Thursday, December 27, 2007

Everything we dreamed it would be

Wow. We had an amazing, fantastic trip to Miami and a great Christmas, too. It was seriously just what we needed after all the stress we had been through over the past couple of months.

Miami was so relaxing, and I even have a tan (but not a burn, thanks to religious use of SPF 30) that extends to my legs! I always thought that my legs had two colour options: lily white or lobster pink. But apparently not, because now they are a charming tanned colour that makes me very happy.


It is amazing, I have to say, how incredibly tanned everyone in Miami is. Seriously, they are all brown and leathery like very old turtles. It looks so unhealthy, but they are all like that. Also, they are all incredibly fashionable, ironically so. They wear things like striped seersucker shorts with furry snowboots. Some restaurants in South Beach even have dress codes requiring customers to be dressed fashionably.

We went to the Everglades with my aunt and uncle on our first day, and it was really cool. We saw tons of alligators, and also lots of pretty birds. Torsten took lots of pictures and had fun experimenting with different camera modes.


Also: our hotel was amazing. We were prepared for it to be dilapidated, since it was so inexpensive and we had read that it was in need of renovation, but our room was gorgeous. We had booked a room with an ocean view and a balcony, and we ended up with exactly that, but right on the side of the hotel, so that it also had a gorgeous side view of the beach. The shower had a window with a beautiful ocean view, so bright that you almost needed sunglasses while you were washing yourself.


And also, speaking of the shower: It had been so long since I'd been to the beach, I had forgotten that one of the best feelings in the world is taking a long, hot shower after a day on the beach with the salt and the sand and the sunscreen and the wind.

The hotel had its own gorgeous stretch of nice clean beach, with a very friendly guy who gave out chaise lounges and sun umbrellas. And it had its own pool and hot tub with a bar and music and everything, plus towel service. It was so nice to have it all there at our fingertips that we're starting to think that maybe instead of going to Thailand for our honeymoon, as we'd been thinking, we'll go to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. The resort will be more expensive, but the much cheaper airfare will make it work out to about the same price overall. Plus we won't have to waste two full days traveling.


Anyway, back to Miami. I got stung by a jellyfish one day, but it wasn't that painful: it got swollen and stung for about an hour, and then went away, leaving only a little red mark. At first I wasn't even sure it was a jellyfish, because I had always assumed that those were extremely painful, but then I looked over and saw it floating in the water next to me. I did not scream or shriek, but I did take off for the beach at a good clip.


We flew in to North Carolina early on Christmas morning on a flight that was uneventful except that our suitcase didn't make it. Luckily, we had sent all our Christmas presents down with my sister in her car, so the lack of luggage didn't affect our ability to exchange gifts. The suitcase was delivered to our house at one a.m. the next day. Sucks for the poor guy who was out delivering luggage all night, but good for us, since we left the next morning to drive back to DC.

Oh, and speaking of Christmas gifts! I got some fabulous ones, including an amazing massage seat from Torsten that makes my back feel so loose and relaxed, a host of purple housewares from my parents (including a teapot, a vase, salad servers, bowls, egg cups, a picture frame, and a trivet), the complete series of My So-Called Life on DVD from my sister, and a gorgeous, GORGEOUS necklace with a platinum heart-shaped pendant and a white gold chain from Torsten. I didn't take a photo of my own, but it's so pretty that I have to share the stock photo from the seller:


Okay, happy materialistic bubbling is over, for now anyway. It might come back if/when I get around to taking my own pictures of things. Oh, and speaking of pictures: if you want to see the rest of the Miami photos, the full set is here.


It's amazing that it's already time to get back to work, but Miami was so wonderful and I'm so relaxed now that I don't even mind. It's a miracle! Or maybe I'm just delirious because it's only a two-day workweek. Either way, I'll take it. It feels so GOOD to be relaxed again.

26 comments:

  1. Miami sounds AWESOME, except the part about having to be fashionable. That would not go well.

    I have wanted the My So Called Life DVD set for AGES.

    Glad you had a good Christmas and that you are back!

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  2. FIRST: WELCOME BACK!!!!!!!!!! second: awesome trip, i am so happy for you :) I keep thinking that this time next year I want to go away - and celebrate new years somewhere warm, on a beach. More to come on that later. I'm glad youre back! and merry belated xmas

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  3. glad you guys had a great time! you're the second blogger today who's talked about someone being sunburned on christmas. this is so strange to me!

    oh the necklace is beautiful!

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  4. What a nice pre-Christmas vacation! I definitely recommend the all-inclusive route for honeymoons. We went on a cruise and it was such a relief not to have to PLAN anything else.

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  5. Sounds like a great vacation. LOVE MSCL, I have the first issued box set. Trying to plan our honeymoon has been the cause of all of my stress lately, hope you have better luck!

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  6. oh fantastic! god i LOVE those photos, they're amazing. i'm off to see the rest on flickr momentarily...

    i vote one hundred million percent for the all inclusive route. i did a LOT of traveling back in the usairways days (11 caribbean islands!) and i can tell you the all-inclusive thing is SO WORTH IT and so much easier. if you drink AT ALL, the price usually ends up working out in your favor, and OMG THE EASE.

    also i need to stop leaving freaking novels of advice that no one really wants in comments, but one more thing i'd suggest is YAY MEXICO but EW CANCUN.

    also: i too am either translucent or lobster. am ragingly jealous of your tanned legs.

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  7. I'll throw my two cents in on the question of honeymoon location. I think it depends on the type of honeymoon you're looking for: relaxation vacation or an amazing destination you will be talking about for the rest of your lives. Okay, that previous sentence sounds like I endorse one over the other. That's not the case. All I'm saying is that Mexico resort is the way to go if you plan to lounge about, enjoy doing nothing, enjoy each other, etc. If you go to Thailand, you will feel a touch of pressure to go see things, be on the move, because who knows when you'll be getting back. Or maybe that's just me.

    (Look how helpful I am!)

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  8. I feel the exact same way about MY legs. They hardly ever tan, just burn.
    Where did you stay? That looks like an amazing view!

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  9. Wow - amazing trip! I may or may not have put one of your photos as my wallpaper... we had temperatures in the teens and buckets of snow for christmas... what I wouldn't do for a day on the beach!

    Merry (Belated) Christmas, and Happy (Belated, again) Boxing Day!

    xox

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  10. I'm so glad you had such a nice time in both Miami and at Christmas! Beautiful pictures.

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  11. i want to jump into the picture of the hotel. and the beach. and oh my god palm treeeees. i? LOVE. palm trees. when i was in vegas last month, i wanted to unplant a baby one i found and bring it back to chicago with me.

    i'm so happy to hear you had an amazing vacation! merry belated christmas ... and welcome back!

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  12. Yay! I'm glad you had such a great time, it sounds amazing!

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  13. I'm so glad you had a wonderful holiday! Welcome back.

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  14. Those pictures are amazing (except the alligator ones, which...EEEEWWWWWW).

    Glad you got to relax and de-stress. Welcome back!

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  15. 1. WELCOME BACK!!!!

    2. i have a necklace similar and i wear it almost every day. wonderful taste that man has. :)

    3. OMG I'M SO JEALOUS YOU WERE AT THE BEACH WITH SUN SAND AND ALL THINGS OVERFLOWING OF WONDERFULNESS.

    ok. that is all. /caps lock.

    ;)

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  16. Gorgeous pics!!! It looks like you had an awesome time! And I totally agree the leathery tan look is kinda gross. But yay for your tan!

    And thanks for the email :) I'm still undecided since I'm broke thanks to college loans and bills- plus I already have a gym membership and if I did both, it'd be $84/mo. eek! But- thanks again. I'll keep that issue updated on my site :)

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  17. Oh my word, that sounds divine. I'm so glad you had such a wonderful time!

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  18. I loved My So Called Life when it was on. Also Freaks and Geeks.

    Sounds like a great trip!

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  19. I loved My So Called Life when it was on. Also Freaks and Geeks.

    Sounds like a great trip!

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  20. What a wonderful vacation!! I hope our trip to Jamaica is just as relaxing.

    Also, way to go on the bling, Torsten! woohoo!

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  21. I am SO living vicariously through you! Miami sounds absolutely perfect! I'm glad that Christmas went well too. Also, love the necklace.

    Glad you got home safely and we'll talk soon!

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  22. Glad that you had such a wonderful time in Miami- the hotel looks amazing!
    As for Thailand- I've been there about oh... 50 million times (my FIL was an airline captain so free flights!) and I love it there. We just went this fall with the boy too. For my part I've always hated all-inclusive since that it makes you feel guilty about going off grounds to eat. But I know its a pain in the ass to get there from the states so I hear you there.
    If you do decide on Thailand and really want some assvice on where to go and such just give me a holler and I'll tell you all about it :)

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  23. Welcome back! I am so so jealous!!! I love the view, and the photos, and the necklace!

    Glad you had a great time!

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  24. Glad you had such a great trip. Restaurants that require you to be fashionable, though? And seersucker shorts with furry boots counts as "fashionable"? Yeah, I probably wouldn't get in that restaurant. Oh well.

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  25. I love your pictures. I wanted to dive right into the water. I live in walking distance to beaches but I am in Northern California so the water is always cold. Also, so jealous of the tan. I, too, am either translucent or lobster red.

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