Welcome to Miami, Florida

As Judson and I were discussing sending all three kids off to camp for a week (the girls to Student Council Camp and Oney to Victory Ranch), I could just see the wheels turning in his head.  We have known all Summer that we would have the three of them in camp for a week in July. We never really stopped and thought about what we would do with ourselves while they were gone.  Of course, I could just be very happy staying at home and doing nothing (which of course means cleaning out closets, garage, and all kinds of other special projects).  Judson on the other hand, well he is not good at staying home or lighting anywhere for very long.  If we are in town, he goes to the store, everyday.  That is one of the negatives of owning your own business.  You never really feel like you are "off work". You carry it with you everywhere you go and everyday. So he started thinking...if Dana or I plan on relaxing while the kids are gone...we better go somewhere. Because he is a "points freak", which is a great thing, we have frequent flier miles stored up. He started searching for a "cheap" frequent flier ticket and an inexpensive hotel room. I agreed to go somewhere as long as he let me rest,  sleep in every morning, lay by a pool everyday, take an afternoon nap, and only leave the hotel for dinner each night.  Within a few hours of him mentioning we might do a quick getaway, the trip was booked! He said, pack your bags we are going to Miami! 

 

We dropped Oney off at Victory Ranch on Sunday and we got the girls off to camp early Monday morning. We flew out of Memphis right after that and landed in Miami shortly after lunch. Jan had been to Miami last fall to a Titans game and suggested a great hotel for us. We stayed on South Beach at The Gansevoort.  It was perfect for what we were looking for this trip. Great location, cool atmosphere, nice sized rooms, comfy beds, adult only pool on the rooftop, cold & fruity drinks, nice restaurants, etc.  Everything we needed for a low key, kid free, relaxing three night getaway.

We checked in our room and headed straight to the adults only roof top pool. It was beautiful. We sat at the bar and ate a quick lunch.  We started off being very smart and split our order so that we didn't overindulge. We finally got situated in one of the round, wicker double chairs. We were there all of an hour an it started pouring down rain. Oh well, I had to go to the room and take a little nap...perfect! Judson ran to the store and bought some Diet Cokes and water for us to have in our room for the week.  Here is another picture of the pool.

 

We went to dinner Monday night at STK. It was fabulous! The food was superb and the atmosphere was great...not to mention it was about 60 degrees in there! Great choice, dear.

Tuesday we did the same routine. Pool, lunch, rain showers, nap, and awesome dinner. We went to dinner at the Blue Door Fish at the The Delano.  If you have ever read any love story, you have heard of the Delano in Miami, a really cool hotel. Once again, superb food and atmosphere. We sat outside that night and we ended up a little warm but the ambiance was perfect.  We ate entirely too much. The following is a picture of our appetizer, Crabavocat. We couldn't resist taking a picture in honor of Nancy McKenzie!

Delicious!

Taking silly pictures like the kiddos always do!

Wednesday guess what...pretty much the same deal. Judson is definitely a man of his word...we did NOTHING but eat, rest and soak up the sun. Oh, and we had lots of conversation without getting interrupted! Anyone with children know just how nearly impossible that becomes. We had dinner Wednesday night at Prime Italian.  We just THOUGHT we had been eating too much. After we finished our meal that night, I thought I was going to die. I have NEVER been so full. It was "to die for good"! We sat beside a neat couple that night and really enjoyed our conversation with them. We had a lot in common with them.

I know I will catch a little Hell over this next picture. The hotel lobby had these checkerboard tables setup. Believe it or not, every night when we came in from dinner, we sat down and played a game of checkers. Well, guess what? Judson beat me EVERY SINGLE TIME! Yep, my Grandmother would not be very proud of me for losing or Judson for not letting me win at least once!

The Winner...

Actually I am the winner...at least when it comes to the partner end of this deal! Judson may be the winner of checkers, but I am the winner when it comes to better halves! (Somebody may have to call 911 for him when he reads this part). Better yet, Judson STOP reading now! Seriously, I am so LUCKY to have a husband that SPOILS me rotten and loves me "fairly" unconditionally! He is always willing to take me to fabulous places, wants me to make time for myself as an individual and us as a couple, gives me freedoms that many other women never enjoy, takes care of me in sickness and well I haven't really had "health" yet, is everything a wife, mother, best friend, partner could ever ask for...I do not praise him openly enough. It is hard to believe that I found the perfect soulmate for me almost 24 years ago when I was just a baby myself!!! Thank you Lord for my Best Friend and Partner for life...I love you, Judson!