Our beloved Bulldogs won a trip to the Orange Bowl, and we traveled to see them. Before they announced the bowl location, we had hotels and travel plans set up for every possible location...except Miami. To say that we were scrambling after the announcement is an understatement, but we got it taken care of.
After Christmas the 25th, a break the 26th, Greenville the 27th-28th, and Alex's birthday the 29th, I honestly don't know how I was functioning enough to catch a Jan. 30th, 7:30 a.m. flight to Miami, but somehow we made it happen.
We flew out of Jackson and caught a flight from Atlanta to Miami. We arrived there about 2:30, and stepped out of the plane and into the warmth. I feel stupid, but I didn't realize exactly how much of a temperature difference it would be. I'm an idiot.
Our friends weren't arriving until a few hours later, so after we checked into our hotel (we stayed in Fort Lauderdale) we walked to a bar and grabbed something to eat. I then went back and took a much needed nap. As I told our crew, I was looking out for everyone.
Our plan was to go out to a nice dinner that night since we weren't going to be able to on NYE. I laughed when I was packing because my suitcase was all over the map. I had t-shirts, a jersey, sequins and "leather." I wanted to make sure I was Miami-appropriate.
I think I succeeded.
We headed out to dinner that night, which was lovely. We had reservations at a really nice seafood place that was definitely "Miami". We sat outside in perfect weather and watched yachts go by. A few pulled up, docked, and had dinner served to them on their boat. Yep.
We were slightly gluttonous that night. Let's see; as a table we had oysters, stone crab claws, tuna, clams, scallops, snapper, salad, and bread pudding. (I, of course, ordered the bread pudding. I can't say "no" if it's on a menu.)
The guys. Friends for 19 years. Love them.
Told you I packed sequins. When in Miami, right?
And the next day...I'll admit, Miami has never been on my "I've got to go before I die" list. I don't know why--I guess it slightly intimidated me. I love New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and San Francisco, but Miami never made the cut. I have changed my mind. I'd definitely go back. First of all, can we talk weather? It was absolutely perfect. I mean gorgeous. It was Dec. 31st, and it was 80 degrees. Perfection.
My only complaint about the city is that it's pretty spread out. Since we were staying in Fort Lauderdale, we had to take about a 30 minute taxi to South Beach. Unless you're actually staying in South Beach, (which was astronomically expensive--like $600 a night at its cheapest) it's not like other cities that you can just walk from place to place. BUT, once we got down there, there was plenty to see, eat, and walk to. My friend found an authentic Cuban restaurant to eat lunch, so we bypassed all the touristy places and headed there. It was a complete dive, but they had great tamales and a delicious Cuban sandwich. It definitely hit the spot.
Ignore how sleepy I look here. I can't bounce back from a 2:00 a.m. night/morning like I used to.
I LOVE art deco architecture, and there was plenty of it. Gorgeous, old buildings. And have I mentioned the people-watching? Very few clothes. I saw lot of girls that were, shall we say, free with their underwear choices. (Or lack thereof) I'm sure the guys didn't notice.
I had on a spaghetti-strap top, and I easily had on more clothing than 70% of the people there. That includes guys.
We then headed to the Clevelander for an afternoon of football-watching and fruity drinks. I wish I had known my drink was blue. I don't do blue drinks, but whatev.
There were plenty of State fans there, too.
We had a great waiter. When we sat down, he said, "Are y'all tourists?" When we said "yes" he responded, "I thought you looked pretty white." Anthony had gone to the bathroom at the time. Ha!
Sun Life Stadium
Pre-game pic. I broke down and bought a jersey before we left. I never in a million years would've thought I would ever wear a jersey, but goodness, it was so freeing. It was so nice to just throw it on with jeans and roll. I will more than likely be pulling it out next football season, so watch out.
Our whole crew
The parachuted the gameballs in, which was beyond cool, but it made me super nervous. I'm always terrified I'm about to witness a tragedy.
Each team got to show a pre-game video, so we aired ours with Jack Cristil's voiceover. Awesome. Ignore my video skills.
It turns out, the Bullies couldn't stop the Yellowjackets' defense. Boo. Regardless, we had a great trip and a fantastic season. Fingers crossed that Dak comes back. Here's hoping.
Post-game cab ride. Sherm had pretty much had it.
Cheers to a great 2014, and cheers to 2015. Let's hope it's full of fun.
