Weekend in Miami

June 15-17, 2007; Miami, Florida

This past weekend my great aunt and uncle celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married in Cuba in 1957. I flew home for the weekend for the huge surprise party my aunt was planning for them. The party was in Little Havana at Casa Juancho. There were tons of people there (50+ guests), but mostly people I didn't know. The highlight was getting confused for my much younger sister. Almost everyone knew my sister and I from when we were little and, because Cubans gossip like crazy, knew that I went to law school and was living away from home. But when they came over to us to say hi (my sister and I were at the same table), everyone thought my sister was me and would congratulate her on graduating from law school. Needless to say, my sister would point them towards me and tell them I was me and she was Karina and they would gasp and exclaim, but you look to young to be a lawyer. I never thought my sister looked older then me but you can judge for yourself (see picture). In any case, one guy even confused us for twins! I don't think my twenty-year-old sister was at all happy about this.

(Picture above: Me, my sister, Karina, and our cousin, Carolina, at the party)

(My family at the end of the party)

On Sunday, in honor of Father's Day, my family had a barbecue at my aunt and uncle's house. They recently got a puppy, a black-and-white Havanese named Penelope, who I'm happy to report has mastered the sit command (almost).

The barbecue was fun, although at first it seemed like the threatening rain would quash our outdoor cooking plans. Although the barbecue was slated to start at 12:30 pm, it took an hour-and-a-half for 3 men to start the grill. My uncle recently bought the Cadillac of all barbecues (a massive stainless steel machine that looks to be the size of a small car). This was its maiden voyage, so to speak, and no one could figure out how to turn it on. But when they finally started barbecuing the final product was very yummy: churrasco, baby back ribs, and barbecued chicken. I also was able to enjoy a very tasty slice of Flan and chocolate mouse cake before having to run off to the airport.

Up Next: I'm headed to DC for the weekend. My third weekend in a row of traveling! The Doog is learning to swim. Pictures to follow.