Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Back From the Miami Heat

Phew! I am SO not used to high humidity anymore. Not that I ever liked it when I lived in Connecticut, but since I've lived in a dry climate for most of my years I really have a struggle with humidity. So most of the time I spent at the annual Gathering of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers was in the hotel. And what a lovely time I had! Now that I've FINALLY gotten over my week-long jet lag, I can bring you a few highlights of my trip.

While lots of folks were taking pix of the "usual sights" around Miami, I focused on some of the not-so-typical things that caught my eye. So if you're expecting to see turquoise water, white sand, pink flamingos, you're going to be terribly disappointed. Here are some of the strange things I encountered.

On my way to breakfast one morning, a 3-block stroll down the street, I encountered this ad for a restaurant plastered to the side of a building. Despite the not-so-subtle message, I decided to stick with my original destination for a bowl of scrambled eggs with fresh veggies and a whole grain bagel. Sushi is definitely not on my regular "morning eats" list! It did get my taste buds fired up, though...

Finding indoor walkways is rewarding when you're trying to avoid exposing yourself to the tropical elements. On another morning stroll through one of those walkways, we encountered a sign on the door of a local bank. It made me wonder just how many gun-toting folks there are in this town. And are they really stupid enough to bring their weapons into a bank? I literally laughed out loud when I saw this.


I shared a suite in the hotel with two of my local friends - Sharon Peters and Janice Peacock. I arrived at the hotel late Wednesday night, and as Sharon and I headed out for breakfast the next morning I looked out the window in the seating area near the 12th-floor elevators. Sharon pointed out the building across the street and told me that she had dubbed it the Janice Peacock building. Take a good look at the pillars near the edge of the building.

Janice gave a presentation at the Gathering that included a demo of how she makes her mask beads. Here are a few of Janice's beads - and gosh, they really do look like the pillars of that building across the street from the Miami Hyatt! What was really strange was that when you drive by those pillars, you can't see the faces - they just look like a bunch of spuds. I like the "Janice Peacock Building" much better than the "Idaho Potato Building"...



I'll have more on Miami later - right now I'm going to turn into a sleeping body. It's past my bedtime, and I DO need my beauty sleep (as if that's going to help, LOL!). Hope you're all having a happy and creative weekend!

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