I recently took a vacation to visit my brother and sister-in-law in San Francisco. During the time I was in California, Dave and I went to Miami on a trip with his colleagues which was a reward for the people who had met and exceeded their goals at work. The group stayed at the W hotel in South Beach, where the concierge answers the phone with "whatever, whenever, what is your wish?" We joked that we should call with increasingly unreasonable wishes, to test the veracity of their marketing. But it wasn't really necessary, as the very nature of where we were and what we were doing was much more indulgent than either of us would normally choose for a vacation. In fact, excess was pretty much in excess on this trip. That being said, we took advantage of the chance to relax, eat well, and have fun for 3 days. Here are some highlights.
Our room at the W.
Poolside at the hotel.The hotel was right on the beach, and because of the tropical storm, it was wonderfully deserted.
The water was warm and wonderful, but the surf was pretty intense from the high winds.
Dinner at the former Versace mansion, now "the Villa" by Barton G. Pictures of the dinner to follow in a later post.
The first time I saw the Pacific Ocean, I was 17 years old. It was a cool, sunny, beautiful California day, and the waves were gently coming up onto Stinson Beach. My stepmom and I ran in the water, mounded the sand and wrote messages that washed away in the surf, and frolicked long enough that my brother and dad retreated, cold, to the car. I felt unbelievably excited, and alive, and in love.
The last time I saw the Pacific Ocean, I felt exactly the same way. And every time in between, it has been the same. This time, I got to enjoy watching Adelaide have that same transformation into an alive and joyful girl who couldn't get enough of the water, the waves, the sand, the treasures of the ocean beach. She literally screamed with excitement and alternated running to the water and collapsing to all fours to feel the sand on her body. Joy.
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