Florida, day 2: South Beach

We awoke very early on Sunday, so we started the day with a trip to the hotel gym before visiting the breakfast buffet. The buffet was extensive, and my daughter wanted to try everything. I was most impressed by how excited she got over the fruit. She ate two plates full of watermelon, cantaloupe, and peaches.

Our first task of the day was to get some papers notarized. With the help of the concierge, we found a 24/7 notary who actually answered his phone on a Sunday. It turned out he wasn't very far away, so we went to him. The man was probably in his 80's, and I felt terrible for invading his home (and our daughter even asking to borrow his bathroom) while his wife lay dying from Parkinsons disease in the next room. He showed us pictures from when he was a musician and his wife a dancer with a variety of big band stars in the 50's. It got us thinking about the glamorous jazz scene that once thrived here.

Our next stop was FedEx, and only the main office in South Beach was open. From there, we decided to drive around South Beach and check out the famous art deco architecture. The main oceanfront street was closed due to a street fair, but I'd seen an announcement of an art museum that had a special exhibit on transportation design from 1908 to 1948, so we stopped there. After paying for 90 minutes of parking, we discovered that we were there 60 minutes before the museum opened, so we walked towards the beach. We looked around at the street fair briefly, then we walked along the beach. I was intrigued by the light color of the water but found the water quite cold--about like summer temperatures at the beach in California. My daughter was thrilled by the waves and got a bit wet. I was happy to try out my new camera, a Canon 50D.

With the parking meter running out, we returned to the Museum. By then, it was dumping rain. I found the museum interesting since it wasn't your typical automotive museum. I also learned that this exhibit was part of Art Deco Weekend, as was the street fair, and the theme for this year's festivities was "On the Road: Art Deco Celebrates the Motor Car." A few blocks further down the street fair was an exhibit of classic cars, so we went back there after the museum, and we were there for most of the afternoon.

On our way back to the hotel, we tried to find a grocery store. The GPS in the rental car was no help, but we eventually stumbled across a pharmacy. I'd say pharmacies like this (which sell a whole lot more than medicine) outnumber grocery stores and supermarkets at least 10 to 1. I found this really odd since I would estimate that in California, it's 5 to one in favor of supermarkets. I'd heard that there were areas in this country, especially poorer areas, where it was difficult to buy healthy, fresh food, but I'd found it hard to imagine. Now I saw that the pharmacies carried more food but much of it was junk or processed foods (none of it "fresh" or with short shelf lives). Healthy food was indeed hard to find.

Also as part of this quest, we explored the area around the hotel and discovered that the hotel was very near an area that was downright scary. I wouldn't consider walking there, and I'd be reluctant to drive through. We locked the doors and hoped we wouldn't have to stop for red lights.

For dinner, we walked to a pizza place about a half mile away. They had the football playoffs on TV, and I was thrilled to see the San Diego Chargers, my favorite team. I don't get to watch American football in Sweden, and even if it was shown on TV, it wouldn't be the same because it's a social experience for me. My joy was short-lived as I realized it was the fourth quarter, and the Chargers were losing. Bummer.

As we returned to the hotel, a young man ran up and asked me if we could spare any leftover pizza. He said he was on the streets, and I figured if he was hard up enough to ask for food, I would give it to him. Unlike so many other beggars I encountered over the years, he seemed clean, healthy, and polite, and he did not ask for money. He really made an impression and gave a new face to homelessness for me.