The Heat

We began Day 3 with an early lunch in St. Petersburg before the drive down to Miami to visit with Cristy's family. One advantage of travelling with iPhones is that we can more confidently veer off trail and avoid the major chains (the disadvantage is that you never feel really disconnected). So for lunch we decided to head to Ted Peters' Famous Smoked Fish, which has been featured on Food Networks's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. The place is known for two things: smoked fish and burgers. So we decided to get (1) a smoked salmon platter and (2) a cheese burger. And the food was great! One point for Food Network. The fish (with German potato salad) was excellent; burger was good but nothing special.

After lunch we rolled down I-75 towards Miami. Pretty unspectacular drive. There is a portion where the road turns due east through the Everglades which Cristy (and presumably others) call Alligator Alley. Kahlua and I did our best, but not a single alligator to be seen.

We got into Miami around 3pm and spent the evening at the Venereo house swimming in the pool and having dinner. Kahlua was very excited to get there -- think he appreciated being in a familiar place with space to run around. It also meant he got to spend with time their dog Oso (Spanish for 'bear'), who despite being three times as tall as Kahlua gets bossed around by him. Cristy thinks he's a bully for doing it; I think he's bothered by having to keep an eye on Oso to make sure he's staying in line. That, the sunshine, and the stream of guests to the house are a great combination to wear the dog out.

Sunday was Father's Day, and the Venereos hosted a good ol' family pig roast. Smaller pig than usual, but delicious as always. And I guess to be clear for those who have never visited, when I say pig roast I don't mean pork chops on the grill -- they get a pig and roast it in a box (la caja china). Head, feet, curly tail -- the whole thing. I had to leave the party a little early, though, because I had plans downtown.

My Uncle Jay and his family live in Memphis, but they also have a vacation condo (or two) in South Beach. Associated with that he has two season tickets to the Miami Heat. And Sunday was Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

Really appreciate him inviting me to the game -- talk about a rare lifetime experience. I drove to South Beach to pick-up Jay and then crossed back to the mainland and the American Airlines Arena. One advantage of travelling with a season ticket holder is that we parked and travelled to the game completely avoiding the mess of traffic downtown. As part of the 'White Hot Heat' campaign we all got shirts -- this one had Beat New York, Indiana, Boston crossed out and OKC remaining. Not too useful for me as an XL, but no matter -- we donned out shirts and settled in for the game.

Two overarching impressions. First, the NBA game is so fast. The 24 second shot clock is part of that, but what really amazed me is the speed of the players. I've seen some excellent players in college (Kyrie, Rondo, Horford, Ben Gordon, etc.) but to see the Top 1% of the college ranks playing all-out is awesome. Lebron, Wade, Bosh, Durant, Westbrook -- pretty cool. Second, the game was intense. Every possession felt so important; the crowd was reacting (and overreacting) to every drive, every shot, every call. I've been to big games before -- Vandy beating #1 Florida jumps to mind -- but even that didn't have the desperation of this game. Tremendous fun with the Heat pulling out a win despite being down 10 in the 3rd quarter. LeBron for MVP.

Plan for tomorrow is to have a final lunch with the Venereos and then start working our way north. We have 'Central Florida' on the itinerary -- we'll see where that puts us -- and are then hoping to hit Panama City Beach on Day 6.