Impromptu Trip to Florida’s Gold Coast ... Part One

As I was thinking of the lovely Thanksgiving meal we enjoyed with our neighbors, who are more like family to us, I am reminded of how nice it is to share holidays with family and friends. I started thinking back to an impromptu trip we took to Florida a number of years ago. We had our plans cancelled at the last minute, so my husband decided he wanted to go somewhere warm to relax after a hectic year of work and travel.

To the computer I headed in search of the impossible, plane and hotel reservations for the busy Thanksgiving weekend. I found that, if one can be flexible, there are opportunities available, even two weeks before the holiday.

View From Our Room

It did involve a lot of juggling, flights didn’t always jive with hotel availability, but soon I had our trip laid out before us … fly into Fort Lauderdale, three nights on Key Biscayne, two nights near Palm Beach and the last night in Hollywood, convenient to the airport and our early morning departure.

We arrived Thanksgiving evening, rented a car, and headed off to the Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne. When we pulled up, an army (I’m not exaggerating here, an army!) of bell hops greeted us … so many in fact, it made it hard to drive in fear of hitting one of them.

With a glass of champagne in hand, we were escorted to our room overlooking the resort, bay and Miami Beach. We were staying on a discount, so we weren’t on the ocean side, but it was still a lovely view.

Disembarking From Their Cruise Ship

Quickly changing into shorts, we set off to walk the beach before the sun set. Unfortunately, there isn’t much of a beach at this location, but enough to stretch our milky white legs before grabbing a bit of dinner.

It was nice to be in shorts again and to feel the warmth of the breeze brushing softly against our skin. Upon our return to the hotel, we sat at a pretty outdoor area, adjacent to their Mexican restaurant, and enjoyed a glass of wine overlooking a fire pit and the ocean. This was a different kind of Thanksgiving for sure …

As lovely as it was, there was something inside me not quite allowing me to relax. Thanksgiving among swaying palm trees was nothing new to me. I lived many years in Arizona and Southern California. But I just couldn’t help but think it was kind of weird spending Thanksgiving at a hotel near Miami … just my husband and me … no family or friends to toast with and share our dinner. I have to admit, I was also a little preoccupied by thoughts of all there was to do back home in preparation for Christmas and all the entertaining that comes with it, as well as all the upcoming expense … what the heck were we doing here?

Cantina Beach

(It made me hearken back to the year I moved, with a friend, to the Los Angeles area from Connecticut. We were a couple of years out of college and decided we wanted a change … and change we got! Our first Thanksgiving we headed up to Lake Tahoe, staying at Caesars Tahoe, to celebrate the holiday. Having Thanksgiving dinner served to us by ladies in short togas was definitely up there on the weird chart.)

Not in the mood for the turkey buffet, we changed and headed to the Rumbar to listen to music and grab a light bite to eat. We took our glasses of wine back to the room and ended our evening on our little balcony overlooking the lights of Miami Beach with me still wondering ... exactly why are we here????

Stay tuned for part two of our trip ….