The 1am traffic jam.

Otherwise known as... MIAMI. LOL. I really don't have a lot of pictures. As I mentioned in the post on Monday I forgot my phone charger and was forced to conserve my battery the entire time we were there. That meant very few pictures and very few phone calls home to check on the kiddos. That was both a good and a bad thing!

 

Miami is a wondrous thing. Much like New York the city never seems to shut down.

Pizza at 2am? Sure thing! Coffee and pastries at 3am? No problem! Of course getting TO them... that is a whole other problem. Unlike New York, Florida can't really build underground tunnels in which to put a subway system. If we did? Well, it would just fill up as we dug. We live at sea level. Some of us live below sea level. Go ahead and say it. Nincompoops! Here we live in a flood zone, and we deal with annual flooding because of it. Then, because we are a glutton for punishment we stay during the stormy season and wait for hurricanes to roll in off the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Oh, but I digress. That was not the intent of my post. But, I can answer at least partially WHY some of us are idiotic enough to do this to ourselves. Ready?

 
There it is. The view from the hotel window. Sweet, right? And on the other side of that causeway was the tennis tournament. It sprinkled once the whole weekend. It was in the upper 80's, and breezy. Un- freaking- believable. Gorgeous, Yup. That is why we do this to ourselves. Every outdoor sport imaginable is right here for our taking whenever we feel like it. Dead of winter? Oh wait a couple hours because I'll guarantee that our version of super cold, is just barely registering chilly once that sun wakes up... Probably around what you keep your heater set at. I may be freezing my tushy off. But 99% of people are perfectly comfortable on our coolest days.


Yup. Something about this place, I just can't get enough of.

Anyway. Back to my story. So, the thing about the traffic? We stayed to watch a night match and it got out around midnight. I didn't really want to be out too late, so we tried to hop back to the hotel really quick. *SNORT* yeah, right. We were about 5 miles away and it took over an hour and a half to get back. It wasn't like it was traffic from the big let out. We didn't leave when all the cars left from the parking lot. I can't imagine if we had. The night picture was when we got back to the hotel that night. Beautiful from inside the room when I've had a shower and feeling a whole lot more peaceful again.

I suppose though, that if nighttime traffic is the worst of my complaints I am doing pretty good, right? Right! We had a great time watching the matches and saw players practicing as well. We ate a lot, and I think Starbucks is now a permanent fixture on my credit card. I should own stock. The weather held out for us nicely. Cool at night and hot and breezy all day, but the morning we left looked a little less happy.

Actually, it looked rather daunting.

I think I would call it down right ominous.

Looking back, I KNOW I would. Just look at that front line. The winds really were whipping up and by the time we met up with my Mother-in-Law in Clermont.We really hit some bad weather. Quarter sized hail and 80+ mile an hour winds. The rain was sideways and at one point I thought for sure the window would break! I can't imagine what would have happened if we had not stopped to eat at that time. Luckily not only did we stop, but ALL of us had decided to stay for a while.

My car is a little worse for the wear with a few dents and scratches, but we are all alive and well. When we got a little further down the road and the trees were down and a semi had toppled. Our trip ended up taking 10 hours and normally would only take 5 or 6 total including the extra time for picking up the rugrats. But the amazing thing? Is that even with going through a small tornado I'm still the most amazed at the 1am traffic jam.

Go figure. I guess I'll always just be a country girl at heart. Oh, and that reminds me. My Alabama trip was not nearly so event filled so this one got posted first. I do promise to be back with those pics. As a preview here is the foggy morning as we drove away:

 

Ah, there is my balance. Country, woods, and beaches. Hold the traffic, please.

 

See you soon!

 

Barbie~