I love the beach

Why have I stopped going to the beach? Honestly, because it’s been so hot and the seaweed in Miami has been awful. But, this past weekend reminded me just how much I love it, seaweed and all.

I captured this pretty pinkish sunset while we were in downtown North Miami last Friday night.

I want to start off with last Friday night, when I was back at Burgers & Shakes because Vance really wanted to check it out and who am I to say no? We walked over and had dinner there. This time I had their classic cheeseburger and Vance got their chicken burger (which is really a chicken sandwich with avocado). We brought a burger, fries and a shake back for Nick. We also looked around the NoMi Night Market at the MOCA Plaza where I bought some great hummus.

Saturday afternoon I stopped by Sandrell Rivers Theater to watch one of the Vida Fest workshops in action and meet the founders of Carne Viva Dance Theatre in person. They were so happy to see me and it was great to watch the dance/movement workshop and experience what I wrote about in the article I shared on this blog last week. Also, I mention SRT often in this blog because it is such a hidden gem where they present such a variety of cultural events and I want people to experience what they do there.

Vance and Nick’s friend Geno at Bird Bowl for Christian’s birthday party.

Later that afternoon while Nick was at a birthday party at Bird Bowl, Vance and I checked out Lincoln’s Beard Brewery which is also off Bird Road in Westchester. We sat at the bar and both ordered the Red Amber Ale draft and snacked on their chicken thigh nuggies they sell from a little stand in the back and although they were really good, were a tad salty. It was a really nice afternoon date.

Vance, Elizabeth and I at our favorite spot, 95th St. and Collins - Surfside beach.

Sunday we were happy to see Elizabeth who was in town for the weekend. We spent a few hours with her at the beach and then… yes… we went BACK to Burgers & Shakes at her request and c’mon, how could we say no to that!

Monday I did my weekly volunteer deliveries with Food Rescue in the morning and Good Samaritan Meals at night, which I’ve been doing for six years now.

Glorious trees at Enchanted Forest Park in North Miami.

Turtle sighting from the little bridge at Enchanted Forest Park.

Tuesday morning I went for a very humid, but beautiful walk at Enchanted Forest Park. Then that night, Nick and I went to my sister Susy’s house to celebrate her birthday. Her daughter Elena made a fantastic dinner of mussels and pasta with caprese salad and of course we had birthday cake and ice cream for dessert.

Thursdays I am now volunteering with Nourish Miami where we prepare 300 individually packaged meals that are then delivered to places like the Overtown Youth Center, Village Freedge and to a few centers in Little Haiti. It’s back breaking work, unloading pans, sorting and labeling, getting things in assembly line order to then begin packing and then the clean up but the people are great and it’s a great mission. The mission is similar to Food Rescue’s where they use leftover food from Capital Grille and CookUnity to make the meals, food that would get thrown away otherwise.

Today, Nick and I are hitting the road and heading to Merritt Island for the weekend and hope to see my niece Nicole and her family for dinner tonight, possibly our friends Raquel and Darryl who live in Orlando, for dinner tomorrow and visiting our friends Michelle and Kevin at their new house in Port St. Lucie for pool time and barbecue on Sunday on the way home. Somewhere in there I’m sure we’ll squeeze in some pool time at the townhouse and perhaps visit Jetty Park with Elizabeth whose going to drive over and spend the night at some point.

Now here are some of my recommendations, which you know have become a regular part of my weekly blog…

A few weeks back I told you about Casa Ylang Ylang and their weekend events but I wanted to let you know there’s many more cool spots down south in The Redlands and Homestead and the person who can tell you about them is Sandra Di Carlo Valdez. I met Sandy years ago when we were both regulars at restaurant openings. She’s since shifted her focus and now loves finding cute, homey, lesser known places in those areas. Click here to check out her Instagram account.

If you’ve never been or haven’t been in a while, make a point to visit Venetian Pool for a refreshing dip during these hot summer days. I’ve been meaning to get there myself and hopefully I can next week some time but I just want to mention and remind you what a special place this is.

And if you happen to be in Coral Gables this weekend, get to Giralda Avenue and check out their new Giralda in Bloom public installation. You can read about it by clicking on the link above.

Now here are some parting shots before I bid you farewell until next Friday when I’ll be back with more stuff!

Me in my new glasses. They’re red and green which means I’m ready for Christmas!

Lovely little blue jay visiting the back yard.