This morning I drove to the airport very early in the morning. My flight is scheduled for the afternoon, but I am attempting to get on the flight at 7 AM to arrive in Miami before lunchtime. Because I am Executive Platinum on American Airlines I was at the top of the standby list to get on the earlier flight. The gate agents actually cleared me from the standby list before boarding, which was nice so I didn’t need to worry about finding a space in the overhead bin to store my bag.
Of course this means I was downgraded back to economy, but it was worth it to get five additional hours in Miami.
The flight was uneventful (which is a good thing). After I landed in Miami I got my checked bag (which took a while to find the correct luggage claim) and followed the signed for the MIA Mover which goes to the bus / train station.
The normal bus ticket was $2.25 and the all day pass was $5.65. I decided to get the all day ticket in case I wanted to take the bus somewhere. Bus 150 goes straight from the airport to Mid Beach and then turns south to South Beach. It was actually pretty quick and I didn’t need to wait long for the bus. The bus even had luggage racks which was convenient.
It was a short walk from the bus stop to the Royal Palm hotel where I was staying in South Beach.
The hotel wasn’t spectacular, but did have an ocean view.
view of the beach from the balcony
The ‘resort fee’ supposedly included beach chairs and umbrellas, but they sure did make it difficult to get those – or even beach towels. I was a bit disappointed in the service, especially when a facility charges extra for the services.
After checking in I walked down South Beach to South Pointe Park Pier. I got a few nice photos at the pier. The water was a nice blue color.
I grabbed a quick lunch at Burger King, not ideal, but it was nearby and quick.
I walked back to the hotel and spent a little time at the beach.
I decided to have dinner at the Yard House which was nearby the hotel. They have Ahi Poke nachos which are pretty good (not as good as Hawai’i).
I took a picture of this building / store in South Beach on the way home.
Here’s the Google Maps timeline for today:
