May 17- May 20: Miami, FLA

It's so hard to write a blog after too much time has passed.  The longer I wait, the more I seem to want to procrastinate.  But, I know that if I don't write soon, I will lose my entire readership.

May 17-20 Miami, Fla.

"Dani came to Miami, FLA: hitch hiked her way across the SA"

For my older or unhip readership, that's a bastardization of a Lou Reed tune.

I spent my first few days back in the country at my brother's house in South Beach Miami.  I was concerned about staying there right before his and Val's wedding, but as it turns out, it was a pretty chill visit.  They worked during the day and I loafed.  I was reeling from culture shock.  I found myself accidentally speaking Spanish, but the funny thing is that in Miami, more than half the population speaks Spanish, so it's not a bad place to make that mistake.

I had arranged for my mother to bring some of my clothes to Miami when she was down for the Valerie's bridal shower, because I knew that my limited suite of backpacking clothes was in no way, shape, or form appropriate for Miami.  I was so excited after wearing the same clothes every other day for 5.5 months to don something new.  Sadly, my mother grabbed the clothes that were sitting on top which happen to be discards I mailed home during my travels which included wool baselayers and other hiking clothes.

Trying on my bridesmaid's dress.  The dress was a size 8 and I'm a size 4.  How ever am I going to keep this dress on?

I rented a car and drove to Boca Raton one day to visit grandma who is now confined to bed and completely non-compos mente.  To my delight, Aunt Anita was there visiting too.  I spent the afternoon shopping for shoes to go with the yellow bridesmaid's dress and making other vanity-type appointments (subtext to be interpreted as waxing).  It is harder than one would think because stiletto type heels are in vogue and I cannot walk in anything more than an inch high. 

I was treated to dinner with my aunts and uncles.  It was so nice to sneak a visit in solo; i.e., before the wedding madness.  I had originally planned to spend the night in Boca, but Brett and Val were planning to do the official marital ceremony in the morning in Miami and asked me to be a witness.  My cousin Fred is officiating the actual wedding, but according to State of NC laws, he cannot legally marry them.  How often do I get to see my baby brother tie the knot.  I bought myself a decent pair of shoes to wear for the event and a nice tank top, since my post South America repetoire only included hiking boots and crocs.  Honestly, I don't want to accumulate anything new at this point since I am still essentially traveling.

Brett and Valerie didn't end up getting married the next day.  They forgot to fill in some application and therefore had to wait 3 days for bureaucratic processing.  So, i left the courthouse in my only decent clothes.  That afternoon, I went down fancy Lincoln Road to look for wedding shoes then dropped by to see my cousin Adam and his kids.  It was the first time I have had a one on one visit with Adam in a long time and it was really great.  We grew up together.  The kids are adorable, considerate, caring, and fun to be around.  I also got to be around at bath time.

On Friday afternoon, I took a flight to Charlotte where my parents were waiting.