Time to Play Catch-Up

I have long since returned home from what was supposed to be a whirlwind trip North, over Labor Day, and ended up being a lot longer than I had planned. But that's the way life is sometimes.

Night two on the ride north was spent at with my friend, Jen, and her husband Rick. They graciously offered a bed for the night, lovely dinner, pleasant conversation and a few too many cocktails! (my bad) The next morning I started out expecting to be in Hooterville, PA by early afternoon.

I am not exaggerating one bit when I say I was in bumper to bumper traffic the entire way from Richmond to DC. I was hateful. I exited 95 and made the rest of my way north on 270 and Rt 15.
Thankfully, my friend was out and about when I got there and I was able to take a shower and cool off--mentally and physically.

We went out to dinner at Nick's in New Cumberland for a fabulous lump crab cake dinner. Heavenly!
The next few days were spent visiting my son and helping him shop for a few things, followed by...you guessed it.... more Crab Cakes.(Gilligan's -Mechanicsburg)  LOL I needed to get my fill because as much as I love Florida, they cannot make a crab cake to save their soul. I was treated to a family cookout at my sister's house with all my favorites and finally, dinner at Rock Bass with a friends, where, once again I enjoyed lump crab meat dip! (among other things)

Starting on Labor Day, I began receiving text messages from Amtrak stating that service was not operating (due to the Hurricane) as many parts of track hug the coastline. I was finally able to get aboard on Saturday---3 days after I should have departed.

The drive to the Amtrak station, in Lorton, took about 2 hours from Hooterville. I was checked-in and climbing on board by 4. I booked a coach seat on the upper deck. This is an inexpensive way to travel and my fare was $78 dollars and I believe the car (now loaded with the remaining boxes of my art work) cost $204. The ticket included dinner and breakfast the next morning.

Dinner is nothing special, but it's edible and included in your ticket. Breakfast is cold--but a variety of items: warm bagels, packaged pastries, cereal, bananas, milk, orange juice, coffee and tea are provided.

The seats in coach are very comfortable with tons of leg room. They are very much like your beloved recliner in that they really do recline back and also have a leg rest. Unless the train is extremely crowded, a single traveler can request a row to themselves. Which is fabulous!!!! I bring a comfy pillow and blanket to make it cozy in my row.

The train makes one stop along the way, in South Carolina, to change crews. They also allow smokers and people with pets (grrrr*) to disembark via one specific door. The stop is no more than 15 minutes.
*This is nothing against service animals, this is in reference to people that insist to the conductor walking through that their dog is the best doggie in the world blah blah blah  and then the dog proceeds to bark and snap at every person walking past it. Uh huh. Unfortunately, this woman and her two misbehaving boys occupied the rows directly in front of me.  UGH

I find that heading to the bar car and getting 2 mini bottles of "Jack" a Coke and a extra cup of ice after dinner is just the ticket to ensuring a decent night's sleep!

Arrival is in Sanford, FL and is about 2 1/2 hours from my house. The drive home was easy and I had the car unpacked, hit the grocery store and had the afternoon to spend at the pool. Ahhhh. Life is good.

Since that time, I've been playing outside as much as possible. We had sunny, Florida blue skies every day for a month. I regained my tan, reconnected with friends here and pretty much enjoyed myself. I am, of course, still working which gives meaning to that Huey Lewis song "Working for the Weekend".  I do like my job but it's nothing compared to the weekend!

Last weekend, I had another wonderful 3 days. My friend, Julie, flew in from Texas on Friday and spent the weekend with me. We went to the pool a couple of times, spent a great afternoon on the beach and splashed in the ocean. We followed up these activities with great seafood and unfortunately, not so great seafood. Julie was able to indulge in her favorite beer: Yuengling! I also took her to the one, the only, Big Jim's for the best cheese steak of her LIFE! Yes they are that good and HUGE for a mere $12.

I invited her and her hubby back for a visit during spring training season as despite living in TX, they remain Phillies fans and the stadium is about 20 minutes from my house. (I know, if there are not already enough good reasons for living here)

So there you have it, the past month in a nutshell.

Despite Pumpkin Spice Everything announcing that Fall is here, it's still warm and sunny. The ocean water is still perfect for swimming. The days are getting shorter........but life is still very, very good.

jilly

I can see for miles and miles and miles......and it's not pretty

So, let's pick up where we left off--me wanting a good night's sleep. hahahahahahaha. My room was very nice but after I turned out the lights and tried for that sleep, the people upstairs began clomping around in cement block shoes AND the people in the room next door may have been hard of hearing. Or it was just poor planning on the hotel's part that they mounted the TV for the room next door on the same wall as the headboard of my bed. Not good. Not even my relaxation music could drown that out. I did my best trying to tune it out, but the occupants either watched TV most of the night or they fell asleep with the volume up enough to wake the dead. Either way, I woke up later and grumpier than I had hoped.

I did manage to grab a cup of coffee and a bagel from the breakfast buffet before they closed at 9:30 and I was off to Chesapeake, VA to visit some friends. I plugged the address into my GPS and it seemed like a simple drive. Once again, maniacal laughter on my part.

The ease of driving on 95 was hindered by lots of traffic and when I finally hit South Carolina, I was hindered by po-po everywhere. I have never in my life seen such a heavy police presence on the highway. I counted 9 cars pulled over--some with multiple police cars. It was crazy and of course, you have the people jamming on the brakes every time they see the lights, despite the fact that they are busy on the side of the road with another car. UGH

And once again, my GPS appeared to be on something as I was instructed to "turn left onto Outlet Drive" while cruising along 95 with about 20 miles or so to the exit where I was supposed to get off. I don't know if it lost the signal or what...........but for the rest of the day I was plagued with this. After being stuck on 64 during rush hour, I finally made it to my friend's house. (And what a lovely home it is!)  She led me inside for a long awaited adult beverage or 5 and prepared a delicious dinner and a wonderful before meal snack. Her hubby got home from work and joined us as we stared at the TV and the latest hurricane news. We had some great conversation and this girl was mellow and ready for bed about 11pm..

Off I went to my bedroom and settled in for what I hoped a restorative sleep for the final push to Pennsylvania the following morning. I had a comfy bed, perfect temperature for sleeping aaaaaaand my body said... do you know what acid reflux is? I'm gonna make you feel bad all night long. I guess I overdid it on wine.

My gracious hosts let me sleep until I woke up about 8:40am. I grabbed a cup of coffee, repacked the car and I was on my way again.

If you know me, you know that I hate tunnels. HATE them. It is an irrational fear, but there it is. My head knows it's irrational but my body goes, there is no AIR in here. Let's hyperventilate!  Once again, my friends were to the rescue and helped me map an alternate route out of their town and onto 64 that didn't involve a tunnel! YAY! 

The entire drive, despite having chosen this route on the GPS, it kept trying to tell me to make U turns and go some other way. Once again, I pulled over, shut off the GPS and then reentered the information, choosing highway 17. And once again, it keep wanting me to get off 17. It got to the point, where I wasn't sure how to proceed because I saw no 17 signs. So, I followed GPS and it was telling me to make a U TURN on the highway, on a bridge. I frantically call my friends and they ask where are you...........so I started naming things. What the effing GPS did was somehow route me in a complete circle and headed me for.........................you guessed it...................the Monitor Merrimack tunnel.   Well, there was nothing I could do, so into the tunnel I went, sweating like crazy and trying to breathe normally. When I made it out the other side, my hair was plastered to my head with sweat and I felt sick to my stomach.

It was shortly after that, I noticed I was down pretty low on gas, so I saw at WaWa at the next exit and got off the highway. I treated myself to a peach/mango smoothie after that ordeal, got gas and was back on 64 thinking the worst part of my day was over.  hahahahahahahaha

Traffic was running fairly well on 64, there were areas that were still stop and go, but mostly we were able to maintain a good speed. I merged onto 95 N and the traffic there was heavy. However, from Richmond to DC (and no I am not exaggerating) it was bumper to bumper traffic. I never got above 25 MPH. It was all stop and go...........all those miles. OMG I was hateful.  I will admit to some road rage--screamed at people but only I could hear the noise.

Finally, finally, finally I made it over the Potomac River and the GPS said to get on 1-270. Ok. that sounded reasonable. I've driven that road many times on the way to the Outer Banks. I eased into the HOV lane as it was Saturday and I was allowed and cruised the whole way up at a lovely 80 mph. As I pass a couple of towns, I know that US 15 is next for me. The GPS is telling me to go another 53 miles on this different road. OH NO. I know 15 and I know it's the right road, so I shut the B off. I finally made it to my friends house in PA at about 5:30.

I took a nice hot shower and got cleaned up and rid of 'car cooties' and we went out for dinner and I had my first wonderful crab cake in more than a year! Nick's 114 I love your food!  After that we just talked and vegged out on the couch. And I finally got that wonderful night's sleep I've been craving.

Which brings me today, I also enjoyed sleeping so much, I slept until 10:30. LOL  Had 2 cups of coffee and met my son for lunch at Duke's, where I had yet another crab cake for lunch. Then I got to see my the lovely place my son is living now. And we did a bit of shopping for his place. Great time!

While we were out and about, my phone rang with a number I didn't recognize and I let it go to voicemail. When I saw the message, I was not happy. Amtrak called to tell me they cancelled train service on Wednesday--the day I was to get aboard. And when I called them they said they had no idea why the service was cancelled but they could get me on the train on Thursday. I said, ummm isn't that closer to when the hurricane is going to pass by? Won't it be cancelled again? She was, I don't know and I don't know why the service for Wednesday is cancelled. I think I rolled my eyes so hard, I hurt myself.   She also told me they should be getting an update on the hurricane impacts on Monday or Tuesday. Ooooooooook.

So, I'm booked Thursday but who knows if I will be able to get out. Sigh. I texted my Manager this and was told, no problem. Enjoy the extra time with your family.

So there you have it folks. My life is sometimes a comedy but it's life.

jilly

On The Road Again!

It was time for me to pay a visit to my friends and family in PA and VA! This trip has been planned for months and OF COURSE, there is now a hurricane on the way to my new home state. Sigh

I left this afternoon, somewhat reluctantly, but anxious to get the drive out of the way. My neighbor, Jan, will keep me posted on conditions. She has no plans to evacuate. So I feel better leaving this time--if you will recall, last time, I was not living in FL full time and AGAIN had a planned trip north on the Auto Train with a hurricane heading up the Gulf Coast. So, I left my place that time not knowing anyone and trusting a board member with my key to check things out.  Click this LINK if you would like to refresh your memory!

I began this trek with a stop at Einstein Bagels for a delicious Cheddar Jalapeno Bagel! I'm pretty sure I read that calories consumed on a car trip don't count. Let's hope that is true! Off I went up 275. I got through Tampa with no delays! And my GPS directed me to 75 North. OK. Great! I hate driving in and around Orlando, it's always a nightmare.

I've never driven 75 and it was the first time I've seen 'hills' in Florida. I wasn't aware we had any!  Seemed to be a lot of cattle farms and agriculture. It was a nice drive. The 'pack of cars' or Peloton as I like to refer to them, was doing a nice consistent 80 mph. I found a great radio station. So, I was having a live concert in the car, starring ME, singing and bopping to some great music. Volume up, those Bose speakers doing their job.............and....................I missed the exit. LOL Didn't hear her telling me to take the exit. Ooops.

I get rerouted and she says (I can hear her clearly this time as I've turned off the music in a panic) continue 17 miles and get off and go to route blah blah blah. Ok great. I'm not sure where the correct exit would have taken me.... but I'm pretty sure it wasn't anything like what I experienced next.

I'm following her directions and I go from a 4 lane road with a center grass strip and turn down a two lane road, that was heavily pot-holed. I should have turned the car around at that point and just went back the 20 miles or so and got off at the correct exit. But I didn't.

I'm driving further and further into road that I am pretty sure I've visited in my nightmares. If it had been dark, there would have been no way I'd of continued. But continue I did. If I had been a little less freaked out, I would have slowed down to take pictures..........but I didn't so I'll have to be descriptive:

The further I drove, the more wooded the area became, to the point where the trees met and formed a canopy of shade and everything was dripping with Spanish moss  I kept catching glimpses of places that were clearly habitated but looked as though they had not been painted or repaired since they were built--somewhere in the 1700 or 1800 hundreds. They were huge, two story homes that I'm sure were considered mansions back in the day. Columns, covered porches, gables. I kept thinking the people that lived in one of them were probably a brother and sister--and called each other that....with a wonderful pedigree but no money. Well, my imagination was working overtime. My GPS kept telling me to continue for another 17 miles. Dear God.

At one point, I came to a crossroad and had it looked any better than the road I was on, I would have taken it. But, I continued on my way---not seeing another car EVER. Was I hearing banjos? Nah, just my mind playing tricks on me.

Finally, Finally I am instructed to turn onto I think it was 301 to go around Jacksonville. OMG I realized that I had traveled across the state on the godforsaken road. And then............detour. 301 is closed so we're going to bypass through a couple of small towns that clearly cannot handle highway traffic. So, we inched through the towns, masses of cars, tractor trailers and so many people towing campers. UGH

Then, what's that up ahead? Oh, it's where we join this 301 again. And it's a highway! Happy Happy Joy Joy! And we're off. Lovin' me that 80 mph driving. Surprisingly--or maybe not to you, my pack of 80 mph people were clearly the slowpokes. And in the blink of an eye, I left Florida and traveled through Georgia and that South Carolina line was there before I knew it.

I am now comfortably ensconced in a Holiday Inn Express and Suites in South Carolina. I like this chain. I am an IHG member and the $49 a year credit card fee is very worth it because you get a free anniversary night every year! This year, I am using it for this stay as it expires next week. But in years past, I've used the 'free night' at some of their more high end resorts. I used one night at the Intercontinental in Moorea, I stayed one year at a Crowne Plaza in Phoenix. I definitely get my money's worth from this card!

My room here is very Holiday Inn. That is one thing I like, you know what to expect when you book one. They are comfortable and roomy and they have a free breakfast in the morning. This room is spotless too.

So, long day for this girl. I'm going to get ready for bed and maybe watch a little TV or read. Tomorrow is another long day on the road and I want to get up early and get started!

TTFN!
jilly

A Staycation, for a Change

Yes, this gypsy just completed a staycation and it was wonderful! My daughter, Gypsy-In-Training, just left to return to Phoenix after spending a week with her Momma!

The very first thing we did was go to Seabreeze in Redington Shores for dinner. My girl has been waiting, over a year, for an order of raw oysters and some coconut shrimp! She had both and we enjoyed catching up while sitting outside overlooking the Inter Coastal Waterway. I had my go-to meal of blackened grouper. YUM

I didn't make a lot of plans GASP! I know---not even 1 sticky note.

Sunday was spent at the community pool. Reading and Lounging (her) Water aerobics (me). We did some grocery shopping because one of us eats very clean and needed specific items to make various smoothies.

The next several days involved hitting up Barnes and Noble for some bargain books, eating more oysters, crab legs and some delicious prime rib!

On Wednesday, I put into action the one plan I did have. I surprised my daughter with a trip to the Dali museum in St. Pete! It was amazing. Well worth the price of admission. There were many areas to interact with Dali holograms. The app you can download has some great features as well. For some of the more 'famous' paintings, the app had areas to click on in the painting and it gave some insight into what was being depicted and the meaning of various elements in the painting.

 What surprised me most about the painting above was it's size. It's only about 14x16. I always pictured it much larger.

In this painting, I loved how Dali used the technique to make the horse almost seem embossed. There is so much detail and symbolism in his work. The app we used was very helpful deciphering the meaning of various elements in his work.

 This painting is one of my favorites.

The painting above is titled The Average Bureaucrat. And if you see what's in his 'brain' it makes total sense!

We probably spent the most time at this painting, listening to the information on the App and looking at all the symbolism. I just love how, depending how far you stood from the painting, different things were visible!

The biggest surprise was a virtual reality tool that allowed you to go inside the paintings. You put this headset on and when you lined up the 'dots' you were whisked into the painting. For example, is the one area of a painting, there was a castle, the virtual reality allowed you to go inside and see the interior. You could look up and down and all around (the chairs spun). I was absolutely mind blown

This is the virtual reality area. While waiting in line, you could see what the person was seeing--except they were viewing it in 3D. 

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The view from the gardens. 

Dali's moustache!

Even the little bird has a Dali moustache

 A lot of Dali's work incorporated the Fibonacci spiral. It was used in various places in the museum. The steps from the main floor to the exhibits was a spiral.

Dali believed the Fibonacci spiral was nature's most perfect form. He even styled his mustache after it!

There is a lovely gift shop and also an outdoor garden with many Dali references to spot.

The Fibonacci spiral in the Avant Garden!

The Girls hangin' out with Sal!

Shenanigans in the gift shop!

When Thursday (4th of July) rolled around we realized we had not been over to the beach. After dinner, we went over to Indian Rocks Beach to dip our feet in the sea and watch the fireworks!  Mother Nature decided to give us one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen!

 

Fireworks at Indian Rocks Beach. We could also see them to the north in Clearwater and to the south at Redington Beach!

And so ended our week together. Friday was all about packing and getting to the airport. Sigh. I missed her as soon as I dropped her off at the Southwest Airlines check-in. She is back in Phoenix now, safe and sound. I won't get to see her until Thanksgiving...................Sigh.  But I am very grateful we had this past week together.


tata for now!
jilly