-flying into Houston in the middle of a thunderstorm...why God made Rescue Remedy
-sitting in the Houston airport for 4 hours, and then flying back out through the next thunderstorm
-watching lightning bounce from cloud to cloud while flying high above the spectacular show
-no small cars left by the time I finally got into Miami, so they rented me an uncomfortably ginormous Chevy Uplander
-driving down I95 at 1 in the morning, chanting to myself: "millions of soccer moms drive these things, so can I"
-Art Deco yumminess and my room key attached to a toy alligator at the super-charming Indian Creek Hotel
-morning walk on the boardwalk along the ocean down into South Beach
-all manner of beach bums and bunnies
-wandering around the Art Deco district, stumbling upon one beautiful building after another
-tamarind BBQ duck confit and fontina sandwich + kimchee slaw + Chardonnay
-lazy afternoons by the pool, listening to dim horny youngsters attempt to flirt with each other
-my own personal pool cat
-I always forget the sun doesn't go down over the water on that side of the country
-I always forget how attractive I find surfer boys, especially really cut surfer boys
-grilled sea scallops in a zesty tomato sauce with currants, chorizo, and crusty bread + Pinot Grigio + warm baklava with dried apricots and honeyed yogurt
-dining outdoors for pretty much every meal
-climbing all 109 steps of a swaying spiral staircase on trembling legs up the middle of the Cape Florida lighthouse
-views of Stiltsville (and the suddenly incoming storm) from up top
-following a peregrine falcon through mangrove wetlands in Bill Baggs State Recreation Area, trying not to think about possible alligators lurking by the side of the trail
-grilled shrimp skewers + flan post-hike, overlooking No Name Harbor
-I had hoped that in the 15 years since I was last in Florida the mosquitoes might have forgotten how tasty they find me
-crepe Italienne with prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella + the house red + Earl Grey to sober up again
-strolling along Espanola Ave by night with a cone of strawberry ice cream
-a program of this year's Oscar-nominated short drama films at the wonderfully intimate Miami Beach Cinemateque, all of the films inspiring in their own way, but especially the takes-place-in-Senegal Binta and the Great Idea
-the infinitely disturbing display of South Beach on a Friday night
-Roman omelette with tomatoes, kalamata olives, and dry ricotta + Mimosa
-the Holocaust Memorial
-70 galleries from all over Latin America gathered into the Miami Convention Center for ArteAmericas
-compliments and double-takes and blatant scoping
-pasta stuffed with spinach and ricotta in a creamy pink sauce + Pinot Noir + white-chocolate-dipped ice cream in a hot chocolate sauce
-Aterciopelados bringing the awesome funky Colombian psych-rock to the North Beach Bandshell, under the stars and right next to the water
-my iPod seeing fit to play Sufjan Stevens's "Chicago" just as the shores of Lake Michigan came into view
-pure agony: merely being on layover in Chicago and not being able to stay a few days
-consoling myself with a slice of deep dish in the airport
-home sweet kitties