Thursday, July 8, 2010

Miami Heat!

So if you don't know that Lebron James has joined the Miami Heat right now then you must be living under a rock. Seriously. This is not a post about the heat, or about Lebron James (though I think his major endorsement of Boys & Girls Club is friggin fantastic.) This is my, "Where I was when I heard about Lebron James" post.

Tonight I went to celebrate a friends birthday at an Irish bar downtown. Of course every television at the place was tuned into ESPN, and despite our celebrations, the main topic of conversation was, "where do you think he will go?" Rumors were flying, "He's booked a whole group of cabanas at the fontainbleu," and "I heard the Heat pulled all their 'welcome to Miami' ads."

Everyone was riveted to the television screens. The tension and excitement was sparking like firecrackers all across the bar. Every time Miami was mentioned on ESPN, people started screaming, and every time any other team was mentioned, Boos echoed across the room. Finally, at 9:20 the interview with Lebron started, and the noise dropped to a nervous low chatter. When he said he will be joining us in South Beach the bar exploded. The few people in their chairs flew to their feet, everyone was screaming, at first an incomprehensible noise that quickly turned to the "LET'S GO HEAT" chant. I never thought I would see people hugging perfect strangers before, but it was happening left and right. I just wish I had my camera out to video it all.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Key West Discovery

One of the benefits of having friends in Key West is that we get to visit rather frequently and it doesn't get too expensive. Another benefit is, every time we go, we end up trying something new.

This time, El Hombre and I shucked our bikes for a bit and borrowed a scooter. I generally don't cruise Duval because it's overcrowded and overdone. Instead, we like to scope out side streets and all the cool stuff they have. This past weekend, we shot down to Green Street, which is right on the marina near the charter boats and a bunch of bars. We like that part of town because it's a little more local and there's a bunch of different things going on. This time we walked just to find some relief from the heat when we stumbled on an amazing discovery: the Key West Ice Cream Factory.

Now, typically I don't like ice cream. It's just too heavy and I hate eating heavy foods in the summer. But they offered air conditioning and an amazing smell. As El Hombre was ordering a soda, I discovered something I had to try, key lime sorbet. It's everything you need on a hot day, it's crisp, with a sweet, tangy, almost sharp flavor that instantly cools you off. And you have to try it with a waffle cone, which they make fresh in the store, it's an explosion of amazing in your mouth. And it's sorbet so it's light, and doesn't leave you feeling heavy and bloated afterwards. Plus you can sit inside and watch the boats, and people stumbling from bar-to-bar, which is entertaining all in itself.