A dear friend of mine owns a small business in Coral Gables. I had the privilege of spending two months working with her while her business partner was out on maternity leave. She and I met close to twenty years ago when we both worked for the same ad agency. She was the media director for the Miami office and I was the media director for the NY office. I won't bore you with all the stories of media planning and buying, however I thought it would make sense to let you know how I came to spend two months in South Florida.
Coral Gables is just outside of Miami and is well known for The Miracle Mile and The Biltmore Hotel. While it is its own city, it is considered by some to be part of Miami. It offers a good amount of restaurants, shopping and entertaining for weeknight adventures. Wolfe's Wine Shop is amazing. The owner is helpful, friendly and offers great suggestions. Oh, and you take your wine home in an adorable red mesh bag. Le Tartine de Teresa is a tiny spot, which you may easily walk past without noticing. Do not. Go inside. I promise you won't regret it. Another stand out is Graziano's. The name may fool you into thinking it is Italian, but is in fact Argentinian. You can dine in, take out or shop in their gourmet market.
I tried to make the most of my weekends by exploring the surrounding beaches. In previous visits, I had spent time in Key Biscayne. First stop is The Golden Hog, a fantastic little gourmet market in a rather odd little strip mall beside a gas station. It's a great spot to pick up lunch and snacks for the day. Crandon Park offers beautiful beaches, kayak rentals and nature trails. I find it to the perfect place to relax, read a book and wander into the shallow water of the bay.
It had been quite some time since I was last in Boca, however my friend's daughter attends Lynn University so it was the perfect excuse. The area certainly has changed, especially in and around Via Mizner. There is new Mandarin Hotel along with luxury residences and rentals under construction. Red Reef Park is absolutely gorgeous with a beautiful beach and lush foliage. We drove down the A1A to Deerfield Beach for lunch at JB's on the Beach.
My friend I was working for joined me on an excursion to Matheson Hammock Park. Its a very unique beach as the natural landscape creates an Atoll Pool. We also enjoyed a very lovely lunch at Red Fish Grill within the park.
Lauderdale By the Sea proved to be a fantastic destination for a solo venture while in a friendly mood. The beach itself is quite lovely and unlike the majority of my ventures, it is an ocean beach. As is the case in South Florida, it sometimes rains for an hour or so out of nowhere. I popped into Mulligan's and soon was part of the crowd of locals and tourists. The food isn't anything special, but the friendly atmosphere and drink specials made it a great choice to take cover while the rain passed.
A friend from childhood lived in Fort Lauderdale at the time. I hadn't seen him in over ten years yet he was happy to meet up and join in my adventures. We met up in South Beach. He had tickets to a pool party at the Surfcomber. We had a good time catching up and taking in the scene. Thank Goodness as I now had a buddy for my explorations. He invited me to come to his place for a weekend to meet his husband, dogs and explore the area. We had a lovely dinner at Casablanca Cafe. We did a little bar hopping after dinner, although I am not quite positive of all the stops.
And while I am by no means a sports fanatic, I was excited to go to both a Miami Dolphins and Miami Heat game while I was visiting. One of the perks of media planning and buying is free tickets to sporting events, often with VIP access from vendors so it was first class all the way at American Airlines arena. My childhood friend is a season ticket holder, however a work colleague of his hooked us up with an upgrade to a luxury box. Watching football in South Florida is much different than the NorthEast. No jeans, turtleneck, sweatshirt, parka, etc. Nope. I was at a football game in a sundress and sandals. Although as I write this, I now have that Dolphins song in my head. I better go grab my Wayne Chrebet jersey to make sure it doesn't stick.
It was a great experience. You rarely get to explore when traveling for work. It was nice to try out the South Florida lifestyle for a bit, however I was happy to be headed back when I boarded the plane at Miami-Dade. To quote a very wise friend of mine, "Florida is like ice cream. You love ice cream. You can't wait for ice cream. Until someone tells you it's ok to have ice cream every day. And then, just like that, ice cream is ruined. That is why you should only visit Florida."