and then we jumped from the sky

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas! I can't even begin to explain how fortunate I feel this year with my family, friends, and opportunities. I'm on a mad mission to be the absolute best that I can be so that I can deserve it all. One thing I'm working on is being able to focus on what I'm doing (i.e., blogging) without taking way longer than necessary by getting distracted after every sentence I write (i.e., checking my e-mail or looking at pictures of people's pictures of their travels). Of note: I'm on also on a bit of a time crunch because I'm at my parents' house and in order to "gently encourage" me to go to bed early, they have already turned the heat downstairs down. I don't know that freezing out your daughter is gentle in any sense of the word.

Here are some of the pictures from my trip to Miami. I was determined to be a much better photographer of this trip than I have been in the past but I actually managed to regress by going so far as to completely forget to bring my camera. Fortunately, Alex obtained a camera that I could borrow.

I feel that I got to experience some of the less glitzy aspects of the area and see what it'd be like to live there. Last time I went in March (which I don't think I blogged about), my favorite part wasn't the clubbing and bars for which Miami is (in)famous. Rather, I liked going to Everglades National Park and going on a boat tour to spot alligators with my friend Eileen. It was extremely fun, until we ran over an alligator, and our guide reassured us that it would be fine and probably just got further pressed into the mud. Not reassured.

Regardless, this time, I got to eat well and also try a lot of new things (like Blockbuster; I haven't rented a movie since 1999 or something). It's great being in a town with someone who knows it well and, of importance, knows you well. Some things we tried:

1. The Beer & Burger Joint. This place was amazing! Then again, I'm totally a burger and beer kind of person. Alex said he comes here sometimes before going to Allstate Arena for the Heat games. We were the strange pair who both wanted to keep an eye on the game so we sat on the same side of the booth... in a seat meant for one. Edit: I think it may be important to add that in this seat for one, we were not on top of one another, just squeezed in. To make matters worse (or more hilariously better and establish our weird status- always good), Alex accidentally ordered my beer and burger for me since we were planning on sharing them (Hoegaarden and Rogue Dead Guy- or something about a monkey). So then we became the overbearing boyfriend who doesn't let the submissive girlfriend make her own decisions or talk to the waiter.

But, bear with me as I share the menu descriptions of our burgers:

• Freebird: 8 oz. turkey burger with swiss cheese, sautéed portobello, onion bun
• Mustang Sally: 8 oz. wagyu, red onion marmalade, brie cheese, sliced prosciutto, brioche bun served with skinny fries.

2. Vic & Angelo's Enoteca. I feel lucky we got to go here as a family dinner! We had the Sicilian Chicken Wings (aka fancy chicken wings), Burrata (insalata), and an Octupus dish I can't find on the menu. Although it was good, I was not the biggest fan of my meal, the Ricotta Gnocchi. But from the brief sampling we did of each other's food, it seemed like the general consensus was that the Rigatoni alla Bolognese was the best. And for dessert, chocolate cake the size of your head. We didn't finish it, but I think everyone pitched in to make a significant dent in it. Chrissy took the following picture of me, his dad, and the cake, and texted it to Alex immediately:

3. Whisk. Cute place. Amazing burritos. Also, all of their appetizers (that we tried) were to die for. The bacon-wrapped, gorgonzola-stuffed medjool dates were perfect.

4. Alex-cooked homemade meals, obviously. I recommend the everything bagel. I'm not sure how keen the chef is on sharing all his ingredients in that.

5. Menchie's Frozen Yogurt was a very bright, almost retro shop that made me feel like we were on a first date, either in high school or the 1960s... or both.

6. Town Kitchen and Bar. Super friendly, solid food. I think I ordered the wrong thing because as we were walking out, we passed by some pizzas and they looked delectable. It was my last meal there.

Also, we went skydiving in Homestead! I wish I had pictures of everybody, but I suppose the pictures documenting my intense screaming that could be heard from those still inside the plane will have to suffice. We jumped from 13,500 feet. It was an awesome experience.

We also went deep-sea fishing. A few people on our boat caught some fish, but we didn't have a lot of luck. I suppose we are just not really fishermen. But it was fun being on a big boat and enjoying the amazing breeze. I kept throwing my arms out. I think it might've gotten weird.

 On one of my last days there, we went to Fairchild Topical Botanic Garden. This place is beautiful. I think we could've spent a lot more time there than we did if we had had more energy and been less hungry. We ended up seeing most of it because a woman in a solar-powered golf cart offered to drive us back to the entrance (it pays to look very lost and confused), but when we were walking it ourselves, we seemed to be somehow walking the same path in a circular fashion.

 Alex knew who this woman was... I think she wrote about Florida so it may be a Florida thing.

 "Oh, here's some aloe vera, I think I should break it open and heal all our wounds. Hmm yes this is probably what it should look like."

 We decided that we need a Bird App so that we can take pictures of birds and it will tell us what species it is. This guy was hanging out outside the greenhouse.

 I honestly don't know why, but I really liked this thing that was coming off a tree. So official that I don't remember the species. But we both spent a long time trying to get an in-focus picture of it.

 There were lizards everywhere. But this guy was our favorite because of its vibrant color scheme. It was funny watching them do push-ups to either mate or scare off other males with their lizard muscles.

This sculpture was called The End of the Day. They make a lot of art pieces and at the end of the day, the artists would have a bunch of scraps. They all stuck them in this pole. We once again had a fun time analyzing a very abstract sculpture, deciding that its commentary was clearly one on the opposition of both good and evil within each person's soul (obviously).

I think some of the most fun moments weren't even these "big" activities we did. But things like... eating cheese and drinking beer. Talking like Spartans after watching 300. Getting a weightlifting lesson one day, playing badminton at the gym the next day, and then being so sore that the only logical way I could move was to run from place to place (like ripping off a band-aid). I don't know if it worked, but I do know that running (galloping) down the hall like an old person was incredibly fun. Things like that :)