Miami.

OK so I have to back up to my LAST day at the Brunswick News, which apparently went so fast, no one had the time/opportunity to take a photo to document. Seriously? We also had a "farewell" get together that also went undocumented. SO unlike me. But it happened. What can you do?

Both were great. Getting through my last work day wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. There was no (as previously feared) epic meltdown. Rather, it was chill and sweet. I got tons of amazing complements from my co-workers, a free lunch, cards, candy. It ruled ... I should quit jobs more often.

But either whoo. We have arrived for our week long visit to South Florida! And so far (with the exceptions of some freakishly large lizards) all has been well. The weather is fab, the people are SUPER nice and the Heat is running the playoff games).

That's where I'll start. We arrived late Sunday to take in most of the second half of the Heat's game against the Bucks. They won by quite a bit and we got a first hand taste of how much this city loves this team ...

Realm of King James

 

I mean, I have never lived in a place with a professional team. So to see the love of the Heat is pretty awesome. I'm totally on board. They are SO damn good! It's very different that coming from Brunswick - satellite team the Jacksonville Jaguars - the not so stellar football team. Gah, how we tried to love them. But you can only have so much patience with teams that don't win. Ever.  

So after a quick bite and the game, we went back to the hotel and hit the hay. The next morning it was off to Sunny Isles for our first apartment viewing. It turned into two showings as the Realtor showed us two properties in twin high rises.

Still crowded after rush hour

View from property 1 ... not bad



 

During our tour it was the first time we saw people communicating entirely in Spanish. It was our Realtor ... and everyone she met. Valet guys (everywhere is valet) and security guards (everyone has crazy security) ... random people in the halls.

Walking down the halls of the high rises I have also noticed a lot of Mezuzahs. That's a new one. You gotta remember I (originally) come from a town that doesn't (even now) have a Starbucks much less a temple. (In Glynn County ... we have five Starbucks and one temple.) Just a slight culture shock.

Don't get me wrong, I love Enterprise. It's home. But culture ain't it's strong suit.

OK so after the viewing (which sounds like someone died), we drove around Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and downtown Miami/Brickell. We walked around and had an amazing Mexican lunch at Lime (apparently a popular chain, I've seen two others since then).

Then we drove back to Plantation to see Midtown 24. I LOVE this spot. Martini bar - check. Spa - check. Infinity pool - check. Personal trainer ... gym, classes - yep, yep, yep. Bad ass.

Common area shots

Piano/martini bar for residents

Interior shot. The view is a great Fort Lauderdale sky scape.
Lurve.

Monday night Joe (Josh's engineer) arrived. He's a great guy. I knew him before but didn't have a chance to talk much with him ... usually just during the Conference and Christmas party which is always a shit show. No time for deep convos.

But he's from Alabama, went to Auburn, lives in Savannah ... really cool kid. I'm glad we're all in this together. We had drinks and dinner. Then called it a night. They got up the next day and went to the job site and meet their co-workers.

This was a picture Josh sent me from their tour.

Amazing!

Meanwhile, I woke up and ate breakfast then hit the gym. And saw another place. Super nice and it's owned by the same company that owns Midtown 24. It's just not as swank. But what it lacks in swagger it makes up for in convenience and common sense.

One of the units was 2 bedroom and ground level with a screened porch and yard access. Check it ...

Perfect for puppers. Grass and trees!

 

From there, I hit up the mall (Siri says there are 15 shopping malls close to me!) for a couple of must haves ...

Though my actual favorite player is Chris Andersen ... these work for us!

When I got back ... I had a glass of wine and Skyped with Ineke for hours. It was fabulous to talk with her at length such a good time. And then I hit the pool.

 

 

So yeah. It's hard to bitch about being here. There's still a lot that's up in the air ... but we're having a lot of fun figuring it out. There are MANY worse places to be.