Early wake up today – 8:30 am. We got ready and I ate a quick breakfast. Lisa Bronfman arrive a little after 9 to drop off Jordy. We chatted for a bit, she almost knocked over the Lelchuk’s new glass fish from Italy, and she was on her way. We got in Alex’s car with plenty of water for everyone for the day and went to the Four Points Hotel to pick up Elise and Chris. Everyone was in the car by 10. Off to the Everglades!

We drove down “Alligator Alley,” which was the long road with all of the various Everglades tour offerings, ultimately landing on Everglades Safari Park. IT WAS SO HOT OUT! We were sweating just standing waiting for tickets. Our $25 ticket got us a 45 minute airboat tour of the Everglades, an alligator show, and a pass to walk around their mini zoo. The air boat ride was great but still super hot. Our guide said that we might not see many gators because of the heat, which drives them to cool down at the bottom of the water. He was right. We saw glimpses of 2 alligators, but that was ok because we knew we had the show to look forward to. The Everglades were vast and really pretty.

Jeff and Johnny rocked the gator show. We overheard them talking before the show, and we were pretty sure Jeff called Johnny “Yonny,” which is the Spanish pronunciation of his name, though he’s just Johnny. We got our hoped up because that would’ve meant our show would’ve been lead by Jeff and “Yonny,” or Jeff “Yonny,” or (DJ) Jeff Yahney. Oh well. Jeff was dorky but really informative and great with the gators. At the start of the show there were 3 almost motionless alligators sat on the beach part of the stage. Once Jeff busted out the food, 2 others emerged from the water. What a trick! After the show, Johnny, who translated the majority of the show into Spanish for those guests that only spoke Spanish and easily stole the show from Jeff because he was an absolutely lad, took a few pics of us in front of the gator stage. We walked around the mini zoo for about 10 minutes before we saw dark gray rain clouds. Classic Florida.

When we got in the car we remembered we weren’t too far from Ali Krupp. Lelchuk got in touch with her, got her address, and we drove the 20 minutes to her house. It was so good to see Ali! The last time I saw her was 2007 when she worked at camp, and Alex saw her shortly after. Ali has 2 adorable white Siberian huskey puppies named Boo and Ghost, and an almost 2-year-old son named Enrique, after his father. Ali and her husband are chefs, but at the moment Ali is on mommy duty. She’s such a great mom and holds down the house. We visited for about 30 minutes, took some pics, and left for lunch.

For those Wekeela folks, Shinju is the south Florida equivalent of Lotus. Sushi, Chinese food, AND hibachi were all on point. I had 2-3 plates plus dessert. Crushed it. After lunch we went back to Miami, dropping off Elise and Chris at their hostel around 4. When we were saying goodbyes, Chris mentioned that Nathan Kriening (NATHAN!!) and his girlfriend Ashley were going to be in Miami that night. I shot Nathan (NATHAN!!) a message on facebook – he was in South Beach! We were in South Beach! We parked at one end of Lincoln Road, which is a long road of outdoor shops and restaurants, walked most of it, and met them at a pizza place. Ashley, we we met for the first time there, is lovely and did a fantastic job of planning their journey. They had just got in from Orlando and had a day or so in Miami. Thank goodness for technology. Only spent about 20 minutes or so with them because our meter was going to expire and we had to take Jordy to meet Lisa in Aventura, so we peaced out.

After dropping off Jordy at the gym in Aventura (not to work out, though he probably did end up getting his swell on) we went back to Alex’s. His parents had left for their Maine house earlier that day, so it was just Team Handsome. We watched part of Non Stop – Liam Neeson is such a bo$$ – and then got ready for dinner at The Palm with grandma Flo.

We picked up Alex’s grandma around 7:50 because she lived around the block from The Palm. She is so full of life for being 88 years young. She engaged us in conversation and told some very funny jokes. Oh yeah, and our meal was fantastic. Grilled calamari, Gigi salad (avocado, bacon, egg, shrimp, vegetables), 14 oz NY strip with Hollandaise sauce, and a key lime pie to share. Out of this world good. Dinner finished around 10, so we dropped off Alex’s grandma at her apartment and did what any 2 handsome bachelors would do – went back home, snacked, and watched Edge of Tomorrow. By the way – see that movie. Really clever and action packed. We were asleep by 1 am. What a day.