Nothing like going down to Miami for one night, just so that we can ride the train. The train was extremely nice and convenient. We stayed at the Marriott Vacation Club Pulse on Miami Beach. It was in a great location with respect to what was in the area, but unfortunately it was extremely hot, and there wasn’t a lot of relief except in the shops along Ocean Drive. Still, we enjoyed ourselves.

Train to Miami

The train station was at MCO, and parking was a breeze. We got there way too early on Friday morning and waited around until our train arrived. We boarded and realized immediately how it was so different than an airplane. It had ample leg room, a huge bathroom, and lots of storage space. The train was smooth, and it beat the heck out of dealing with traffic down near Miami. We stopped at West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and Aventura.

6/28/24—6/29/24

We took an Uber from the train station in Miami over to Miami Beach. We checked into the Pulse and our room was almost ready, but we were ready for lunch, so we stopped next door and ate outdoors. We then went to our room, which was upgraded to a beach view. That was really nice. We changed clothes ad did a quick walk to check out the beach, but opted to sit on our beach chairs in the shade in the park. Madeline found another great chair to relax on as we had a little afternoon snack.

Dinner was at Gianni’s, which was the former Versace Mansion. The restaurant was down on the patio by the pool, and the roof was shaded at first, but then opened as the sun departed. Our meal was delicious.

We took a walk after dinner as the sun set. We then took some photos from our roof and out on the street.

We got up early Saturday to take a walk on the beach before it got too hot. It was 6:45am when we stepped in the sand, and the sun was just rising. A lot of other people were there to take their Tik Tok or Instagram photos with the sun in perfect position. Walking in the sand 1.5 miles down to the pier was extremely difficult. Once we got to the pier, we took a few photos and then decided to walk back on the path. Despite the hour, it was definitely warming up, and we sweated a lot over the course of the 3.25 miles.

After breakfast and a shower, we walked a few blocks out of the sun to see if we could find something indoors to do to pass the time. It didn’t really happen, so we returned to the hotel and had lunch. Afterwards, we decided to people-watched some and relax in the Pulse. We then went back to the train station and had a mid-afternoon ride to Orlando. It was a short, long, tiring, relaxing couple of days.