After work was done on Friday, I flew out on AirTran that night on a red eye. Julie and I talked a few times before the trip--excursions, door decorations, things to pack. But now, we were checking in before, during layovers, and after landing. It was so exciting, but unbelievable, because all that planning of the past several months was finally here!
Last year, when Julie and I had gone, we crammed our planning into one month. Yep. So the anticipation this time, was felt keenly. Especially with our newbie Brits, Dave and Tessa. They had yet to experience the wonder of Ships N Dip.
Julie took the train from Ft. Lauderdale and met me at the Miami airport. With the Miami marathon the same morning of embarkation, the hotels were full of cruisers and runners. So we were unable to check in early. After regrouping, we headed off to downtown Miami from the Red Roof Inn to meet Dave and Tessa, co-workers in the homicide division back home.
We were to meet them earlier, but then decided they may have gone to the Bayside Marketplace to eat. We wandered around, saw a boa constrictor and an alligator (or was it an iguana?), then went over to the Intercontinental Hotel. We were just connecting to their hotel room, when Dave walked out of the elevator and spotted us! I recognized him right away from his message board pic.
He had sent one in his snowboarding gear and goggles--and I thought, "How is Julie going to recognize him?"
We ventured upstairs to meet Tessa--and Dave made up a story, then Julie and I walked in. They had a GREAT view of the bay. They had gotten the place at a discount from lastminute.com. We went over to Congo's to have some Cuban food and mojitos. Then--we ran into some trouble. At the American Airlines Arena, even though the restaurant is attached to it, we couldn't bring food in. Well, I still snuck in the cassavas. But, the biggest thing was that Dave couldn't bring his video camera in the arena. He tried charm, wit, and everything he could pull out of his pockets (well, not that), but in the end--he went back to the hotel to drop it off.
The game started off--and the Heat seemed to be behind the Indiana Pacers throughout much of the game, around 7 to 9 points. But they kept the game close enough, to when the fourth quarter came around, the place came alive! And the Miami Heat won 98 to 96. It broke their losing streak of 15. I did see Shaq dressed in a suit and on the bench; Dwayne Wade and Marcus Banks were great, and it was odd seeing ex-Lakers in other uniforms (Smush Parker/Heat, Kareem Rush/Pacers). I snoozed through the slow first half because of my redeye flight.
It was a great start to an incredible vacation. We took a cab to the Marriott near the airport for the pre-party. The music included more BNL and the layout of food and beverages than last year. Had drinks and met a few people. We were tired, and Dave grabbed a taxi for us. But our night of adventure was just starting...
