Like I said yesterday, Joe and I really wanted to trace our relationship milestones while we were in Miami. We managed to hit all of the major highlights. Ready to read some sappiness and see a million photos?!

First up: You know, YOU KNOW, we had to hit up Big Pink. Here’s a glimpse of the sky when we got there. How foreboding.

We managed to beat the downpour by a few minutes, but were too distracted by these dishes to worry about its duration. There’s really no better place to be stranded. Just look at HALF of their menu.

Here’s Joe’s Malted Waffle Burger.

Lord, this Hollywood Breakfast. I think it would be my final meal, should I ever have a choice.

Lucky for us, by the time we devoured our food, the storm had quickly passed. We didn’t even need to stall with dessert, which is unfortunate.

Big Pink is just a short walk from South Pointe Park, where Joe and I got engaged. We were just going to make the sunset if we hurried…hence me speed walking.

A few ocean glimpses along our way:

I showed Joe the new pier before walking to our grassy spot, where a question and an affirmative set us on our current course.

Here’s what the scene looked like over five and a half years ago.

Ah, #Falvey2. That’s me!

And here’s what it looks like now. Pretty much the same!

Totally breathtaking sunset thanks to that storm.

It was beautiful; it was romantic; it was just as I remember it.

Saturday brought a break from work for me and so we took advantage of our rental car to head off the beach and explore our former hood…our old stomping grounds…The Gables.

It’s silly, but I started getting excited just seeing the streets I drove endlessly.

And by the time we reached our old place, I was in full-out freak-out.

We. Lived. HERE!

I guess I’m not the only person to bust their butt on these concrete stairs. New addition: grip strips. Old souvenir: nerve damage

I once saved a kitten who fell out of that drain hole in the top left. And that’s our living room window.

To make this totally legit, we parked our car at our building and set off on foot. It’s a walk we did almost weekly and where we had some of our best conversations about hopes and dreams and future dog names.

It felt amazing to walk these familiar, picturesque streets. We loved this neighborhood. Still do.

Destination: Miracle Mile.

We spent so, so, so much of our free time here, just walking and watching. It’s 90% bridal couture shops, 7% restaurants and 3% weird.

I found my wedding dress on this very strip. I’ve never been a couture kind of girl, though.

Our old burger joint was long gone, so we tried their new one: BurgerFi, which was really good. Gotta appreciate a good veggie burger.

On the way back to the car, we made one last stop to bring everything full circle. Our wedding venue!

It looks a little different now and when we walked up they were prepping for that night’s wedding. So I did what anyone would do….trespassed!

For some reason I felt like shimmying down the side of the building was my best bet at getting a look at the courtyard where we said “I do.” Here’s Joe coming after me when I realized they built a wall around the AC units. This is all I could see by holding my camera over my head.

Didn’t stop me from trying to climb the dang wall. Unsuccessfully.

I was not about to leave without seeing this spot, so I (much to Joe’s alarm) marched right into the building and found a woman who invited us to take as much time as we liked. Well…that was easier!

I caught my breath upon seeing this familiar room. I can still remember standing in here with my Dad before the wedding started. It looks exactly as it did five years ago.

As did this courtyard.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Our wedding tree!

Before:

After:

Many smiles and a few happy tears later, we were on our way back to the car. Our route brought us to this roundabout that we used to run with Bella. Actually, she knew what “run the roundabout” meant and would dash to it as soon as we’d say it.

So, of course we ran it for her. #allthesniffs

All that about tapped my emotional reserves, so we only had one more thing to do before leaving the next day. File this under “Obligatory,” see also “Awesome.”

Much like when we lived there, we went to the beach fully clothed. Pale people problems.

The beach was quite a bit more busy than when I was there in January.

Final stops for the trip: to eat the pizza we had at our rehearsal dinner…

…and, no surprise, Shake Shack. Just for this beautiful cup.

It was the best of trips, largely in part to our Saturday full of chasing memories. We’ve come a long way, but there will always be a part of us in these Gables.