Two weeks ago I set out on an excursion to Florida. A good friend of mine had a heart attack with some pretty serious complications. We didn’t know if he was going to pull through. Once I got the money together I booked my train ticket for the next day. It turns out he was released the day I booked my ticket but I didn’t know until after I booked it. How he went from a less than 50% chance of pulling through to home in less than 24 hours is beyond me but of course I’m glad he’s doing better.
2 days traveling later I’m in Florida and hanging out with him. Within a couple days of me getting there he was back to his normal self. I stayed a week and a half so my train ticket coming home would be a little cheaper. The further out you book the ticket the cheaper it is. I mostly had a good time. I’m just not a big fan of traveling on the train for 2 days each way. The train from NYC to FL is only 24 hours but catching the train back upstate is another story.
We basically just hung around the house and played with kids. Went to the pool a few times which was fun. I got bad sun burn on my head and neck. Even my ears were blistered. Stupid me didn’t even think about it. The first day I was there put the kids in the kiddie pool and stood outside to watch them baking in the Florida sun without a second thought of sunburn. That’s a big ah-durrr on my part. Running in and out to smoke in the sun didn’t help matters either. By the time I got home I could probably pass for Puerto Rician. Aside from that we went out to eat a couple times at the Golden Corral. We really need some of those up here. LOL Wait maybe we don’t I’m big enough as it is. 
I wound up having to rent a car for the last weekend I was there. It’s a long story, don’t ask but I got to drive around a 2012 Impala. What a gorgeous car. Remember I was used to driving around the Flinstonemobile. $60 for the weekend wasn’t a bad deal. It had power everything and even XM radio. XM sucks BTW. The reception was great but the selection was crappy. The gas was another story though it cost me more in gas then for the rental. When all was said and done when I returned the car I’d done just shy of 700 miles. I did get to see Tampa, Clearwater, and St Pete though. That’s a gorgeous area. You go over this one bridge it must be 2-3 miles long and on each side is nothing but crystal blue water. The highway between Tampa and St. Pete is 4 lanes and on one side for the whole length of the highway is a beach..Right off the highway! That’s pretty awesome.
Every time I go to Florida I’m reminded of how much I love it down there. It’s hard to explain other than it’s just a whole different way of life. I lived there for three months in 2008 and would still be there if my job had panned out.
Today is my second full day home. I’m still playing catch up with my website work and email. If you’ve emailed me over the last two weeks and haven’t gotten a response I’ll get to you shortly. I took my walk yesterday and will leave for my walk shortly. I am glad to be home but miss my friends already.