March 3, 2024 – Keith Robertson

“Miami Beach Strategery”

We flew to Miami on Monday afternoon, checked into the Lifehouse hotel, and met up with Chickie (our majority shareholder’s son) for Happy Hour at the South Pointe tavern.

This is what the hotel website says about the history of the hotel:

“In the 1920s, Miami Beach’s first commercial strip, Española Way, became an artists’ colony. Creative types seeking life by the sea moved to the city in droves, including an artist who discovered a unique Tudor home in the South of the Fifth neighborhood. We transformed their eclectic beach cottage, now a landmark, into a House that’s only steps from the ocean, yet far enough away from the noise of South Beach tourists.”

We had been skeptical about the hotel and our “Writer’s Suite”, but everything worked out very well.

After Happy Hour, Chickie had us booked in for an impossible table at Carbone. Probably one of the best Italian meals that I’ve ever enjoyed. Wonderful, old school service and every single dish an amazing treat.

Tuna tartare, beef carpaccio, various salads, amazing pastas, steaks, and on and on. Just a wonderful meal and experience all around. I would love to do it again. We are so spoiled at these company events.

Tuesday began with breakfast at the Patio at the Continuum, our majority shareholder, Phil’s, residence community. Everything was delicious, as always.

We migrated form there to Phil’s condo and began our strategic discussions. Those lasted a few hours, and then it was time for lunch, back at the Patio. Everything went very well with the strategery, which led to a lot of fun at lunch and dinner.

The fig and prosciutto sourdough pizza that we shared was ridiculous. As was the truffle carpaccio.

Meanwhile, a little further up the beach, Lisa and Diana were enjoying their pool and beach time.

I’m very pleased that they had so much time together while we pretended to work a bit.

The girls joined us for drinks before dinner on Phil and Maria’s fourth floor terrace. It’s entertaining to view the size of the cruise ships that roll past the terrace. Oh, and I do enjoy a work environment where shorts and flip flops are perfectly acceptable.

Blair called an audible for dinner on Tuesday night – he really wanted to sit on the waterfront at Smith and Wollensky. This is a very popular place and so Chickie was deployed to negotiate a last minute prime table. Of course he was successful as you can see below:

The views out onto the water and over to the lights of downtown Miami were quite something. I enjoyed the custom martini glass:

How many senior executives does it take to order wine, and how long will they ponder? At least two and what seemed like ten minutes or more:

We slept in on Wednesday morning and opted for a walk along the beach front road rather than breakfast. I enjoy the art deco style hotels and the vintage cars parked in front of them. Kenny got a kick out of the old “Fire Dept” vehicle.

We had a coffee and then found a Cuban restaurant (they seem to be on every corner) for lunch. I chose this one based on the positive reviews of their octopus dish.

The octopus did not disappoint – completely fresh and delicious. We really couldn’t face another heavy meal, passing on the Cubano sandwich that I would typically have ordered.

Travel home to New Orleans on Wednesday evening was smooth. I knew Diana was tired and not at all hungry on Thursday evening when she passed up an invitation for oysters with Anne.

We had planned on an outdoor concert at the Broadside on Friday evening but the weather was a bit bleak and dreary and we were still tired from our travels. I was sorry to miss the event and there will be plenty more in the near future as the weather warms up.

I convinced Diana to attend the NOLA Gold rugby match on Saturday afternoon. I had made the mistake of having her watch some of the Six Nations series on Netflix. “It’s a very violent sport, not something I’m sure I want to go and watch.”

McD reported enjoying the event a lot more than she expected to. The entertainment around the game was well done – kind of like attending a minor league baseball game. Big Sam’s Funky Nation performed before the game and at halftime. He marched up and down the roof of the baseball dugout (the field used to be the home of the local baseball team.)

There were a lot of kids in attendance and they enjoyed interacting with King Creole.

We had great seats and they were quite affordable – $25 for two. The first half was pretty boring, and things picked up in the second with two tries from NOLA Gold to win.

I forgot to mention that the opposition was Old Glory from Washington, DC. Here’s the upcoming schedule. This was the kickoff game for the season.

Our neighbor, Hugh, is an investor in NOLA Gold, and had told me that the commentator would briefly explain the reasons for penalties and other rules, so that folks unfamiliar with rugby could learn and follow along better. The overall goal being to encourage return customers. The commentator did a good job of that, while not talking over the play.

This was a good afternoon of entertainment and I look forward to doing it again in the future.

We watched a good film on Saturday night, “Dreamin’ Wild” is based on the true story of Donnie and Joe Emerson, who released an album when they were 16 and 17 years old. It didn’t generate much interest at the time, and then was found 30 years later by a company that finds hidden gems and re-releases them.

Donnie wrote the music, played the majority of the instruments, and produced the record, all in a small shack that his father built on his farm. The real album is available on Spotify:

Casey Affleck plays the older Donnie, and gives a typically nuanced performance. I recommend this movie to any music lovers.

We’re just back from a walk and run in Audubon park – the weather is so nice today. It is not forecast to be so pleasant over the next couple of days – rain storms coming.

Most of the guys from the local krewe are skiing and snowboarding in Colorado today. I’m waiting for video of Thom taking his first snowboarding lesson. I would have liked to join them, but it would have been too much on the heels of the Miami trip.

I started “Come and Get It” by Kiley Reid on the short flights to Miami and back. I loved “Such a Fun Age” and am enjoying this one so far. I haven’t reached the key part of the story yet. Here’s the online summary:

“From the celebrated New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age comes a fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a professor and three unruly students.

It’s 2017 at the University of Arkansas. Millie Cousins, a senior resident assistant, wants to graduate, get a job, and buy a house. So when Agatha Paul, a visiting professor and writer, offers Millie an easy yet unusual opportunity, she jumps at the chance. But Millie’s starry-eyed hustle becomes jeopardized by odd new friends, vengeful dorm pranks, and illicit intrigue.

A fresh and intimate portrait of desire, consumption, and reckless abandon, Come and Get It is a tension-filled story about money, indiscretion, and bad behavior—and the highly anticipated new novel by acclaimed and award-winning author Kiley Reid.”