Monday, May 21, 2012

My Day in Miami

After graduation, Keith and I flew through the canyon to pick up our luggage and head to the airport.  All of our rush was wasted, however, because once we arrived we found that 1) no one likes to fly on Friday evenings; 2) lines were incredibly short for both check-in and security; and 3) one of our flights had been cancelled.  What was once a 2 hour layover in Miami before hopping a plane to San Juan had now turned into an 11 hour layover before moving on to Punta Cana.  Instead of arriving at our destination at 11:30 am the next morning, we wouldn't arrive until 7:45 pm the next night.  Talk about lame!!!

Stuck in Miami for 11 hours, we asked ourselves a question:  What does one do when they leave SLC at 8:00 pm Friday night, arrive in Miami (through LAX) at 6:30 the next morning, hasn't showered, hasn't slept (because, really, who can sleep on an airplane?), is already travel worn, is hungry, tired, stinky, and crabby, and has 11 hours to kill?  We go for an adventure is what!!

We ended up renting a car (my first!  I asked for a small sedan; they gave me a giant Tahoe), we ordered a GPS, and we let ourselves loose into the Florida sunshine.

It did take us a little while to figure out where we wanted to go and how to get there.  The city itself was not impressive, but once we got out of the city to the water, it was gorgeous!  We got on to a toll road and drove to a small key.  Blue sky, blue water, bright sun, beautiful!  We ended up going to the Miami Seaquarium. I had a blast!  Too bad Keith kept falling asleep...

We watched a dolphin show or two (and had fun getting splashed):


(It's a good thing Keith is tall and can see things and take pictures over other people's heads)


We saw the sea turtles sun bathing:


We watched the manatees swim around:


We saw the crocodiles lounging:


And then my camera battery died.  But not before we got this AWESOME shot--Proof that I actually did spend a day in Miami.  (See how gross we look).


After the Seaquarium, we were so hot and sticky from the heat and humidity, so ravenously hungry, and so afraid that we'd get lost in the city and not find our way back in time that we decided to head back to the airport.  And then we crashed as soon as we sat down.  Too bad it isn't very comfortable sleeping on the chairs in the terminal...

Next up: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic!!  And maybe something about the new jewelry I acquired.

No comments: