Miami Trip

Grab your reading glasses.  This story is LONG!

I got an email from an airline saying they had a 90% off sale.  I decided to spend a few minutes to see if I could find a cheap flight to go see my sister and her new baby.  I wasn't able find anything for Houston but after talking to an agent, on the phone, I realized I could find a super cheap price to another city.  I could find 90% off to Vegas and 90% off direct flights from Vegas.  We found flights to Washington DC, Atlanta, upstate NY, and Miami for under $100, round trip.  We looked at the convenience of flight times and what dates would work.  We decided on Miami because it was the cheapest ($75 per person) and had the least amount of time spent in the airports.  We flew to Vegas in the evening and spent 4-5 hours.  It was super boring but hey, we were going to Miami and we didn't have to be in charge of any kids.  We got a few hours of sleep and arrived in Miami at 8:30.  We picked up our rental car (at a super shady location but it was cheap) and hit the grocery store.  We checked into our Airbnb and got settled.  

We didn't get to rest for very long.  I found a good price for a snorkel trip and that day was the best option for the weather.  We got in the car and drove to the Florida Keys.  I had never been snorkeling and am nervous in the ocean so, I called ahead and made sure it would be a good experience.  They said they would make sure I had an instructor with me and reassured me that I would be fine.  We squeezed our chubby, white bodies into wet suits and got on the boat.   I took a selfie and thought I looked excited.  I look terrified.  I WAS terrified but I wanted to do something cool and impress Jeff.  

Our boat captain said we'd hit our first destination after minutes.  45 MINUTES??????  Where were we going?  I pictured a quaint shoreline with a secluded bay.  Heck NO!  That's not where we went.  We drove 45 minutes out into the Atlantic Ocean.  We decided to make the most of it.  We were ready for an adventure.  

That was the only picture I have.  The rest of the time was about surviving, not posing for selfies.  We arrived at a shipwreck site.  The scuba divers and experienced snorkelers jumped off the boat.  I geared up and decided that the only way was to just jump in, myself.  One of the other men came quickly back to the boat and said, "I know my limitation and Nuh Uh!"  Those were his literal words.  They were seared into my head, instantly.  I still chose to jump in.  I wasn't going to chicken out.  They had a pool noodle for me to hold and I held onto the rope, at the back of the boat.  I freaked out every time the water and waves would force my flippered feet in a direction that I couldn't anticipate.  I'd never held a snorkel tube, in my mouth.  I'd never bobbed up and down, in the Atlantic, either.  It was shaping up to be a wild ride.  After a few minutes, I was getting to where I felt confident holding on to the rope and my pool noodle AND keep control of my legs.  I figured out how to breathe through the straw thingy.  I got brave enough to stick my head, under the water.  Guess what I saw.........Sand......and a few little jelly fish!

I looked to find Jeff to see how he was doing.  He didn't look very good.  I freaked out and wanted him to come hold onto the rope, as well.  He kept saying he was fine.  The instructors were worried about him, as well.  They could see that he was struggling.  They realized his breathing tube was facing the wrong way.  They kept hollering for him to twist it around.  

I had to stop paying attention to him because the instructor played a dirty, little trick on me.  He asked me if I trusted him.  I nodded my head.  He had a pool noodle.  He told me to hold onto my noodle with my right hand and his noodle with my left hand.  He started to drag me away from the boat.  When I realized he wanted to take me over to the shipwreck, I was too far from the rope.  I didn't have the guts to swim back.  He kept kicking and kicking.  I looked back to the boat and saw Jeff's silhouette, in a window.  He was safely in the boat and I was 100 yards away.....holding onto a dollar store piece of foam.  I was beyond freaked out.  

The only thing that stopped my from losing my mind was that I had to keep paying attention to my feet and my breathing.  The instructor had me look down.  I saw the ship wreck.  I wanted to shriek.  It was super spooky, to look at.  Well, finally, he started taking me back.  I tried looking down into the water a few times, to experience what I could.  

At one point, he got my attention and said, "Don't Move A Muscle!"  😨😨😨😨 

I laid on my back and stuck my feet so far out of the water.  After a few moments, he started moving again, I started kicking pretty hard, toward the boat.  He let me climb back in.  He told me that it was mine field of jellyfish.  I don't know if they were nice or dangerous.  I was just happy to be out of the water.  I could feel my lips were a little numb.  I decided to stand and just calm down.  The boat was anchored for about 20 more minutes.  That was enough time for Jeff and I to get motion sick.  Jeff threw up and I sat down and closed my eyes.  I would've swam towards shore, if there was one close.  I wanted to get off that boat.  But, I didn't want to get back in the water, either.  I was so exhausted and knew I couldn't handle it, emotionally, either.  

We finally headed to our next location.  The reef.  The driving was great.  We started to feel better.  Then, we realized we'd have to wait while they dove for 60 minutes, there.  

😖😟😰

Jeff threw up, a couple more times.  He'd swallowed so much sea water with his backwards snorkel and sitting on an anchored boat with high waves was a NIGHTMARE.  Luckily, my trick of closing my eyes, not moving a muscle, and thinking about ANYTHING else, helped me.  I never threw up.  Finally, it was time to go back.  We felt great once the boat started moving, again.  We enjoyed the ride back and laughed at what we'd just been through.  We promised each other that we'd try it again.  However, it would be on a calm beachy area where we could stand up, if needed.  

We purchased a Sun Visor, from the company because I definitely earned a souvenir.

We drove to local pub and had a delicious meal of grouper and other seafood.  We were so happy to get to our place and fall asleep.  

The next day, we went to Key Biscayne to spend a relaxing day, at the beach.  It was gorgeous.  We sat and stared at the scenery and enjoyed the time alone.  We ate lunch at an expensive restaurant where Jeff ate a LAME hamburger.  We enjoyed watching the friendly raccoons ransack the garbage cans.

We climbed to the top of this beautiful lighthouse. 

This was the panorama picture I took, from the top.

We stopped at a random beach to watch the sun go down.  

The next day, we went to South Beach.  Parking was expensive but the beach was stunning.  I've never seen clear ocean water, like that.  

I dipped my toes in the water but wasn't ready for a swim.  Jeff looks so lonely.  Poor guy.  He married the wrong gal for water play.

(On a side note; this is the exact spot a tiger shark was filmed swimming around a man, 1 week later.)

Delicious Mexican Lunch!

There's my souvenir!

We spent a day at the Gator Boys park.  Josh and Kyle loved watching their show, on Animal Planet.

Airboat tour!

Jeff agreed to tour a historical mansion, with me.  It was called Vizcaya.  We had the audio tour and it was fascinating.  Jeff admitted to liking it, too.

This picture doesn't show how big that iguana was.  He was quite the beast.

We enjoyed a drive to Palm Beach to see a stand up comedian and more beach time.  

On our last night, we treated ourselves to a fancy dinner.  It was scrumptious!  We were ready to get home to our kids.  However, we have never spent more than 2 nights away from them.  It was hard but desperately needed.

Here's a picture of where we stayed, as we left for the airport.  It was a teeny room on the side of a house but it was perfect for us.