Leisure: The Miami Beach Botanical Garden provides a free tropical oasis in the heart of South Beach totaling more than four acres. More of an art fan? The Miami Art Museum offers free admission on the second Saturday of each month. Exercise enthusiasts on the other hand, will want to visit Bayfront Park, which hosts free outdoor yoga classes on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6 p.m., and Saturdays at 9 a.m.

Dining: Bayfront Park is also a popular hangout for numerous food trucks selling frugal lunch fare.  Visitors looking for affordable mid-day food can enjoy cart food by the bay, or take a short stroll up Flagler Street to the Paul S. Walker pocket park, one of several small green spaces in the city suitable for a money-saving sightseer’s picnic. Tobacco Road, Miami’s oldest bar, offers $5 lunch specials on Monday through Wednesday which include hot, hearty sandwiches, hand-cut fries and a soda. The establishment is also known for its live music, and one of the best Friday-night happy hours around, featuring 99-cent drinks for 99 minutes starting at 6 p.m.

Transportation: As any local can tell you, parking in Miami isn’t usually cheap. That makes the Metromover, downtown Miami’s above-ground rail system a popular choice for visitors and locals alike. The Metromover is free for anyone to ride, and stops at all major downtown destinations. Boarding times are convenient, with cars arriving every ninety seconds during rush hours, and every three minutes during off-peak times.

Accommodations: On Airbnb.com, a web site listing guest spaces available with local home owners, I found a number of overnight accommodation options for two in Miami Beach offered at less than $100 each. For Beyoncé spotters on more of a backpacking budget, South Beach Hostel provides dorm-style sleeping with complimentary breakfast and free Wi-Fi for less than $30 per night.

Photo Credits: Trek Hound and Art Explosion

On a recent business trip with lots going on, we ended up taking our lovable Labrador with us. There were many reasons behind this decision, not the least of which was a scheduling conflict with her usual care provider. For all but one of the five days we were there, we managed to meet her needs while having her with us. This included a day of full film shooting for a video project we’re co-funding with friends and co-workers. On the day of the live promotional event for the personal finance book I co-wrote however, taking Maggie along for the show was a no go.

That’s when the folks we were staying with suggested the place that they use for dog day care situations. Waggle Brothers. A pet resort and spa by design, they also provide daily day care for dogs with owners on the go. For a daily rate of fifteen dollars, she got supervised group play time, a separate air conditioned play area to cool off after rough-housing outside and a pool to swim and play in. Not bad. If you want to check on your dog during the day, they have a live pet cam you can go online to check out. Entrance interviews are given to identify those canines who clearly don’t play well with others, so those issues can be addressed before they even arise. Safety was taken into consideration as well, as her harness was removed in case play time got rambunctious and a new dog friend decided to tug on straps inappropriately. We even got behavioral reports from the day camp counselor when we picked her up.

The place was clean, obviously run by dog lovers and had a gift shop for things you might lose or need to replace on the road. Just make sure you have copies (digital or otherwise) of your dog’s medical and shot records. They’ll need them before your dog can be admitted for participation. Although ours was up to date vaccination-wise, there was an additional shot Waggle Brothers required which keeps control of some sort of doggie cold virus that can otherwise get passed around in large groups. It was an extra fifteen dollars, which brought our total to thirty USD for that particular day. The next time we go down though, it’ll only be the fifteen dollar fee to take a full day off as road warrior dog parents. Very affordable, in our opinion.

Some specifics from the company brochure? Seventeen thousand square foot facility overall with 5,000 square feet of air conditioned space for cooling off breaks, 5,000 square feet of shaded outdoor space, an organic products grooming studio, outdoor play area and pool, natural market and pet boutique. Interested in trying them out?

Waggle Brothers Pet Resort & Spa

10780 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, Florida

(ph) 305-891-2058 (fax) 305-891-5206 (toll free) 1-866-WAGGLE1

Customer Service Cell: 305-335-0110 http://wagglebrospetresort.com/

Photo Credits: Kyle May and Trek Hound

Editor’s note: Heading to the Tampa area? Be sure to check out the family-friendly and fun  Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, FL.