Driving to Miami

Friday is the start of our 31 day cruise.  We are packed and ready to go.  Breakfast at the Metro Diner and then to Sawgrass Marriott to pick up our car.  Well, car is coming from the airport and will not be here until noon.  Bob decided to try Hertz so off we drove to St. Augustine airport to pick up a different car.  While signing the contract, Avis call and said car there.  Oh well.  Returned to our house to get our luggage and head south.

Traffic fine until we got to Palm Beach area and then red line all the way.  We decide to try the Florida Turnpike and headed there.  Much better but once you get to Miami, traffic becomes very heavy.  I could not live with this kind of traffic for long.  Give me quiet Nocatee.

Checked into the hotel here in Coral Gables and then returned the car to the Biltmore Hotel. Took a cab back to our hotel and took our luggage up to our room.  The room is very nice with a king size bed and a separate sitting area.  We unpacked what we need for the two nights we are staying here and then headed to the Lobby Bar for our cocktail.  Bob had a very weak martini and I had the hotel signature drink.  I enjoyed my drink, Bob not so much.

We then headed out of the hotel to look for a place to eat.  We skipped lunch as we needed to get the car back by 5:30 and we were late leaving Ponte Vedra.  Found a nice pizza place and shared a great pizza and a couple of glasses of wine.

Back to the hotel to watch some of the basketball games and then lights out.  Our favorite team is no longer in the tournament but we can still cheer for Florida.  And how about those Gamecocks?

Saturday is the gathering of this large group.  We are visiting Regent Headquarters and then dinner at a local restaurant.  More about that tomorrow.

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