South Beach

I'm not really sure what format this will take over the long run.  For now, there are plenty of stories about things done in Miami.  This is my third week in Miami with this client, and it is the first week that I have had the time and the energy to actually get out and see the city.  Probably the most interesting part of the city I've been to so far is a place called Lincoln Road in South Beach.  It is a mostly pedestrian street that has shops and restaurants jam-packed on it.  Several of my trainees had told me its a great place for people watching, and it doesn't hurt that its right next to the beach and there are great restaurants everywhere.  I went down with a couple of coworkers and I couldn't have asked for better people watching.

Miami is a very diverse city no matter where you are.  But on this block, there were young families and old couples.  There were huge macho dudes with their girlfriends on their arms and then two guys walking down the street holding hands.  More races than I could begin to keep track of, and socio-economic status seemed to range from the very wealthy to the very homeless.  I love neighborhoods like this.  It's why I love my neighborhood in Kansas City so much.

While I enjoyed the conversation with my coworkers, I have to admit, I wasn't really paying 100% attention.  Maybe 75%?  I just couldn't stop watching all the different people walking by, being kind of amazed at the crazy clothes or shoes they were wearing, or the bizarre style they wore their hair.  We also had a really drunk guy come up to us and ask if we could pay his $40 bar tab because he couldn't afford it.  We said no and then he mumbled something about "Oh well, I tried..." and just kept walking down the sidewalk.

After dinner, we kept walking east, and finally hit the sandy beach.  By this time, it was dark out, but there were a number of people running around on the beach.  Strangely, as much time as I've spent on beaches in my life, I don't think I have any strong memories of being on the beach at night.  It was eerily quiet, especially since I usually associate beaches with laughter and yelling.  I hadn't yet touched the ocean, so I made my way towards the water, at which time a huge wave crashed and soaked my pants up to my knees.  It was a long walk back to the car, but it felt good to have salt water on my toes again.

Now that I'm blogging (which, by the way, just sounds cheesy to even say in my head - "I'm blogging." Ugh) I will try to take more pictures of the things I do so that I can post them on here.  Pictures are probably more interesting, if I ever decide to post blog posts, and will help me remember where I've been as I look back on this in the future.

Tomorrow - I'm visiting The Everglades.  Get excited.