One of my favorite places to be is the beach. Lounging near the waters edge, sunshine, sand, my favorite pair of sunnies, and an umbrella in my drink….its so peaceful and relaxing. This year for my birthday I decided to cross off an item from my 101 Things to do in 1001 Days list and I went to Miami for the first time.
What an AWESOME city! This will probably be at the top my my list for places to move to next with the Coast Guard. It has everything I love about NYC and the tolls are cheaper, the weather is consistently warm year round, and the beaches are beautiful.
I flew in the night before my birthday and met up with a friend I haven’t seen since I left my duty station in Mobile, Alabama, grab dinner, and met her kiddos. The next day we had a yummy breakfast at Big Pink before I checked in to the hotel and waited for the rest of my friends to arrive. The coffee and veggie breakfast burrito was delicious! Once everyone arrived we went to out lunch at John Paul’s House – a restaurant off the beaten path that I found through Gilt City. Then headed back to the hotel to relax poolside and before getting ready for nighttime festivities.
Our room attendant, Charles, was awesome! He made sure that we had everything we needed and even brought us vodka and mixers to the room while we got ready. We kicked off the night with dinner at Katsuya. The sushi was delicious! I had the Katsuya Special Roll and apple pie dessert Then it was off to dance the night away at Arkadia, located in the Fontainebleau Hotel.
Friday morning we walked the beach and chilled poolside before heading to the Cruise Port. We took a 4 day, 3 night cruise out of Miami with Royal Caribbean to Nassau, Bahamas, and Coco Cay, Bahamas.
This was my first short cruise, usually I go on 6-7 day cruises. There’s definitely a difference, but I had a great time nonetheless, the service was fantastic, and we made it to each port call and back to Miami with no issues.
In Nassau, we spent the day at the Hotel Riu Palace on a day pass…all you can eat and drink, sunshine, the beach, and a pool bar…we couldn’t ask for more.
We pulled into Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean’s Private Island) the next day and spent the day relaxing on the beach and lounging in hammocks.
We pulled into Miami bright and early Monday morning, had breakfast in the dinning room, then headed to the airport….sad to leave 70 degree temps to go back home to snow in NYC. I hope spring comes to the Northeast soon.
Next year’s birthday ideas are already being researched…Europe, Hawaii, maybe Napa…we’ll see what happens.
Love AGT :)
A Girl Travels 