Best Fruit in Miami

I’ve driven cross-country from the west coast to Miami three different times for different reasons.  It's a long, brutal drive that I never want to repeat, but we've missed our family back there.  The kids aren’t getting any younger, and we've had a pretty intense year. When I finished ROOK, we scraped together enough money to fly out, and take a much needed vacation.

Robert Is Here Website

My kids had not been there since they were babies, and coming from their home in the Rockies, they were in awe of the mountainless ocean of endless palm trees.  They built sand castle on the beach, and played in the frothy waves.  It was paradise!

My in laws live in Homestead, just south of Miami. Homestead is Miami set on slow.  There're still some strip malls and plenty of people.  However, the deeper you drive into it, the more rural it becomes.  There're horses and fruit orchards, as well as plenty of tomato fields. My very favorite fruit stand is there, as it has been for decades, and I was so happy to see it had survived the recession. 

From Robert is Here Website

It’s called Robert Is Here.  There is all the fresh fruit you could want, as well as the best shakes you could imagine. Things are fairly priced, and it's so popular that even the people watching is fun.  

But, as a writer, the best thing about this place is its backstory.  Robert is a real guy, who, as a little kid, tried to help his family sell produce.  He walked down to the busiest corner near their home where he stood all day with his cucumbers.  He didn't sell even one, and had to drag them all back home.

The next day, he came back, but this time with a sign that said “Robert is Here.”  Something about that sign gave him the magic he needed to sell every cucumber he brought.  The next weekend a neighbor added tomatoes to his table and the stand was born.  It was so successful that by the age of 14 he bought his first 10 acre property.  

Fast forward to today, and he still works there.  There are animals for the kids to visit with, and he takes the time to visit with each customer he works with.  It is a real treat to visit with him. If you ever find yourself in Homestead, you have to stop by!