Why I hate going out in Coconut Grove

I know alot of people in the grove are grumbling about this 5 am vs 2 am rule. They argue that it's going to kill businesses because people don't want to end their parties at 2 a.m., and thus will be driven to other parts of Miami.

I went out last weekend to the grove to meet some friends, and I have my own opinion as to why the grove's late-night scene is dying. I remember going out in the grove in grad school, and it being packed. I also remember walking back to my friend's house a few years ago and seeing a nasty knife fight. Has it changed? Does that happen all the time? I don't know because I rarely go back. And the reason why is parking. All over the grove there are these obnoxious "no parking" signs right smack in front of pay stations. Can I park there or not? Is there some arbitrary rule that dictates when I get ticket and when I don't? Because the whole purpose of my parking on the street is so I don't have to pay $6-$10 dollars to safeguard my car for two hours. That's ridiculous.

Some people may counter with the whole, "well you could park a little farther out." And no, I cannot. Reason being, I have yet to hear of the police catching the grove rapist, and I refuse to risk that. Not to mention that parts of the grove have a bad reputation, combine that with the grove rapist and that fond memory of the knife fight and after circling the grove for 30 minutes looking for well-lit parking that won't cost me more than a round or two of drinks and I have already said, "screw it, I'm going to South Miami."

Then if all of this isn't enough of a deterrence, while the grove isn't all about how you look and what you are wearing, it is still pretentious. Often, Grovites have an attitude of annoyance, like they don't want to share their area with non-Grovites. Really? Grow up and get out of the sandbox. When I lived in the Gables, no one ever had that attitude. Probably because local businesses and people there realized that in order for the city to do things like, you know, pay bills and maintain the area, they needed all the cashflow they can get.

The sad thing is, I like the grove. I always have. I like the artsy feel to it, I like that, for the most part, the stores and restaurants are local. I like the relaxed air about it. But it has become too much of a pain to go there. And apparently I am not the only one that holds that opinion. Look at how dead it has become, compared to a few years ago.

Really?

Dude, I don't know who you are, but this is an intervention. You can't have a skull decal on your car when you drive a VW Beetle. It doesn't work.

*Spotted at the Bird Road Best Buy

Benefit Concert for Haiti this Weekend at Bayfront Park

Just heard this morning that there's a benefit concert at Bayfront Park to support Haiti. Here is the link for more information: http://www.haitimizik.org/. Some of the best bands in Miami will be there and entrance is based on your donation. All donations will go to the Red Cross. Hope you can make it and support your local musicians in SoFla and the people in Haiti who have lost so much.

- L -

Alternative Transit Fail: Miami

Is it just me? Over the past week, so many stories have popped up in my Google Reader about people being hit by cars while riding bikes in South Florida. Of course all the bike/transit blogs have been reporting this for awhile, but even Rick from SFDB posted on how he no longer bikes in South Florida because of how dangerous it is. I mean, this week children were hit by cars in Fort Lauderdale, a man was killed on Key Biscayne and every other week, someone else is being hit.

Honestly I have been mulling over this post for awhile. Reason being, el Hombre and I take our bikes out for rides in our neighborhood, and I have taken my bike to ride to my karate school a few times. Even with the bike lanes, I am still forced to ride on the sidewalk. Why? Because the streets are poorly lit, overgrown and the bike lanes will start and end with no rhyme or reason. That's just not safe. Even if they were lit, people are constantly speeding to get everywhere (in fact, we saw a girl turn on a right without stopping and hit a biker on the crosswalk a few weeks ago), and everyone is now texting and driving. Seriously! Put the f*****g phone down, slow down, stop at designated spots (for example, red lights and stop signs) and watch where you are going!

The fact of the matter is, unfortunately Miami is not ready to be a bike-friendly town. Critical Mass can ride through Brickell all they want, but that's not going to change anything. Until bike safety is highly regarded by the majority of the people living across Miami-Dade County, a once-a-week bike ride en mass is not going to cut it.

Oh yeah, and anyone who tries to use South Beach as an example of a pedestrian-friendly area, don't even try. I lived there for years and have been hit by cars ignoring red lights and stop signs three times, in three totally different parts of town.

Tip for locals and soon-to-be locals: Avoid Progressive

As you may remember, about three or four weeks ago, South Florida was hit with some torrential downpours, flooding many parts of the city. Streets were shut down, people were flooded out of their houses, and their cars. Unfortunately, some of my friends were among that. My good friend and her husband were unfortunate enough to have one of their cars flooded out while he was teaching a martial arts class in North Miami-Dade County. The parking lot flooded so badly that he and one of his students pushed the car out of the waist-deep water onto a hill, and waited hours before they could even leave, since they were stranded. Long story short, my friends had the car towed to a mechanic and called their auto insurance company, Progressive Auto Insurance, to report the incident.

We were all sure that the car would be totaled out, and she was stressing out about having to buy a new car, since that one, while in great condition, was older. To great surprise, Progressive determined the car fixable and approved the mechanic to work on it. Once they replaced the computer in the car, it wouldn't start, so they replaced the battery. Then the fuel pump. They also approved the car's floorboards and seats to be shampooed, since the water had come so high that it had to be done. I guess when the mechanic turned the car on and the started was broken and the clutch needed to be replaced as well, the adjuster realized he screwed up and should have totaled the car out in the first place. SO he goes back and tells the mechanic that the battery, which was already purchased and installed was not, in fact, approved. Then he said that the clutch and started were not the fault of the flood, which is interesting as that car was not driving like that before. I mean, my friend's husband would have noticed it, as he uses it to drive around to teach at the different studios and fitness centers.

Mind you, at this point, my friend and her husband are living off one car for three weeks. She is carpooling so that he can still get to work so they can still make their bills on time. Also, she has been on Progressive for about 6 years, and has a full-coverage policy on both cars. When she called her adjuster, he told her the mechanic said the problems were not from the flood. When she had both the adjuster and the mechanic on the phone, that never came up. Clearly he lied to her. He also hung up on her when she was asking to speak with a manager. Really? Serious Fail Progressive! You cannot clearly communicate when someone's bills come up, and then refuse to do the work you are being paid to do. That is not customer service, that's corporate greed.

Now the sad part is she finally got a manager on the phone. After she filed a complaint with the corporate office (who never responded), sent out tweets to Progressive's Twitter account (their response: Call the 1-800 number to discuss how we can help you with your policy.... uh, did you read the initial tweet? that deserves a #SocialMediaFail) and called the hotline multiple times. After she threatened to cancel her policy, and filed a report with the Better Business Bureau and Consumer Affairs, they finally decided to call her back. Now the mechanic doesn't want to work on the car because he has not been paid for any of the work.

So what do you do? Do you really have to fight so hard in order to get any customer service? Does Progressive really think that they can cover up their mistake by refusing to pay for repairs? And ultimately, is trying to save a few thousand dollars worth losing long-term customers?

My point here is this. These big corporations are still greedy. Things are not changing. Apparently the customer does not matter to them unless they are getting money. I was always taught that my word should be important. If I promise something, I should always follow through on it. I was under the impression that if you create a business model, you should adhere to it, and these insurance companies, whether they are health insurance, auto or homeowner, think their business model is that we pay them lots of money so that we get a shiny card to hold in our wallet, and a three-week fight to get what we pay for. Most people would have given up by now. Thankfully my friend has not and will not.

So if you are shopping around for auto insurance, be aware that this will probably happen to you if you get Progressive. Because this is South Florida. It rains and floods here. Especially during the summer.

South Florida Farmers' Market

So news has been spreading through the local blogasphere that there's a new farmers/ market in town. Well, sort of anyways. The Pinecrest Farmers' Market has moved locations from Gardeners to the Pinecrest Gardens.

Now, I never visited the original market, and I was in the mood to make some pasta primavera, complete with fresh veggies, so el hombre and I made our way over to check it out. This farmers market is nowhere near as large as the one in the Redlands, but I really liked that it was all local growers with their own produce. Additionally, even though Pinecrest is a higher income area, the prices on everything were very reasonable. And there was plenty to see. Multiple farmers were there, including Bee Heaven Farm, who runs a local CSA. Because of the season, there was plenty of squash, zucchini and eggplant, alongside avocados, tomatoes and mangos. All of which were freshly picked, brightly colored and extremely appetizing!

We also stumbled across other vendors, like one table that makes fresh pasta (didn't buy any because they didn't have the flavor I wanted), flowers, fudge and jewelry.

All in all, it's a stop for a Sunday afternoon. And you can go check out the gardens while you are there!




(tea)

(spices)

Happy Holidays from 305 Misadventures!

To all of our readers, happy (belated) Chanukah, Solstice, Kwanzaa and Christmas!
I will be headed up to NC to visit with family, but wanted to leave you all with these photos I took at the Santa Park in Coral Gables!