they don't wear blazers in miami anymore-at least not that i saw!

when monday came, i borrowed shea's hammock and made plans as i went. first stop: (where else?) the donut experiment on anna maria island! i just wanted to make certain that they still tasted as good the 2nd time around! thank heavens, it did! i went in search of parking to go down to the beach, but parking on a.m.island is scarce! so i just kept going because i knew there would be a place at coquina beach! i found a spot near a restroom, shower area and set the hammock up in the perfect area behind the lifeguard station.

not a bad spot!

it should go without saying that i was in paradise! i fell asleep for a bit and then a little later, i saw a man walk up to the lifeguard and tell him something (hard to read lips from that distance); he then got into his little sand-rover-thing and drove off. some little girls came running up to their dad from behind the dune. they were so excited when they told him there were sea turtles! so i grabbed my camera and made my way around the dune to see them! it was especially exciting, as shea and i had observed the turtle rescues earlier...they were cuties!

cowabunga dude!

wonder how many were under there waiting for nighttime to get out!

there was a small crowd gathered, and the lifeguard had put the little dudes into a 5-gallon bucket, and said he was waiting for some rescue people to come and take them away. one of the older ladies in the crowd (if you can call 7 a crowd), was explaining that she felt something crawl over her foot and thought it was 'one of those little crabs' (i hadn't seen any crabs on the beach since i'd arrived). she proceeded to brush it away, then looked down and realized it was a baby sea turtle-imagine her surprise!!

after a couple of pics, i went back to the comfort of the shade and continued to be lazy and relaxed.

while i was laying there, i saw some beautiful sails up over the beach-parasailing!  that looked like a bit of fun! so i texted shea to see if she'd ever been, and decided to try to book tickets for that evening. the lady was super friendly, and she said she had me down, and if anything came up, she'd call to let me know! then i decided to go down to the little snack shack down the way. i'm still working on trust issues of leaving things on the beach unguarded.

when i arrived, i was looking for something light, just to tie me over until dinner. so i went up onto the deck and ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and a diet coke, and the lady at the register-area was having a discussion with the park maintenance guy. for as much as i hate small talk, i must have inherited some gene from my dad or something, because i often either say one thing that leads to a full-blown conversation, or people strike up conversation with me out of the blue. sometimes, i'll just say one silly little thing, and it completely draws me into a conversation--must stop letting those thoughts exit through my mouth!

anyhoo, i learned all about the ridiculous protocols for state park employees-good times. but hey! i got a delicious grilled cheese! so simple, yet so comforting! when i got back to my little area, almost no sooner did i get back into the hammock before i felt a huge raindrop-so i immediately unstrapped and got everything to the car before i was completely drenched. i decided to stay and just watch for a bit and see if it passed over. it did, and then i got a call from the para-sail company and they apologized, but they were going to have to cancel because they were having to move all of their appointments back due to the rain, and at the moment there was lightning. boo.

it may have been a good thing though, because when i met shea back at the house, she wasn't feeling great, which means that a ride like that might not have gone so well. she self-diagnosed: sugar overload and dehydration from soccer camp. so i insisted that a nap would do the trick...only...for me a nap is 20 minutes and BOOM! let's go! shea's body doesn't know how to nap apparently, and i didn't want to wake her up, so i just did some work; i worked on this awesome postcard! a postcard that i had to put in an envelope in order to send it off to trish; hopefully she appreciates that!

when shea finally exited her state of hibernation, we went for poppos tacos-not bad! in fact, an excellent dinner to end out the 1st weekend! (regardless that it was monday, shut up).

 tuesday morning, i wanted to get the earliest start possible so that i could get to hellen's before she had to leave for an appointment with her mom.  the drive down to miami was really uneventful. what would miami adventures hold? would it be more like csi miami, or more like miami vice with crocket and tubbs? i am happy to report that it was really like neither! although, i have determined that it could probably never be home for me. big city...dressing up and putting on make-up are not among my favorite things. there is a time and a place, but in my ideal world, every-day-life is not the time, nor the place! (thankfully hellen was still willing to be seen in public with me!)

when i arrived, i heard the voice of an old friend on the other side of the door as it opened, and it was so good to see hellen again! we had just enough time to catch up a little, before she had to take her mom in. i settled in a bit, had some time to do some work. her husband came home with sofi from the daycare, and i got to meet this little firecracker of girl, with the most amazing head of curls! i think part of her personality is wrapped up in those curls!

i was thrilled that jacira and karla were able to carve out some time for dinner-i know there is always so much going on in the summertime, especially with families in town and places to go, etc. so it was great when jacy arrived and we were able to catch up- she has not changed! kind, fun and so caring. nor has karla-funny as ever-she was sharing some great 'mom' stories! we were laughing just envisioning everything!! especially the holes in the yard-omg! we had some tasty mango with salt and pepper-delicious! i have decided that i really need to eat more mango (which is why i purchased and ate some today!). we went to dinner at a great little central american restaurant and a huge appetizer plate with pupusas-ah! yum, i was impressed! but more than anything, it was the company that did my soul good. the funny thing is that saying goodbye is kinda' like see ya later, and it feels like we'll see each other again, sooner than later (i mean, why wait 24 years to reconnect?! ridiculous, i tell ya!).

it had been an especially long time since i'd seen this one-karla had left eis after our 10th grade year-such a joy to see her again!

jacira and i-my spanish-class friend..and just all around friend; i'm betting that part of what makes her a successful teacher is her caring spirit!

riquisimo!

these gals are pretty stinkin' amazing! so glad i got to spend time with them!

i loved being able to stay with hellen, because it gave me a glimpse into normal life-and one doesn't come by these glimpses every day. running errands with people is such a great opportunity to chat and laugh and just share thoughts about what's going on, so i do consider this time precious!

on wednesday, hellen kept sofi home, okay, not really home, because we weren't home most of the day! after the first stop, we decided to go down to miami, lincoln road to walk around for a bit. we took the stroller for sofi and made our way down the road to an area with several restaurants. we opted for rustic pizza, which was delicious! great salads, and even greater pizza! i'm just a sucker for margherita pizza! yum! the only drawback of eating outside is pigeons. pigeons wouldn't be so bad if they didn't strut around pretending that they owned the entire walk! and if they didn't scare sofi so much..not sure if she was scared by them, or merely annoyed.

i had so much fun sharing the back seat with this one for a few days!

you can't really see it, but there is a great little mist sprayer there!

and we got to pose together in front of the coolest wall full of singer sewing machines! 

we left as the sky was beginning to gray-up and there was lightning in the distance. so we began our little trek back to the car, and were trying to remember which parking lot we had left the car in. we located it without too much of a hassle and made our way to the pharmacy to pick something up-sofi's movies were entertaining, and it was hard to believe that by the time we got back to the house, it was so late! we had a little coffee with some sweet bread and just talked-i couldn't even begin to retell what all we chatted about, because i'm sure we were all over the place!

thursday we took sofi to her school and i got to meet her teacher and see her classroom-this was particularly fun because it connects some dots-karla's kiddos had also gone here, and i remembered on fb, hellen had asked for some recommendations about where to take her, and this was one of them. so seeing it made it more real-she's a lucky little girl! she is going to be so prepared for school both academically and socially!

after we dropped her off, we went down to wynwood walls in miami, in search of the actual little park. it was an impressive area! it was fun looking at all of the artwork. we decided that truly, some of the most creative artwork was on the walls of the buildings surrounding the attraction. i love it when townships recognize the importance of revitalization!

check out that wall! i love this girl! 

for lunch, we went to a wonderful little hole-in-the-wall bar and grille that had one of the most amazing hamburgers i have ever tasted! i think part of the secret was the pencil fries and the guava paste, not to mention the sweet potato fries-in love!

best burger ever!! i would certainly go back for another!

we made it back in time to pick sofi up from school and once again, coffee in the afternoon (it's how we do). later that evening, i got to meet hellen's brother and sister-in-law. we went to their home for dinner, although we weren't too hungry due to the amazing burger at lunch. BUT when someone offers you HONDURAN tamales, you don't say no! these are usually a Christmas delicacy, but for whatever reason, they had some and they were willing to share! that was amazing. loved meeting the fam-they are so fun and easy-going!

unfortunately i had to leave on friday--time is always much too short when you're with old friends!
i was in far too much of a hurry to get this posted, and i failed to include one of the most important parts about miami. hellen was a most gracious friend! she wouldn't allow me to pay for any of my meals when we were out-which i was totally not expecting! and she had a gift that she'd meant to send earlier-it was a gift for the boys! including some sweet artwork from sofi! touching! so thoughtful! thank you, hellen for being you! what a treat it was for me!

the drive is short enough to not be long, but long enough to enjoy and unwind. while i was driving through the everglades, i was certainly thankful for the fences around the glades, as the stop and go for wildlife on the road would not be very entertaining. i did look over to one of the ponds and saw an alligator peeking his head out. not nearly as exciting as mayakka state park! ;) i was very impressed by the rest areas, though. almost confused by the roads that wound around and under bridges to get me to it, but impressed none-the-less.

i did appreciate the WAZE app! it took care of things and even re-routed me around a slow traffic area..or so it said. for all i know, it may have just been taking me on the scenic route because it knew i was a tourist. (?) anyhoo, i got to see an area that i was unfamiliar with and then got me into bradenton a little after noon. it was pouring down rain, so i couldn't go to the beach, and shea would be at work until later in the afternoon, so i went to starbucks. while i was there, i worked on my first post about vacation.

and now you are probably wondering, well... how did the last weekend end? and trust me, i will cetainly let you know!

julie