We awoke very early to finish packing for our adventure. Kim was giving me grief about getting there so early. I like to make sure we get there with time to spare. We arrived at the Buffalo Airport to check-in for our flight on Southwest Airlines. I have done this so many times; it is like going to the bathroom. Mary, on the other hand, is new to this. Each step of the way Mary asks what we do next. It is really cool to see her experience her first flight. I usually expect that it will take a half hour to get though airport security. There was barely a line. In five minutes, we were through the check-point.

As we got closer to boarding time, we could see her getting more anxious . The boarding process went quickly. We were the 36^th in line. I assumed the Emergency Isle seats would be taken when we got on the plane. Both sides were open. Mary's first flight was going to be in style. When we taxied out to the runway, there is usually several or several dozen planes queued for take-off. Not today, we were the only plane out there. We simply taxied to the end or the runway and took off. Mary is going to think that this is how it always is when you fly!

Mary started to panic a little when the plane started to accelerate. I talked her through it. Next thing we knew, we were in the air. This was the worst part for Mary. She started to hit me and say "Why did you bring me on this flying coffin!"  After a bit, she took a peak out the window. I think it was a little scary for her at first. When the pilot made a hard turn and the plane dipped on our side, Mary thought we were going to fall out. After a while, she started to look out of the window and relax .

Mary says that this doesn’t feel like a vacation yet; it feels like I’m just torturing her so far! After an hour, I think Mary was relaxed. We will see how the landing goes.

When the pilot announced that we were beginning our final ascent; Mary was worried again. She looked out the window the entire time. She did freak out a little when the landing gear went down. I told her “What was that noise!”  She didn’t think it was funny! She was OK when we were taxiing to the terminal.

After we got our rental Mini-van, we wanted to drive down by the ocean. Our goal was to drive through South Beach. We thought the kids would get a kick out of the freaks. We were only on the main drag and only saw a few freaks.

I really wanted to see the Art Deco buildings. We saw a few, but the ones I wanted to see were on the beach side. Maybe tomorrow we can spend some more time here.

When we arrived at our B&B, the kids were not happy. I think they thought we were going to be in a real hotel. Kim and I thought the place was nice.   It was clean and decorated with a lot of different themes. Our room had a photography theme. Tomas and Luis ran a nice B&B. It is the Miami Guest House.   There were only three bedrooms and a common area. We took the entire place. We had the boys in one room, the three girls in another, and Kim and I had the big room. Beth and Rob, and mom and dad stayed across the street in the Tamiami B&B. Both are on a quiet residential street in a Cuban section of Miami. The kids were a little scared of the neighborhood, but it was safe. Kim and I will definitely stay there again.

Luis suggested a nice Cuban restaurant for dinner. Kim and I really wanted to try it, but the kids would have hated it. We compromised on a chain Mexican restaurant, Chevys. Kim and I have been to one before and really liked it. During dinner, I had to eat quickly. Mom and Dad arrived in Miami a little earlier than I expected and I had to rush over to the AMTRAK station to get them. We had to swing back by the restaurant to pick Kim, Alex, and Mary up after they finished eating. By the time we got back to the B&B, Beth and Rob had arrived.

The kids were having a great time running around to see the two B&B’s. The Tamiami had a pool, so they wanted to go swimming. Several bottles of wine made it out onto the pool patio (I don’t know how they got there!) and we all had a good time.