This is my first full TR so I'm hoping it turns ot OK. Any questions please post!
Even before my trip I was debating whether to put up a TR. The South Florida thread has so much info and is fully loaded with experiences that mine wouldn't add much. But being that i did go to Nashville as well, i hope this can help some people. Not much went down over the weekend, but too many people asked for a full write up. So here goes.
A month before chanukka I decided to go out for the shabbos most of us have off. Obviously not going home to the midwest where there were reports of there being snow, 6 inches more than New Jersey. I was thinking about USVI but I wanted a community. So i settled on Miami. 7.5 Avios it was. Haven't been there in 15yrs. ‘Bout time to get back. On the way back I decided I wanted a detour. Just one day. I found arriving in Charlotte (HT Snapit) early Sunday and leaving early Monday, which would have been perfect except I wanted to light neiros (it was the last night) in a normal setting. So I ditched plans and found 4k SW from FLL-BNA. Tennessee is my favorite state, and I love country music and all. Then flying back BNA-LGA i could stand to use another 7.5k. As for the car, I originally booked an economy from southwest for $77 Thursday-Sunday. Then I remembered to look at Costco Travel. Scored big there. $38 for same size at Alamo.
Finding flights was the easy part. Was really confused on why my EWR-FLL flight was over 5hrs long. Then I learnt the difference between nonstop and direct. For some reason AA makes it really hard to tell where the stop will be on a direct flight. Most direct flight down south on AA apparently stop in Charlotte. When I checked in they said they couldn't give me an assigned seat. By the gate they called me up and gave me the exit row seat. Not complaining! And the cherry on top was for both flights I had no one next to me despite being almost full! When the plane landed in CLT for reboarding, I was the only one that stayed on so I made use of the empty cabin to daven. Pix are cool, but forgive me for not sharing those…
Coming into the florida air was something I've been waiting for for a while. Clean, crisp, and warm. Alamo had this really nice guy at the desk pretty much giving away cars. T’was right before peak winter season. He was willing to go up to $77 for a full size, which I took. Went out to the garage and picked a ‘15 sports edition of something. But the keys were missing, so a worker there told me to just take the ‘15 Cadillac ATS sitting next to him. You know the one with less than 700 miles on it. Ya, that one.
I had a couple hours to kill, and I was starving so after a quick Google search I made my way over to Emunah Cafe. Nicely set up and right next to Chabad. Perfect. I got fried white fish in some italian style bread with a side of sweet potato fries. All i can say is it was heavenly. It was incredibly fresh and delicious. And the sweet potato fries… crispy.
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on Flickr The perfect type. 5/5. All for less than $14 IIRC. Next was the ‘appointment’. I have read on the forums about some flying experience where you are givin the controls for a while as an intro to flying (I learnt that many flying schools get their students through this). Not a big fan of flying (driving is more my thing) I was apprehensive yet fascinated. I forced myself a booking (HT Groupon). It was expensive but worth it. The guy I dealt was actually the owner of the small airport. (It was in FLL). Not a nice guy at all. Impatient and rude. Anyway we walked around the plane for 20min or so showing me this and that. It was a Cessna 172, called the most successsful aircraft in production. Then we took to the air.
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on Flickr
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on Flickr We had to get clearance to fly over the stdium that the Dolphins play in.
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on Flickr As we got near the water, he gave me the controls. Then over the water he ‘ by accident’ flipped a switch and shut down the engine! I bugged out and went blank untill I looked over at him and he was laughing. He was trying to teach the planes don't just fall out of the sky. Pretty unconventional way to teach such a thing… I didn't have any plans for the rest of the day (thinking the flying would take longer) so I made my way down the scenic route to Miami. Picked up a friend and went to eat at 17 Restaraunt (HT Groupon 50% off). Kind of a cheap setup with high class seating. Wierd. It's a Italian place with sushi so I didn't know what to expect. I started with a French onion soup. Real thick and a ton of flavour. Maybe a little too much. 4.7/5. I'm a huge veggie and salad guy so I went with the most exotic thing I saw. Called the Sacoer ( sah-swah).
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on Flickr Spinach (I opted for half lettuce) avocado, craisins, orange, endive and red onion with mango vinaigrette. Incredibly colorful and great texture with a boom of a sauce. 5/5. Washed it down with an awesome berry smoothie. All was visually appealing. Then off to sleep at tower 41 (15th floor).
When I woke up on Friday, the sky was dark with clouds. Which didn't bode me well as I wanted to be outdoors all day.
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on Flickr But as most know, the Miami weather can (and does) resets every 60sec or so. So after shacharis, as the sky cleared up, I hopped over to Shemtov's for breakfast.
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on FlickrGarden veggie omelet with toast and a berry smoothie. Omelet was dry, could have been better with a touch of cheese inside, but was good nonetheless. 4/5. Drove out to the Everglades. Amazing weather with arguably one of the most picturesque places in Florida makes for a great day. Friend and I took an airboat tour which was awesome. They start with a show on the animals living there, focusing on alligators. It's a small sanctuary, and the animals don't look like they have a lot of room to move. But they seem to care a ton so… The airboat tour was great. Very loud but that's just the experience. And for $9 (HT Groupon) can't go wrong.
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on Flickr Our tourguide (RJ) was very entertaining as well. Everyone there had a great time. And yes, we saw many alligators.
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on Flickr After that we made our way to Wynwood walls. Basically a sprawling neighborhood covered in graffiti.
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on Flickr
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on Flickr Was cool but a bit underwhelming.
Shabbos was perfect (HT Yakrot) albeit a bit hot (yes, even for this time in Miami). I asked around where is there nightlife M’S near the water. Everyone said the same. Lincoln rd. But no one told me it's all full of restaurants and bars and expensive shopping. Nunu, it was cool to walk around (and visit the only Kosher place there, The Freeze ice cream shop). Massive menorah and dreidel made of seashells.
Chanukka '15 by
Odom Lol, on Flickr After walking (and almost a DO) I went to visit a friend I haven't seen in years in NMB. Went to some pizza joint, had an interesting time there. Sunday early morning rolls around. I returned the car (reluctantly) and was on to my next adventure- Nashville!
