Cruising Miami

When a little boy loves boats, how can a grandparent refuse to take him for a ride? We drove up to Miami’s Bayside Marketplace and took a ride on the Island Queen. The tours run throughout the day and take you around the area by the cruise terminal and then around Star Island where all of the rich and famous and/or infamous have huge mansions. There have also been a few good movie scenes made there, notably the white mansion in Scarface.

The kids weren’t so interested in the mansions until the tour leader announced she lived in one. Our little guy wanted to know if he could go and play in her yard. It turned out the mansion she pointed out, largest on the island, belongs to some doctor who is CEO for a pharmaceutical company. I suggested to our grandson that he could live in a house like that, “Isn’t your daddy a doctor?”

He rolled his eyes and answered, “He’s an ocean doctor.” (PhD in Marine Science)

One of the other interesting sights was the American Airlines Arena. Don’t recognize the name? Home of Miami Heat. We tried to boo as we passed by but no one paid attention to us. Well, if Lebron’s new house is on Star Island or the other private island out there that has multi-million dollar condos, he won’t be far from the workplace.

We also passed by the cruise terminal of Miami. Luckily the only ship in was a Carnival, my least favorite line, so I didn’t have cruise envy.