Miami 2021: Diary – Day 4

We slept in before eating breakfast. This was our last full day at this hotel before switching to the next one and it was a weekend so we took advantage of our ability to relax.

Museum Time and Running

My wife decided to take the boys to the Science Museum which was near the Bayside Marketplace we had been to the previous day. I stayed behind as I wanted to go for a run.

This time on my run I headed south at an exploratory pace. It wasn’t far until I got the the southernmost part of Miami Beach where there is a park along the shipping canal. I decided to do a loop instead of doing an out and back route.

I had been looking online for a place to get our laundry done. One place close to the hotel was closed on Sundays but I found one further away, but still within walking distance that was open. Before my run I had called the number but had been hung up on. When I called again nobody answered. Not a great start. But I wondered if the number I had found was just wrong. During my run, I looked up the location and it was on my loop route back so decided to stop by and ask about the services they offered, hoping they had a reasonable wash and fold service.

The second half I was running on city sidewalks, but they were smooth and not very crowded. I easily found the laundry and went in to ask about the services after catching my breath.

For $2 a pound I could get the clothes back within 6 hours. There was a $20 minimum and it was cash only. That all worked for me so I planned to bring back our dirty clothes once I got back to the hotel.

The hotel was less than a mile away and I made good time on the final leg. The sun was strong and it was getting really hot so I was glad I was almost done!

Back at the hotel I took a shower after I cooled off and gathered all the dirty clothes I could find before carrying them back to the laundry. I tried finding shade to walk in but it was still a hot walk. It only took 15 minutes but it felt like more. Once I arrived I got the clothes weighed, paid, and got my claim ticket. The clothes would be ready by 5:30 that evening. Perfect!

Dinner and Art Deco

The family had returned to the room by mid-afternoon, tired from the walking at the hotel and the heat. We spend much of the afternoon relaxing in the room. As 5:30 approached I headed out to pick up the clothes. Thankfully it was slightly cooler by this time.

We decided to split up again for dinner. My youngest and I wanted to go to a place called Krispy Krunchy Chicken. When we got there the store was completely empty. Empty as in there was only someone painting the floor. Clearly it wasn’t open. Back to Google Maps and we found Harolds Shrimp and Chicken just a block away. Walking in it was deserted but the owner was in the back cooking an order. When he came out we made our order. They didn’t have what we originally wanted but we eventually found a type of chicken they had. We got it to go as it was takeout only.

Back at the hotel, the food was good, but not great. I should have ordered more as I was hungry from all my running and walking during the day. Oh well.

When Tomatico and my wife got back, we decided to go to the nearby Art Deco district to see what it was all about at night. We skipped the restaurants as we had already eaten but visited some of the shops. The boys saw a playground they were much too old for but insisted they wanted to play on it. They had fun, though! Afterwards we stopped by a bakery to get some cookies and sweets for dessert before heading back to the hotel.

The next day would be a transition day. My wife had to work but I was off and the kids were on school vacation. I had checked with the front desk earlier in the day to determine if we could get late checkout and we were ok to stay until 4:00. We’d have to see how my wife’s meetings lined up to figure out a window to move to the next hotel.