Miami Beach Skyline

Today is our last day in South Florida and it was the coldest day of year. However, the sun was out so it seemed much more pleasant although the wind was coming from the northeast so they were actually talking in terms of wind chill.

We drove into Miami to meet with our friends, the Urbanskis. Ivah and I worked together 25+ years ago, when I was in my first planning job and we have maintained our friendship all these years.

Ivah and her husband, Glenn, currently have a commuter marriage. Two years ago, Glenn was "offered" a position from his company of 25 years to go to Miami and with two teen boys still at home, he took it. So Ivah maintains their Rogers Park home with the boys and then Glenn and Ivah commute every other weekend, although for now, because of weather, Ivah is flying to Miami instead of Glenn flying to Chicago. Makes sense to us. But this kind of life style is challenging so we commend them for their courage and tenacity in working it all out.

We visited them in their lovely condo overlooking Biscayne Bay and Miami Beach. The view in the photo is from their 16th floor balcony. For lunch, we walked to an adorable little restaurant, The Toscano Bistro. It had about eight tables with lots of attention from the owner and staff. Almost all the patrons were Italian so we felt the food was quite authentic. Good food, good company, lots of laughs.