Miami Errands

March 14, 2012

Although we have largely traveled around South Florida on foot and using public transporation, we rented a car last week to do a number of errands. All of our destinations were in, or near the 'Little Havana' section of Miami.

First stop was the Publix supermarket.  It was obvious that the store was largely Spanish-speaking as we entered, but I did not realize the extent until I had trouble asking where the men's room was.  My very small amount of Spanish does include 'el bano' so eventually I was sucessful. We ended up getting everything we needed ( a Publix is a Publix even in Little Havana).

After bringing the groceries back to the boat, we venturerd out for round two.

First we went to a laundromat/laundry on SW 27th Ave.  It had a coin laundry, a wash-and-fold service, and a cafeteria - great combination.  We weren't sure if I was going to leave Joyce there alone, but it seemed relatively safe.  With only one other English-speaking customer, Joyce said, "I just kept saying to myself - I am in Havana (Cuba)."

I (Tom) ventured on to Home Gas for Propane where English skills were virtually non-existent.  It was, however, pretty obvious what I needed from the 10 pound propane tank I was carrying so I managed to get it filled.  They got a kick out of the fact it did not take much to fill the tank; Joyce had told me it didn't need it, but I wanted to 'top it off' before leaving for the Bahamas.

I needed a haircut pretty badly, but the shops I had identified via the internet were either closed and/or in very bad neighborhoods.  I was fairly resigned to going to the 'Super Cuts' salon near the bus stop - a first trip to a 'salon' for me.   On the way back to the laundromat, however, I saw a sign for a small barbershop. Initially I was not sure it was open beacuse of the tinted windows, but I thought I might as well try. It was open and I got a great haircut for $8 - cheapest of the trip so far.

After picking up Joyce at the laundry, we returned to the boat with a very sucessful outing!  We had accomplished everything we wanted; although we had some difficulty communicating, everyone had been very friendly and helpful.

After this trip, we could better appreciate my cousin Matt's saying - "The nice thing about Miami, is its proximity to the United States". 


Tom,
Miami, FL