Longtime readers know that Dad retired to Florida about 10 years ago. I went down last September after Fall Business Trip #1, and decided to take a quick 4-day spring break trip this year.
I mean, how could I pass up on this?
The beaches there are 1) free and 2) much less crowded than the Jersey Shore. (Sorry, Jersey Shore, you are my default, but … yeah.) These pictures were taken on an 80-degree Saturday.
This time I made sure to pack my hat:
And I started a new travel journal. I did this last year, and it was really handy to jot down memories before they leave my head forever. (I will never be faster on the phone than I am with a pen.) It’s an extra-small Moleskine Volant, and the 2-pack set came in yellow and orange.
We spent some time at The Moose…
…which was decorated for St. Patrick’s Day. And served a mean $10 steak dinner.
My view from bed each morning was pretty posh.
Because we have a Big!Work!Project! going on, I took my laptop with me and had to call into some meetings. This view beats a cubicle any day though.
We went to an early St. Patrick’s Day cookout:
I was supposed to fly home on Tuesday, March 10, but because of Winter Storm Stella, Southwest urged me to move the flight. I agreed, and moved it to Wednesday. Bonus day! But then…
Because of all of the cancelled flights back to the Northeast, Southwest couldn’t get me on a flight back until Sunday. I was already feeling guilty for missing an additional day of work, so I managed to get a flight on Delta on Thursday, 3/17. Another bonus day of ‘retirement!’
Unfortunately, it was cold by Floridian standards – in the 50s and 60s – so the beach was out of the questions. That’s why there is plastic behind this little outdoor eatery.
I want that tiki for my backyard.
On the last night I was there, the SpaceX launch of the Echostar satellite occurred around 2am. I was woken up by a dog barking (probably at a boom) and saw this through the window:
Which was pretty neat! Despite the travel snafus, and having to clean off my car in the airport parking lot while wearing tiny, slippery flats, Dad and I had a great time.
