In South Beach

Alaska flight 305 from Seattle landed in Miami this afternoon a few minutes before five o’clock. Looking out the window, the sky was a little overcast, though there was no sign that it had rained. Still, even if it was not the brilliant blue sky I had hoped to see, it was so much better than the thick cold fog that had we had left behind in Medford.

John and I are beginning our South America adventures with a couple of nights in South Beach. For those of you who have not heard the story yet, I surprised him for Christmas with a January cruise from Miami to Santiago, Chile. He always complains about winter, and even more now that we live in Oregon. So I decided to whisk him away from the rain and snow of the Rogue Valley for a month for a trip through the southern hemisphere.

You can spend a lot of money for a place in Miami Beach. I looked at a hotel here that had nice ocean views and the rooms were reasonably spacious. But three thousand dollars a night? And that did not even include breakfast! Instead, we are staying at a place that probably had started life as an apartment complex some time in the 1930s. It's now a small hotel called the Blanc Khara. 

The rooms are not huge, 

but they do have a small kitchenette. We have one of the rooms with a private lanai on the second floor. 

By the time we had unpacked, and changed to warm weather clothes, there was just time for dinner. The hotel clerk recommended a diner across the street that featured enormous portions of adequate food. 

The Chinese chicken salad was nothing special, but it did seem delightful to be sitting outside to eat in the evening. For now, it's time for sleep. We were at the airport before four o'clock in the morning today, and that's early even for me!