The Dolphin Dance

Happy 07 to everyone! We've already disposed of the skeletal Christmas decorations we put up, and are ready to enjoy the new year with gusto! Steph, my daughter, and her husband, Bob Walker, just left after a wonderful weeks' stay. We drove them to Miami where they caught their flight back to Los Angeles...Miami is a FABULOUS city. The 4 of us braved the South Beach crowds early on New Year's Eve, and strolled past blocks of Euro style outdoor cafes. Ocean drive, the wide boulevard between the many hotels and the beach, is closed for New years Eve and the streets were full of roller-bladders, people on scooters, other touristas, and THE beautiful people. We
enjoyed watching everyone as they crowded South Beach in preparation for the big night's celebrations...However, we did not want to get caught in the mayhem so, we then proceeded to "Little Havana" for a cup of "gordito Regular" (Cuban Coffee) and a beef empanada...Steph is fluent in Espanol so it made it fun for us as she rattled off our orders in Spanish (guess we'll have to dust off our Spanish tapes if we want to spend more time in Miami) We were the only Anglos at the coffee house, Versailles, which serves as a gethering place for the many Cubans living in Miami. It's a restaurant, bakery, and catering service. You can walk up to an outside bar to order your coffee. Many of the Cubans linger outside..visiting with each other.
The Cuban men wore fedoras , smoked cigars and drank the really stong coffee while they chattered animatedly.
The beautiful woman all decked out in gorgeous clothes and high heeled shoes strutted by (eyeing our "crocs" and birkenstocks with disdain) We all love the "vibe" in Miami...its a diverse, interesting beautiful city and Tom and I plan to spend time there when we bring the boat back from the keys....so more later..
While Steph and Bob were aboard "Cloud Nine" we were lucky to be visited by a pod of Dolphins. We were cruising off Pine Island and all of a sudden we looked off the bow and four dolphins were swimming with us...they frolicked and performed for us for about 20 minutes. We all clapped and talked to them as they piroueted for us, hoping the hype about how sensitive and in tune with humans dolphins are is really true. They are beautiful creatures and its a thrill to see them out in the water versus in an aquarium.
We're now back on the boat. It's quiet without the kids, but also time for Tom and I to re-group and have a peaceful night at home...yes, the boat really is home now...Goodnight