My mom and stepdad bought a place in Lake Worth, Florida, just south of West Palm Beach, about a year ago. Please make no mistake: when I heard this news, it was potentially the best day of my life. (After having been down there, I still can’t believe it’s real and that my immediate family has a vacation home.) But, covid has certainly thrown a wrench into anyone getting to take advantage of the place. For my 30th birthday, I decided I was going to go down. 

The original, pre-covid plan was to go to New Orleans since my birthday fell on Fat Tuesday this year. I had this plan for years. Not only did it suck that it couldn’t happen, it sucked more that I couldn’t even be with my friends in a much more intentionally isolated place, like my parent’s house in Florida, that I was offering up as a cheap escape for everyone. There are obviously much larger problems in the world, but it was upsetting to me and I was hurt by how my friends handled it. All of this also helped me realize that I want to start traveling more on my own, because I’m fully capable of it, and hell, I’ll probably enjoy it more.

I grew up going to Siesta Key, Florida, every year or multiple times a year since I was a baby (shout out, Aunt Karen), but I honestly am not that familiar with this side of Florida. I have family just down the street from where my parents bought, but I’ve never really roamed much of anywhere other than their house. It’s definitely going to take several visits for me to really discover the place, but there were already a few joints we visited or ordered food from that I really enjoyed. 

As you may have seen from my Instagram stories about the car fiasco, Sage befriended the neighbor, Jeff, who tipped us off about an outdoor Pearl Jam cover band gig happening at a local brewery, Matthews Brewing Company. It was honestly so refreshing to be witnessing live music (that slapped), safely, with masks and socially distanced outside.  

I also loved what Matthews was doing: having servers bring iPads with pay functionality outside during the show, so patrons wouldn’t need to come inside to the bar to order beer. I love to see businesses acting so nimbly during the pandemic. It makes me want to support that kind of ingenuity and flexibility even more. 

So I know what the question on everyone’s mind is. Was it sketchy during covid?

Not too long ago, NBC News published a video on Twitter of half a Publix in Florida not wearing masks. That wasn’t really the case for us, especially not anywhere indoors, definitely not at Publix. People are definitely more lax outdoors there, but it’s also way warmer, so in their defense, the virus can’t live as long in the warmer climates.

I double-masked through the airport. Sage and I tried to sit next to each other on the flights when possible. That made things a lot less concerning, but there was one flight we couldn’t do that. That flight of course was the one where both Sage and I had the tiniest seats with the largest, most manspreading people next to us making our lives miserable. That flight, cough American Airlines cough, was the sketchiest situation we were in the whole trip, to be completely honest. I do get that the tourism industry needs to continue to make money, but I also think they should not be seating middle seats. Sitting that close to people wasn’t cool before the pandemic, let alone now. 

But, neither Sage nor I contracted covid on the trip—great success! I also work from home, live alone and don’t ever see anyone, and Sage has both vaccinations already. 

While we were down there, I decided to book one night in Miami. I went back and forth on it, because when I was supposed to be traveling with a larger group, I was going to nix it to keep costs down. When it became clear none of my friends were on-board anyways, I decided f*** it; it’s my 30th birthday, you only turn 30 once, and I want to go to Miami. One night wasn’t a big expense for us; this way we could still enjoy the change of scenery and feel a bit more luxurious on South Beach for about 24 hours. I LOVED where we stayed on Miami Beach.

My next post will be all about our stay in Miami at Marriott Bonvoy’s brand new Moxy South Beach. No Do It and Skip It on this post, because I need more time to explore the bars and restaurants in the Palm Beach and Lake Worth areas. However, I will leave you with this: Jimmy’s Brooklyn Pizza was FANTASTIC delivery for a night in to relax.