One of the most surreal things about this trip to Miami Beach has been all the random connections we’ve encountered. This trip was scheduled to include five people from Charlotte and two from Cocoa, but has grown so much beyond that.
On the afternoon we arrived, our friend Danielle met up with some of us at the airport. We know Danielle because she used to date my so-called little brother Damon, and the two of them joined us on a group adventure in Atlanta. Danielle has since visited us in Charlotte, and lives not too far from Miami, so she arranged to transport half of us from the airport.
Monday night, our friend Conan (who lives in Titusville but has been working in Miami) stopped in to visit for a few hours. We enjoyed some good quality time at the pool, rented a bad movie, and chilled with the gang.
Thursday afternoon, lounging on the beach, I was idly thumbing through Facebook updates when I saw our friends Mark and Kaulin, from Austin TX, were visiting West Palm Beach. That’s a fairly short drive to Miami, and Sal and I hadn’t seen them since May of last year, so they made the trek down to join us for dinner and wandering around South Beach.
Saturday afternoon we met up with our friend Andy, who we knew from New York City but who lives in Miami now. We were coincidentally a few blocks apart on the beach, so we joined up and had a very brief reunion.
Even more brief was Saturday evening, when our friend Charley (who I knew from Charlotte) and his boyfriend Mike were down in Miami for the weekend, instead of their home in Orlando. Turns out they are down here looking at homes on South Beach, and Charley had seen my Facebook status and knew I was down here. They stopped by to say hello before getting ready for the evening festivities.
It’s been a truly remarkable trip, seeing lots of people through random coincidences, and enjoying lots of quiet leisure time on the beach. I’m very relaxed, if a little sunburned.
I’m going to be sad to leave.
I’m sad I’m not there! Glad you guys are having a great time…miss you!