Day Twenty-Seven: Back to My Hometown

By the time I walk Lyla and pack its 10am and no one is serving breakfast in Charleston.  I find my way to Dixie Supply Bakery and Cafe, where I order eggs.

On the road, I finish the Help and return to War and Peace.  This time I am able to pay attention.

Eleven long hours on the road and I arrive in Princeton at my parents house, where I quickly find my way to bed.  Long day.

The snow in the driveway when I arrive



Day Twenty-Six: Charleston, SC

Goodbye Miami

I give Chris a big kiss on the cheek and say, "I don t want to leave but it's time for us to go."  I didn t want to wake Jay up to say goodbye but Chris said he would be upset if I didn t say good bye, so I come to his bed and give him a big hug.

Chris and Jay's apartment buildingI've enjoyed the vacation and it has been fun, but I've hit the point where I have trouble justifying what I am doing here. I don't want to lose sight of what I am trying to accomplish. I can t see the world if I stay in Miami and its time for me to go. I need to move on. Back to NYC.

After 9 hours on the road, we arrive in Charleston, SC. I check into the Vedune Inn, one of three hotels in historic Charleston that allows dogs. The Inn is quaint. We have a fireplace and a comfortable bed.

I head out to get a bite to eat and Nick at the front desk offers to watch Lyla while I am out. Charleston is a nice town, but it's dead. Nick at the Inn tells me that it picks up in March but it's usually quiet now. Virginia, my bartender/server at Amen Street, tells me that between January and Valentine s day, it's pretty empty but it gets packed on the weekends. No wonder I got such a great rate at my hotel plus an upgrade to a king with a fire place.

Lyla at the Vedune Inn

I order the Mahi Mahi and turn to the gentleman next to me and ask, "What does one do here on a Tuesday night?" His name is Walt. He was in real estate development and he lost everything in the crash. I learn that Charleston was hit pretty badly in the crash. He is trying to get back on his feet. He is here with Jeb, his business partner. They are in law school together but they don t want to be lawyers.

"I was paying my lawyer $100,000 a year.  After the crash there wasn t much for us to do, so I spent that money on school instead," Jeb explains. Jeb went to Clemson and worked in proprietary trading for a firm here in Charleston. He saw the excitement in private equity and he wanted to get in on the action, but he didn t think anyone would hire him, so he went out and tried to buy companies on his own.

"How did you plan to finance the buyout?" I ask.

"We were just looking for the company. We decided we would figure out the financing later," he responds. They looked at a variety of companies, mostly companies that provided blue-collar services, such as plumbing.

Eventually, they found a trucking company, with steady cash flows and earnings that was based in Tulsa, OK. They valued it at $32mm. It was a family owned company. The father wanted to retire and cash out but leave the company to his sons to manage. The family signed a letter of intent with Jeb and his friend to buy the company. Jeb convinced them to help with the financing by providing an $8mm seller note. They brought in a large private equity firm in New York. They were ready to close and then Lehman went bankrupt, the world changed and their senior loan stepped out. Three years later, they closed the deal for $32mm. Jeb explains that the amount didn t change because the business is not a typical trucking business. The trucks pick up and replace huge oil tanks, so until pipes replace the current transportation of oil in the South, business should be constant.

The moral of Jeb s story is that you don t need to work for someone else in order to get to where you want to be. If you can gain someone s trust and sell him on your commitment and ability, he will want to do business with you.

Jeb and Walt recently bought a cloud computing company. Walt and I discuss the bubble, and he explains why he gambled away his fortunes. In order to not pay taxes on the money he made developing real estate, he reinvested it in new real estate development project. "I won my chips and put them back on the table," he says. He tells me what it is like to have money, get comfortable in your way of life and then lose it all. Walt says, "Life always brings you back to your true self. Having money can move you away from it, but you always come back"

After dinner, I come back to the Inn and I tip Nick for watching Lyla.

On my walk with Lyla before bed, I hear Nick behind me. "Don t be scared, I am not following you, I just wanted to find you before I took off. I didn't look at what you gave me when you did and I just did and it's too much," he says.

"No, no," I say. "You have been so good to us. You watched Lyla for three hours." He also gave me an upgraded room.

"She just slept the whole time, it was no problem at all. That s just southern hospitality ma'am," he responds.

Every person I ve met here in the past 5 hours has been so nice. This city may lack the glamour and excitement of New York, but they do have southern hospitality.

 

Day Twenty-Five: My Car Is Towed

Jay emerges from the bedroom wearing Chris’ fancy shoes.  He plans to wear them to his new job today.  He starts training.  Chris begins training on Tuesday.  They will be working together at Forge until April when they head back to New York.

Chris sees Jay wearing his best pair of shoes and asks, “Don't you have shoes?”

“They have a wood sole. They make too much noise,” Jay responds.
Chris thinks for a moment.  “Well these are loud too.” He turns to me, “I like to be heard.”  He turns back to Jay.  “What about the converse? They're black.”

Jay looks up at Chris with disgust. “Converse!?!” He shrieks.

Before dropping Chris off at work, I decide its time to go.  I love Miami but I got that itch asking, "what's next?"  Time to change the scenery.  I would like to be in New York this weekend so I am going to start making my way back.

“We want you to stay, but I get it.  I’m bored here.  That’s why we want to go back to New York.  I can’t blame you,”  Chris says.

I pack up the car and Lyla and I hit the road again. I turn the radio on and I'm Coming Home is playing.

I’m coming home, I’m coming home.  Tell the world I’m coming home.

I feel the warmth of the sun and shiver when I imagine the weather in New York. I am going to miss the sunshine.

It's 3:10.  Miami rush hour traffic.  I am crawling along Dade Blvd.  Before I get on the causeway, I look at my navigation, which tells me that I can expect to arrive at 12:03am.  Add another hour for the traffic and it isn’t hard to justify staying one more night.  I turn around, call Chris.  I'll leave tomorrow morning.

I join Chris at the Standard.  He is working, technically, but it is so quiet that he spends his time hanging out with me.  

Later in the evening, Chris and I pick Jay up on Flamingo drive as he is walking back from work.  I ask the boys what I should do about parking.  Their lot is a tow away zone.  They tell me to park there for now and they will try to find their parking sticker.  We run upstairs.  I notice Lyla finished her food so I run down to the car to get some more. I look at the spot where I left my car ten minutes ago.  It's gone.  I run back upstairs. Jay calls the number on the sign. We head to Collins to hail a cab.

Chris and Jay at the Tow Company

Our cab pulls in front of the tow company.  Chris is wearing his pajamas, Jay is wearing his work clothes and I am wearing a sundress and wedges.  We look like an unlikely bunch.  We knock on the window and a large pale woman with tattoos comes out of an office and stands behind two layers of glass, which appear to have protected her in the past.

I ask Chris to escort me to my car.  “Only one person!” a large man yells. 

“No! I'm not letting her go by herself," Chris says.  The man comes after me and grabs my arm. 

The lady behind the two layers of thick glass comes out and yells at the man, “It’s fine!  They can go.”  Before we leave the lot, we decide to put the top down.  Chris blasts Firework by Katy Perry and Jay hops in the back. 

We didn’t make it out for a drink.  Getting my car towed could only be this entertaining and fun with Chris and Jay. 

On the drive back, Jay reads on his phone that they pay homeless people to report vehicles that park in tow away zones, which explains the quick response time.  I park in a metered lot at the beach.  I’m not getting towed again.

How many New Yorkers does it take to pay a parking meter?



Day Twenty-Four: Hooping

We hear bongos as the sun is setting.  “Let’s go play with the hippies!” Chris suggests.  I follow him to the grass area behind the fire pit.  On the grass, there is a row of about ten people sitting and playing the bongos and other instruments.  The leader is chanting, “We will not wait… to celebrate.”  The girls have flowers in their hair.   Everyone else is hula hooping.

“Chris, come do the hula!” a lady in purple exclaims.

Chris and I give it a try.  I haven’t hula hooped for years.  I can’t remember the last time I did it, but I think it was in grade school.  After failing to keep it going a few times, I finally start to get the hang of it.  Then I move my hips to the beat of the bongos.  Jen teaches me how to spin the hula around my arm and down my body.  This is so much fun.  

The Leader

The sun falls and the sky is dark.   We come together and hold hands in a “harmony circle.”  The leader tells us that the best thing we can do for ourselves is to ask others, “How can I help you?”   He continues, “To connect with other people is the closest thing you can find to heaven on earth.”  I agree.  I am so fortunate to have connected with so many good people on my trip.

I am sitting with Chris and Jay having dinner and a hostess comes over and tells Chris that the gentleman in room 18 would like his mini bar empty.  The man is threatening to throw all of the mini-bar food out the window.  The mini bar attendant only works until 5, so Chris sends Nick, one of the waiters, to room 18 to take care of the situation.  Nick walks in and the guy is in the room.  The mini bar food is spread across the floor.  “He was such a queen,” Nick explains.  Some of the stories I’ve heard from Chris and Jay are jaw dropping.

When Chris worked at the Standard Grill in New York, a lady punched him.  She walked in, acting normal.  After a few drinks, she began to ask Chris and then others at the bar, “Why won’t anyone sleep with me?”  Then around 3am, she proceeded to flash her breasts.  Chris had to remove her from the bar, but she wouldn’t leave.  They had to pull her from the bar, but she was hanging on.  When the cops came and questioned her, she pointed to Chris and shouted, “Lord of the Gays! Lord of the Gays!”



Day Twenty-Three: Twenty-Somethings and Hotel Drama

Inez left my room at an inopportune time and runs into her manager. 

"He is going to fire me!"  she says.
"Don't worry about it.  I'll talk to him.  Chris will talk to him.  You're fine," I assure her.

He doesn't fire her, but he does tell her, "Inez, I wouldn't have expected this from you."  He also asked her what she was doing with a VIP.  I'm not sure how I got the VIP status, but I'll take it.  I think it may have something to do with Kate's big pink hat that I've been wearing around and my cute puppy.  I know everyone here already. 

VIP here

In the fire pit, I meet some Miami locals; Jen, Natalia, Ryan and Daniel.  They tell me about what they like to do in Miami.  Ryan is a member, so they come here.  Ryan likes to keep it low key.

By the pool I am talking to Daniel.  “You meet some interesting characters in this town,” he says.  He points over to Ryan, who he grew up with here in Miami, “he is a porn director,” he says, “and Natalia, she is a porn star.”  I ask about Jen.  “She’s just her friend, I don’t know,” he says.  “You meet some interesting people here,” he says.

He is in the same place as me right now.  He is 25, in his last semester of law school, but he doesn’t want to be a lawyer.  He doesn’t know what he wants to do. 

It’s a common phenomenon for twenty-somethings.  A few weeks ago I read an interesting article about our age group as a unique development phase.  Click to see the article: What Is It About 20-Somthings; Why are so many people in their 20s taking so long to grow up?

I am not the only one at this place in my life.

I come out of the shower and Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes is playing on my iPod while Lyla sleeps on the couch. 

Home, let me come home.  Home is wherever I'm with you.

I dance and sing to Lyla.

I decide to show Jay and Sammy some love.  They are working at the Royal tonight.  I get dolled up and head to the Royal for dinner.   When I get back to the Standard, I meet Chris’ friends Paul and Andre from New York.  Andre and Chris worked together at the Standard in New York.  They explain how this Standard is run very differently than the Standard in New York.  Sammy comes by on the Vespa and we head out.  Chris, Andre and Paul plan to go to a gay bar.  While I love these boys, I am not too keen on that plan.  Sammy plans to meet some friends at the W, so I join him.

Paul, Andre and Chris

Having stayed at five hotels in the past three weeks, I’ve gained a new understanding of the industry.   My new friends, who are hosts, managers and waiters, have given me another perspective of the industry as well.  It is hard work.  They notice, more than anyone, the difference between good service and bad service. 

The service at the Standard is really bad.  Waiters forget your orders and you need to ask four times to get anything you need.  “They are incompetent!”  Chris tells me.  He hates managing people that don’t listen.  He deals with drama between staff all day. 

At the W, I feel as though I’ve returned to the Miami in which I started, my first night here at Vita.  Scantily clad girls with rich men or men pretending to be rich.  I've been told that people in this city are very insecure.  It breeds this culture.

Day Twenty-Two: A Newfound Travel Buddy

I am spending the afternoon with Inez from the front desk.  It is her day off.  I picked her up at the beach and brought her back to the Standard, where she works. 

She is in the bathroom trying on my dresses. 

Me, Inez and Lyla at the StandardShe plans to go to Rio next week and then travel around South America, so we are going to travel together for some of the trip.  “For the first time, I am living,” she tells me on our drive to the Standard.  She also plans to start a blog about her travels. 

She comes out of the bathroom in my purple Alice and Olivia dress and she looks great.

She is very nervous while hanging out with me where she works.  I tell her its fine and that she can order a drink and sit by the pool.  Apparently the staff is not supposed to be at the pool or drink.  “Today, you are not staff, you are my guest,” I tell her. 

This is how we leave Lyla before heading to dinner

After a dip, we plan to meet Jay and Chris for sushi at Bond Street.  It takes twenty minutes for the cab to come.  A young gentleman is about to take our cab.  “Where are you going?” I ask.

“South beach.  How about you?” He says.

“Same, Bond Street,” I reply. 

We all get in and he tells us that he is going to Bond Street too.  His name is Morgan and he is from Montreal.  He is in the leather testing business.  He tests the quality of leather for large stores, such as Saks, Sears and Wal-Mart.  He is here by himself and going to Bond Street on a recommendation from a friend. 

"I really am planning to go to Bond Street," he says.  I am a little confused why he is telling me as if I wouldn't believe him.  I ask him to explain.  "I didn't want you to think that I just said that I was going to Bond Street because you pretty girls said you were going there.  I really was planning to go there," he says.   He plans to eat at the bar by himself so we invite him to join us.   

Inez, Chris and Jay at Bond StreetJay and Chris are sitting at the table when we arrive.  Chris is eyeing the table of men behind us, a man in a black polo shirt in particular.  "Are they gay," I ask.

"Totally," Chris replies.

Jay turns to Chris.  "She is the best thing I've found in Miami," he says pointing to me.   My heart warms. 

Me and Inez on the swings in front of Bond StreetChris orders for everyone.   Inez and Chris get to know each other and so do Morgan and Jay.  We all laugh and have a great time.  I feel good about bringing this group of people together.

As we get up to leave, Chris decides to give the man in the black polo his number.  “I’m so nervous, I can't do it” he tells me.

“Give it to me.  I’ll take care of it,” I say.  He goes upstairs with Jay, Inez and Morgan and I stay behind and introduce myself to the men at the table behind us.   I say to Todd, the man in the black polo, “my friend thinks that you are very handsome.”  I explain that Chris is a little shy.

 “Which one?” He asks.

“One moment,” I say.  I go upstairs to find Chris and bring him back for an introduction.  Chris and Todd chat for a while and exchange information.  Chris is glowing as we leave.  He has a crush.

Jay, Chris, me and Inez at the Shore ClubWe stop in the Shore Club, which is pretty dead.  Sammy texts me and asks what’s going on.  I tell him to meet us at the Raleigh.  He scoots up the drive in his classic white Vespa.  He is dressed to the nines; shoes polished, jacket crisp and tie colorful.  Sammy always looks sharp.    Jay hops on the back of the Vespa and rides off with Sammy to the Standard.  Inez, Chris and I follow them in a cab.

Chris gets us a bottle of Champaign and we go for a swim.  Lyla joins us.

Inez is staying with her grandmother, who lives twenty minutes away, until she leaves for Rio next week.   I tell her that she should just crash with me tonight. 

See more pictures

Day Twenty-One: Spa Day

Every morning that I am supposed to leave, I decide to stay.  Originally I was going to leave on Monday, but then my mom decided to come to Miami, so I planned to stay with her at the Loews until Tuesday.  The blizzard and ice storm up north compelled me to stay Tuesday night, when I moved into the Raleigh.  Meeting my new friends Jay, Chris and Sammy compelled me to stay Wednesday night, when I moved to the Standard.

Chris and Lyla

I’ve moved from Raleigh to Lowes to Raleigh to the Standard in the past four nights.  At this point, I might as well stay for the weekend.  My friends John and Doug from New York invited me to go skiing this weekend and Alanna invited me to a Superbowl party on Sunday.  I miss my friends and I want to see them, but I want to stay here and I can’t go to California before leaving for Colombia because I need to be in New York for my interview with John on the 13^th, 14^th or 15^th of February. Plus, it’s another beautiful day.

So I might as well stick around, right?

Chris brings me to the front desk and we talk to Inez.  She gives me an upgraded room and I settle in until Sunday (at least, for now).  Inez tells us of her plan to go to South America, by herself.  “No way!” I say, and I find a potential travel buddy.  We facebook, text and plan to meet for drinks to discuss.

I spend the day writing, hanging out with Chris and going to the spa.  Around seven we plan to go to the hamman, a warm rock in a meditation room where we run into Inez from the front desk and Rukhasana from the Boutique.   Inez and I start to discuss our plan.  I enjoy the hamman, steam room and sauna before I call it a night.  Oh yea, I am on vacation.  I need to figure out how to do this for a living ;) 

Day Twenty: A New Hotel, A New Miami

Lyla gets some love at the pool from Debbie, Dale and ChrisI love Miami.  Originally, I had planned to leave days ago but the weather everywhere else I had planned to go is freezing, raining or snowing.   It’s perfect here.  I can’t leave.  What’s the rush.  One more day (at least).

Once again, the Raleigh is overbooked.  Unfortunately Ben can’t help me out this time, the hotel is short ten rooms.   I call Chris and he gets me a good rate for a room at the Standard, where he works.  The hotel is a time capsule.  Apparently it is a historic landmark, so it is exactly the same as it was in the 1960s.  It has a California vibe.  The room is tiny and the service is dismal, but the landscape is beautiful and I get to hang out with Chris and sit with Lyla at the pool. 

Me, Lyla and Tanya

There is a dog by the pool so Lyla makes her way over to say hi.  The dog is with three attractive gentlemen; Michael, Allen and Craig.  Michael invites me to sit down.  I finish my walk with Lyla first and I run into him on my way back.  We chat for a couple of minutes.  He is a doctor.   He has a clinic and he is a concierge doctor for individuals and some of the nice hotels here.  He lives in Miami and some days he comes to the Standard in the afternoon.   He needs to head back to work. 

I settle down in a chair at the pool near Tanya and Debbie, two lovely girls from Miami who just came to enjoy the pool on their day off.  Tanya is a director at an art gallery and Debbie is an artist and supports the pursuit of her passion by bartending three days a week.  Bartenders here can make $800 a night in tips at some places. 

As the sun comes down, Michael calls and invites me to dinner.  After we eat he drives me around the city of Miami.  I see a different character of Miami.  He shows me where the galleries were for Art Basel and some very cool graffiti art in an industrial part of town.  It is nice to see another Miami.  I had no idea it existed.

Graffiti art

Day Nineteen: Nacho's Philosophy

Once again, I am staying at the Raleigh and there is a lot going on at the hotel.  It is overbooked.  They need to send their guests to other hotels.  Coca cola is having an executive retreat here.  They set up a huge tent in the back and have little breakout sessions on the couches.  Last night they were all sitting in a circle playing the bongos.

Ben helped me out and got me a room anyway.  "We want you here," he told me.  I really love this hotel and especially the staff.

This morning, I am having breakfast and I overhear a woman telling the host that she was supposed to stay here, but they moved her to the Ritz.  Thank you Ben :)

There is a photo session for Elle magazine going on this afternoon by the pool. Elle photo shoot at the Raleigh pool

Nacho invites me for a boat ride this afternoon.  He picks me up on his Harley and he shows around Miami on the boat.

Nacho on the boat

Nacho tells me his philosophy.   “If the colors of the rainbow are painted on a yoyo, when you spin it fast enough, it becomes white,” he explains.  “We are those colors.  At one point, we were all white, together.  But in the same way that a white light entering a prism splits into different colors, we were separated into our separate colors too.  We each have a unique color.  For each of us, there are two or maybe three people in this world to which we must bind.  One of these people is the man or woman we fall in love with and chose to spend our life with.   If each person represents one, a couple in love together have the potential to equal one million.  We must find the person who makes us reach a potential we could not find on our own.  Then there are other people in your life, your friends and family, who complete your connection. Until we all make those connections, we will not be whole.  Once we do, we will be white, the sum of all of the colors, and with God.”

On the boat, we see two young men pulling a motor boat on a kayak.  Of course Nacho offers to give them a tow.  It would have taken then at least an hour to paddle to where they were going.  “If you stop when someone is crossing the street, it will make your day better because he will smile at you ten times as he crosses,” he explains.  

The two guys we towed

He is right, that energy is infectious.  In New York, when I leave my apartment, cross the street and order my bagel and coffee at Murray’s bagels on Saturday morning, I have at least fifteen interactions before I make it home to eat my bagel.  Lyla has added to that number because she does the same thing that I do, and I learned this from her.  When you smile at people, they smile back.  And then they smile at other people, and everyone in New York City is smiling.  When you yell at someone for stealing your cab, it could ruin that person’s day.   He is stressed, which stresses the people around him and all of the sudden there is a lot of negative energy.

Nacho tells me that I have a good energy and he hopes I never lose it.  “You have good energy and so you attract good energy,” he says.  I think back six months ago to the routine I was stuck in.  I felt incomplete and purposeless.  Now, I know things will fall into place.  I have decided to never settle for a job or a person that doesn’t make me happy. 

Sunset from the boat

I am a different person than I was a month ago.  This good energy was always in me, but I built walls around it.  Losing my job was the catalyst that brought the walls down.  For the first time in my life, I know who I am and I like who I am.

As I fall asleep, I ponder what Nacho told me earlier today.  He loves to explain things using metaphors.  He said that there is only one person for you in this world.  And you will cross paths, maybe once or maybe many times over the course of your life.  However, you are not guaranteed to make the connection.  You are like a lighthouse; when you’re free, your light is on and the ships come to you but when you are with someone, the wrong person, your light is off and your soulmate may not be able to find you. 

I am comfortable knowing that I haven’t met my man yet.  I am also not concerned.  When it happens, it happens. 

Day Eighteen: Mom and New Friends

After my morning run with Lyla, I pack my bags, check out, load the car and drive a couple of blocks to the Loews, where I am staying with my mom tonight.  The hotel is very different than the Raleigh.  First of all, it’s huge.  We are on the 16th floor.  Everything is new and clean.  The Raleigh has character and it is serene, but it is also intimate.
Everything about the Loews is grand.  It’s beautiful but impersonal.  I am annoyed by all of the little charges here; $10 for each chair at the beach, $15 for an umbrella, $12.50 for the internet and $20 to have the dog.  I prefer the Raleigh.  I know the entire staff and chat with them everyday.  Alex and Ben at the front desk, Sammy and Ariel at the Royal and Nicola at the pool bar.  

I think Lyla may be racist.  The bellman is a large black man with dreadlocks.  I’ve never seen Lyla growl at anyone, but she won’t quit with him as he brings my bags in.  I am embarrassed. I tip him well.

I have dinner at BLT with my mom before meeting Sammy from the Royal for drinks.  We head to Lincoln Road where we join Chris and Jay.  Jay is a waiter at the Royal.  He served Kate, Julia and me on New Years.

Me, Lyla and Chris at ScoresChris and Jay desperately miss New York.  They are bored here.  Sammy is too.  They are all in the restaurant business and they crave the excitement and energy in New York. 

 Chris and Lyla at 721

After a few drinks at Scores, a gay bar on Lincoln Road, we decide to go to 721, a gay karaoke bar.  They want to meet Lyla so Jay walks with me back to the Loews to pick her up.  Lyla gets a lot of love from the gay men at karaoke.  After a few songs, Chris, Jay, Lyla and I take a nice dip in the Raleigh pool.  See more pictures

A late night dip

Day Seventeen: La Piaggia

I am sitting by pool with Lyla talking to Maraellen from Sweden.  The French bulldog shows up and Lyla starts crying and it's time to go.  It takes 10 minutes to get through the lobby.   Lyla is by far the most popular guest at the Raleigh.  We make a quick stop to see Christi, the friendly concierge with dreadlocks who always gives Lyla biscuits.

Kate and I take a taxi to the Standard where we are told that it costs $75 per chair at the pool.  No thanks.  We have caipirinhas at the bar before deciding to head to La Piaggia for lunch.  Kate loves expensive French restaurants with a scene.  La Piaggia is no exception.   With her, I often find myself at Bagatelle, Bibloquet or Felix.  On my own, I go to places more low key.  Although I must admit that I love going to these places with Kate. We meet some interesting people and it never fails to entertain.
Lunch at La Piaggia
There are a lot of dogs at La Piaggia so I decide to go and pick up Lyla after we eat.  I leave Kate at the bar to walk Lyla and while I am gone, Kate meets Doug.  I leave them to meet my mom, who is coming in from Lighthouse Point where she was visiting grandma Maggie.  Kate calls and tells me she'd like bring Doug to dinner with my mom.  "I really prefer that you don't," I say.  I am typically very inclusive but dinner with my mom is an exclusive event.  Kate brings Doug anyway.  But I was wrong, my mom enjoys talking to Doug at dinner.   After dinner Kate, Doug and I say goodbye to my mom, who is staying at the Loews, and head to the Sherborne for karaoke. 

Today was fun.  Although it lacked substance, I am not bored just yet.

My mom joins us for dinner at the Royal

Day Sixteen: I'm on a Boat

Ruben calls in the morning and gives us an address to go to. Kate has so many questions. "Where are we going? Who is coming? Who's boat?  What kind of boat?"

"I just got the address," I tell her. "Plus, it doesn't matter. This is what we are doing today," I add.

Our taxi pulls up to a large contemporary house.  A little woman answers the door.

"Hi honey! We are Ruben’s friends. Is this the right house?" Kate asks.

Pazita brings us into the living room and we see Nacho is sitting in his office on the phone. He is not really "in" the office though because there are no walls.  The whole house is open.  He knocked down all of the walls so that the living room, dining room, foyer, and office are one huge open room.  It is very Zen.  There are three large Buddha statues throughout the room.

Nacho was an oil and gas lawyer in Spain.  He moved here and now he owns a depleted oil reserve in Spain. In Spain they do not have their own oil and gas.  They import it from Russia and Africa.  In the winter the demand for gas is high and in the summer it is low, but the supply is pretty constant throughout the year.  His company rents out his depleted oil reserve to gas companies such as BP and Shell, who use the space to store oil in the summer months for consumption in the winter.
Nacho and Carolina
Nacho loves music.  He has at least ten guitars, a keyboard and a drum set.  Every Thursday night he hosts a party with famous Spanish musicians.  They jam out from 8 at night until 8 in the morning.

Enter Ruben, Arturo and Mireia.  Ruben owns a cigar company in the Dominican Republic.  He has a place in Miami and comes here often.  Arturo is his good friend from the DR visiting for the weekend.  Mireia is from Spain.  She was a model and now she has an event planning company.

Once Nacho’s girlfriend Carolina arrives, we get on the boat.  It is a beautiful day, 75 and sunny.   To everyone other than Kate and I, the weather is cold.  Nacho and Carolina are wearing scarves and sweaters.  I am talking to Mireia about Brazil and she tells me that her ex-boyfriend is from there and she is still close with his mom.  She once visited her without him after they broke up while he was in Madrid.  Turns out her ex-boyfriend is Ronaldo and she moved to Madrid to live with him before coming to Miami.
The site of Nacho's new restaurant
We go through the Miami River and downtown.  Nacho shows us the plot of land on the water where he is building his restaurant.  It is a new business venture, his first restaurant.  It’s a great location and concept.  As we are docking for dinner at one of Nacho's favorite places on the water, I have a chance to talk to Carolina.  She tells me about her career and how she became the head of marketing for Pepsi Latin America. 
Pitstop for drinks at the Standard
For dinner we all eat lobster with spaghetti, Nacho's favorite dish.  It has been a few hours since I left Lyla and I need to let her out.  Nacho suggests I bring her back with me and tells me that she is welcome on the boat.   I grab a cab back to the Raleigh and pick her up.

After dinner we take the boat back to Nacho's house where we sing and dance as he plays the guitar.   See video

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Mireia, Nacho and Carolina at dinner

Day Fifteen: Kate Arrives

It’s 10am and I take Lyla for our morning run.  We walk down Lincoln Ave and check out the shops.  It's 58 degrees this morning and people are wearing winter coats.

There is a lot going on at the hotel this afternoon.  Almost everyone at the hotel is here for the same wedding.  Everyone at the pool seems to know each other or have one degree of separation.  They are friendly, happy people and pleasant to be around.

There is also a photo shoot for the British company, Marks & Spencer. The crew is from London and they adore Lyla.  One woman comes and rubs Lyla’s belly for 15 minutes. Of course I don't mind.  Lyla is on vacation too.  I want her to enjoy herself.

I move to the area behind the pool where there are couches. Lyla and I pass the little French Bull Dog who has become Lyla’s nemesis.  He watches her so carefully. When we are close he tries to attack and starts yapping.   I sense that the owner doesn't like me, but their little monster started it.  He looks evil, calculating.  There is a lot going on in that little head.  He reminds me of Brett's French bull dog Toots.  However Toots had another plan for Lyla.

There is a tall thin blond girl lying topless on the couch next to me.  She looks like a model.   Two men are sitting on the couch across from us.  I wonder how they chose that spot.

I need a change of scene.  I wander over to the W.  It’s a nice hotel. Very different from Raleigh.  Brand new.  Huge.  The pool area is tiny relative to the size of the hotel.

I am picking Kate up from the airport at 9:15 and then we are going to dinner.  It's 5:30 and I need a snack to hold me over until dinner at 10.  The concierge suggested The Betsy.

I sit at the bar at BLT at the Betsy. It's very similar to the BLT in New York. It has the same menu. I order the tuna tartar and talk to Timi, the bartender.  She is Hungarian but looks Latino.  Jim from Glasgow, Ireland sits down at the bar next to me.  He is in town for the ING marathon on Sunday.  A lot if people are in Miami for the run.

Jim tells me about his career and how he became an entrepreneur.  When he was a young man, 17 years old, he wanted a car.  His mom said he would never be able to afford one.  He saw an ad in the newspaper for a job with SC Johnson.  At the time, the company only had three products.  He interviewed and got the job.  With the job came a company car. It was the best thing about the job.  Then he decided that he wanted a Ferrari, so he started his own business. He started a coffee company and now he owns sign making company. Apparently business is booming in Middle East.  "When you start a business, you are going to make mistakes and if you start a few of them, you are likely to fail a few times," he explains in a thick Scottish accent. "There is no one to turn to when you have a question about how to do something or what to do. There is no easy answer," he continues.  "But if you have a good idea, something will stick. You learn from your failures what you need to do the next time." 

Kate at the airportWhat he tells me echoes what Aron, Kate's friend, said to me over dinner two weeks ago.  Aron is a very successful entrepreneur who has built companies worth billions from nothing.  "Starting a business, growing a business, is not formulaic," Aron explained.  "You hit a wall.  Once you power through it, there is another wall waiting for you on the other side, and then another and another after that.  It never stops, until you turn around and walk away.  You retire, get bored and come back to that wall."  He has come in and out of retirement several times.

I wonder if I could be an entrepreneur.  It seems that being an entrepreneur is in your blood.  To see an opportunity and act on it; to fail and get up and do it again.

After my snack at the Betsy, I pick Kate up at the airport and head back to the hotel.  We go to Casa Tua where we run into our friend Manny and meet Ruben, Arturo Carolina and Nacho.  Ruben invites us to go boating with them tomorrow. 

See more picturesMe, Kate, Manny and Rachel at Casa Tua

Day Fourteen: Poolside at the Raleigh

It's nice to be back at my old stomping ground, the Raleigh.  I was just here for the week of New Years.  The hotel is classic.  Art deco, Miami Beach. Aside from the iPod dock and stereo, the room is the same as it was 60 years ago.

I'm sitting at the pool next to Tony, who came down here from LA for a little business and vacation.  He is a musician and composes music and jingles for advertisements.  I ask him for an example of his work.  "Easy breezy beautiful cover girl," he tells me.  He was in a band before his current profession and he traveled across the country many times.  

I meet Dan, Mimi, Bob and Keith for drinks at the Setai pool bar and Club Laz before calling it an early night.

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Day Thirteen: I'm Going to Miami

Another rainy morning in the Key West. I take Lyla for a walk down Duval St for the ninth time.  We pass the same key lime pie store and the same red hot rod and motorcycle, which are being solicited by a man offering a chance to win them for $20.  "Now what I gon' do with that!" an old woman barks at him.

Wasting away in Margaritaville, I realize I do not want to retire and move to Florida. At least not yet.

I can't go sailing or play golf today because it’s raining. I check the weather in Miami. It'll be warmer in there tomorrow.  I pack my bags, load up the car and hit the road again.

I know my old company has corporate rates at the Manderin, Shore Club, Mondrian and Four Seasons.  I ask a favor of an old colleague and she gets me the company rates at those hotels, which are really good. I make a few phone calls and learn that while most hotels do allow dogs, they only allow dogs under 20 lbs and charge a $50-$250 fee.

Kate, Julia and I stayed at the Raleigh over new years and it was great.  Plus, I know all the staff there and the food is great at the Royal, JD's restaurant.  I text JD, who hooks me up with a room and an upgrade for a good rate.  Done.

I arrive, settle in and take Lyla for a run on the ocean before meeting my old friends Dan and Bob at Bond Street for Sushi.  Later we check out "Boyfriends Out of Town" night at Vita.  Interesting scene.  Most of the men are bald and under 5'7", with a few exceptions, and most of the women are very fit and have fake boobs.  Yep, sounds about right.  I'm in Miami.



Day Twelve: First Day Off The Road

I wake up to Lyla barking at a rooster crowing outside.  I am relieved to not have to drive today.

Zero and Lyla at Dog BeachI take my time getting up.  It’s raining.  I eat breakfast and write until it stops.  I haven’t used my legs much over the past few days and neither has Lyla, so I decide we need a run.  We head out and about ten minutes into our jog and Lyla is overheated.  Poor girl.  I take her back to the hotel and head out by myself to finish the run before taking Lyla to the dog beach. 

It is on the other side of the island, so we walk down Duvall to get there.  It's smaller than I expected. Lyla sees the water and she gets very excited.  She meets another dog there named Zero. He is with a gay couple in their thirties who live here.  The men tell me that the beach is private and owned by a man who just happens to love dogs.

Cleo, the money collecting dog at the Sunset CelebrationIt's 83 degrees.  Lyla is happy to cool off in the water and play with Zero. 

"Reggae got soul, got so much soul..."  Toots and the Maytals are playing as we come back to the hotel.  I wash Lyla in the shower, turn the AC on and leave her to nap. I head down to the pool, grab myself a chair, order a mojito and fill you in on my day before heading to the sunset celebration.  Life is good :)

See a video of Cleo, the money collecting dog

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Day Eleven: To The Southernmost City

The drive to Kew WestIt's 6am and grandma Maggie comes into the room and asks me to help her find the phone.  "Ok grandma, just give me a minute," I say.  It takes me some time to open my eyes.  My throat is sore and I’m congested.  I look in the mirror and my eyes are blood shot.  I pull it together and help my grandma.

I am driving straight to Key West today.  The drive is beautiful.  I get into town  settle at the Westin, which is a block from Duvall Street.  It has been described as the Bourbon Street of Key West.  Ellie at the front desk gives me a great walk-in rate and an upgrade.  Also, Lyla can stay for free.  Most places charge a $50-100 pet fee. I take the room for two nights.

The hotel is perfect.  I have a comfortable room with a balcony where Lyla sits and observes what’s going on outside while I unpack.  I take Lyla for a walk up and down Duvall St, which is about a mile long from end to end.  It is similar to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, but there are more art galleries than bars. There are also a lot of hat shops, key lime pie stands and shops selling random chachkeys and silly t-shirts that say things like, "I don’t have ADD. Oh look! A chicken!" I wonder who writes this stuff.

Almost everyone here is in a couple.  They are in their fifties and sixties and here without their kids.  I think they must be empty nesters, of the demographic that keeps Carnival Cruises in business.  They love Lyla and say things like, “Oh what I sweet puppy dog!  I miss my Fido.  He’s waiting for us at home.”   They also ask me for directions.  Perhaps having a dog and walking by myself makes me more likely to be a local.

Every restaurant has live music. The couples sit with their drinks and sing along to old favorites.  There are also a few gentlemen’s clubs and a drag karaoke bar on the street.  Key West has a large gay and transgender community.

I think I am the only one here who didn’t come here with another person.  I have Lyla and I will meet people, but I can’t help but wonder if I will get bored here.

Last week I had planned to be in Key West for two days, but because Kate wants to meet me in Miami I thought i would just spend an extra day or two here, depending on how I feel.  I need to come up with something to do.  Maybe I can scuba dive or sail.  I’ll ask the concierge.  But tomorrow I plan to relax and take Lyla to the dog beach. I also need a back massage.  I am excited about settling here and not driving tomorrow.

I am exhausted and I still feel a little sick so I take Lyla back up to the room where I can write and sleep.  I open the door to the balcony.  I notice dolphin noises.  My room is above the Key West aquarium.  Lyla comes in from the balcony and falls asleep on the dog bed that the hotel provided.  It is a little too small, but she knows it’s for her.   I look at her and wonder what she thinks of all of this.  I took her from her life of routine to a life on the road, staying in different places each night and driving all day.  She’s so happy and easy going, she isn't hard to please.  A belly rub will make her day.

“You can settle here,” I tell her.

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Day Ten: When in Florida, Visit Grandmas

The top comes down for the first timeToday is a family day.

I have a deadline.  I need to make it to Fort Lauderdale in time for Shoshanna’s Bat Mitzvah. I don’t want to disappoint my family, especially my aunts Carolyn and Gail.  For them, family and being together is the most important thing. 

We hit the road at 8am.  When we get to Okeechobee two hours later, I pull off of the Florida Turnpike to walk Lyla.  It’s the first time I’ve been outside since leaving Gainesville.  It’s a crisp 68.  The top comes down.  Lyla sticks her head out of the window and smells the air.  As we pull back onto the highway, Play that Funky Music comes on the radio.  The sun kisses my skin.  I provoke Lyla to dance.

I pull into my grandma Maggie’s house in Lighthouse Point, about fifteen minutes north of Fort Lauderdale.  I am going to leave Lyla here while I am at the Bat Mitzvah.  It’s He was hollering at Lyla1:45pm so I don’t have much time.  I rummage through my bag to find something appropriate to wear to an orthodox Bat Mitzvah.  I find a long turquoise dress.  With a sweater, this will do. 

My Uncle Dick lives with my grandma.  He understands that I need to go.  I tell him I will be back to catch up more thoroughly after the party.

I plug the address of the synagogue into navigation and I hit the road.  I ignore my car when it tells me I need to get gas.  It tells me I have 64 miles of fuel left.  I don’t like to let it get so low, but I don’t have time to fill it.  The Bat Mitzvah is 23 miles away.  I will fill it after.

I pull into the synagogue and my aunts and grandma Gloria are waiting for me outside.  I just made it for the end of the party.  I come in, say hi to everyone and Mazel Tov to Shoshanna and my cousin Seth, Shoshanna’s father.Ronnie and Ellen at Shoshanna's Bat Mitzvah

After the party, I head back to Lighthouse Point.  I am watching the Packers play the Bears and catching up with Uncle Dick and grandma Maggie.  I ask about the internet.  “We don’t have the internet,” Uncle Dick replies.  “We’re behind the times, but Maggie is on facebook, aren’t you Maggie?” He turns to my grandma.  She looks at him baffled.  No response.

Uncle Dick has a cat name Tuxie.  Lyla has never met a cat before and she is intrigued.  Tuxie is terrified of Lyla.  After the cat runs from her, Lyla begins an endless mission to find Tuxie.  In my grandma’s room, Lyla is under the bed with her bum sticking up in the air.  A dark black shadow is behind the window shade.  Tuxie is hiding.  This dog and cat chase goes on all day. 

Me, Grandma Gloria, Carolyn and GailAfter meeting Carolyn, Gail and grandma Gloria for dinner, I come back to my grandma Maggie’s house and take Lyla for a walk around the neighborhood.  

After wandering around for half an hour, its time to head back.  I have no idea how to get home.  All of the streets look the same.  I am lost and I don’t have my phone to pull up a map.  I try to retrace my steps but I just get more lost.  I let Lyla lead the way, but she has no idea.

I notice the moon.  It is very low on the horizon and its huge.  Then I imagine how this neighborhood would look from an airplane; Carefully cut rows of houses with a maze of water flowing around the streets. 

When I was a little girl, I rode my bike around this neighborhood many times.  I knew these streets and the houses.  As I walk around now, I don’t recognize any of the houses because they have all changed.  Modest ranch houses were replaced with monster mansions that occupy entire plots.  Many of the houses have "for sale" signs with real estate brokers' contact information in front of them.  This neighborhood was surely hit by the boom in south Florida.  My grandmother’s house is one of two on the street built before 1980.

At grandma Maggie's houseWe find our way home eventually and Lyla is ready for sleep.  I am sitting in the living room catching up with Uncle Dick.  Lyla makes her way into the room I put my stuff in.  She knows that my stuff = where I sleep.

Thinking back on the past few days, I suddenly realize how deprived I've been of human interaction as I sat behind a desk for hours each day and only spoke with the people I worked with.  Whatever I do next, I don’t want to be behind a computer all day.



Day Nine: Charlotte, NC to Gainesville, FL

 I wake up at 8am to three menacing dogs.  Gunner and Roxie are snorting and whining in their crates in the next room and Lyla is standing on me, licking my face.

I catch up with Cat some more over breakfast at her local bagel spot. I didn't get to see Charlotte but I did get to see Cat.  I’m looking forward to coming back for her wedding in September and perhaps her bridal shower in June. 

I hit the road at 10:30am for Savannah.  I plan to go to Palm Beach after Savannah, so I call my aunt Carolyn who is there with my grandmother.   She reminds me that tomorrow is my cousin Shoshanna’s Bat Mitzvah, which I did not think I would be able to make when I had a job.  The Bat Mitzvah is from 11am to 3pm.  In order to make it there for at least part of it, I will need to hit the road by 5am.  I really do not want to do that.  I make an alternative plan and head to Gainesville, home of the University of Florida.  A Saturday night at a state She sleeps the whole rideUniversity could be fun.

I pull over to a gas station to find a hotel for the night.  I should get to Gainesville around 6pm.  I yelp hotels in Gainesville and find a cute B&B called Sweetwater Branch Bed & Breakfast.  It has five stars, so I call.  The woman on the phone explains that they allow dogs but only in the cottages, which cost the same amount as the regular rooms.  I book a cottage. 

We arrive at the inn and get the keys and directions to the cottage.  I drive about a block and pull into the driveway of a house named “Sarah’s Cottage.”  It has a white picket fence around the yard. 

Sarah's CottageI let Lyla run around in the backyard and then we settle down inside.   I sit by my fire and write.  

It's 9:30pm and I’m starving so I head into town for a bite.  I first go to Harry's, a Cajun seafood place that the concierge recommended. It's dead, so I wander around for a few minutes.   I consult yelp on my phone and check out a few places with good reviews.   Every one of them is quiet and virtually empty.

I head back to Harry's and plot myself at bar.  I ask Kevin, my bartender from Brooklyn, “Where is everyone?” He explains that people don't go out until after 11 and most people are done with dinner by 9.  I look up at the tv.  The gators are playing Arkansas. People must be watching the game, which could explain why its empty in this part of town.

”What do most people do for the game?” I ask KevinLyla warms up by the firm

"A lot of students go to the game because it's free" he explains. "There are also a lot of bars over by the stadium where people hang out," he adds. 

Although I want to stay awake to fraternize with the college kids, I can barely keep my eyes open after driving for 19 of the past 36 hours.   I have a beer and call it a night.

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Day Eight: NYC to Charlotte, NC

37,463 miles on my car as we left NYCLyla wakes me up around 10am and she is as happy and healthy as ever.  I look at her food bowl.  It’s empty.  I look outside to see how much snow has accumulated.  There is snow, but maybe the roads are clear.  I text Julia, who went work today, and ask if it is a mess outside.  “Streets are clear from what I saw, you should be fine,” she responds.  It’s time to hit the road. 

After a few hours into the drive, I cross into West Virginia and see the first Waffle House of my trip.  I listen to the first four chapters of War and Peace but then realize that I am not listening at all.  My mind is wandering all over the place and I have no idea what is going on in the story.  I take a break with some local radio and then I try The Help by Kathryn Stockett. 

This book is a lot easier to focus on.  It takes the perspective of black woman raising white babies in Jackson, Mississippi during the civil rights movement in the 1960s.   I listen for 8 hours through Virginia into North Cmy good little co-pilotarolina.  The book seems more appropriate for a drive down south than War and Peace, which I will get through, but it’s going to take some time. 

After 11 hours on the road, I finally pull into Cat’s neighborhood.  I start to imagine what her house is like, what her fiancé is like.  I try to remember the last time we’ve seen each other and I can’t.  We realize later that it has been over 5 years.

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I met Cat the summer going into my freshman year of high school.  She sent me an instant message on AOL introducing herself.  It was the first time I met a person online.  She said that she heard that I was joining the soccer team and told me she was going to be a sophomore on the team.   From then on, we did everything together.  Every other night was a sleepover.  I went to all of the barbeques at her house, where people would sing karaoke, drink Budweiser, roast a pig and line up at Uncle Bear’s hot dog cart for a hot dog.  Apparently Uncle Bear has made over a million dollars selling hotdogs from that cart.  He keeps his millions in cash hidden in his house.  He doesn’t trust banks. Me and Cat

Cat and I started to lose touch when she left PDS to go to Pennington my junior year.  Then she went off to school in North Carolina and our lives never crossed again.  We haven’t been in touch.  She read my post on facebook about taking a road trip and she offered to host me in her home in Charlotte on my way down. 

…………………………..

There is a bed waiting for me in the living room when I arrive.  Lyla settles herself in and makes herself at home.  Gunner and Roxie, Cat and Craig’s German Shepherd and German Shepherd mix, are not happy Cat with Roxie and Gunnerabout their new guest and they let it be known.  They are in their crates.  Cat takes them out, one at a time, for an introduction.  Roxie is friendly and gives Lyla a kiss.  It’s Gunner’s turn and he is not happy.  He’s huge.  Lyla cowers.  He growls and barks and Cat grabs his head and smothers him.  I’ve always been impressed by her strength.  She used to beat me up in high school.

We sit and talk for a while.  Craig makes me popcorn, which is my dinner along with some ice cream.  Cat tells me about her job as a graphic designer for a sports magazine and Craig’s job as a police officer.  It’s incredible how different their lives are here than mine is in the city.  I feel like a kid because New York is such a playground.  They have a mortgage and drive to work everyday.  It feels like another phase of life to me that I am nowhere near just yet.  They are very happy though, definitely in their element. 

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