Every Day is a Winding Road...

If you've ever been to Miami, then you've probably stumbled across some of their tourist pitfalls. The tourism industry there has some very strange ideas about how to treat tourists.

Some examples:

• Hotels charge you a daily fee for valet parking, and there are no other options. You got a car? You gotta pay for valet parking. At $18-$22 buck each day, this adds up! Especially if you are driving down to South Beach and paying for a parking garage on top of that. You could end up paying $38/day just for the "pleasure" of using your rental car.
  
• Hotels also charge you a "resort fee" of $9-$12 each day (on top of the room charge). They tell you about this fee when you check in, as though it's a big benefit or something. This fee "allows" you to access to all of their "resort amenities," which apparently means the pool chairs, towels, lobby, elevators, restaurants and lounge. I would have thought those items would be included with the room!
  
• Restaurants and bars all seem to take tips for granted, either by automatically adding a tip of 15 to 18 percent into the amount, or by "suggesting" a tip amount at the bottom of the check (no matter the size of the party -- even a singleton). Of course, if service was exceptional and you really want to give more, they always include a blank line for "additional tip." Having been a waitress and bartender a few times in my life, I normally tip 20% for decent service (it's a lot easier to figure out than 18%), but this trend of automatically adding the tip to the check total bothers me. I am sure that many out-of-towners don't notice this and tip on top of the total.

Other things not to like about Miami include the following:

• Even though Haulover State Beach Park has had a clothing optional beach for decades, it still attracts gawkers. It's just silly because the people who frequent these types of beaches are not supermodels or hunks...they are just regular people who want to play in the sand and surf in their birthday suits.
  
• There is WAY too much garbage washing up on the beaches. We found more bottle caps, cigarette butts, and other such junk than pretty shells -- we even stumbled across a syringe!
  
• If you want to catch a bus in Miami, be sure to wave the driver down. Buses don't stop if you are just sitting at the bus stop. They also don't stop if you get up and walk to the curb as the bus is approaching. You have to wave and get the driver's attention. Silly, right? But true! We missed three busses before figuring this out. (The buses are a bargain, though -- $1.25!)

'Nuff negativity...I enjoyed my trip, but suffice it to say I learned a few things about Miami.
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