Weekend in Miami

On Thursday evening I headed south for a long weekend in Miami, FL. The family fun revolved around my dad's fraternity convention. He is the National President of his fraternity and runs the conference so we made it a little vacation and enjoyed seeing him and all of our fraternity friends. My dad was also elected to a 3rd term as President and it was nice we were able to be there to support him.

I arrived late on Thursday night and caught up with my brother for a while as we unpacked. I slept in on Friday morning and enjoyed a small breakfast before venturing to the grocery store. There's nothing shabby about eating on a patio over looking one of the best golf courses in Miami - the Doral's Blue Monster.

I had a rice cake with crunchy natural PB and a bit of mango and berries and then explored our room. We had a great set up because we did a lot of entertaining of national board members and convention delegates in our room. My brother and I shared a room and then my parents had a room (same set up, king size bed) and a living area. Every room had a balcony overlooking the golf course which was great people and weather watching!

My mom and I headed to Publix, my favorite Floridian grocery store, for some supplies for the weekend and then headed over to see my dad and other folks. Our haul included Food Should Taste Goods, Chobani yogurts, fresh fruit, hummus, and cereal to snack on throughout the weekend.

The afternoon was sunny (the weather was less than ideal because of Tropical Storm Collin) and spent poolside B-) Gotta love it.

Friday evening during a rainstorm I worked out. 10 minutes on the bike, 20 minutes of weights, 6 minute on the elliptical (!!) to cool down.

Friday night was the opening dinner and hanging out. I had coleslaw with cabbage, raisins, pineapple, broccoli, and chili (which was over a baked potato that I didn't eat).

Saturday morning I was up and at 'em to get in a workout before my pool day. I did a hot 3 mile walk on the jogging trail that circled the Blue Monster. My breakfasts were Chobani yogurt, fruit, and honey rice Puffins. Simple, filling, gluten free, and delicious. I split mine up to end with the yogurt so I wasn't exercising with dairy in my stomach and I was glad I had done so.

After my snack I ended up back in the gym to work out with my mom. I did another 2.5 miles on the bike plus abs and kettle bell exercises. Holy crap - when Bob and Jillian make Biggest Loser contestants do kettle bell moves I knew they were good. I had no idea just how great they were though - before I left the gym I was feeling my quads, hamstrings, abs, and back. I have a new torturous love :)

We lunched with some of the other women who came to the convention in a restaurant on the property. I got a simple Tex-Mex salad with black beans, veggies, no cheese or tortilla strips and balsamic on the side.

We got another afternoon poolside, with sunshine on and off. When the storms finally arrived we called it a day and my mom, brother, and I hung out. We snacked on some fresh fruit, Food Should Taste Goods, and hummus. I've shared my obsession with those I love most!

On Saturday night we all attended the big banquet dinner. It was wonderful to see so many of our friends and hang out. They also honored a staff member, Bill, who has been involved with the fraternity for 55 years! My dad has been involved for about 30 so it's crazy to think about the legacy that exists. As a Greek enthusiast, I was very inspired and touched by the way they honored Bill.

Dinner was a simple salad and then skirt steak with mashed potatoes, asparagus, and black bean puree. They brought a chimichurri sauce which I had on the side. I ate maybe a fifth of the steak (it wasn't great), my veggies and puree. The potatoes tasted a bit off. That's conference food for ya though. At least it was all gluten free! It seems like my camera ate the picture of my martini... It was good though!

Yesterday was my rest day and originally was supposed to be all-day-by-the-pool day. The weather had other plans in mind though. In between storms in the morning I finished the last of the magazines I brought with me, did some GMAT studying (yes, I schlepped my 5lb book with me on vacation), and hung out with some friends before lunch.

The rain stopped in the afternoon and our group spent the time swimming, hanging out, and relaxing. This ended up being a computer-free weekend and I only checked Facebook and Twitter sporadically. That was a huge vacation for a technology fiend and my eyes and brain appreciated the break!

We ate at a place called the Ale House for dinner. It reminded me of a Road House type place with your typical American fare like Chili's or something. To say I was not impressed was an understatement. Our waiter was not very attentive, ignoring half of our party at first. When we reminded him we were all together he simply said "I know" while walking away again. I got the "Key Lime" summer salad which had black beans, corn, and veggies. It was iceberg lettuce, black beans and  corn, not so many other veggies, and just pretty blah and unimpressive.

The restaurant was also so cold that we all were shivering the whole time. When we asked if they could make it slightly warmer inside, we were told that they like to keep the servers comfortable and we shouldn't complain. Customer service much?

We hung out, packed, and attempted to get to bed at a reasonable hour as we all had early morning flights today. 

It was a whirlwind trip but a much needed and deserved one. I had a great time with my family and friends and enjoyed getting out of DC for a few days. I'm not used to such a lack of travel over the summer ;-)

I'm going to enjoy the rest of my day off, prepare for my week, and maybe take advantage of the DC sunshine that seemed to be lacking for part of the weekend.

I love vacation.