Hello Miami 2004 Thursday I am sitting in a meeting with a bunch of folks, and Mr. Marketing Head person mentions this meeting that some people are going to Friday in Miami. He turns to me and says, "Hey. Maybe you should go along" "Synergy!"
I try not to jump for joy. 4pm Thursday I have bought tickets, booked hotels and rental cars for the next day. The flight leaves at 7am.
7:00am Ouch.
Which means... Be at JFK at 6am. Car service scheduled for 5:30 Dressed by 5:20 Showered by 5:10 Awake at 4:44am
Ow.
Which also means I shouldn't stay up late at Tamara's house, drinking riesling wine with pizza (!), and taking photos like sorority girls.
6am feeling like death I really felt ill when I finally made it to the airport. Not to get gross, but I kept thinking, "I don't know what end this is coming out of, but it's not going to be pretty". My co-workers were there and all cheery and discussing synergy or knocking down silos.
We flew out of JFK on Song - that Delta boutique airline. The plane had lots of legroom, and I liked the little TV screen things (when I was awake for all two minutes) but their 'clever' thing they try to do is kind of corny. Not corny like Southwest who actually made me laugh a few times, but corny like trying to be a cooler version of Southwest.
Bye Leatherman Mrs. Robot had given me a little Leatherman tool for my birthday years ago. In my zombie state that morning, I neglected to remove it from my bag and it got grabbed at the x-ray thing-a-ma-jig. Damn.
Miami My little coup was that I scored a Mitsubishi Spyder convertible at the car rental place, much to the chagrin of my Dodge Neon driving co-workers. We had our little meeting which was interesting because I now realize that one reason I was sent down there was to be the 'muscle' - in the sense that I was the only one with a technical background. I walked in the office and he looks up and says, "Oh, I didn't know you were coming, too"
Hee.
Mrs. Robot flew down that night and I picked her up in my sporty red car. It was a lovely night for a convertible. We went to Joe's Stone Crab House Shack Restaurant - it was busy being a Friday night and all, so we enjoyed little bottles of champagne and calamari at the bar until our table was ready. It was super sweet fun. (oddly we ate about the same places we ate at last time)
Saturday we spent on the beach. Sunday, we went to Jerry's Big Deli Place for breakfast and then wandered around Lincoln Road and the adjourning streets until we had to leave.
I got a bit of sun. It's October. I went swimming in the ocean. I drove a convertible around the whole time. Lovely.
Valet Parking Honestly, how much do you tip those valet guys? I had this same question in LA, which like Miami, is valet parking everywhere. Two dollars? That's what I have been doing.
Our Hotel We stayed at an interesting hotel and I'd like to give it a quick mini-review in the hopes that people find this when looking for reviews.
Circa 39 3900 Collins Ave. Miami Beach, Florida 33140
Circa 39 is a fine hotel. Our room was very clean and attractive. The staff was very friendly and generally helpful. The bed was comfy. I guess my issue is the location. If you are used to staying in South Beach and walking everywhere, you may starve doing that at Circa 39. They had a little café that seemed to missing a lot of food and most importantly, coffee. I was able to score a cappuccino, but it was the instant type (3$!!). Ugh. Saturday, we hung out at the beach and there was literally no where to go for a snack except the Marriot across the street, which we tried, but they had quit serving as we walked in. D'oh.
So, Circa 39 is great as long as you don't mind driving every time you want something to eat.
