(N)everlost

Our Hertz rental car in Florida came with a GPS called Neverlost. After a couple of days, I wished for a black sharpie pen to get rid of the N. Everlost was a much better name for it. We came to think of it as the on-board entertainment system.

I drove to my step-sister's house nearly every day, and while I had the GPS on, I'm glad I googled driving instructions and wrote them down. As far as we could tell, Everlost thought she lives in the Everglades. Even when I was just a few blocks from her house, it would beg me to turn the opposite direction, yet when I was a few houses away, it smuggly announced "you have arrived at your destination" as if it could claim any credit for that accomplishment. Usually the directions it gave were the same, but one day it suddenly instructed me to get off the highway even though I was only half way there, and take surface streets. (No, it doesn't receive input on traffic, and there wasn't any.)

We asked it to find Harbor Freight Tools, and it tried to send us to Ohio. For something else, it suggested Alabama. It would frequently instruct us to make a U-turn a block from our destination, so we always needed a map and the street address to find our way. We were baffled that Hertz actually charges extra for this "service."

7 Tulips

The other day when grocery shopping, I bought myself a bunch of lovely purple tulips. I rarely indulge in fresh flowers, but tulips are my favorite, and they were on sale. I put them in a nice glass pitcher on the kitchen table and felt quite pleased with myself.

My cats must have felt something different along the lines of, "Yum, my favorite treat!" As soon as I left the room, I heard a funny munching noise then the sound of cats scampering across the floor with such enthusiasm that they were losing traction. At first glance, the tulips looked okay, but when I looked more carefully, one stem had been decapitated. Under the table were a few small petals and some pollen (and some other stuff not related to this, but let's not go there).

After dinner, I moved the tulips to the living room where we were watching TV. As we were getting ready for bed, I heard the telltale sound again. The cats scattered when I entered the room, and the munching sound resumed from behind the sofa.

I locked the tulips in the pantry over night, and the next day put them on my desk while I was working. I took a break to shovel snow (the stairwell down to the basement was literally full, and I needed to do laundry), and when I came back, there were tulip "guts" on my desk.

I now have 7 tulips safely stashed in the pantry where nobody can enjoy them.

(More on Florida soon. I'm working on my pictures from the Everglades now.)

Florida, day 8: shopping day

We started the day with breakfast together with our new friends, the general-manager of the hotel and his family. It was a shame we didn't have more time to get to know them better, and the kids really did play well together. It was especially fun to watch our daughter and their son on their "dates."

Since my husband's conference was over, we'd originally planned to leave Miami today, but we couldn't find anywhere to stay in the Everglades where we wanted to go. We would have to drive back to Miami or equally far on to Naples, so we stayed in Miami. We were considering changing to a cheaper hotel, but our new friends offered us a "comp." The mom thought that as a photographer, I'd appreciate a room with a better view. Being the perpetual bargain hunter, it doesn't get any better than a free night's stay in a nice hotel, so I was thrilled. We were to pack up our stuff and leave it in our room when we went out for the day. When we came back, our stuff would be in our new room.

There was another Harbor Freight Tools in the Miami area, and since the one we'd been to on Wednesday didn't have everything on my husband's list, we went there first. We foolishly trusted the car's GPS, so it took us a lot longer to get here than we'd expected. After that, we went to the Dolphin Outlet Mall in search of pants for my husband and shoes for my daughter (and me, but that was less urgent). My daughter found a good pair of shoes, but I never really got a chance for a proper look since the Sketchers outlet was crowded and a bit disorganized. We ate a late lunch at Johnny Rockets, a 50's style diner. That had been one of our favorite restaurants in San Diego, but they went out of business years ago, so this was a nice treat. I had a tuna melt and a chocolate malt. Yum! It was raining by the time we'd completed our pants mission, so we went back to the hotel.

Our new room was the Presidential Suite on the top (21st) floor, and it truly was sweet! The views of downtown and waterfront were incredible! The suite had a "normal" sized room as the bedroom, plus another room double that size with two sitting areas (one with a TV) and a dining area. Our previous room was nice, but this was really beautiful. I especially liked the bathroom. Let's just say, I could get used to this! I'm grateful we were given this opportunity, because it's probably something I never would have experienced otherwise.

Our daughter camped out on the king sized bed watching a "Wizards of Waverly Place" marathon on the Disney channel, and we watched "27 dresses" in the living room. We weren't hungry for dinner, so we just had a couple cookies instead.

Florida, day 7: Mother-Daughter day

On Friday, my daughter and I were on our own. I considered renting roller skates and exploring South Beach, but I decided to go to a nice beach instead. I'd read that Key Biscayne has one of the top 10 beaches in the world, so we went there. At first it seemed like all beach access was closed there too, but we eventually found a lot that was open. As luck would have it, it was the lot nearest the playground. The playground held her attention for only a few minutes, after which we went in search of the "seahorse thing that squirts water" which I had read about and the parking attendant mentioned. We found something that resembled the outdoor showers that one rinses off with at the beach, and it had seahorses instead of shower heads, but the water to it had been turned off. That was completely underwhelming, so we continued to the beach itself.

The beach was lined with palm trees and absolutely beautiful! There were a few people around, but it was far from crowded. Once again, I found the water a bit cold, but my daughter played in the waves for quite some time before settling down to build a sand castle. Birds were fishing in the water behind her, but the wind was increasing, and I felt my camera was safer in the backpack. Soon sand was building dunes on my towel, and I felt uncomfortably like I was being sandblasted. I was helping to finish the sand castle when it started pouring rain. Everyone took shelter under the lifeguard building and debated stay or go.

We decided to change into dry clothes and go. At the restrooms, a flock of large white birds (ibises?) brazenly strutted past us and raided the trashcan. By the time we were ready to go, it had stopped raining. On the way to the parking lot, we saw a pair of wild iguanas (probably close to 1 m long, including tail). Unlike alligators, I love iguanas and other lizards, so we watched them for quite a while.

We drove into town on Key Biscayne in search of lunch, but much to my surprise, we did not find any fast food. I eventually found a parking spot at a strip mall, and we walked around to examine the restaurants more closely. They all had cloth tablecloths and napkins--not exactly where you want to take a 7 year old for a quick lunch. We decided to buy sandwiches at the supermarket which we ate on a bench out front.

My daughter wanted to go swimming in warm water, so we went back to the pool at the hotel. I was happy to sit by the pool with my book. There were a couple of kids there, and they all hit it off immediately. The little boy seemed quite taken by my daughter. They played for a couple of hours, but with the sun low in the sky it was time to go. The boy asked for our room number so that he could send up milk and cookies. I must have had a funny expression, because his mother quickly explained that the general manager of the hotel was his father. The whole family was at the hotel because they were going to see Cavalia (like Cirque du Soleil but with horses) that evening. The boy then asked if Lina could join them for drinks in the lounge. We needed to shower (especially after the beach), but I'd never seen Lina get ready so quickly. We let Lina go with her new friends, then my husband and I joined them a little later.

They took Lina to see the "ghost mall" under the hotel. Apparently the downturn in the economy has hit Miami hard. Besides entirely deserted shopping centers, there were abandoned development projects, and entire buildings of empty condos and apartments. The luxury condos along the waterfront were 75% unoccupied. Many old buildings were torn down to make room for new ones that have not materialized leaving downtown speckled with empty lots.

We enjoyed drinks and interesting conversation with our new friends, and we made plans to meet for breakfast. Before leaving for their show, they recommended a Mexican restaurant, so we decided to give that a try.

We took the free MetroMover monorail to get there, which made for interesting people watching. One man wore a hat woven from palm fronds with an amazing grasshopper in the same material. Lina must have been staring at the grasshopper also because he suddenly gave it to her, and he gave me a similar rose. We have carried these treasures all the way back to Sweden, and they somehow didn't get too mashed.

We were told that Rosa Mexicano had the best guacamole ever, and that was true! I wasn't a huge guacamole fan until I tried this, and it was paired with the perfect light and crispy tortilla chips. I was tempted to cancel my dinner order and have more guacamole and chips instead, but I didn't, and I wasn't disappointed. The carne asada soft tacos were wonderful too. Lina was so exhausted that she fell asleep at the table having hardly eaten a thing. We took a taxi back to the hotel.

When we got back to our room, we were surprised to find a room-service cart with a plate of giant chocolate chip cookies, a pitcher of milk and a bottle of wine (on ice). I had totally forgotten. We were too stuffed to eat much at the time, but it was a lovely treat and the perfect end to a fantastic day.

Florida, day 6: Riding

Thursday was my mom's last day in the area, so we spent the day with her. When I arrived at my step-sister's house, my mom and daughter were getting ready to go swimming at the YMCA. I really don't like swimming anymore, so I chose to go to Walmart instead. I'd bought jeans at Walmart in Montreal and absolutely loved them, so I was hoping to find another pair. Unfortunately they did not carry that brand in Florida, but I found plenty of other good stuff.

Long after the designated time, we were still waiting for my mom to get back to the house. Finally a police officer called my mom's husband. My mom had gotten lost and forgotten her phone, but she found someone to ask for help. He was from the next town over and wasn't particularly helpful or familiar with the area, so we tried to give her directions. A while later, we got another such call. Finally she did make her way to the local supermarket, where we met her and led her home. That was a traumatic and time consuming experience, so she rested when we went out.

Before our trip, I'd asked Lina what she wanted to do in Florida. She'd answered swim and ride horses. Swimming was easy enough to arrange, and it just so happens that my step-sister has horses. She and I took the kids to go see Tess (the other was injured). Lina was thrilled to help with the grooming, and Tess was a beautiful and gentle full-sized horse. After a short warm-up, Lina got to ride for a little while, then it was Mitch's turn. I got to hold Chase while Kristin was busy with Tess, but even holding an adorable one-year-old did not trigger any maternal instincts in me. One kid is plenty for me.

Kristin said Lina had good balance and timing, and Lina was thrilled. Next, Kristin took Lina to get her nails done. As the mom of two boys, this was special for both her and Lina. I went along, but there was only one manicurist available, so Lina was the only one to get her nails done. I enjoyed visiting with Kristin. Our parents married when I was already away at college, so we have not spent much time together over the years. Lina chose a sparkly purple color and was unbelievably careful with her nails until they had dried completely. I was impressed how well Lina behaved. On the very rare occasion that I get a manicure, I always manage to mess it up before it dries.

Mitch had soccer practice, so Lina and I went out to dinner at a near by Italian restaurant with my mom. We had a nice time at dinner, and the food was good. It seemed like time had gone so quickly that our visit was already over.

Florida, day 5: a free day?

Wednesday was our free day in Miami, or so we thought. Lina had spent the night with her grandparents and cousin, so we were going to run errands. Since this was my husband's first and possibly only chance, we went to his highest priority: Harbor Freight Tools. His co-worker came along. We took the scenic route, driving first out to Miami Beach, then north past a bunch of resorts and mansions including the Trump Towers. We noted that there was very little public beach access, and the one large public beach was closed.

We then turned inland and drove through Hollywood. The greater Miami area really reminds me a lot of the greater Los Angeles area where I grew up. One could compare Miami to Los Angeles and Ft. Lauderdale to the endless suburb of Orange County. There were a lot of older houses from the 50's and 60's, and in Hollywood, even a commercial district from the same era (you don't see so much of that in Southern California anymore). Other neighborhoods were newer, but the architecture was very similar to that in California. The palm trees and scarcity of big trees also felt familiar. The biggest difference was the water; there were lakes and canals everywhere. At the tool store, I waited in the parking lot together with a family of ducks. I kept watching for alligators in the canals, but I didn't see any.

I had learned of a great mall near where we were to pick up our daughter, and while more shopping was on the agenda, we decided to take a break and got to the beach while we were nearby. We guessed correctly that the Hollywood Boardwalk would be open, and indeed it proved to be very popular. We got one of the last spots in the parking garage. Canadian license plates were dominant there.

The boardwalk was hopping as seniors danced to a live big-band, and the beach was packed! I found the water a bit cold, so I relaxed on the beach with my book, but the guys went swimming. There were not a lot of other people in the clear turquoise water. Sorry, I have no pictures of this. It's the photographer's dilemma--does one bring an expensive camera on a day like this? I would have brought the pocket camera, but it was with our daughter.

After about half an hour, a helicopter started circling. It was soon joined by another, and they buzzed overhead like a pair of giant mosquitoes for the rest of our stay. We later found out that a roofing repair job had collapsed at a hotel on the boardwalk, and some workers were injured. (Otherwise, the news for the entire duration of our trip was completely dominated by the earthquake in Haiti and the relief efforts--largely based out of Miami.)

By the time the guys emerged from the water, I was getting hungry. My husband checked the time on his phone and was shocked to discover numerous messages to the effect of, "Where are you?" It turned out that he'd completely forgotten about his afternoon meeting, so we rushed back to the hotel.

It was okay for our daughter to spend another night with her grandparents, and I was not looking forward to the 45 minute drive (or probably a lot more since I would be driving in the direction of commuter traffic this time), so I did not go to the mall as planned. I had more shopping to do, but there was nothing of interest nearby. At this point, I decided to look into the voicemail situation in our room. My mom said she'd called and left messages, but the message light was not blinking. It turned out that I did indeed have messages--several of them that needed immediate attention. I was impressed that the hotel sent up a repair man within half an hour. I was less impressed by his conclusion, "It don't work. You wanna change rooms?" Since we were there for a whole week, I'd unpacked everything, so this was not so appealing. Also, even though we were only on the fifth floor, we had a pretty good view (better than my husband's co-worker's room on the 16th floor).


I considered driving over to South Beach for a taste of the night life since my husband was busy with his conference for the rest of the afternoon and evening, but I decided to take it easy. If I took the car from the parking garage, I'd have to pay $6 per hour on top of the $25 per night, and that made the idea of dinner at the hotel with a good book even more appealing. As it turned out, both dinner and the book were good (The Friendship Test by Elizabeth Noble--thanks, Solvej, for loaning it to me). I enjoyed the me-time.

home again

We're safely home from a phenomenal vacation in Florida, so I'm shoveling snow, doing laundry and getting caught up. I hope to get blog more soon about the trip, and I'll start with adding some pictures to the previous entries.