After a ski trip to
Salt Lake City last year, we headed to Miami for some heat this April.
Day 1: Travel and Boat Tour
Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a boat tour in downtown Miami. Prior to the
tour we saw several colorful fish, a massive fish, and a shark swimming around
the harbor.
|
|
Boat tour showed lots of lavish houses - but no pirates
|
|
|
Doug was sight-seeing instead of looking at the camera
|
|
|
Kids helped Grandma make grape leaves for dinner with a fancy roller
contraption
|
Prior to dinner we played tennis and pickle-ball.
Day 2: Snorkeling at John Pennekamp State Park
Like last time, we went snorkeling ... we saw tons of fish including a puffer
fish and a horde of others, but no shark this year. A fairly stiff wind made the
day pleasant, but clouded the water a bit.
|
|
The section right behind us is where all the good stuff was (not
inside the buoys)
|
Day 3: Treetop Adventures, Dinner, Jai-Alai
We started the day on the putting green. Doug only threw his hat once. Grandpa started slow but came on strong at the end.
 |
| Julia practices before the main event |
|
|
Harnessed and ready for climbing and zip lines
|
The treetop adventure did not disappoint. There was a lot of climbing over 3 different courses. Overall it took about 3 hours. The zip-lines were fun ... but even RJ was a little wigged out by the height. A very-fat iguana blocked the path on one of the highest trail. We called for help but the crew said that the iguana would move if we charged him.
Some of the climbing was challenging. Julia almost got discouraged but toughed it out and was very satisfied when she finished.
We had dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. RJ and Sara would have been happy with hummus and tabbouleh - but RJ ate 2 large servings of salmon. Julia was adventuresome tried zucchini and a couple other things.
 |
| Entrance of the Jai-Alai Stadium |
After RJ and Doug watched Jai -Alai on ESPN 3 ... we were determined to watch a match. So we headed to the casino for a match between the Cyclones (last place) and the Devils (first place). The first adventure was finding the right casino.
Jai-Alai was fun because there were 4 happy guys drinking beer in front of us. During the last match there was a Cyclones player named Manu. The happy guys who had bet on the Cyclones would shout Maaaa-Nuuuuu every time he touched the ball. Yup ... you probably had to be there to get it.
 |
| We arrived late and missed better, so Doug bet Grandma $2. Grandma won easily. |
I think Grandma did her homework ... she bet on a strong pair on the
Devils, while Doug took the hapless pair from the
Cyclones.
Sara danced like crazy during an intermission and was a awarded some Cyclones hats that we will wear with pride in DC.
 |
| RJ wearing his new Cyclones hat |
Day 4: Hanging Out with Aunt DonnaWe headed to the pool for swimming, lunch, and various games (ping-pong, air-hockey, hoops, and foosball). We got some random kids to shout MaaaaNuuuuu each time one of the foosball players hit the ball.
 |
| Douglas the dog wanted a picture on Douglas Street |
 |
| We climbed a tree and used the swings at a nearby park before heading to the pool |
 |
| Saying goodbye was tough ... but we'll be back!! |
