Miami/Keys reflections
I didn’t think it was possible, foodies that we are, places that we’ve been. A Fish Called Avalon on SoBe is the best restaurant I’ve ever tried. They aged my bourbon drink for 60 days before they knew I was coming or ordering it…I can’t even. Christopher, best filet. No contest. Their Bang Bang shrimp makes me want to close down Bonefish, and I *don’t* say that lightly. Latin soloist on the porch. Kindest, most impeccable servers. A classy step back in time. Double-nut-crusted key lime pie, the region’s fanfare, and after trying three other places (and as a Georgian, eating boasted Floridian key lime pie all my life), The Best. Filling melts like foam in your mouth. Snapper with toasted-macadamia-nut topping. I’m not doing it justice. Chef privately commissioned for Prince and Madonna. When you see us flying back down there just to eat, you’ll know; only did that twice, Maestro’s LVNV and City Tavern, Philly.
Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen, Key Largo- Just as good in its own way! Top 10 hole-in-the-wall for me, of ever. Bloody Mary, their homemade mix, can hang with anybody. Those dollar bills in the ceiling and car tags from every state on the wall, as it should be.
Can’t beat that drive from Miami through the Everglades to the buoy on Key West. 800 keys, 42 bridges, including the stunning 7-miler.
The end of the world as we know it, Southernmost point, Key West (above)- do the sunset at the bouy!
South Beach… Is Miami the East Coart LA? I say, yes! I like both. Miami is more accessible. Food can hold its own with anywhere, like I’d read. It’s old glamour and versatility/culture in one. Good live music. Wynwood Walls art 10/10! Don’t skip Wynwood, so inspiring.
Cafe con leche at Versailles in Little Havana, best I’ve had since Toledo, Spain. Nearly perfect brunch and pastries. And, legit, we purchased cigars after security let us under the rope. Tee, hee!
The weather in December, very much like Christmas songs written about LA. We never put the Mustang ragtop up. Never, night or day.
Don’t know that we’ll stay in the Keys in the future. SO glad we drove it! Cool island enclaves. Neat shops. Excellent food. Highlight was certainly seeing Coach Mike Leach (recently deceased, Miss. St.) barstool retired and hanging in ceiling with Ernest Hemingway, JFK, and Prez Truman at Captain Tony’s, the oldest bar in Florida. Downright tavernous. First-timer, you leave your bra there, so I did. I can’t stand that thing anyway. Bye!
Back to Miami. Friendly everywhere. Superb service. Quality massages. Food town. Cocktail mecca. I read it and I believe it. Miami is back. I’ll be back. 
My only sibling, younger (not by much) sister Betsy lived in *Park City* and worked for Sundance Film Festival during several seasons. Park City is in * * because we will come back around to it.
: Yes, that’s it, exactly! I don’t know about it being better as an outsider because the Utahns I know can be passionate about Utah. Then again, a significant portion leave the state/church because of their ‘rigid’ upbringing…
). Don’t go anywhere and expect it to be like home! One of my favorite quotes is ‘A lot of people go somewhere thinking it will be glad to see them, while travel should be you, being glad to see it’ – – – 
). 
and the 5 national parks (Bryce and Zion come to mind) are, to lift Betsy’s words, ‘magical, bizarre, beautiful, and jagged’. Great Salt Lake is 1 million acres 
and in places, 9 times saltier than the ocean
, oops, I did it again). Oh, and pastrami! Get a warm pastrami in Utah, in a little ski town cafe after a day on the slopes. Or, during a picnic canyon hike, mid spring, with yuccas, cacti, wildflowers, and goats as your friends. How my Utahns do love pastrami, picnics, and nature.
-Yeehaw!- and I’m gonna write on it for days, prob by city/region
. Hey, first cousin-Texan transplant Gena Tribble, might I persuade you to drop in with a guest writing quote? Your romance writing suggestion was interesting
and I did accompany you to the graves of our ancestors yesterday… –CC
From Clare Cinnamon... 