Welcome to Miami!

South Beach, Miami, was everything I'd seen in the movies and expected it to be. Starting our evening out at 2 am Friday night, Bobbis, Case and I strolled along Ocean Drive, settled ourselves in a quiet outdoor bar on the marina and indulged in funny-named/coloured cocktails as we caught up on our lives.

The next morning, to our dismay, it was pouring. But both Bobbis and I were intent on heading down to the beach anyway. We weren't about to let anything rain on our parade (heh heh). So we donned our bikinis, headed down to the (deserted) beach, and did something neither of us had ever done before: we gamboled around in the crashing grey waves under the steady downpour, in an entirely empty ocean. It was kind of eery, and yet fantastic.

Under the steady rains, there was water EVERYWHERE, blurring the boundaries between land and sea. It was wierd to not be able to dry off when we finally crawled out of the ocean. Result: considerable puddles in Bobbis' car.

Later that evening, after a lovely outdoor dinner under the palms, we headed to the famous Delano hotel which Cilla had recommended. "Make sure you go to the pool-side bar," Cilla had said, and boy, she was right. It was absolutely gorgeous, a miniature heaven in the middle of Miami. There, we spent a leisurely evening lounging on the low beds and dangling our feet in the warm water as we sipped our wines. Above us, the palms swayed lightly in the suffused light of the poolside lamps. The soft music, the dim lighting, the fresh salty air, everything was just perfect. Bobbis and I have remained good friends since high school, but I hadn't spoken to Case in eight years, and was surprized by the ease with which we settled immediately back into our comfortable banter. It filled me with a fuzzy, warm, comforting glow.

In the taxi on the way back to the airport this morning, we went over a flyover from where I could get a sweeping view of the entire bay. In the early hours of a sleepy Sunday morning, the scene was just breathtaking. I tried to take a picture, but nothing would do the scene justice. So instead I just gazed at the view for as long as I could, letting the image form a permanent imprint in my mind.

Although who needs permanent. I just know I'll be back sometime soon.