St. Petersburg, Florida

It's very different from Washington, DC. No, I'm not talking about the Midwest.  I'm talking about Florida. Every thing about it is different. We are here visiting my family - it's not really a vacation any more. It's about tending to health care needs. Being a nurse and having a physician husband helps logically, but not emotionally. It's been an up and down roller coaster the last three months. Aside from that, you know you reach the sunshine state when the big orange and grapefruit signs pop up and gator gazing becomes routine. The construction around Tampa seems to be never ending, but I do like the Lois Avenue exit. Once you hit the very long Howard Franklin bridge you know you are just about to reach St. Pete. It's bright and sunny, warm, and feels like home. The streets are straight, it's a much slower pace, and so much cheaper. Someone made some snow and ice to make it feel like winter. I thought I was seeing things when we went out for dinner last night. That's just not anything I want to see here! Any way, it's nice to be back where I grew up, but nostalgic at the same time. My husband likes the hustle and bustle of the city - I prefer the heat and the sun. It's a trying time for any family at this time in life. And living far away makes it all the more difficult - no matter how sunny it is. 

Are We There Yet?

Day two of the unexpected road trip took us from Savannah to a quick stop in Jacksonville. It would be unfriendly to pass through a town and not stop to see someone we know. We see him in DC quite regularly and it was a good opportunity to say hi. Once we started back on the road, google maps rerouted us to 301 to Ocala rather than staying on 95 along the east coast. It was actually a more pleasant drive and reminded me of all the summer trips my family took around Florida as a youngster. I think we saw most of the state from the time we moved there until I left after college. Of course we stopped at Macs for a soda. The car in front of us had my husband's name on it. As we drove out along 301we would run in to the brief and heavy showers with sunshine. It suddenly stops and starts like a faucet being turned on and off. That's one thing I remember about living here and to this day always carry an umbrella.