Such a Good Idea...

This Bowl trip, because that's what it ended up being, was such a good idea...the exact right medicine for ailing perspectives...rejuvenating, relaxing, a timely reminder of what we should be working hard to do...it was beyond fabulous. The sun was exactly what we were in such desperate need of.  We felt terrible changing plans on friends from New York City to Ottawa, and felt even worse that we bungled the planning of all of this...we're usually quite sharp when it comes to such things...but in the end we lay in our rented bed, staring out at coastal fog lifting over the Gulf, with our daughter cooing  between us, and sighed with satisfaction. This was a good trip.


We're still not quite sure if we're Florida people or not...seems unlikely...but we're sunshine and ocean people, and perhaps in the future we can look past all of Florida's scrubby land, and scruffy people, and put our blinders on 'til we reach the beach. I said four days ago that I probably would never be back this way, but I was wrong...it won't be my priority but it might always be a drive down I-75 away, and that's good to know. As recently as yesterday I had said to June that I really only had three or for more reasons to come back to Florida...


- Spring Training
- Key West
- Miami
- another Bowl game


After thre days of near flawless weather, and the wide beaches from Clearwater on down through Indian Rocks and Treasure Island to St. Pete Beach, my perspective has changed. Gimme an easy time of it, and guaranteed good weather, throw some affordability in there, and I'd wrestle with my conscience and come back down. It's astonishing what just a few days of sun and sand can do for you.  I feel very close to rejuvenated.  Two weeks of this would have been brilliant.

Ten days ago Florida seemed like such a ridiculous idea, given that we were already booked into one of North America's oldest and most beautiful cities, and that we had friends waiting for our visit, but after building sand castles with an excited little girl in the cutest bikini ever, it doesn't seem all that ridiculous at all.  It seems quite genius, in fact.

How long 'til March Break?