What a sweet getaway that was! Just us girls - Mom, Sis, and me - visiting our old "hometown" and Martha.. Mom's dearest friend. We left our families behind and headed down the highway to the big city of Miami. Armed with a tall cup of sweet tea, Jill took command of the wheel...
and I, of course, was in charge of the picture taking....
We passed the sugarcane fields....
And everything was going easy-breezy, when all of a sudden the traffic stopped and all we could see for miles and miles were trucks pulled over by the side of the road. We were directed to turn around because a tractor-trailer, filled with propane gas, had turned over and U.S. 27 was closed. We had to cross over to West Palm Beach and take the turnpike to Miami - adding a couple of hours to our trip. That was okay.. we used the opportunity to sing our silly made-up songs and invent stories about the crazy drivers whizzing by.
Finally, Miami's landsape was on the horizon...
We checked in to our hotel and then went out for a nice dinner - and a couple of margaritas - to celebrate our safe arrival.
The next day, while Mom spent the afternoon visiting with Martha, Jill and I went exploring. I left Miami shortly after I was married, and Jill left Miami 11 years ago. She lived through and survived Hurricane Andrew and it was interesting to see that, happily, the city has not only survived, but flourished again. It is a VERY different city then the one we grew up in and we marveled at its' growth. We definitely knew that we weren't "in Kansas anymore".
BUT - Be still our hearts.......
STOP THE CAR!
With hearts pounding and palms sweating (literally) we hurried to this late afternoon yard sale to see if there was anything left for us...
And there was! We found several wonderful old books and do you see something on this table that might be something special?
A box of vintage hats! I bought this one...
That was really fun, stumbling upon a yard sale, and we worked up quite a thirst so we drove a couple of blocks over to South Miami - a hip and happenin' little neighborhood nestled within the city of Miami. Lots of colorful sights that I wanted to capture and share with you...
It was getting pretty hot, so we decided to cool down near the water. We drove south to Black Point Marina....
It was very peaceful.....
Lots of rugged, coral rock....
And my favorite boat was this one - because of its' color!
Soon it was time to pick up Mom, and after we did, we stopped for a mid-day cup of coffee and a scone and then decided to do some window shopping at the beautiful Village of Merrick Park in Coral Gables...
While Jill parked the car, I took this photo of Mom... isn't she pretty?
And so were these flowers...
Thankfully, we were happy to just "window shop" as the shops were very pricey, but we WERE excited to find Anthropologie and did get a few things on sale ...
Isn't this a cute wagon?
We had a delicious dinner that night and reminisced about family members long gone, childhood stories, and "old Miami". Our trip was a wonderful escape and it seemed to fly by - as this little bird eventually did...
Memories were made - sweet and bittersweet, and they now will be kept safe in our hearts. Thank you Mom and Jill for our moments in Miami.
I love you!
Kim
