The Southeastern Paradise: Zach's Thoughts on Miami Beach

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For many in New England, December is considered to be one of the coldest and more hostile months of the year. Short days, below-freezing nights, and more do not bring out the good in people, and there is always a desire to go away.

My family were some of those people, and after many months of researching a variety of destinations such as Cancun, St. Thomas, and all in-between, we found a jackpot flight and put our sights on the southeastern part of the continental United States: Miami Beach, Florida.

Now that the trip is said and done, let us reflect on it using a good old-fashioned travel review post, one that is near and dear to our hearts.

We will be ignoring the history of Miami Beach as it's known to be the beach of America available year-round. If you are inclined to learn more about the city, click here.

While most Massachusetts residents know of Boston Logan Airport as the primary place to fly in and out of, (TF Green and Manchester-Boston won't be counted here), there is another, albeit much smaller airport 55ish miles west: Worcester Regional Airport.

One terminal, three airlines, four gates, cheap parking. For those who know it, it is a great way to fly in peace and without the tummult. However, there are two issues associated with the airport that are more so inconvinences than anything significant:

Regardless, we got there and waited 2.5 hours for the plane, as it was delayed from after a customs issue in Costa Rica at the previous airport it was at.

After much waiting and eating pizza at the only restaurant in the terminal, we took off and landed in Fort Lauderdale around 11:15ish at night. The airport is what I call similar to Boston Logan except with a more "tropical-nautical" feel.

The baggage was collected, and we took an Uber to the hotel, The Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, and got to sleep around 1:30-2AM in the morning in an expansive suite at the end of the hallway with a partial view of the ocean.

After an eh night, I awoke and took in the amazing scenery that was right outside me. My family is known for being early birds and getting up-and-out, so our first decision of the day was to walk along the Miami Beach Boardwalk. Originally it was going to be a short walk, but the next thing we know, we made it from block 44 (where the hotel is) to Block 12, where we ate at the Birdcage Cafe.

What did I get? A simple brunch meal: a smoked salmon sandwich, which was satisfying and allowed me to press onward.

Following the brunch, we trekked onward and made it to South Pointe Park, the southernmost tip of Miami Beach and took some neat photos of the horizon.

One thing about Miami, that I had not seen that I observed, were the massive number of high-rises and buildings that dominated the skyline.

Regardless, after a short celebration, we began the 4-mile walk back; stopping around Block 10 for streetside gelato. Which was pretty good! Gelato is bigger than ice cream in Miami, and I wonder if that is because of the international crowd that goes through the area.

Once we were back at the Fontainebleu, we got dressed and went over to the pool, which is expansive and somewhat inconvinencing to get around. We then went over to the beach, which helped draw away people from the pool.

Eventually, it was time for dinner; and we had a light "snack" at La Cote followed by a more formal meal at Arkadia Grill, where I had the best French Dip sandwich ever. I was asked to compare it to the one at Panera Bread, to which I reply that there is no comparsion.

Thus ended my first full day in Miami, which saw relaxation take its course after a typical long-walk along the coastline.

This day marked the only time we left Miami Beach in the entirety of our trip save for arrival and departure. We went to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gable, close to the University of Miami.

Unlike other gardens, which make it an effort to really get to the best part, Fairchild had numerous distinct areas with different plants and layouts for each one. Alongside certain effects like mist in the rainforest section.

Another major aspect of the Gardens were the exotic butterfly greenhouse, which saw many species of butterflies from Central and South America cared for. You would never see as many butterflies flying around a room as you would here. It was a quiet and serene place to enjoy the warm weather with a beautiful ambiance around it.

The garden is a great place to go to in South Florida if you're looking to be away from the beach for a short period of time.

After Fairchild, we went back to the Fontainebleau and spent time by the pool and beach. The hotel was starting to get more busy as the Christmas crowd was starting to come in, but there was still enough space for it not to feel overwhelmed.

For dinner, we went back to South Beach to Casa Cubana, where we had an impressive roster of authentic Cuban cusinine and live music. Overall, it was a relaxing day and a true separation from what I had to go through in school.

Plus! Enjoy a nighttime picture of the beach from the boardwalk:

Christmas Day was the only day that we really did not leave the resort except for walking along the boardwalk. Most of the day was spent by the pool and the hot tub. The sun was radiating down on us nicely and giving a nice sun burn as I attempted to read a biography of Henry David Thoreau.

But life was good. The warmth combined with the atmosphere of the hotel made it such that it was impossible not to relax. Which proved well as most of the country was closed for the holiday. But not the hospitality industry — they never close.

Of course, for dinner. People know that usually Chinese and Sushi are the only restaurants open. This year proved no exception for our family, and we had reservations to go to Hakkasan, on the top floor of a satellite building. Of all the restaurants that I have had the pleasure of going to over the years, this was probably the best one. We had Peking Duck alongside dim sum and Kung Pao chicken. If you have the opportunity, then it is an experience you won't forget.

While not a lot, thus was our Chinease Christmas, a day of true relaxation and enjoying all that the hotel had to offer.

Friday proved to be just like the day before. Relaxing by the pool and beach, walking on the boardwalk, and exploring the property. I spent the morning wandering the resort finding cool places to put up my book and relax with the sun shining brightly.

This led me to rooftop pools on the newer towers, 5th and 7th floors respectively, and allowed me to see the stark contrast of the older and newer sides of the resort. While the Fontainebleau is a very nice resort, there are some areas that are showing its age, that the newer towers don't have as they are more modern in style. It's just something to think about.

As the evening strolled in, we left the hotel and went back to South Beach to visit one of Miami Beach's most beloved establishments: Joe's Stone Crabs. Which is the most profitable restaurant in the United States. For one singular purpose: its stone crab claws, which they churn out tens of thousands in one night.

The restaurant itself was similar to a New England joint, but with finer dressed servers and long lines. The stone crabs were an interesting delicacy to have, but they were personally not something I would rave on about.

After dinner, we strolled to a park by the beach and enjoyed the art deco architecture of the neighborhood as well as the neon lights that were on full display. Fun fact: Miami Beach has the highest concentration of Art Deco-style buildings still standing in the United States.

Sadly for us, this was our last full day in Miami Beach, which was both sad and uplifting in a way, as we would have gotten bored sooner rather than later.

While we were scheduled to fly back to Worcester, JetBlue decided to cancel our flight for… some reason. So we quickly had to backtrack and fly into Boston Logan. Which was exactly what we did not want to do.

The problem with this, was that we did not know if we were going to get on the flight. It looked like it was overbooked, so we crossed our fingers. After spending the morning at the beach and hotel, alongside quickly packing up the room. We headed to Fort Lauderdale, where we spent 5 hours after the flight was delayed before we were flying and heading back north.

Shoutout to Burger-Fi in the terminal for being a life-saver for food. Even still, the airport had an impressive amounts of healthy options

We touched down in Boston around midnight and were back home by 1:30 after taking an Uber back. The next day involved us driving to Worcester to pick up the car that was left from the beginning of the trip.

This 5-day trip was a relaxing respite away from the cold of the Northeast, and allowed me to understand what the appeal of South Florida was.

I get it now, and if I end up back there for a long weekend in the warm sun (when it's not boiling in 100 degree heat), then I'd be fine.

So on and so forth.

I apologize for the week's delay on this post. New Years' was a procrastinating time for me, and I've been focusing on getting ready for the new semester.

The next post to come out will be a review on an AAA video game title. The first true new video game that I have reviewed in a while. So I am looking forward to sharing it.

Thanks for reading, see you soon!