Trippin': Miami - Lincoln Rd

When in Miami, one of the places to hit up would be Lincoln Rd. That street stretches for many many blocks and is closed off to any vehicular traffic. Sah-weet! Here you will find hundreds of restaurants to choose from and there's also lots of stores to shop at. Here in Miami, the freak doesn't just come out at night, it's quite alive during the day.

This just seems so evil to me. I feel embarrassed and sorry for this poor patriotic doggy.

Myth: Have cute dog ... will attract cute girls ...

Myth Buster: MOS DEF does NOT always ring true! But seriously. Miamians love their dogs. Almost everyone was out walking about with their canine friend. They were everywhere!

Here's a guy with no arms who found talent painting with his feet. Something that the bf and I noticed: if he has no arms ... how does he manage to keep his feet so clean and his toe nails nicely trimmed? It's a mystery.

Hookah in a watermelon!

This dude actually stopped me and told me take a photo of him with his toy.

There were fresh fruit juice stands everywhere.

Restaurant owners have taken advantage of the gorgeous weather that Miami has to offer by providing a LOT of outdoor/patio seating. There are throngs of tables lined along both sides as you walk down Lincoln Rd.

Looks like a cop limo. But not sure if it really is.

Trippin': Miami - SoBe

The beaches in Miami are ammmaaaaazing! OMG the water is this frick frackin' blue-green color. We were in Miami the day before our cruise set off and I completely regret not swimming at the beaches there because I figured there would be lots of swimming on beaches to be done in the next couple of days. That was not the case but I'll get to that in another entry.

Myth: Everyone in Miami is sizzling hawt.
Myth Buster: That is definitely NOT true. At All.

I'm not sure if it was because of the area we were in or what but we saw people of every size and shape and look. I know that most young'ns like to hang around Ocean Dr between 1st and 8th. That's where the cool people hang out. Maybe that's also where all the (fake!) pretty people are. We explored the area between 8th and 17th Street. Maybe all the mediocre people were visitors just like us. Who knows.

This is the Miami Dade police station. Our Houston police station does not look anything like that!

The proprietor of the space above Starbuck's is World Erotic Art Museum.

Trippin': Miami - Oriente @ Cardozo

1300 Ocean Dr
Miami Beach, FL 33139

Two Miamians recommended Oriente when we asked for a good Cuban restaurant. Doesn't sound very Cuban does it. Oriente is the Cardozo Hotel restaurant and it was opened by Gloria Estefan. The food there is supposed to be Cuban-Asian fusion type of fare. It was very trendy and a bit pricier than we would have liked. Everything in frick frackin' Miami is a lot more expensive than anything and everything in Houston. I think we all had some sort of sandwich. The food wasn't as Cuban as we would have liked it but I think we already knew that going in. We tried another Cuban restaurant a few nights later that also did not satisfy our palate for Cuban cuisine. What the heezy?!? At least we get to say we tried out mami Estefan's money maker.

So what exactly is Cuban-Asian fusion? It's calamari with a Chinese to go container and chopsticks as garnish.

Home chick here stopped by our table asking if we wanted to buy some Cubans. Uh yeah. But not at the risk of getting into some federal trouble.

And then we saw this crazy guy riding by. Because there's no way to say this without sounding gross, I'm just going to go ahead and say it. He let me pet his snake and then asked for some money. Man! I'm cringing as I'm writing this. But c'mon! The guy is holding an actual snake!

Tribute to the hostess with the mostess.

The coolest looking restroom evar!

Oh Really?: City Pass

*photo courtesy of funmaps.com*

Houston has now joined the ranks of other cities such as Chicago and Seattle in creating a City Pass which grants admission to several touristy locations for one questionable low price. For just $34.00, you get to enjoy 'free' general admission to six different area attractions. For children the City Pass will only cost $24.00. Special exhibits is not included and will cost extra. The pass is valid for nine days so there's no real rush to see it all.

Space Center Houston
Downtown Aquarium
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Houston Zoo
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston OR The Children's Museum of Houston
George Ranch Historical Park OR The Health Museum

You can obviously see the pros and cons to this gimmick. I know my mom always takes out-of-towners to check out NASA but that's about it from the list. If you know visitors who are into museums, then this is perfect. If not, pass on the city pass. I don't think I even knew there was a George Ranch Historical Park OR The Health Museum. Looks like they were scraping the bottom of the murky bayous. If anything, check out the link to see what other cities are offering.