I Think Not

So I only spent 2 days in Miami, but it was isolated to Miami Beach, so I feel like I got a good sense of the town. The first picture is the only one I can seem to find of my road trip down with Andre and Adam. I met him on the Craigslist ride board and rode with him down from NYC to Florida. Take a look at the pictures and then read the Miami Journal entry.

This was Andre's car. He was a guy from Canada I met on Craigslist. We met in Queens, NY late at night before we left. His incredibly kind friend, Danielle, put me up in her house and fed us breakfast the next morning before our long drive. Our first stop was in Pittsburgh, PE to pick up another rider from Craigslist, Adam. On our drive down we found out Andre was a men's rights activist... interesting. We tried to divert conversation to his other interests when possible - US Navy, Sci-Fi, and Canada. Hope that wasn't Adam's first encounter with a Canadian...

The rest of the time I tried to meet Andres standards for recording mile-markers in his log-book: odometer reading, gas reading, mile marker, and time... I think you get the picture of this Craigslist experience. The plan changed a little because though Andre had implied to Adam and I we'd be driving straight down to Florida, he wouldn't let anyone else drive, so we had to take a rest stop at a motel in Georgia. Then instead of dropping me off at the bus station in Tampa, he seemed to need to show off his girlfriend first, so we drove to his girlfriend's parents house (who she still lived with) and picked her up so she could "help" drop me off at the bus station. Well, sorry Andre, I wish I could recommend you as a car pool driver, but I can't, so I won't...

Ah, Miami!! I got the overnight Greyhound to Miami. Read the Miami journal for more about the state of Greyhound in the South...
I eventually got to Miami where I stayed with my friend Dave, in Miami Beach. I must say, I was surprised and impressed. I may not have experienced the real Miami Beach, but I really liked it. Expecting a phony plastic-injected population and over-the-top wealth, I was surprised to find a hip mix of people and casual atmosphere. There was a heavy helping of models and Bentley's, but I didn't feel the air of pretension that I would expect to go with that. Obviously the weather was perfect - a dry, sunny 75 degrees everyday - so that didn't hurt either. I got to know the small Miami Beach area and South Beach very well, and enjoyed my 3 days there, but was ready to move on by the 4th day. I spent the last day in Miami downtown which, as I had been told, lacked anything noteworthy to see. But the transportation was easy enough with the free raised trams that move about the city quickly and frequently.

These Segway machines were everywhere. Very strange. Very futuristic.
Designed by a guy in Hew Hampshire!

This was a volleyball match between Pro Volleyball players and Elite Models
... no, not kidding. Surreal.

After the volleyball match, I met up with Dave, from Masa, who lives here how.
We wandered around and found ourselves at this over-the-top hotel, Hotel Delano.