Good Night Irene!

Today is my last day at Indian Harbor Beach, Florida.  It has been an awesome week, made even more memorable by an unexpected visitor by the name of Irene. 

While Irene was gracious enough to not visit Florida personally, she stretched out her arms and brushed us with her fingertips…..just enough of a touch to let us know she was out there.

What a show off!

I took a long walk on the beach this morning.  Irene’s powerful waves had washed several baby sea turtles onto the beach.  Apparently it is against the law or something to touch baby sea turtles.  Well, I came across one of the little guys lying on its back, legs flailing in the air.  It took all my telekinetic energy, but I managed to put the little guy on his feet and return him to his rightful place in the ocean. 

Seriously, that’s what happened!  I can bend spoons with my mind too.

Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Well, hurricane or not, it’s been a great week, but you know what they say…..all good things must come to an end (and all bad things seem to stick around forever).  So tomorrow I get on a plane and head back to WV.  Back to mowing.  Back to working.  Back to groundhogs……BTW, if I came across one of them lying on its back and flailing its legs, I’d be equally fair in my treatment…

Can groundhogs swim?

“Irene good night, Irene good night,
Good night Irene, good night Irene,
I’ll see you in my dreams.”

Brunswick or Bust!

Vacation Day One:

Left home at 7:30 this morning.  It was raining.  Got to Chucktown……  still raining.  WV Turnpike……still raining.  Fancy Gap/Mt. Airy….still rainy and throw in LOTS of fog!  (I drafted a semi who had his flashers on).  But, I finally found the sun!  It was hiding in Mooresfield/Lake Norman, North Carolina! That was my first (and only) pit stop today.  310 miles into my trip.  Needed the two essentials…gas and restroom.  When I came out of the convenience store/gas station/pit stop I saw the sun!!!! It was glorious!

Actually, I did not travel alone today.  Hillary Clinton was along for the ride.  Her audio book “Living History” got me from WV to the Georgia state line.  It’s a great listen.  I am going to add it to “My Book Club”.

For breakfast I had a sandwich and string cheese and a miniature candy bar.  For lunch I had a sandwich, string cheese and a miniature candy bar.  If variety is the spice of life then mine is a no-salt diet.  I did take time to buy a cappacino during my pit stop.

I can’t help it.  I get really competitive when I travel.  Jeeves (my british speaking GPS guy) keeps me up-to-date on my destination ETA.  When I see that I am knocking off time, I just want to knock off more and more.  It is a mission (or else I am just a really sick person).  I prefer the former.  Anyway, I made the trip in 9.5 hours with ONE stop!

My destination….Brunswick, Georgia, Embassy Suites.

This picture makes it all worthwhile.

Just look at the Spanish moss!  If I lived down here I would have Spanish moss growing everywhere!  And do you see the sun?  I told you I found it!

So, I of course arrived at Embassy in time for Manager’s Special (that was part of the plan).  I was hoping for some substantial snacks for dinner but no….just like Chucktown it was popcorn, chips and salsa and nuts.  At least it was a change from breakfast and lunch.  The decor at this Embassy is different from home

Now how “beachy” is that?

One other observation about Embassy’s…..The one in Chucktown is located right across the street from the mall.  This Embassy is IN the mall!

Just walk out the door and you are there!

Well, vacation day one was mostly spent on the road, but that is okay.  It gives you time to think and be totally by yourself….except for this guy, of course!

He is dreaming about getting a tan!

And Then There Were Four

The countdown to my vacation is now at four.

And believe me, after waking up to snow this morning, it can’t come too soon.

The only bad thing about going on vacation is getting ready.  Oh, I love putting together my  little trip folders full of hotel reservation information and google map directions and “things to see” and restaurant menus……What I love less are the mundane chores that have to be done before one can leave town for a week.

It helps if you make a list

Yes, I am a list maker.  Always have been and always will be. 

The first item on my list is clean house.  I always have to clean my house before I go on vacation.  I think it relates to what our moms used to tell us about always leaving the house with clean underwear on.

I guess that is to keep the ER doctors and nurses from rolling their eyes in disgust as they try to save your life following the 12 car pile-up on the interstate.  Well, God forbid something would happen to me on my trip and people would come to my house and say “Can you believe the dust on her coffee tables?”  Thanks, Mom!

The second item on my list is pay bills.  Thanks to online bill paying, I can set up all of my end of month bills before I leave but not have them pay out until the 15th when I get paid.  This is the greatest invention since electric wine openers!

The third item on my list is go grocery shopping.  Not only do I have pick up some things to take with me like deodorant, razors, lotion, but I need to buy food to pack in the car.  I take traveling seriously and that means I want to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as is humanly possible and that means NECESSARY STOPS ONLY!

And most of the time you can get both done in one stop.

I don’t like to stop and eat.  I don’t like to stop and stretch my legs.  I don’t even like to stop at stop lights, but I even I have limits.  It is not a trip as much as it is a mission.

So, the countdown continues…..

BTW…did anyone notice the item on the list that was crossed off?  Apparently I figured that one out 🙂