Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 11 years and 1 month old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

In what is shaping up to be an annual trip, my daughter and I spent a free weekend in Miami, tagging along with my wife who had business in the area.

Like last year we hit the road Friday evening after work and school and were in the Miami area by 11pm. This time our hotel (the Westin Colonnade) was on the Miracle Mile in Coral Gables … really nice!

My wife had to work all day Saturday so my daughter and I took the opportunity to sleep in, until the alarm clock in our room went off at 9am (apparently the previous occupants had set it and I hadn’t thought to check it). After getting ready and grabbing a light breakfast from Starbucks across the street, we got in the car and drove 30 miles west on the Tamiami Trail (including several miles of one-way traffic due to construction) into the Everglades to the Shark Valley Visitors Center.

It was a beautiful day, but pretty hot. Despite our frequent family bike rides we decided to forgo renting bicycles and took the 2-hour tram tour around the 15 mile trail loop. My daughter counted about 75 alligators during the tour and spotted many birds and other natural features as she worked on the bingo card in her junior ranger packet. The sheer size of the Everglades is amazing and we learned a lot about this incredible natural resource.

On our way back to the hotel later in the afternoon, we swung by the new American Girl store at The Falls so my daughter could do some shopping (she had been saving up for the trip). Then it was finally back to our hotel up South Dixie Highway in rush-hour traffic. Ugh. There are way too many traffic lights to call that a “highway.”

We freshened up in our room and then walked out along the Miracle Mile to find someplace to eat dinner. My daughter got a little distracted by Books & Books, but once I got her out of there (newly purchased book in-hand), we scoped out our dining options. The first stop was BGR, but they were out of veggie burgers and that was the only option for my vegetarian daughter. So instead we went to Sushi Maki and had a pleasant meal sitting outside on the patio. I got the chicken and waffles (with bacon!) sushi roll because I just had to try it once I saw it on the menu (and it was pretty good!). We capped off the evening at the outdoor rooftop pool back at the Westin where we eventually met back up with my wife who was finally done for the day.

Sunday morning we walked over to Chocolate Fashion for breakfast and ended up sitting at the bar instead of waiting for a table (the place is small and was pretty crowded). Then we walked back to the hotel to check out and start the drive back home, ending a very pleasant quick weekend getaway.