Miami - Downtown (Part 1)

Staying in Miami again after getting back from sailing in the BVI’s - this time in the city proper instead of the beach.

Flying is a bit of an adventure these days.  After a long delay – finally got on a flight but kept circling and not landing.  Apparently, there was lightning directly over Miami International.  They were going to divert us to Tampa (WTF!) but at the last second the storm cleared and we were allowed to land. 

Then when it came time to leave Miami at the end of the week, we got our flight cancelled at the last second and had to stay another night.  When we complained to American about getting reimbursed for the extra night in a hotel room we were not planning to pay, we just got a “we care” letter and pretty much the equivalent of a shruggy emoji.  That is flying these days.

At least we were able to get out of town before the first tropical storm of the season flooded the streets.

The area south of the river is very vibrant with the new buildings and buzzing with shops and eateries. The area north of the river is rapidly re-developing with lots of construction with the old shuttered storefronts giving way to new bars and restaurants.

I had never heard of the Mint House previously but booked a room on Expedia.  They are basically high end AirBnb’s catering to remote workers.  It was surprisingly nice.  We stayed in the Muze at the Met condo high rise right in downtown.  It worked out very well because it had full laundry which was needed after being in the BVI’s for a week.  Also had a great pool, full kitchen, fancy pour over coffee sets, and a nice gym in a great location.  I don’t really need my room serviced so this worked out very well.

One thing that is nice about being here on the east coast for a little while is the guiltless showers.  Being in the middle of the mega-drought out west, it’s nice to not feel bad if you linger in the shower a little longer out here.

The new Brickell City Centre development with the high end mall and condos really changed the landscape of downtown. Everything looks fresh and modern. This development anchors the revitalization of the city in previous decade.

The downtown area continues to develop.  There are a ton of condo complexes being constructed or the land is set aside for them.  The area has a great energy to it which is good to see as some of these areas were very sketchy to be around in the past.  Some areas are still very much in transition but it is much nicer than it used to be.

Something I noticed in Miami is that it seemed like everyone had a dog.

Here is a dog in Whole Foods!

They are all walking in the early evening when the suffocating heat starts to ease.  I’m assuming these are mostly pandemic pups. 

This might be the most dog friendly town I’ve seen as places have to post if they do not allow dogs since it’s the exception.

Chickens running around Miami.

This is not a photo from the BVI’s - this is downtown Miami - and not like the outskirts - this is next to the courthouse.

City is trying to bring life back to some neglected areas - music always helps.

Also checked out Coconut Grove since some people had told me that they redeveloped the CocoWalk area. It still has the same feel but upgraded a bit (fancier eateries replaced the Cheesecake Factory). Still a nice walking district and you can use those CitiBikes to get there and back from downtown as they have stations there. They also had standup paddleboards that you can rent via app like you do the bikes.