Christmas Events, A Snow Day and A Trip to Miami

We had a very fun-filled busy month this past December. We went to the Rudolph play in Hopkins with our family friend, Joy, and we participated in the annual Toy Drive with the Salvation Army. The girls baked Christmas cookies with grandma Kathy. Grandma and grandpa took the girls to a sledding hill in Shoreview that they raved about for weeks. We even got a snow day where we built a snow octopus. After a full month of holiday concerts and parties, we headed off to Miami.

We were expecting warm weather, but a cold front moved through just as we were heading into Miami. Luckily, we squeezed in a day or two of sunshine before we had to return home. Our trip began with us trying to locate our AirBnB. Driving downtown Miami was hectic. Once we located the condo, we had to figure out how to get the key, but that proved tricky when there was no on street parking available. Christmas Eve traffic was making the entire area a large mess. We had to avoid walkers, bikers, other cars and trucks. Once we figured out how to get into the condo, we had to learn how to use a very confusing parking ramp without a pass. We had to be buzzed through multiple checkpoints (after a few days we got the hang of it but that first day felt crazy). After getting everything settled we headed to Target to get groceries. We thought we needed the car, but it turned out the Target was only a block away. It took us 20 minutes to park when it would have taken 5 minutes to walk. We also learned the hard way that everyone in Miami Christmas shops on Christmas Eve. Their favorite place to shop is, of course, Target. The line for purchasing items went from checkout all the way to the back of the store. There were roped off areas so that people couldn't budge in line and staff members that were strategically placed so they could send the shoppers back in line if needed. Erin even took pictures because she thought for sure no one in Minnesota would believe the craziness that was witnessed. After dinner, we decided to find the pool. To our surprise, it was nicely heated so that even the 40 degree weather did not deter us from easily jumping in.

We continued to visit the pool on a daily basis. On our first official day in Miami, we visited the Everglades to look for alligators. Even in the cold we were able to see an alligator. He seemed to be frozen by the temps and moved very slowly. We guess that was lucky because we were only 8 feet away from him when we spotted him surface in the water. After an hour or so of walking in the cold, we decided that our afternoon plans would need to be indoors. We decided to visit the Paradox Museum where we were able to take cool photos based on the angle of certain mirrors. We also did some walking around the downtown area.

On our second day it was still cold, so we visited the Science Museum. There were so many cool exhibits. The girls got to see a presentation called Fire an Ice as well as design their own asteroid and smash it into the "tin Earth." We also saw a hammerhead shark in the aquarium. Analise has been very into sharks recently. Outside the museum was a walkway filled with colorfully designed cat and dog statues. In the evening, we visited the restaurant Versailles in the Cuban area of town. The restaurant was so popular the line wrapped round the whole building. The girls tried plantains and yuka fries. Both were a hit.

The third day included a trip to the Fruit and Spice farm as well as driving down to the Keys. We got to see bananas growing, starfruit trees and plants for just about any fruit imaginable. By the time we got to the beach, the sun was finally coming out and we could wear shorts for the first time. We walked on a very long boardwalk/pennisula through the mangroves out towards some islands with only one tree growing on each. We also found a beach where they had created a child swimming pool by roping off part of the ocean.

On our last day, we visited the Miami Seaquarium and Miami Beach. At the Seaquarium, we saw manatees, sea turtles, seals, penguins and of course dolphins. We were able to swim with the dolphins and ride while holding their dorsal fin. We learned that dolphins can hold up to three times their weight. The dolphins we were working with were around 300 pounds. They did lots of tricks for us including splashing us so much that we were drenched and didn't care how cold the water was. We got to do some up close touches as well as hold their fins and give a "handshake". After our time with the dolphins we headed home to grab our lunch. Then we were off to Miami beach. The amount of people on the beach was more than we had ever seen before. It felt like we were at the State Fair with seas of people moving every which way. Again the parking situation was a bit crazy. Erin found an app online that helped us find free parking somewhat near the beach. The waves were gigantic and the jellyfish that washed up on the beach were electric blue. Everyone ended up getting their shoes wet by the waves. We threw around a football on the beach, but no one ended up going in the water. In the evening we visited a seafood restaurant next to the condo for some fried shrimp.

Time flew by and before we knew it we were back on a plane. Dan forgot his ID at the Seaquarium and didn't realize until we were ready to check our bags. He was afraid they wouldn't let him on the plane. Luckily, Erin and the girls vouched for him and after much scrutiny they let him on. The aquarium said they would mail him back his ID. Erin managed to trip over Emma's suitcase when Emma walked in front of her not thinking about where she was headed. She ended up with two very bruised knee caps. Analise ended up with a severe ear ache as the plane was landing and there was much crying related to the pain. Her ears finally popped about an hour later and all was good. When we arrived in Minnesota, the plane was delayed a bit and we had to sit for an extra 45 minutes. There were so many flights cancelled over the holiday, we were lucky ours even left Minnesota. Thankfully we made it home in one piece. We made the best of the weather we had and were so thankful we were not at home for Christmas with the negative temps. Not sure we will be traveling much in the next year after this stress filled trip, but the brain does tend to easily forget the rough stuff.