Good'ish to be home.
I'm finally back from Florida. Thank God.
Not to say that I'm happy to be out of Florida and back into this lovely weather we're having here in Michigan at the moment. I'm just happy to be off the road and out of that God-forsaken SUV.
We left Saturday afternoon, around 6'ish.
We got home this morning, around 9'ish.
That is not a typo. The truck broke down again on the way home.
This time, it was the water pump. If it didn't already appear as though God was trying to thwart our attempts at travel over the past week, Lake City, where we were stranded, was having record lows for this time of year. It was less than 50 degrees in Northern'ish Florida where we broke down and had to stay in the second motel of the vacation. At least this Days Inn was slightly better than the Motel 6 we had to stay at on the way down [as the motel 6 had various forms of warning signs including those informing patrons that a regular sweep was made of the premises with a police K-9 unit]. We did however have a bit of luck on our side yesterday when we were able to find someone to fix the vehicle on Easter Sunday and were back on the road by 2pm. So 18 hours after that wonderful excursion in Lake City I couldn't have been more relieved to finally pull into my driveway.
I apologize if it seems as though I've nothing good to say about my trip. Well, as for the trip itself, I really don't. I cannot think of a single thing, no matter how far I stretch my imagination, that I can find pleasant about riding in an SUV packed tightly with 6 people and all of their luggage for 21+ hours. And that's without the breakdowns.
As for the stay in Florida, well, I'm not going to pretend it was amazing or anything. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE spending time in Florida. I love the weather and over many years I've grown to love that little island as well. There's the problem though. The part about the many years. I've been going down to Sanibel Island every single year, sans last year, for the past 16 [give or take]. Now it's still relaxing, but there's not really a damn thing exciting about it. That would be fine if not for the hellish ride to be endured to and from which makes you wonder weather it's worth it to go at all. These days, unless I'm flying or going with significantly less people in a significantly more reliable vehicle, I think the answer is beginning to lean more and more towards no. Other than a slight tan there really wasn't anything too incredible, exciting, or worthwhile about the trip.
Until the last couple of days on the island. The last night and day of our departure definitely made the trip worthwhile for me. Good rum and great company. It's the company that made the difference too. That's the one thing about that island that you hope would change a little from year to year. And it usually doesn't. Just like the same type of people day after day here at home, it's the same type of people year after year down there. Some of them can be okay just to get out and have some laughs for the night, but there's really no substance beyond that. This time though, I had such a good time just with the company, that I went to bed with my bottle of rum still mostly full. That's a first. [Mental Note: Don't make self sound like drunk.]
As a sort of summation, I guess that I've gotten a little bored with the same ol' family vacation every year. So I suppose that it's a good thing that this was the last time. With Ben and Matt going to college next year and Lisa still being in high school, nobody's schedules would permit them this annual trip together. The bright side to that is that it will leave me open to travel at a different time in the future. Being 21+ on high school spring break is a little, well, awkward. Oh well, one more Florida trip for the books. Now I'm back home and back to being a little depressed. Going from 80 and sunny to whatever the fuck is going on here is not exactly a pleasant undertaking. There's that and there's the actually meeting somebody that actually made me forget I had a half-pint in my back pocket. I'm glad for that. It's just that it couldn't have happened closer to home.
At least I've still got the rum I guess.
And that's that. I'm a little darker, well rested, still pretty anxious, but home. Thank God for that. I can't wait to go sleep in my own bed.
-Keith
p.s. I'm bummed out that I missed the Punching Bee meeting / BBQ yesterday. Stupid effing water pump. Ah well, I'll be at the next one.
p.p.s. I have a tiny bit of money left from the trip so I'll probably be out at least one of these days this week. Let me know if anyone wants to grab a drink. I'm thinking Wednesday or Thursday.
p.p.p.s. My phone was shut off completely while I was gone. So no incoming calls anymore either. So call the house. If you don't have the number, it's 616.538.9041. It is fairly reliable as I am here most of the day.
p.p.p.p.s. I'll be posting a few pics from spring break in the next day or two. We didn't take very many at all, but I'll put up what I have.
Not to say that I'm happy to be out of Florida and back into this lovely weather we're having here in Michigan at the moment. I'm just happy to be off the road and out of that God-forsaken SUV.
We left Saturday afternoon, around 6'ish.
We got home this morning, around 9'ish.
That is not a typo. The truck broke down again on the way home.
This time, it was the water pump. If it didn't already appear as though God was trying to thwart our attempts at travel over the past week, Lake City, where we were stranded, was having record lows for this time of year. It was less than 50 degrees in Northern'ish Florida where we broke down and had to stay in the second motel of the vacation. At least this Days Inn was slightly better than the Motel 6 we had to stay at on the way down [as the motel 6 had various forms of warning signs including those informing patrons that a regular sweep was made of the premises with a police K-9 unit]. We did however have a bit of luck on our side yesterday when we were able to find someone to fix the vehicle on Easter Sunday and were back on the road by 2pm. So 18 hours after that wonderful excursion in Lake City I couldn't have been more relieved to finally pull into my driveway.
I apologize if it seems as though I've nothing good to say about my trip. Well, as for the trip itself, I really don't. I cannot think of a single thing, no matter how far I stretch my imagination, that I can find pleasant about riding in an SUV packed tightly with 6 people and all of their luggage for 21+ hours. And that's without the breakdowns.
As for the stay in Florida, well, I'm not going to pretend it was amazing or anything. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE spending time in Florida. I love the weather and over many years I've grown to love that little island as well. There's the problem though. The part about the many years. I've been going down to Sanibel Island every single year, sans last year, for the past 16 [give or take]. Now it's still relaxing, but there's not really a damn thing exciting about it. That would be fine if not for the hellish ride to be endured to and from which makes you wonder weather it's worth it to go at all. These days, unless I'm flying or going with significantly less people in a significantly more reliable vehicle, I think the answer is beginning to lean more and more towards no. Other than a slight tan there really wasn't anything too incredible, exciting, or worthwhile about the trip.
Until the last couple of days on the island. The last night and day of our departure definitely made the trip worthwhile for me. Good rum and great company. It's the company that made the difference too. That's the one thing about that island that you hope would change a little from year to year. And it usually doesn't. Just like the same type of people day after day here at home, it's the same type of people year after year down there. Some of them can be okay just to get out and have some laughs for the night, but there's really no substance beyond that. This time though, I had such a good time just with the company, that I went to bed with my bottle of rum still mostly full. That's a first. [Mental Note: Don't make self sound like drunk.]
As a sort of summation, I guess that I've gotten a little bored with the same ol' family vacation every year. So I suppose that it's a good thing that this was the last time. With Ben and Matt going to college next year and Lisa still being in high school, nobody's schedules would permit them this annual trip together. The bright side to that is that it will leave me open to travel at a different time in the future. Being 21+ on high school spring break is a little, well, awkward. Oh well, one more Florida trip for the books. Now I'm back home and back to being a little depressed. Going from 80 and sunny to whatever the fuck is going on here is not exactly a pleasant undertaking. There's that and there's the actually meeting somebody that actually made me forget I had a half-pint in my back pocket. I'm glad for that. It's just that it couldn't have happened closer to home.
At least I've still got the rum I guess.
And that's that. I'm a little darker, well rested, still pretty anxious, but home. Thank God for that. I can't wait to go sleep in my own bed.
-Keith
p.s. I'm bummed out that I missed the Punching Bee meeting / BBQ yesterday. Stupid effing water pump. Ah well, I'll be at the next one.
p.p.s. I have a tiny bit of money left from the trip so I'll probably be out at least one of these days this week. Let me know if anyone wants to grab a drink. I'm thinking Wednesday or Thursday.
p.p.p.s. My phone was shut off completely while I was gone. So no incoming calls anymore either. So call the house. If you don't have the number, it's 616.538.9041. It is fairly reliable as I am here most of the day.
p.p.p.p.s. I'll be posting a few pics from spring break in the next day or two. We didn't take very many at all, but I'll put up what I have.