In the spring the Miami hotel I stayed in, a rundown downtown establishment that offered no parking, set me into a maze of meter parking that was in effect at all times except from1 am to 5 am, with a minimum of two hours fare per meter (no 15 minute trips!), in an offensive money grab, and a tollroad system that did not take cash or credit cards--you had to buy a transponder system that worked nowhere else, which I refused to do so I was consigned to slow congested local roads. But I saw two baseball games at the new Marlins' stadium, enjoyed a cold beer in a local pool hall near the stadium which was priced right ($3) where I was obviously the only English-speaking patron, savored happy-hour fare at an oyster bar and squeezed in a trip to Key West, the southern-most part of mainland USA.
In the summer I saw two baseball games in funky minor league parks, rafted on the high-water New River twice which included many rapids and much swimming and visited the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia and the nearby Natural Bridge. It was a relaxing journey through rural Appalachia with a return to rafting for the first time since a rugged trip I undertook on the Dolorous River in the west in 2010.
Also notable last year was I bought a convertible, donated blood for the hundredth time, ran my first trail race (a hilly 5-miler in 50:03--drat!), was furloughed for half a month by Congress and reached my goal of running regularly four times a week about twenty miles which helped me to get my weight under two hundred. 2014 is going to be even better!
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