So, this vacation was pretty much amazing. The only thing that would have made it better (and it would have made it 8000 times better) would be if S. had been able to join me. I managed to catch an earlier connecting flight in, which was nice – I got to my hotel around 3, only a little buzzed from drinking a cocktail on my business class flight. My room wasn’t clean yet, so I was asked to take a seat and they’d call me when it was ready. After about 25 minutes of waiting, the woman at the counter looked at me and said “oh no! You’re still waiting!” Apparently she had forgotten all about me. I wasn’t too peeved, because there was another family waiting for the whole time I had been waiting as well. I knew they were completely sold out for the night, and these things can take a while. They however were not pleased that they had left me waiting, so they upgraded me from my king suite with a water view on the 11th floor (which was also an accessible room), to a “more comfortable” 2 bedroom suite on the top floor with a partial water view, partial city view. It was AMAZING. Not only did I have a gorgeous kitchen, living/dining room with a 42” plasma TV, but also a huge bedroom with a king bed, a second bedroom with two queens, but my favorite part of all – a balcony in full sun! Most balconies have people above them, so you only get sun part of the day, but this South facing room was not blocked by any overhead balconies, or tall buildings, because it was top floor. Looking at the fire escape floor plan, there was only one room that was the same size on the floor. They upgraded me to the best room in the hotel! For someone who loves hotels, this is a pretty nice thing to do. As I sat on my balcony, I could see the pool below in the shade, and I was so very pleased that I had full sun. Whoo hoo. Having a hot shot boyfriend who is a platinum hotel member gets you some nice upgrades :] Thanks S.!

The first afternoon I spent sunning myself, swimming in the pool, eating delightful asian food, and ended the day with a stroll down the beach. The next morning I woke up for a repeat, reveling in the greatness of my hotel until 11:58 (there was a 12 o’clock check-out). I spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach (I have the sunburn to prove it), walking through the trendy district of downtown, browsing the fancy menswear stores for ties for S. (why is it so hard to find fashionable thin ties?), and enjoying massive amounts of carbs and a glass of wine at the Cheesecake Factory. S. would be appalled that I ate at chain restaurants, but in a strip of $25 plates, Cheesecake is a nice affordable option.

I spent the late evening in my hotel, watching a documentary on Miami’s drug trafficking history with cool interviews by guys who either spent tons of time in lock-up, or who are still there now. Fascinating. I love tough guys. I would much rather work with the rough-and-tough crowd than the nauseating rich housewives whose internal problems revolve around how to best redecorate, the hardened criminals are just so fascinating (and infuriating), I love a challenge!

I am now feeling totally sunburnt (my poor chest is a deeper red than I thought possible for person’s skin to turn), and I am stupidly happy and recharged! I think I can deal with whatever Puxatone Phil throws at us for the next few weeks :]