Turning Lemons into Pollos in Miami

Please forgive me, after just completing Nikki Sixx's book This is Gonna Hurt, I'm on a bit of a photo kick.  Then again, it might not be all that bad for you to be temporarily relieved from my ramblings :)

On the way back from Nicaragua, a massive snow storm along the entire east coast led to cancelled flights out of our connecting city of Miami all the way up through Boston.  After exhausting all of our options, we sucked it up and joined hundreds of other travelers and spent Wednesday Night on the hard, unforgiving floor of MIA.

Our rescheduled flight was to leave Friday Morning and we miraculously landed a hotel room for Thursday Night with a check in at 8:00AM!  That's what I call early check in!  Needless to say, our luck was picking up.

Having all day to spend in the city, we got a quick nap and headed to a lunch spot Amy had been raving about: Pollo Tropical.  The food was great, and the place was like an unrefined Chipotle with a Cuban flair.

Next up, we navigated on foot to a Brewery and a Geocache through the arts district, an area home to amazing graffiti work blanketing almost every vertical surface in sight.

It was my first time visiting Miami and I believe we made the most of an unfortunate situation.  I can't wait to come back and spend more time enjoying the city, as well as the nearby National Parks!  Adios!

View from the hotel room

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

A Stroll and a Swim: Ojo de Agua, Ometepe, Nicaragua

On the day following the Fuego y Agua 50K Race, we donned our sandals and swimming gear and headed over to Ojo de Agua, which was only a few kilometers walk along the main, but hardly buzzing road.

Unfortunately, right after the final photo in this series was taken, yours truly decided to knock over the stool holding my camera phone and send it into the depths of the "The Ojo".  The next 36 hours consisted of drying it out and then photos appeared to capture, but mysteriously failed to save on my SD card.  My camera was having a moment not unlike the movie "The Hangover" where they couldn't remember anything about the previous night.  This was probably a good thing for me, considering our next stop was San Juan del Sur and we were being hosted by our new friend "Military Mike"; a guy who knows how to party.

Tiled-paved road walk, abundantly green

Roadside scene

Looking east

During the dry season, one of the few flowing streams on the island

Big trees!

Welcome to the swimming hole

Ojo de Agua (AKA Tourist Community Swimming Pool)

A February Morning in Granada, Nicaragua

Can't all mornings be like this?

Cool in the shade, great food, and even better company.  To be honest, we actually spent about 24 hours in Granada, but I didn't happen to take any decent photos until the next morning after our arrival!

A pretty standard Nicaraguan breakfast...Good ole gallopinto.

My sister chilling on the shaded roof-top deck of our hotel

Great view of the church from the deck as well

Church

Granada is covered with colorful street scenes like this

...And this...

Rickety dock in Lake Nicaragua, headed out to Las Isletas

One of three Howler Monkeys on a small island no bigger than your living room

Traditional Nica lunch!  Vigoron

Some more beautiful architecture

Next stop, Ometepe!