Creating a new AARP routine

After New Year’s Day I wrote about my predictions for the year based on what happened to me that day. Well, apparently I missed seeing all the walls that surrounded me at the time and didn’t even think that walls, and especially the paint on them, was going to be such an important part of my life this year. Yes, paint, the mundane stuff that goes on walls, trim and doors in any building is quickly becoming my reason for living and clearly it should have been more prominent in my forecasts for 2008.

Today we celebrated our first week living in South Beach, and as it was our routine in Emerald Isle, we started the day promptly with a brisk 1.5 hrs walk. South Beach, which is the southernmost tip of Miami Beach, is definitely a walker’s paradise. Everyday we have been experimenting with different routes to see which one turns out to be more interesting. Already we have different walk “themes” according to the types of sights and sounds we want to experience. There is the peaceful waterfront bay walk which starts on the waterfront right below our building and ends up on the beach. Then there is the everyday businesses route via Alston Ave. where we see the ACE hardware store, Whole Foods, and numerous restaurants and fast-food establishments catering mostly to the local more permanent community. The touristy route which is just about everywhere else but becomes more concentrated on Ocean Dr., Lincoln Mall and Collins Ave. The sandy walk with its variations: the boardwalk, the hard sand or the soft sand by the water. And then there is the sleazy walk with all the business catering to partygoers and those with alternate lifestyles; during the daytime it’s pretty lame, except for the window displays, but I’m sure it’d be the place to be if we were walking past midnight any night.

One of the concerns I had about moving to South Beach was that it was not Cuban enough for what I wanted. One thing that I thought was missing was my fresh Cuban bread, something that I have always fantasized of having walking distance from home. I thought for sure it would be something that I was going to find only when I drove to the mainland (Miami) across the I-395 causeway, but I was pleasantly surprised to find several spots along our walk where I can find this coveted delicacy. So to commemorate our one week anniversary at our new home, at the end of our walk I picked up some bread, tomatoes and cheese to fix myself a basic staple of life. I’ll worry about painting and unpacking after I’m done enjoying my sandwich; there will plenty of time for that later.