bed at 4:30am it was rough. Two cups of coffee later I was still groggy and wondering when the rest of the crew would rise. Check out was noon so people had to start moving around 11:30. It wasn’t easy but by the stroke of twelve we left the very nice Hyatt and Uber XL’ed across town and over a bridge to South Beach Miami, our destination for the week. 

We easily found our hotel and the Uber driver was nice and a his Chrysler Pacifica had a good transmission. Two good things after yesterdays clusterfuck of a day. And the hotel, they let us check in EARLY! At 12:45pm no less. Bless them. Each and every one. 

It felt like winning the lottery for the day. We figured that we would have to check our bags at bell hop and wander around for a few hours until the magic hour arrived. But the rooms were ready so why not! 

Food. The crew needed food. Our hotel is right along Ocean Drive so we had every option in the world and the kids scoped about a place and we immediately plopped down for some grub. Street tacos and pasta were the choices and everyone walked away with full bellies and a little less grumpy for only four hours of sleep. Oh wait? That was just me. 

Photo taken right before a glass of water was spilled. Live action photo was very hilarious. 

Exploring was next and we walked along the road and checked out all of the old architecture. The Art Deco vibe is strong here. 

We caught a Drag Show and yes I got a video, saw a massive iguana bearded dragon thing, and walked in numerous shops for trinkets and souvenirs. 

The rest of the crew arrived and the excitement of seeing cousins ensued. It’s been over a year which feels really long when we used to all live in the same state. 

They got some grub while we tested a bit in our ocean view room. Very nice. Those four hours of sleep were probably not enough, but what do you do when your body wakes up? 

And then it was gelato time! Yes, we love ice cream. Any kind. Any country. MamaMia Gelato was a good stop with some tried and true flavors along with some funky ones. Everyone was happy and that’s what matters  

And off to the beach we went! A million photos later and lots of Instagramable lifeguard towers, this city knows how to drum up business. Colorful and vibrant, the idea is to give them a spot to tag Miami Beach and the city has done it! Smart move!

And then the sun went down and the mommies plus Gemma went to Publix and got all the foods and drinks. Then I took a quick bath, thanks to darling Katie for drawing that for me, and hit the pillow at 8:30pm while others were watching some baseball. Yup. This mama can’t run for long on four hours of sleep and twelve hours awake and running was about all I could muster. There’s always tomorrow!