The best part of Miami

Usually I'm a total downer about this vast city of paradise for some. I hate the traffic. I can't speak Spanish. People can be rude. The crime covered on the nightly news is enough to make you want to nail boards across the windows and never leave. It's always hot. There are no seasons. People seem to stare more...I can go on and on.....

I think my whining about all these flaws of the "Magic City" really masks a more important reason why it's never felt like home-my friends and family and just too far away. Still, Adam and I have done our best to tough it out and we both realize that the experiences of diversity we've gained here aren't likely to be matched anywhere else we might live in our lives. There's another not-so-deep reason that I do love Miami. I can finally celebrate my birthday outside!

I guess it's a case of "the grass is greener" but I was always a tad jealous of my brother's joyous July festivities. He had pirate parties, water balloon fights, and paper numbers of his age hung in every tree in our backyard. While my mom put just as much artistic energy into the planning of my parties, they tended to coincide with some major record-setting blizzard and I usually had to compete with the Super Bowl (my record of winning the adult males of my family as attendees wasn't good). It didn't dawn on me until my first birthday in Miami a few years ago that my wish had come true...I could finally celebrate my birthday outside! I don't officially turn 28 until around 2:30 on Wednesday, but I believe in ringing in the new year for at least a week so Adam and I enjoyed some fun in the sun today.

We woke up early, packed up a bushel of supplies, and loaded the bulldogs for a day at Oleta State Park. Here's a picture of Obie Nugget snorting the fresh air as we entered the park. I'm usually paranoid about some flying object poking him in his already buggy eyes, but we were driving about 10mph so I let him live it up!

The park has kayak rentals, cabins, beaches, trails, camp ground, and as we discovered....wildlife! We saw a gigantic racoon on one of the blacktop trails. Bailey had a momentary lapse of her usual genius self and thought she'd like a piece but I'm pretty sure she reconsidered when she saw it's size! The trails were so smooth that we flew with the dogs through a forest, by a dried up river bank, and down the coast that bordered the bay. We even got off the smooth trail and gave a novice mountain bike course a try...I had to go slow but it was fun to feel lost in the forest within this huge city. Bailey was so patient with me as I inched along. I thought I'd make use of our lagging behind status and took a few pictures. Here's Obie and Adam forging ahead.

After the trails, we headed for the beach. The sand was packed hard enough that Adam and I could push all the way up to the water's edge. We didn't get to spend much time there because dogs are allowed ON the beach but not IN the water (so says the park ranger that informed us of these rules as Bailey and Obie paddled around). I thought it was a little ridiculous given the size of the Atlantic Ocean! My dogs love the water so much that it was too torturous to make them just look at it, so we moved along. We used the bike wash to rinse off us, our wheels, and the dogs. Took another round on the trails to dry off and headed home.

Given the park's claim that they maintain the area exactly as it was "discovered" in the late 1800's, it was very accessible. There's a disclaimer in the brochure that states you can call for more accommodations but you'll need to give them 10 days notice. Luckily, we couldn't think of any that would've made our trip better so we enjoyed a spontaneous day.

Before heading home, we made use of one of the less natural amenities of the park, the huge and mostly empty parking lots. I've been wanting to practice using hand controls because I'd like to have the option to rent and borrow cars, but it's tough to find a safe place to learn in the city. I did pretty well but think I'd need a suicide knob to feel totally comfortable.

I'm so glad we had the chance to enjoy an unplugged Saturday outside...sometimes Miami's not so bad after all.