Drag queens, Chicken and South Beach

Now, that is what I expected when I thought about Miami. Waitresses in leopard print bikinis, "men" in make-up and pink skirts who will kiss a girl's boobs for cash (yes, the ladies pay to have a photo taken with this strange she-man kissing/grabbing her) and banana yellow thongs...on a European man at the beach.

So that's not WHY I came to Miami this summer, but it is a bit more exciting that the territory around where we live in Coral Gables at the U Miami dorms. Relying on buses, it took us an hour and a half to get to SB, then we strolled along Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive - two of the main streets in SB, enjoyed a coffee, a bit of crazy window shopping, and hit the flat, flawless, fantastic white sand beach, the sun winking off small waves as the tide came in. We enjoyed the sun, the sand, the water, and the view for about an hour until the afternoon lightning storm hit; through blasting megaphones, the lifeguards demanded we all exit the bathtub-esque water.

With an hour to kill as the heavens angrily opened, we had lunch at an old-timey, over-priced deli. Meandering through the main strip, we took macabre photos at the Versace Mansion where the clothing mogul was shot on his front step a decade ago. The blood's gone nowadays.

Returning to the beach, we had a tournament of "Chicken". I had never played, and lost my first match but won the second. We had a peanut gallery of thirty-something men watching and betting on who would win. One exclaimed "I've got my money on the pretty one." As we all glared at him for such a rude comment, we added "so I can't lose- they're both pretty". Gathering what was left of their vanishing maturity, they departed.

Finishing our homage to the beach, we sought out a tattoo/piercing shop with ease. (Some parts of SB are similar to the trashiness of Myrtle Beach in SC). On girl in our group wanted a belly button piercing, so we found the least sketchy place (it's all relative) and she did it. We all watched and engaged in conversation with the tattoo-covered store owner. I never knew the s-word could be a synonym for so many basic English words. Our friend is fine, happy, and stylishly displaying her new addition.

Sunday is passing with a much more domestic scene: a 90-degree run, tanning at the pool while grading papers, and a much-anticipated shopping trip at the local mall down US-1.