It's Good To Escape To Miami

It's good to have a place to get away to, like Miami. OK, I'm lucky, my Latina wife grew up in Miami and her family is there. So we can visit grand-kids, and do other great things that a city this size has to offer. My Cuban wife always says "You will be eating good when we visit", and you know that is very true. Of course there are some nice tropical beaches to enjoy. My wife makes meals like the Cuban steak sandwich, pasta with red sauce, meat, garlic bread made from Cuban bread. Chicken dishes with black beans, rice, and plantains is always one of my favorites. A little wine for the meal, and of course tropical ice cream! There are things here you can't find anywhere,

I am enjoying!

We Don't Eat Fancy But We Eat Good

"We Don't Eat Fancy But We Eat Good". My Cuban wife coined this phrase about our meals, and we sure do eat good. Tonight we had ground beef, black beans, rice, plantains, tomatoes and Cuban bread. She taught me a little trick with the black beans: cut up some onions to go on top of the black beans, yum! Some of these little tricks by my Cuban wife can make all the difference in the world.

I am currently in Miami at the location of Little Havana. The influence of this neighborhood has rubbed off on her, with all the variety of food. When we are here, we eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables including salads. My wife BB buys fruits and veggies not from the stores here but small stands that peddle their fresh local produce.  Great prices and fresh produce make some great meals!

 It was 4th of July yesterday, and what does BB come up with but ribs cooked in barbecue sauce. We also had fresh corn, and coleslaw along with fresh Cuban bread. These ribs were not from the grill but they were so good. Add a little red wine, and you have a great 4th of July dinner. We also had my local favorite ice cream, "Mamey". This pinkish fruit ice cream is now one of my favorites, and BB made sure I had some.  You can't find it once you leave Miami. Like BB always says, "We don't eat fancy but we eat good". BB cooked up her famous Cuban Steak Sandwich today, for lunch. The thin sliced steak is another item that is easy to find in Little Havana. Use fresh Cuban bread, add tomatoes,  onions, and top with BB's secret topping, potato sticks! Lots more food and culture to discover here in Little Havana!
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My Trip To Key West

Our trip to Key West all came about because of my mom’s best friend Barb. Her best friend had talked about going to the Keys because she had never been. Life moves on for all of us and Barb passed away before she was able to go. Now Barb was about the best person you could ever meet and her passing was tough on the whole family.

Well my wife Bohemian Babushka or( BB) and me asked my mom if she still wanted to go. We had planned a May trip because of Mother’s Day. We left North Florida to pick up my mom who lives just below Orlando.

With BB’s connections we were getting a brand new car to drive down to Miami and then the Keys. We were supposed to get a Ford Transit to drive for the trip! What we didn’t expect was a bus to show up. What a surprise the Transit comes in different sizes and we got the bus size one. Plenty of room for all of BB’s stuff. When I saw the size I thought, “oh no” they gave us a gas hog. It turns out it is a diesel so it actually is very economical with this engine on the road.

The next day we started out early and of course I was elected to drive. Let me tell you it drove like a dream plenty of room for us big people. Hitting the open road felt like getting out of jail what freedom I felt. My mom had not been to Miami and the Keys for a long time. We arrived at my son-in-law's house to stay for a couple of days.

The next day was filled with sightseeing with my mom in Miami. My mom still has lots of energy and good thing she does because we did some major walking. My mom had a thrill riding the Metrorail everywhere and seeing the sites. I will tell you finding a parking space for that big Ford Transit is not easy and on top of that BB lost her key to the Transit. Turns out they only had one key so BB had to find it and she did.

• The next day we had a nice tour on Carnival Cruise Lines. My mom sure has a lot of energy to see all of that ship! Well the rest of the trip to the Keys was very mellow compared to Miami and we all made it to lovely Key West. We drove that big Transit on Duval Street and were a nuisance. That is because most people either walk or ride a bike there. We saw some great landmarks including the Southernmost point. Loved
  
  
  
  this trip and hope to return to the Keys soon!