the weekend. sunday
when i moved to miami from new jersey in two thousand and one, i moved to southbeach
south of fifth in southbeach to be exact
a neighborhood that was made up of mostly people in their twenties, thirties and the retired folk
a bohemian neighborhood of surfers, artists, models, stylists, photographers
for the most part, buildings were old and rent was still cheap
cheaper than anywhere else on the beach it seemed
some people worked, some people didn’t work, but no matter what, everyone seemed to get together at third street beach every late afternoon
there were hardly any children around
in two thousand and six, with the help of my parents, i purchased an apartment on the opposite side of southbeach
i was now a bit older, my life had changed and i found myself in a very different neighborhood
there were young professionals and all of the sudden there were lots of young families
and children
the people in their twenties and thirties had gotten older, moved, some had gotten married and began to have children
parks started looking cleaner and cared after, the old buildings got knocked down and replaced by luxury condos, fancier restaurants started opening…
it was a whole new southbeach that was beginning to happen
in two thousand and nine, while still living in southbeach, Lily was born and Will and i began our own family
almost a decade later since i had moved to miami, southbeach was now a very different place
by this time there were lots of children and families around
and southbeach seemed cleaner than ever
for the first two and a half years of Lily’s life, we made the most out of the new kid friendly southbeach
we rode our bikes to different parks, we rode or walked to the beach…
everything we needed was within either a walk or a bike ride away and we tried to take advantage of that every day
southpoint, a place where people would take their dogs, fisherman would fish and surfers would surf went through one of the biggest transformations when it turned into an amazing park
a beautiful park right on the water with water features for kids (and adults) to play in, bike and walking trails, a playground and….. a hill. the only hill in miami as far as i am concerned
Lily and i would go at least once a week
sometimes on our own, sometimes we would plan playdates there (visit here and here)
since moving across the water (literally) from where we lived in southbeach, southpoint is a place that we had not been back to since this past sunday
sadly, it had been so long that Lily didn’t even remember it
going back to southpoint this past sunday not only brought great nostalgia of my younger days, made me feel like a stranger in a place i once called home but, it also was a great reminder that we (and all things for that matter) grow and change
most of the time for the better
it felt good to visit
ps- if you had not noticed yet, this is a very word and picture heavy post. happy wednesday!
she didn’t want to ride her bike. she rarely ever does
loves to climb
meow
obsessed with her and her turban
“help mama. help!” lol
she hides, we seek. it’s not that hard
there she is again with her friends. still on the phone
i told you, obsessed
we had lunch at monty’s. an old stomping ground
can you see them?
ocean tales
where the wild things are
mirari
January 29, 2014 @ 4:43 pm
such a lightful sunday, beautiful photos!
Claudia
January 29, 2014 @ 4:53 pm
@Mirari,
thank you Mirari. it truly was. xx
jen
January 30, 2014 @ 1:37 am
What absolutely gorgeous photos!…and her sweet expressions 🙂
Claudia
January 30, 2014 @ 1:43 am
@Jen,
thank you Jen! 🙂
Aunt Judy
January 30, 2014 @ 2:54 am
love the thoughts and the wonderful pictures!!
Claudia
January 30, 2014 @ 3:10 am
@aunt Judy,
thank you Judy. it was a great day filled with flashbacks in a way. xo
jane at the flight platform
February 3, 2014 @ 8:10 pm
oooo i love those sparkling jewelled ocean shots with lily in the foreground! wonderful x
Claudia
February 3, 2014 @ 10:03 pm
@Jane,
the ocean looked beautiful that day. xx