Bluegrass Mama

I’m sure you’ve all been waiting with bated breath to hear all about last week’s trip to Florida.  You’ve just been too polite to ask.

The drive down was pretty uneventful, except that we drove through Alabama (and even spent a night there en route) so I was able to add a new state to my map.

create your own personalized map of the USA

My first thought as we drove into Florida was to wonder if we could sue them for false advertising.  Do you see any sunshine?

We rented a condo in Seagrove Beach (on the Panhandle) for our stay.  The fact that the girls had their own room, complete with TV, was a lifesaver.  Not that they wanted to spend time in it right away.  Despite the fact that it was overcast, breezy, and somewhere in the upper 50s, they couldn’t wait to get to the beach. 

BD had never seen the ocean, which was one of the reasons for this trip.  I will personally hunt down anyone who tells her that the Gulf of Mexico is NOT the ocean.  I actually referred to it as “the gulf” once, and she roundly chastised me by insisting that “The Gulf is in Mexico.”  Who was I to argue with her (and possibly be coerced into a future trip to the Atlantic)?  They did indeed go in the gulf ocean that afternoon, while Mr. B & I stood fully dressed on the shore.

It was still cloudy on Tuesday, so we visited a lovely state park.  The historical house on the property was closed that day, so the bright side is that we saved some money by not paying to tour it.  We did spend quite a bit of time exploring the grounds.

Wednesday was the rainiest day, and we spent much of it shopping, since BD had been saving money for this occasion for some time.  The less said on that subject, the better.  The high point of the day was spying an IHOP, where we promised to go for breakfast the next day.  (Oh, did I leave out the part of the story where Mr. B nearly set off the smoke alarm by overheating oil to try to cook pancakes in the cheap aluminum cookware provided in our kitchen?)

Then came Thursday, when Florida absolutely lived up to its nickname.

That’s when we realized that sunscreen really works.  At least on the parts you get enough on.  Friday was to be a carbon copy of Thursday–and we were scheduled to check out by 10 AM, drive partway home, stay overnight in Alabama, and finish up the drive on Saturday.  As luck would have it, our unit wasn’t booked Friday night, so we extended our stay, had another lovely day, and drove the whole way home on Saturday.

And this week’s excitement?  Back to school and work, catching up on the mail, and watching our sunburns peel.