To Florida and Back

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We went to Florida over Labor Day weekend because it was a three day weekend, we hadn't seen Kris since Thanksgiving, and probably would have no other chance to see Karen and Buff this year. It was a whirlwind tour, to say the least. I had Friday off, but Dennis did not, so we left at 5 am on Sat. The dogs were at the vet's, and the cats were on their own. It was dark and drizzling and I gripped the steering wheel with both hands until we got through Charlotte and the sun came up. Poor night vision is just one of the joys of growing old. But the trip was short, it seemed, and we were in Jax Beach by 12:45. We drove through our old neighborhood and saw a lot of debris left by Fay, branches stacked in front of every yard, trees bent and broken by the wind. The streets seemed narrow and the houses a little messy, here and there unkempt, or maybe it was just the remains of the tropical storm that made the neighborhood seem less lustrous than my memories. We arrived at Kris and Brett's apt and had a happy reunion. The apt is small but open and attractive, with a new kitchen and clean white walls. And of course it is less than a block off the ocean, which is in view from the furnished front porch. We couldn't wait to walk on the beach, so we took a stroll after Brett left for work, and in a few short minutes we were completely drenched by a sudden storm. I had forgotten how fickle Florida weather is, and what real humidity is. Later that afternoon we met Brett's parents, Pat and Dave, for dinner at the Gene's Seafood, for old times sake, and like everything else I missed from my previous life in Florida, the place had changed, nolonger crowded, somewhat dingy and different, but the crabcakes were still huge and delicious. Dennis spent a long time inspecting and admiring Dave's recently acquired 1968 Porsche 912. Back at the apt we listened to reggae and talked and drank lots of mini margaritas and later enjoyed a pleasant night on the Eddie Bauer air mattress in the spare bedroom.

Early the next morning I arose first, made coffee, and went down to the beach to take in the sound and smell and lovely sight of the ocean. It was rough and gray all weekend, because of Hanna who spun offshore hundreds of miles away, but caused the ocean to swell and heave like a northeaster from the wrong direction. This same hurricane is expected to come onshore in North Carolina this weekend, finally, somewhat depleted but hopefuly still wet. After everyone dragged out of bed we walked, yes walked, to the Third Street Diner for a wonderful breakfast...I had a perfect feta and spinach omelette. Then we headed for Palatka and the Munnagerie. Karen had made her famous barbecued shrimp and her famous delicious Dottie's Delight for dessert. We ate early, still stuffed from breakfast, because Brett had to leave at 3:30 to get to work . We had a lot of fun playing with the new baby, Max the 4 month old German Shepherd, but it seemed strange with only four horses and no matched Belgians. And there was much disappointment for the guys that the Segue was broken. Still, we had a nice reunion and Karen's house seemed like home, as usual.

We drove back to Jax at dusk and bought a bag of Krystals which we took back to Kristen's and enjoyed before watching the best of Christopher Walken (more cowbell)on DVD and heading to bed. I was up first again in the morning and went down to the beach again. I could get used to that. I even began to look at beachfront real estate when we got back to NC. Dennis and I left around ten and the drive home seemed so much longer. We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Lexington for dinner where I had complete comfort food, chicken and dumplings, fried apples, corn, biscuits. What the heck happened to my diet, heh. The kitties were glad to see us, and we went back to work Tuesday morning. Next trip will be back to New bern in a week or so...