Sunday, June 19, 2011

Trip Report: Miami, FL. Part-3

Day 2 ended with just sign seeing around Key west. Day 3 was filled with activities.
We thought of going to another one of the beaches. We lost our way and ended up at the southern most tip.
Found a guy selling tender coconuts here. We quenched our thirst with coconut water and headed to a beach
Felt like home with coconut water and a beach
We decided to visit Smathers Beach.
This beach is know for its shallow waters upto a mile. We walked about 1/2 a mile in the water. This beach does not have waves hitting the shore. A lot of activities happen around here. You can either hire a water bike and roam around or you can get a peddling boat or a kayak or a surf board on rent. We decided to hire a kayak
Kayaking is tough as you are fighting against  forces of nature, wind and water. I was scared when ever my kayak was facing sea. I could see just water and got the feeling of being mid-sea and lost. Thanks to wind which turned me back again and I could see the shore. Kayaking was a good experience, though a tiring one.


Saying bye to the beach is a tough task. We said bye like Ross said bye to the room in Barbados. Back to our mundane lives, back to our busy schedules, back to work. It is at times like these we look back to how we forget that we can manage our time well. The division between all these is only in our minds
The fence created when we say, Sorry, no time
And its almost time to plan the next trip, followed by a trip to India

Trip Report: Miami, FL. Part-2

None of us wanted to get up on day-2. We were dog tired by playing in the beach the previous day. After the initial fight of who gets ready first, everyone was ready for more of Miami. After an English breakfast we decided to drive to Keywest, FL. This place is the southernmost tip of the 48 contiguous states of the US.
A group of 4500 islands together are named 'Florida Keys'. So every place we passed through was called something key. More here
The drive to this place is scenic. Its a 160 mile drive. It reminded me of the East Coast Road (ECR) which runs from Pondicherry to Mahabalipuram to Chennai. Its a two lane highway with a lane in each direction, water body on both sides.

The highlight of this road trip is the '7-mile bridge'

Being the holiday season there was lot of traffic on the way to Key west. We took a lot of brakes and clicked pics whenever we found the traffic moving very slowly.
After reaching Key-west we rented out a house (yes, my first independent house stay in the US) and went off to see the sunsetat Fort Zachary Taylor Beach
After clicking 100's of photographs we were off to 'Mallory Sq' for the sunset celebration.
This is a street which wakes up after sunset. There streets are filled with street side vendors selling everything. I would say on a busy day, the night life of Mallory square beats the one in New York.

Part-3 to come soon.
Sunset is an art-work. Every sunset is different. You watch every sun set as if you have never seen one before. The darma in the sky when the sun sets is mesmerizing. Those colors, those cloud patterns, those reflections are all new, everyday. You get a sense of completeness of the day if you watch one. Here is a couple who are in the process of being mesmerized.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Trip Report: Miami, FL. Part-1

A simple way for a trip report this time. I kept tweeting the entire trip to Miami @richtales. Its easy to recount the trip even after  while.
After the hectic packing on Thursday night, I picked up my stuff and went off to office. Plan was to park at the airport and take the flight to Miami in the evening. I reached Miami  by 9 in the night and went off tot he rental place. This city has a nice rental solution, simplified. A bus comes every 5 minutes to the airport. Just hop on and it drops you to the Rental place. The rental place had around 5 floors and a floor with offices of all the rental companies. After hiring a car we went off to our hotel.

Next day was spent just driving around the city. The whole city has this tourist place feel with palm trees lining the roads We headed to the south beach. As the name suggests, this place is famous for its beaches. The waters are multi colored with white sand on the beach. The sea is not deep upto about half a mile here. The wind is mild presenting very small waves ashore. I was a bit over dressed for the beach. I realized this when I saw bikini clad babes sun bathing. I realized this again when I saw the board that read "Caution: Clothing optional on this beach. Beyond this point you may encounter nude bathers"
After playing in the water for about 3 hours we searched for an Indian restaurant and grabbed some food before heading back to the hotel. BTW sand goes places.

This is the end of part 1. Don't know when would the other parts be coming.
The ocean makes you forget everything. you become a child again. You play as if you were just released out of a prison. Time flies by on the beach. You forget all differences to come back with a relaxed feel. The smell of the sea is refreshing. You are tired yet fresh, hungry for more yet content.

You can shout out what you need. You can stare at the sea for hours together without getting bored. The sea never remembers.