Paradise in Miami

The trip has been getting better and better as the days pass. The last few days, as I crossed the stretch from Charleston to Miami, were a golden blur of beaches and sun, great cities, lots of beer and the summer fun already cranked up high. The Hilton Head Island beaches were magnificent - not as crowded as Myrtle Beach, and much bigger - especially Forest Beach.

But the real fun begins once you hit Florida. You can sense the excitement and the energy building up - Jacksonville, Cocoa Beach, Melbourne Beach, Sebastian, Vero Beach, Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and then Miami. It was impossible to stay overnight at most of these places since I was on a schedule, but I did spend one night in Daytona Beach and another one in Palm Beach.

I've been to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and Miami before, but it was mostly upscale stuff - airport to hotel to beach, and trips to the tourist attractions in Miami like the Miami MetroZoo and Jungle Island and the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. Didn't really get to know Miami, if you know what I mean. Didn't want to go into all that again, and besides - this was the first time I actually spent time on the streets. I hung around Lincoln Road a lot. Granted, that's what a lot of tourists do, but I talked to people. Just sat around and drunk a lot of beer and coffee and ended up making friends, and well... let's just say that now I know and like Miami much better.

And being one of the less fortunate, I also needed a cheap place to stay, so after checking out a few of the Miami Beach motels, checked into the aptly named Paradise Inn on 8520 Harding Ave. It was certainly no paradise, but the 2 nights I spent in Miami were so hedonistic, it could have been the Ritz and I wouldn't have noticed the difference - just a crash pad in a convinient location.

So anyway, I have to leave for the LoneStar state now, and be in Galveston for Juneteenth.