I share the Cucumber Salad recipe earlier that I re-created from my recent trip to Miami, and I also shared a few pictures of my friends, but I really do want to better document and share adventures in my life, but they are always the most difficult and time consuming posts to write, but I really want to force myself to do it! Â So here I go…
Here is a before and “later” picture of my dear high school friends. Natalie and Nicole are two friends that I’ve kept in very close touch with through the years, and we needed a getaway. I typically see them every year or every other year, back in Houston, because all 3 of our parents still live there. That makes it easy.
First picture is from my senior year in high school in 1996 to our recent trip in 2016. 20 years!!
Nicole is single and works in Miami, Natalie lives in Kansas with her family consisting of 5 kids.  I’m praying Nicole will find a good man to marry, soon. I’ve talked with her over the years about her relationships, and have met a good handful of the guys she has dated, but none a great long term match.
Natalie and I flew into the Ft.L. airport just an hour apart, and Nicole had to finish up working, so we took an UBER (my first!) on an adventure.
Natalie assured me that Uber’s were totally safe and clean, so I trusted her and did a snapchat of the guy talking to us, just in case we were never to be heard from again.
He took us to visit my blogging friend, Christy, who writes at The Girl Who Ate Everything. She then chastised me for taking an uber, but I didn’t want to bother her for a ride! I met her nearly 3 years ago when she came to Austin, and we’ve connected since then, and I always said if I was going to Miami, I was going to pay her a visit!
I was happy I got to meet her husband and kids (I love meeting my blogger friends families–so rare!), and got to chat for an hour or so. She then drove us to meet Nicole at the Ft. Lauderdale LDS Temple.
Nicole got there just in the knick of time for our appointment in the temple. Just in time to snap a QUICK PIC of the 3 of us!
It was nice to do this together, inside the temple is so peaceful, and a great way to start our weekend together. We went out to eat in downtown Ft. Lauderdale at Tuscan Grille, which consisted of lots and lots of garlic bread. I have no control lately. Â We talked and laughed and ate, good times.
I shared this quote on instagram, it’s fitting for a travel adventure.
In the morning, we walked from Nicole’s 25th floor apartment to the beach, just a mile or so away, nice. Of course, I wasn’t planning to “exercise” and had to borrow Nicole’s running shoes–perfect fit.
After heading back to her place for showers and changing, Colie sped us to meet up with her friend for lunch in downtown Miami at Cipriani. Check out the Cucumber Salad copycat recipe I shared from there earlier.
Here are some pics her friend took of us in the restaurant
I had to snap a shot of my new friend’s Ferrari to show my boys, I thought they’d get a kick out of that.
We then went to South Beach to see the water (gorgeous!) and N&N were sad it was too chilly and windy to sit on a blanket on the beach, but not me. I like to enjoy the beach without sitting in it and getting sticky and sunburnt. This was fine by me.
I photographed this adorable lifeguard stand, and wanted to take it home with me…
We asked a nice father/son duo playing catch on the beach to snap a picture of us.
We then perused South Beach Miami, and I stopped into the DASH store, owned by my favorite reality TV sisters.
We ate out. Chatted til late. Next morning, we packed up and stopped at the beach on the way to church so I could grab some seashells for my girls.
At first, Nat stayed in the car (it was COLD and windy!) but Nicole and I took this with my selfie stick
Then we snapped this of our trio before heading out
I snapped this picture before church started, to send to my friend Michele, whose son is on a mission in Miami. I love the diversity there, just not enough in my suburban town, most of the congregation are from Haiti, and many speak Creole. I really wished I had more of an opportunity to meet them, but we had to jet out right after to make our plane flights.
Off to the airport we went, and a non stop flight home to my family, I was there by 6pm that night.
I am grateful my husband is supportive of this little getaways, and I don’t feel bad going, know I give my all to my family when I am home. 2 trips in 3 weeks wasn’t ideal (I went to AZ in January) but I feel grateful for people to visit that I love and love me.
Have you had a friend getaway recently??
To see more of our family travel adventures, click that link!
