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Healing Waters

Sunday afternoon on the gulf.

Water: simple, essential to sustain life. Symbolically rich in many religious traditions.

Yesterday, we sat in the sand beside the Gulf of Mexico, enjoying the chaotic crowd around us. Families were enjoying the sun and water, playing and eating together. I felt caught up in a multitude of lives as the sun began to sink into the water.



Solitude

Later, we had a light supper at home and I swam in the pool, alone to enjoy the light lap of small waves in Boca Ciega Bay beyond the resort property. The pool water has very little chlorine in it, and I wondered if the maintenance company uses modern sponge filters. I miss the distinctive odor of  chlorine on my skin -- it always smells like fun to me.

This morning I was back in the pool long before anyone else comes to enjoy it. After only a few days in Florida, I already feel refreshed and renewed.

Canon EOS Rebel T3 EOS 1100D

I bought a new camera a few days before we left on our trip. My goal is to learn how to use it fairly well before the end of our month here. I had been looking at the Canon Rebel for quite some time, and decided that Canon EOS Rebel T3 EOS 1100D would suite my purposes for the next couple of years. I bought the bundle with the 75-300 mm zoom lens.

Of course, I had no time to do anything but unpack and take a couple of test shots, just to make sure it works. This morning, I took out the book and practiced a few simple shots with the lens that comes with the camera. I've had a Canon in the past so I had no trouble with the basic package, using automatic, not manual settings.

The zoom lens was another matter! Bob had to explain how it works and I had trouble inserting the lens properly. Finally, I got the hang of it -- works better when you snap it in right. Not ready to post any pics yet but I'm fairly sure I'll be ready in a few days.

Meltdown

Too much of everything -- noise, traffic, sun (!), fatigue -- led to a meltdown. Mine, of course. Just getting our stuff up to our condo was a challenge, especially since all the carts and shopping baskets were being used. I managed to grab one as it was being returned but we still made several trips from our vehicle.

We shopped for groceries and I realized as I tried to put them away that this unit is jammed with the owner's stuff, intended to make our stay comfortable but producing the opposite effect. There's the usual beach stuff and fake plants cover every available surface. Enough dinnerware for a family of twelve. Pots and pans jammed into every drawer. Tupperware all over the kitchen and squeezed layers high into storage space. Office supplies in the bedroom. Redundant everything, with the possible exception of sharp knives.

I whined and complained, and Bob wisely said nothing. I did resist the temptation to pitch it all off the balcony, so I am still a free woman this morning. Later today I'll see what I can stow away, and where, for our time here.

I do like the comfy Turkish style carpet in the living area, soothing to my over-stimulated senses.

Finally Florida

We left Macon shortly after 8:00 a.m. and were pleasantly surprised by an uncrowded freeway. The Georgia pines gradually gave way to flowering crabs and cherry trees, as well as trees covered with sphagnum moss, which I had to look up to make sure I got the identification right. Cattle grazed in the fields and racehorses seemed to be inviting passers-by to admire them. Where is that Kentucky Derby fancy hat when I need it? I thought about the Keeleys' (Gene Hackman, Dianne West) description of the drive from DC to Key West in The Birdcage, and, like the Senator and his wife, was impressed by the vastness, variety and beauty of the land.

Welcome to florida

An abrupt change at the Florida Welcome Center where we landed at about 10:30. Palm trees, orange juice, cameras. Full of northerners in their long pants and fleece jackets. A few kids in shorts. We stayed long enough to visit the facilities and then pressed onward. Traffic quickly multiplied and our heavy clothes felt a little uncomfortable in the rising temperatures. Time for AC.

The sides of I-75 are ugly in Florida, full of billboards. All very utilitarian. The brush is so thick that you really can't see much, but I wondered why the buzzards circled periodically over the jungle-like interior.

Traffic became really heavy as we approached Tampa. We finally rolled into The Sunrise Resort shortly after 4:00 p.m.. We're a floor higher this year, and the view is spectacular.

Pleasant Georgia

Our room at Courtyard by Marriott was so comfortable that we simply put our feet up and relaxed. We  were too tired to go out for dinner but the apple, cheese and crackers -- perfect on our first day-- seemed a little light. I decided walk across the courtyard to the little bistro off the lobby. I brought back a made-to-order a turkey BLT on ciabatta with fruit and raw vegetables. Delicious and just right to split between us.

We woke early but rested Saturday morning and had breakfast at the hotel: scrambled eggs for Bob, breakfast tacos for me. The excellent service in this modest hotel were so pleasant that I would return  anytime.

Atlanta Bypass

Crossing the Ohio River

Yesterday's day on the road was a snap! We went from deep winter to 20F and set off this morning full of optimism, sure that we would get to Florida -- or almost -- by this evening.

In fact, the journey was glorious through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and part of Georgia. We left Mount Vernon shortly after 7:00 a.m. and an hour or so later, the hills of Kentucky reminded me of spring. A little later, we saw our first green grass and my first robin of the season chirped merrily at the Blue Star Memorial Highway Tennessee Welcome Center. I was almost overdressed in my light fleece jacket.

Robin at Tennessee Welcome Center

We had lunch at McDonald's just past Nashville (The Grand Ole Opry will have to wait, I guess ) and drove on to Chattanooga, Tennessee, which reminded me of South St. Paul in Minnesota. We steeled ourselves for bumper-to-bumper traffic around Atlanta, and sure enough that's what we had. Somewhere around Chattanooga, we entered the Eastern time zone and lost an hour.

AAA steered us past Atlanta on the 285 bypass, so that we avoided I-75 though the heart of Atlanta. By this time, we were beginning to fade, but we had to press on. There was nowhere to go but forward.

After about 100 miles of speeds between 15 and 20  mph, we finally hit wide open freeway (that's what a freeway used to be, long ago) and made it to Macon, Georgia, after dusk had fallen. The first hotel off exit #169 was full, but we landed well at Courtyard By Marriott. A drink never tasted so good.

Catatonic in Mount Vernon, Illinois

Beautiful Wisconsin Countryside

Bob was keen on making it to Paducah, Kentucky, but I'd had enough after driving into bright sunlight all morning, followed by an afternoon assault of heat from the setting sun. Despite a temperature of -10F, we were cozy in a warmed up car and were on the road by 6:30 a.m. The morning was quite lovely, especially as the sun began to rise over Woodbury and I imagined a cold but beautiful day of skiing at Afton Alps a few miles away. The shadows turned a cold blue and the snow shone bright, untouched by anything but the wind.

The dead of winter lost its hold as we drove south. Well into Illinois, snow depth diminished. By 4:25, we were out of the snow belt and the ponds changed from bright ice to shiny dark liquid. Birds gathered for a last feed in the fields at the end of the day and we suddenly felt depleted, strangely un-refreshed after our last rest stop.

We staggered, exhausted,  into Mount Vernon's Comfort Suites at about 5:30. The hotel is new and clean, soothing in the predictability of its services. We seem to be in the heart of the Bible Belt (where is that anyway?) and I feel a little uneasy as I down my Old Crow, a cheap but satisfying bourbon.

St Paul to St Pete

Bob has been studying maps for the last month, anticipating every weather possibility in this crazy winter of extreme cold and heavy snow. He became a AAA member a few weeks ago, and merrily ordered TripTiks from the very personable Emily at the Roseville office. "You can have as many as you want", she said, piling travel books into bags for every state we will drive through. So much for the house decluttering project!

The TripTiks finally arrived last week. One route takes us south on US52, through Iowa. In case threatened blizzard conditions prevail tomorrow morning, we have another route too, east on 94 via Madison, Wisconsin. Either way, we will probably spend Thursday night in Mount Vernon, Illinois. Nearly 24 hours in a vehicle, over three days. With colder than normal temperatures over the entire route, I think it will be awhile before we shed our warm clothes!

Our Bags Aren't Packed ...

...but nearly everything else is done. Our suitcases aren't yet down from the attic, since Bob always wants to postpone upsetting the cat as long as possible. After years of resistance, I've now bought into his strategy. On this frigid late February morning, Minou is purring happily at my feet.

We'll finish last minute preparations the house will be ready for son Chris to take up residence after we leave tomorrow. It's been a long, cold winter!