Exploring Miami Like A Local

In partnership with Delta Airlines.

If you haven’t heard, I am a Delta Ambassador!!! I still cannot believe it. This opportunity is surreal.

One of the most exciting aspects of this partnership is getting to travel with my partner. Yep, I’ll be taking the Misses along for the ride, or should I say, flight lol. Throughout the year, my partner and I will be exploring a ton of both domestic and international travel destinations, which are all on travel bucket list.

For our first trip, we headed to Miami, Florida, which aligned perfectly with Delta Travels. Delta offers nine daily flights from JFK and LGA to Miami. I have visited Miami before, but mainly stayed on South Beach. My trips generally consist of laying on the beach, soaking up the sun, and getting a tan. But, this trip was a little different and special. My partner went to St. Thomas University School of Law, so this trip was all about living like a local and exploring her old stomping grounds.

JFK Delta Sky Club

Before I dive into our trip, I thought I’d share one of my favorite perks of my Delta Ambassadorship – The Delta Sky Club. The Delta Sky Club is a space for members to go and experience a relaxing atmosphere in the airport. The lounge space is full of comfortable leather chairs, Wi-Fi, fresh and healthy food, and premium drinks from THE BAR should you need to unwind before your flight.

Normally when we arrive at an airport, we walk around for 10 minutes deciding on what to eat, where to sit, and how to avoid areas that are overcrowded with people trying to be the first in line to board a plane. Thankful, Delta helps us to avoid all of that.

Once we passed through security, we headed straight for The Delta Sky Club. Located at the center of Terminal 2 on the second floor. This indoor/outdoor space provided everything we needed. We sat at the outdoor area of the Delta Sky Club, over looking the terminals so that we could monitor our gate and flight. The Delta Sky Club was also a peaceful spot for our pup who joined us this trip. She gets a little anxious when traveling, but calmed down once we found a quiet corner for her to relax in. Once she was settled, we stuffed our faces with rounds of fresh salad and protein then sat back until it was time to board.

South Beach

It was only right to spend our first day on South Beach because let’s face it, we were both in desperate need of sun and heat after having dealt with the inconsistent New York City winter weather for the past 5 months. Day one was perfect! Between the smell and sound of the ocean and the blue skies, we couldn’t have asked for a better start to our trip.

Exploring Like A Local

One of the things that my partner love to do is explore the history, culture, and culinary world in the places we visit. As much as I love the beach, I was more excited to live like a local for a few days.

I experienced so many “firsts” this time in Miami, like a sunset walk over the Venetian Causeway (commonly known as the Venetian), healthy breakfasts at Apple A Day, fish tacos and Mexican street corn from Coyo Taco, and my favorite part of all, exploring the local street art at Wynwood Walls.

Wynwood Walls & The Neighborhood

Thanks to the rise of the digital age (joking!), street art has quickly become a celebrated and positive form of expression. Think about it, how many times do you pull out your phone or DSLR camera to snap a photo in front of a provocative and colorful, or visually progressive art mural?

Since the mid 1980s, Wynwood has been home to the largest art scene in Florida. For decades, the neighborhoods art scene was best known for its old art deco, Bakehouse, which housed local contemporary artists. But, let’s fast forward to the mid 2000s, when the Wynwood art scene got a huge face lift, thanks to Tony Goldman of Goldman Properties. Tony Goldman was one of the huge forces behind the revival of SoHo and South Beach. He was known for revitalizing artsy communities, but, also arguably sparking gentrification in urban communities. But, that’s another conversation for another day.

In 2009, Tony created Wynwood Walls – a collection and commitment to graffiti and street art. The area has brought the world’s greatest artists together – who once solely worked in the underground genre- to curate a free and public display of empowering, fun, and expressive murals. Wynwood has become such a landmark and statement that the local property owners now encourage artists to use their spaces and properties to display artwork for the public to enjoy.

As an art lover, particularly of graffiti and street art, I was blown away by this seasons collection of artists.

Until Next Time…

For the first time, my trip to Miami felt short-lived. As we drove over the highway, heading for the airport, I finally understood why my partner enjoyed living in Miami so much. The food, the culture, and of course the sunny weather and beach all made it seem like the perfect place to live. I wasn’t ready to leave.

Sadly, we didn’t have enough time to stop at The Delta Sky Club in Miami and unwind. Luckily, our in-flight experience was extremely relaxing. We had a great interaction with this really lovely WOC (woman of color) flight attendant, who we later found out was also a dog owner. She kept coming over to check on us and our pup, Shiloh, throughout the flight. It was a reminder of why Delta is an industry leader in customer service. She truly exemplifies the core values of the airline; she was thoughtful, reliable, and accommodating!

What an amazing trip! Looking forward to the next one and can’t wait to share with you all where we are headed to next!