Not only did we arrive early for our flight, but we were also actually two days early prior to the wedding.  Of course, I had no idea who else was going to be in Miami so early and it was really hard to make plans.  One of the odd things was that my Bride bought and brought a special steamer, so that she could make sure that the woman of the day, could have her gown fully steamed for that morning, as well as the mother (my Bride’s sister, plus all of her other sisters).  As I say, my Bride plans for all sorts of situations, and I guess no one else realized that there was a wedding to attend.  We also found out that steamers and irons were “verboten” and when we finally got on the ship, I was allowed the use of an ironing board and and iron for an hour, and housekeeping was very punctual.  One of the sisters was only attending the “wedding” and not the honeymoon, so we made arrangements for her to carry the illegal contraband back to Detroit.   We also had no rental car, so we were basically stuck at the airport hotel, which is where the cruise line made the arrangements and getting straight answers from them was difficult.  I contacted an Instagram wine blogger that lives in Miami for a suggestion for somewhere of quality to eat, I would have actually liked to have invited her and her fiancé out for dinner, but I couldn’t make actual plans.

The 94’th Aero Squadron was very accommodating, as I made the original plans in Detroit and then it was modified twice while we were in Miami.  The Squadron goes back to World War One and was affiliated with the Lafayette Escadrille.  Being from Detroit, I don’t understand this ersatz cab companies, but I was out voted, the Uber driver had no idea, where we were going, but I had to address on my phone, to make sure that we were going to the right place, and the restaurant was right across the street from some of the fields of the airport, and I might add the restaurant was a considerable size, and later I could observe that it was well operated.  Even with a good crowd, the waiter was able to break the group down to couples, but we did find out later that he charged us a group tip rate, the food was good, he was mediocre.  My Bride had Mahi-Mahi and topped with Shrimp Scampi on a bed of Jasmine Rice, while I had the Mediterranean Branzino baked in olive oil and lemon juice on a bed of Jasmine Rice. I found an interesting bottle of Bouza do Rei Lagar de Bouza Albarino Rias Baixas 2023. The bodega began in the Twenties and today they now have one hundred hectares. This wine is only made from vines at least twenty-years of age, and they use pneumatic presses, cold filtration and aging of three weeks in Stainless-Steel tanks for maximum freshness.  A soft yellow wine that offers notes of lemons, limes and ginger.  On the palate tones of green apple, yellow plums and honeysuckle with bright acidity and a short finish of lemon zest.

I could have enjoyed wandering around the restaurant admiring the different military and aeronautical décor.  I guess, I get into stuff like that, while everyone was deciding on desserts, I decided on a glass of Sandeman Twenty Year Old Tawny Porto NV.  The house was founded in 1790 by George Sandeman who originally sold Port and Sherry in London, until moving to Vila Nove de Gaia in Porto in 1811, and is now managed by the seventh-generation family director. They still have the original location and their vineyards are in the Douro Valley, and in the 19th century they also acquired a Sherry bodegas in Spain. Recently I have been enjoying Port Wines more and more, and have discussed the truly unknown varieties that have evolved over the centuries, not to mention the unique way that the wines are aged in wooden casks which concentrate the fruits and flavors.  The deep ruby red wine offered notes of dried apricots, honey, nuts, vanilla and finishing with a nice long count of fruits and nuts.