Bienvenido a Miami

We arrived in Miami on Monday, took the bus from the airport to 9th Street, and walked the few blocks to our AirBnB accommodations where our host met us and welcomed us to his apartment. We quickly changed out of jeans and t-shirts into our bathing suits, picked up some groceries and drinks, and walked a few blocks up to the beach.

We basked in the warm sunshine until clouds seemed to be dominating the sky and our stomachs were distracting us from the beauty of our surroundings. We can back to "our place" and fixed up dinner: a three bean salad with peppers, onions and chicken, and a glass of wine.

Soon after dinner we headed back out to Ocean Avenue to wander, take some photos, and get reacquainted with the bustling strip, as well as stroll down Lincoln Ave...always buzzing - even on a Monday.

After about two hours of walking we were both exhausted from our travel, beach day, and first time carrying our packs a decent distance. We cleaned up and headed to bed.

Tuesday we had a full beach day. It was relaxing, fun, and much needed. One unique thing we saw today: a male stripper practicing his pole dancing routine at Miami Beach's outdoor workout park. ;-) 

Tuesday night we met one of Drew's former coworkers for dinner. We had a great time catching up with him over some tasty Mediterranean food.

Wednesday was our diving day. Before heading to the marina to meet our boat we wandered around South Point Park - a beautiful area with a splash pad and playground for kids, a gorgeous walking and bike path with views of the ocean all around, stairs that many people were utilizing for exercise, and even a sundeck.

South Point Park, Miami

 We headed about 30 minutes out from the marina on our dive boat to experience the underwater world near the Balzone Wreck as well as Nepture Memorial Reef (a man made reef that your cremated remains can be embedded into for an eternity.) The dives were not difficult, and not overly incredible, but we did get to see a lot of beautiful fish, reacquaint ourselves with our love of the underwater world, and test out our new gear before our upcoming dives in the Galapagos. Check out a few of our favorite shots taken with our new underwater camera housing (thanks Mom and Dad!!).

Under the Sea

Neptune Memorial Reef

Neptune Memorial Reef

Neptune Memorial Reef

Neptune Memorial Reef

Thursday we got up and spent a little time on the beach before meeting my Uncle and Aunt who drove all the way from Sarasota to spend a little time with us before we left the country. We enjoyed a delicious (and gluten-free for me!) pizza lunch before heading back to South Point Park - we thought they would enjoy this gorgeous place as much as we had. It was a short stop here before it was time for them to get us to the airport...and time for us to begin our international adventure! Thanks Uncle Tom and Aunt Marilyn for everything!!

Uncle Tom, Aunt Marilyn, Me, Drew

Check out more photos from Miami by clicking "Photos" in the header bar above or click here.