After the tedious and often repetitive Q&A we headed
back up to the room to come up with a plan for the night, before we hit the
beach the next day. Unfortunately we failed miserably and drafted in the help of
another of Krystyne’s friends, Andrew. Who was about the same height as Chris,
so finally someone Chris could chat to without having to look down. We headed to a place called Flannigan’s, a pub
chain exclusive to Florida which is conveniently only a stone’s throw from the
campus. We only had a few drinks as it was kind of late but all in all it was a
great time and the $5 bill at the end of drinking was a pleasant surprise.
Thank you America, for “happy hour”, which is actually usually about 3-4 hours
long. So with that paid we walked back onto campus parted ways with Andrew and
headed inside for a cool down and some sleep. Yes I did mean head inside for a
cool down. Here it is surreal you put jumpers on inside and take them off to go
outside. It’s a completely unnatural experience. Before we knew it we were fast
asleep and another day came to a close.
We woke up really late again, for a change and at about 11 we
showered and rocked down to the canteen to eat where we met up again with Cat
who decided to come hang at the beach with us. We had to head to a shop first, as
Chris didn’t own a pair of swim/beach shorts. In true style we got there and
both girls ended up browsing completely unnecessary items, seriously the first aisle
they reached they stopped to browse. It’s ridiculous! Chris on the other hand
quickly picked out a pair and we were set to go.
We headed out to a place called Sunny Isles which is
essentially the same as Miami Beach only a lot less busy and free to park, kind
of. We parked behind a group of stores and walked a short distance onto the
beach. The beach is a typical man made beach, white sand, shallow, crystal
clear sea and beautiful blue skies. It was perfect.
I’m still not entirely sure
where the rest of that day went after that, as by the time we hit the beach,
had a swim and returned the sun was well and truly behind the buildings. Still
it was a nice to hang out with one of Krystyne’s friends and have time to just
do nothing. We made our way back shortly after that and hit up the canteen as
Cat headed off for a shower.
That evening we headed out to a real “dive bar” called Billy’s
and took part in an event known as “kill the keg” Which cost $5 to essentially
have all the beer you can drink until the keg runs dry so again another cheap
night. We also had some food while we were there and it was a lot nicer than I
had expected although still not proper pub grub. We talked and laughed for
hours till the keg was dry and the night settled in. Then it was about time for
us to get some sleep.
On Friday Krystyne had another full day of lectures so Chris
and I decided to head down to the keys to inspect the 7 mile bridge. But as per
usual we woke late and by the time we ate and showered it was fast approaching
2 o’clock so we hit the road running only to get stuck in copious amounts of
traffic a few miles down the road. Progress was painfully slow to the point of
only travelling 3 miles in 30 minutes. Eventually we cleared the last of the
city and entered the keys but by this time we were already running low on
sunshine. We pulled over to try get the Go pro set up to only discover the
battery was low and so we had to just turn it on and hope for the best. It didn’t
work. And worse yet about 25 miles down the road we heard the dreaded thunk as
the GP rolled down the roof. Fortunately the roof bars caught it and gave me
enough time to pull into a lay-by without it reaching the road. After that we
gave up and just headed for the sunset knowing full well that we would lose
light before we reached the 7mile bridge, and that’s exactly what happened. The
sunset was beautiful as we watched it sink beneath the ocean. Shortly after we
hit the bridge and proceeded to cross it. The moon partially illuminated the
structure and again we were in awe of the engineering feet beneath us. Also the
question of “why the hell did anyone want to build a 7 mile bridge. There’s
nothing really down here” came to mind. Once we were over we pulled in to let
Krystyne know we were going to be very late back as the 2 hour drive had taken
nearly 4 already. We pulled out some snacks and filled our faces. Then we
headed back across the bridge, now being able to watch the moon glint off the
sea to our right. But before long we were among the trees that lined the sides
of the highway and could no longer see anything but 2 lane blacktop. The drive
despite being much shorter seemed somehow much longer, so true to my form I filled
my boots with lead and got the hammer down. We made good time despite a slight
hold up as we passed downtown Miami. We were dog tired by now so we decided to
call it a night and get up early on Saturday to hit the beach again.
We woke at about 930 as Krystyne tried to contact her
friends but with no luck. So I stayed in the room while Chris and Krystyne
headed down to breakfast. I just really didn’t feel like eating. They were gone
a fare while so I showered and sorted some clothes out ready to do some laundry
once we got back from wherever we were going. Miami really is all just beaches
and then city with not a fat lot to do within a 3 miles radius of where we are
situated. So upon Krystyne and Chris’s return I was pleased to hear they had
come up with a plan. Wynnwood walls, an area of town covered in graffiti. It
was only a short drive there and so I let Chris take on the challenge of some
city driving with the aid of Krystyne as his navigator. He did well and we
reached our destination in good time and parked up. We wandered around the
streets for a while taking in some really intricate art work which was
plastered over every wall, pavement, lamppost and door. (See below)
We were joined shortly after by some more friends. They
wandered around with us for a while before heading off to find some food. We
carried on walking the blocks one by one, looking at more and more art trying
to understand what, if anything, they meant. We were just about done as the sun
started to set when a police car pulled up a long side me and the window rolled
down and I heard “not from round here are you?” I was a little shocked and
walked towards the car as Chris and Krystyne joined me. “If you go 2 blocks south
of here, you will get shot” he told us. He also went on to tell us that we
would get robbed in the next 30 minutes if we didn’t leave before it got dark.
So we headed straight to the car and hopped in and headed for an Indian restaurant,
yes we finally found curry. (The only thing that I have been in search of since
our first ever grocery shop and have been unable to find) It was delicious if
not a little expensive but I was too happy to care I was full and my craving
had been satisfied, for now at least. From there we headed back to the Uni.
again and called it a night.
Sunday morning we actually were all up early but had to wait
on Krystyne’s friends to text back to see if we were going to all hang out at
the beach or not. At 11 we decided to head down to lunch but when we got there
Chris and I didn’t see anything we really wanted so we headed on to Denny’s
diner which was packed so in failing that and running short on time before we
were meeting everyone, we headed into burger king and grabbed a quick meal
deal, and got back just in time to meet up with everyone. I am useless and only
remember a few names so to be fair I’ll leave names out and just say they were
all really nice and we had a lovely time on the beach again just hanging out,
swimming and sunbathing. Towards the end
of the day the sun disappeared I had assumed it dropped below the buildings but
upon looking up all I could see was storm clouds and just after that a thunder
storm alarm went off. It appears America is scared of thunder and lightning,
well mainly lightning. We quickly
scurried back to the cars and drove back. We’d almost made it when the heavens
opened. I was asked if I was ok to drive in the rain. I laughed and said “I’m
British. The only thing I don’t know how to drive in, is the dry” No one got
sarcasm, apart from Chris. Once we got back I couldn’t help but stand in the
rain. With the heat here it makes rain absolutely perfect so I stood out in it
until the others got fed up with me and they ran ahead while I walked slowly
enjoying my first real heavy down pour in a month.
Once we were back in I said “well
I say this is pub weather” everyone agreed and we planned to go early but
Krystyne had homework to do so more time was wasted doing very little. While we
waited one of Taub’s friends Courtney popped in. We had heard a lot about her
but this was the first time we met her. It was a brief encounter again. There
was some drama going on here. I really wasn’t interested enough to eaves drop
on the conversation. But it kind of made it seem more like an American high
school out of the movies. Eventually Krystyne finished and we headed out to Flannigan’s
again. We ate, drank and reminisced again for hours and hours before knocking
our last night here on the head.
We stepped outside to be greeted by another heavy down pour
which was again nothing more than a minor inconvenience as I didn’t want to
have to do more Laundry. But it was warm so the walk was pleasant enough. Our
week here had disappeared and now we must get back out on the road to head
west. It was lovely to meet many new people and see an old familiar face for
once. We now have 4 weeks to get all the way across to California. Florida It’s
been a blast.