I think it was August of 2003 when Clay got accepted into the music production Master’s program at the University of Miami. It was great news, but the catch was that he and Angie would have to leave immediately. Classes were starting right away and within a week, they were gone. I was pretty daggone bummed. Our family is pretty tight and we were all still living within 10 minutes of each other until then. So, I shed a few tears, and then decided that Lianne and I would have to go down and visit them in Miami at some point.
A year and a half later we took an opportunity during Spring Break to fly down and spend more than 5 days with them taking in all that Miami had to offer for fun loving, mostly Christian folks. You can see the pics of the adventure here. Clay and Angie had a list of more than 20 things to choose from for us to do, and we did as many as humanly possible within a 5 day span. As well as squeezing in a few games of racquetball, in which Clay got the better of me. I had forgotten my glove and racquet though, so the results are not official. A rematch is pending.
Clay and Angie both warned us a couple of times about how rude and obnoxious people were in Miami. They claimed that everyone drove like maniacs and nobody was friendly. The driving was indeed very Jehu-like, but we found the people themselves to be decent folk. Even our hosts seemed suprised by their adopted town’s friendliness. A nice gentleman at a neighborhood breakfast diner took this picture our first morning there.
We spent the first day doing some shopping at an outdoor mall, and hanging out at an arcade. We headed in to downtown Miami toward evening and went to Bayside where we ate at Bubba Gumps and walked around down by the water front.
The 2nd day we went fishing off of the keys and had a good time, although we didn’t catch anything huge. I believe that Lianne caught her first fish ever. We hit a Miami renowned strawberry farm where we had some excellent strawberry shakes. We also visited a flea market, which was like walking into a foreign country. That evening we headed down to Miami Beach and walked the strip. It was definitely happening, with throngs of people and tricked out cars all over the place.
On the 3rd day we drove down to the Everglades and hiked through a boardwalk trail with alligators all around it. We left the Everglades and headed to the fruit farm, where we ate a number of exotic fruits, including one that actually coats your taste buds and makes sour things taste sweet. We ate at Hiu’s house that afternoon. He’s a Chinese friend of theirs who loves to cook and entertain guests. That was some good eating. That night we went to the casino in Seminole country and blew a few dollars on the slots. I was hoping to play some blackjack or craps, but they only had tournament poker and slot machines. Lianne enjoyed it though.
The 4th day we went snorkling, which was incredible. Lianne had to get over a little paranoia about being out in the middle of the ocean and breathing through a pipe, but once she relaxed she did pretty well. We saw barracuda, rays, parrot fish, angel fish, and all kinds of other fish and coral. It was a blast.
The whole trip was filled with good times, and good fellowship. We talked about everything and got to know each other even better. Family is family, no matter where they live, and Lianne and I look forward to visiting Clay and Angie again, wherever their travels might take them.
