south beach, bringin' the heat.

in an effort to keep my reading relevant, and on the heels of reliving the gilded age in newport, i decided to head next to miami, the closest i could get to cuba without violating embargoes and/or my love of capitalism, and (re)read the old man and the sea.

ok, fine, that's not why i went to miami, but i did go to miami (and west palm beach) this past week. nothing like florida in august! let's be honest, west palm beach was kind of a letdown. i forgot that it's made for old people and golfers. the nightlife was... nonexistent. we thought we'd missed the downtown, but it turned out we drove right through it. oh well. i have higher hopes for palm beach in the winter when it's... POLO SEASON!

i did, however, really enjoy the John D. MacArthur Beach State Park. right in the midst of condo-filled north palm beach, it's got a beautiful beach (Photo taken through my sunscreen-streaked phone):



with nary a tar ball in sight, and beautiful, warm, clear water. i wish my skin were better suited for the sun, but after two hours and several applications of spf 50-80, i was spotting new freckles by the second. and i had to go. to get to and from the beach, you cross this beautiful freshwater area, full of all kinds of waterfowl, giant catfish, and schools of other fish jumping out of the water. they promised manatees, but i didn't see any.



i also was too hot to take advantage of the nature trails, but i'm sure they were lovely... and a bargain with admission at $5 a carload! seriously, if you find yourself in the area i would recommend stopping by.

and, while i am a long-avowed hater of florida stemming from the Great Blistering Sunburn of 2001, i did really like miami. it had such a nice latin american feel with empanadas in the bakery and ... the mojitos, oh the mojitos. darnit, massachusetts, why'd you have to go outlaw happy hour? what's so wrong about 2-for-1 pint-sized mixed drinks at 11 am? not a darn thing. in the end, this tried-and-true new englander almost became a convert. but, i had a little friend waiting for me at home (and a pesky commitment to residency) so here i am.



[in the interest of full disclosure, i did start the old man and the sea, but i haven't gotten very far.]

addendum: the park is on jack nicklaus drive, and while i do know who jack nicklaus is, i have to ask... does anyone else picture this when they hear that name?


... anyone?