Learning Lessons from a Boat in Miami!

we had such a fantastic day yesterday in miami! with much thanks to our new friend Samantha, she invited us on her friend’s boat to spend the day on the water. right as we got to the boat, i proceeded to drop our only baguette in the salty sea water. what a fool- that was embarrassing. we also sang this song no less than 7 times yesterday (you’re welcome for finding the edited version for your listening pleasure).

my husband had high hopes of being able to scuba dive Neptune Memorial Reef, which is a human-made reef that now plays host to a ton of sea life as well as a memorial for loved ones lost as a place to rest their ashes and then families are able visit them there. isn’t that a neat idea? check out that website for more information because it’s a unique concept.

he unfortunately did not go the chance to scuba dive there because the ocean was incredibly rough yesterday. here’s a picture of me being stupid and SITTING while the boat was hitting waves and dropping like 4 feet (yes i’m protecting the brownies). since we were on a catamaran, those ride the waves differently and he said lots of people who don’t normally get seasick experience on that boat so count. me. out. no thank you.

moments after this picture was taken, we hit a huge wave and dropped hard and something in my back cracked. it was quite painful and i was very proud of myself for now crying. here’s a little lesson folks-if you are on a boat and there are rough waters, do not sit down but rather stand up and have your legs absorb the impact. my back is still aching today. stupid stupid stupid.

instead our captain Jim decided to take us on our tour of Miami Beach. we got to pass by the Vizcaya House. this was the winter residence of James Deering and was built between 1914-1922.

what’s so neat about it was that it contained all the newest technologies of the day, including generators, a water filtration system, heating and ventilation, two elevators, a dumbwaiter, a central vacuum-cleaning system and a partly automated laundry room. very cool to see from the boat. apparently it’s a museum and has beautiful gardens so go check it out from land.

Jim took us to a cove where the water was a calmer and we had a great view of Miami as well as sunken boat. this was definitely more my style because i was getting nervous i wouldn’t be able to enjoy those brownies and be spilling my wine on those rough waters. lesson: go with someone who is an experienced boater and knows all the right spots!

we spent hours floating, eating and drinking. this was probably one of my favorite mondays. Samantha, who is originally from France came with so much delicious food. she even made those brownies! i was in food heaven. Jim has a BBQ on the boat (please reference the video posted above for another time when we sang that song) so we grilled some delicious food and ate ourselves full with bread, cheese and that delicious sangria in the jug.

here’s the amazing Samantha herself! i hope you are envious of both of our hairstyles. it took us hours to get that frizzy, wind-blown look. also, don’t even think about taking my cup because it has my name on it.

Ravery spent some time feeding seagulls and one eventually pulled bread out of his hand! it was crazy. they kept asking me if i wanted to try it…no thank you. i prefer to keep delicious bread for myself and i sort of despise birds. my husband was really into it though!

we sat and watched the sunset from one of the most peaceful places i’ve been in a long time.

Jim took us the long way home, where we docked and had a drink then circled through the bright lights of Miami, Florida. i kept waiting to run into Pitbull (Mr. 503) but i must report…there were no sightings of him. we did however see this massive electronic stripper type woman being depicted through lights on a building. this was exactly what i had stereotyped in my brain when i think of “Miami.” glad it could be confirmed.

we bid adieu to Captain Jim and Samantha selected a tasty restaurant for a late night dinner at Casablanca Seafood. my husband had what he said to be delicious salmon-i’m not a seafood eater (i have the palette of a 6 year old). i had a salad that basically had an entire avocado on it and i wasn’t too hungry because i may have had half a pan of brownies on the boat. if you like seafood, this is the place to go and it sits right on the river so it was a fun atmosphere!

Merci beacoup Samantha (that’s basically all the french i remember from high school) and Jim for a fantastic day out on the water! one thing i really love about being on this North American Tour is that we get to meet some truly quality and fun people along the way and that makes me happy. despite my back still aching from my stupidity yesterday, the calm feeling is still within me and for that i am so appreciative.

the new wifestyle: never pass up the opportunity to explore a city by water and appreciate the people that go out of their way to give you a great experience!

questions:
1) do you get seasick?
2) how do you feel about birds? any strong feelings?
3) do you like seafood? favorite type? (i do like halibut cheeks, i know that!)