1-16-07 Hank flies home and Miami

LJ and I drove Hank to the airport this morning. Sad to send him home so soon. It seemed odd to see him in long pants (he was HOT as it was 75 when we woke up at 7:00) and I’m sure he froze as soon as he got off the plane in Seattle. I haven’t cooked the whole time he was here as he kept taking us out to dinner. Sure is fun to have your kids pick up the bill!!!! Thanks Hank! LJ and I drove along Miami Beach on our way back to Shark Valley to meet Gene and the motorhome. We walked the beach a bit but it had tons of Portuguese Man of War all along it. No one else seemed concerned but it made us nervous. It is a beautiful beach though. We stopped for fun at Neiman Marcus…I can’t believe I went in there in grubby shorts and dirty tennis shoes—no make up—wind blown hair. We were way under dressed but LJ didn’t seem to care a bit. Lots of high priced brands…lots of REALLY expensive handbags to make LJ drool. She even checked out the lingerie department—so I think she should write off the trip as research for Nordstrom! We thought it was interesting that they only take American Express. The island Miami Beach is on is one pastel high-rise condominium (hotel?) after another. Each at least 30 stories and jammed side by side. You can’t see the beach except where there are public beaches. We drove through the art-deco district and across the bridge into Miami. Interesting but way too crowded for me. We managed to rendezvous with Gene with no trouble, hooked back up and we’re on our way up the west coast of Florida. The highlight of the day for Laura was probably sleeping in her first Walmart!