Spontaneous Miami Adventure
// SMUDGE - Spontaneous Miami Adventure //
On Easter afternoon I was enjoying some super crisp caesar salad pared with heavenly bruschetta on the side, when I received a text from one of my long time best friends, Tori. She is a flight attendant who currently resides in the fabulous Miami Beach Florida and was inquiring if I would like to take a flight to Miami in the AM. Of course I said yes, simply because there are few things in life that I love more than a spontaneous adventure. Joined by one of my other best friends, Chelsea, I woke up at some ungodly hour and braved the standby life (with standby, you only get to fly if there is an open seat). But luck was on our side and we screamed like kids high on candy when we were informed that we not only had seats on the first flight, but had seats together.
Chelsea and I arrived to typical Florida weather of heat with a bit of rain and instantly stuffed our hangry faces with pizza. Our drive from the airport to Tori’s place was through many soon-to-be-Dexter-victim-esque neighborhoods where every other house was blush pink. I loved it. Tori completely failed to mention that her apartment was flipping awesome and in the wonderful area of Hallander Beach. Located only thirty minutes from South Beach, Hallandale is low key for relaxing, surrounded by walking distance beaches, insane mansions, and is not totally overridden my tourists.
Here are some great Airbnb.com places to stay in that area :
( use my code for $25 off your first booking! )
Our day in South Beach was uniquely fun and I really fell in love with the whole Venice Beach meets Rodeo Drive vibe it has going on. We crashed a couple hotel pools which were glam, relaxing, and hip. Check out the SLS Pool or The Delano Pool (pictured below). Once we had finished our pricey, but delish (and strong), drinks from The Delano we walked right out onto South Beach itself. We pranced around in the not-too-hot-not-too-cold ocean and gathered perfect unbroken seashells which were everywhere.
Before heading back to Tori’s pad to shower the sand out of our private parts, we checked out the Wynwood Art District. It is a paradise for next level graffiti art and had foodie worthy restaurant spots galore. I would love to stay here the next time I am in Miami and attempt at befriending a local tagger.
The nightlife I experienced was just like any other club scene. Maybe I am just getting old but I would rather sit on the couch watching Netflix in a detoxing facemask then go out dancing at this point in my life (ok fine at Club Set the DJ flew overhead in a mini suspended rocket ship). All in all, I really did fall in love with Miami’s beaches and overall vibe. I can’t wait to return for some more exploring and hopefully to see an alligator or two (honestly I was imagining they'd be everywhere).
Written by Melody Kennedy, Edited by Sara Champlain