Miami Beach

Tuesday March 25…10:30pm

We had an uneventful night at the Micosukee Casino. Slept well though as it was fairly cool…temperature at the bedside in the morning was 14C (58F), so it was comfortable.
 
We found a laundromat on the way to Miami Beach and stopped there for an hour. It was in a strip mall that also had a grocery store and several other smaller stores. It was only around 9:30am, so not very busy. Ruth went in to do the laundry while I took Whiskey for a little walk and had a coffee and checked the internet. We were getting close to finishing up there when we heard a knock on the window and again experienced the typical unfriendly attitude towards RVer’s in South Eastern Florida. An old guy tried to tell us in Spanish, that we were taking up too many parking spaces. I explained that we were using the laundry, one of the businesses in the strip mall, and we think he said that we shouldn’t. He didn’t offer a suggestion of where we should park, just that we shouldn’t take up so many spaces. I would have thought his opinion had some merit if the lot was full, but there were quite a few empty spaces at that hour of the morning. Anyhow, he refused to speak English, and wandered off to the grocery store. I don’t get it.

Then, we continued on to Miami Beach. Now, I was hesitant about going to Miami Beach in the motorhome…strictly from a parking perspective. But Ruth wanted to see the area, and so did I. So we tried to get into a parking lot and had to drive around some pretty tight corners to get there, and then they wouldn’t let us in because we were “oversize”. The attendant was helpful though, and gave us directions to the Miami Beach Convention Center where he said we should be able to park. We got there, and it was a huge lot, about 80% empty. The guy there said we weren’t allowed, but he would check with his boss. This is a city parking lot. Boss gets back to him and says that we can park there, but instead of the normal $15, we would have to pay $30 because we were taking up 2 spots. The normal $15 charge was for all day. We explained we only wanted about 2 hours, but he still said it was $30. Needless to say, we declined. Remember, this is city parking…a huge lot…and 80% empty.

And if you wanted to take a Limo Find one that is stretch and black at a good price.

As we exited the parking lot, we saw 2 spots on the street that had metered parking. I could squeeze Sherman into both those spots and pay $1 per hour per meter. So we parked for 3 hours there for $6. They’re so backwards in their thinking. The money from the parking meters obviously goes to the city. And then to top it off, a parking control guy comes by at about 4pm just as we were leaving to explain that someone had complained and that “Miami Beach doesn’t cater to RV’s”…in those exact words. Even though there were absolutely no signs about RV’s as we had seen in some other Florida cities.

But, we did enjoy our beachfront walk. The area between 5th St. and 16th St. is very “art deco” and worth the effort. I wouldn’t take an RV down there again though.

Miami Beach

Miami Beach again

Ruth and Whiskey on the Beachwalk (it's dog friendly!)

Kevin and Whiskey on the main drag

We then drove back up to West Palm Beach and are parked at Alex’s hotel again. They don’t play again until 7pm Wednesday night. Not sure what we’ll do tomorrow.

Total Nights Sleeping in the RV… 158

March Fuel $ 593.14

March Grocery $ 459.20

March Overnight Costs $109.00