South Beach and Parents

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Hi Everyone,

Well its been a while since I updated but you will now get 2 in quick sucession. First one is my time in South Beach Miami Florida where I met up with Mum and Bob. Like most things nothing is a smooth transition and 3/4 of the way to the airport to pick them up I get a call from Bob saying they are stuck in Miami due to weather and that they had been placed on some bullshit standby list. A little rattled and Mum in the background having kittens, Bob and I decided it was better to just stay in Miami as I was there for work the next day. After picking up their luggage in Jax around midnight I drove the 5.5 hrs to Miami the next day and on route got stuck in one of Florida's lovely mid afternoon storms. For those not familiar its like standing under a bucket of water for about 7mins. Stuck on a 6 lane freeway at a standstill because no-one could see and the NAVMAN suggesting it had managed to lose the damn satellite I was in quite the pleasant mood.

Once the rain had ceased I hurled through the freeways and hit the causeway to South Beach near knocking over two 'damn tourists' who turned out to be Mum and Bob. As Mum was about to curse the driver who had nearly run her down on the corner, she realised it was me and the finger she was probably about to give ended up in frantic waving and jumping up and down....(the joy of being an only child). I stuffed them into the car and we headed to the hotel where we would all live together for the next 4 days.

South Beach is like the Gold Coast on LSD. People of all sorts wear clothes much too small or for the wrong gender.....(seriously who would have thought Snow White was a man) and its expensive. The strip is laced with restaurants and bars...all overpriced but the people watching is sensational and Mum and Bob got to see a few things that definitely opened there eyes. I introduced Mum to Daiquiris and Sangria....both of which she had too much resulting in uncontrolled fits of laughter for the rest of the evening. They both are now fans of Cuban food which is sensational and are eager to find more, although I doubt Newcastle will have much to offer in that area.

We did some shopping walked around and went to the beach. South Beach is more like a lake so there is no surfing to be had-- more bobbing around in the water and laying on the beach. I had to work down there so they headed off on a tour for the day while I worked (using that term loosely) with the Coast Guard who were great. More sangria and Cuban food then more work the next day kept me busy while they wandered around the shops and got acquainted with the area. South Beach has some of the most expensive real estate in the US and there is whole island that is restricted to the size of your bank account. With Gloria Estefan, Tina Turner, Oprah and a plethora of other stars inhabiting it, it was safe to say that the 3 Aussies were going nowhere near it....

The next day was the car ride home, 5.5 hrs together which was set to be a treat for all 😊 Not 10mins into it we were stuck in traffic going through detours and I was being offered 'helpful advice' which is a euphemism for something else . Back on the road and trying to make up time (no, I wasn't pulled over this time) we caught up time by my refusal to stop until we reached my apartment. Tired, in awe and in desperate need of a bathroom they arrived finally to Jacksonville having a days rest before starting our tour to Boston.

Overall its great to see them, and have them around. They will be tired but as I told Bob, you can sleep when you are dead! With bags packed and getting ready to head out the next trip would keep us all busy, entertained and at times on the limit of sanity.

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