I can’t believe that it’s been nearly a month and a half
since the last blog entry – time does fly…..
Over the next few days I will try and get us somewhat caught
up. Here’s a beginning, we’ll see how it goes!
In mid-December Leslie and I took a trip back to Florida - my
first since moving here, and her first since she had gone back to retrieve
Shane and Champ. It isn’t like we had rock fever or extreme home sickness, we
were going back to attend Jason’s graduation commencement ceremony, which was
in Gainesville on Saturday, December 14.
Shane stayed behind to work and take care of Champ. He
probably didn’t mind the week of autonomy too much either! Also, it would be
his first experience of doing any extended driving on the island (which, truth
be told made us a little nervous since we are a one jeep family).
Champ hates suitcases. Or at least he hates seeing us pack
suitcases, and I don’t blame him. Here he was, finally getting used to and
settled into this new environment and we were leaving him! The full days that Shane
works would be the longest that Champ had been left alone since his move, so we
worried a bit about that/him.
The ferry/taxi/plane/layover/plane seemed long, but was
pleasantly uneventful. We picked up a rental car at the airport in Tampa a
little before 4:00PM, and headed east. It was the first time in two months that
I done any of the following; drove on the right side of the road, drove for
more than 100 feet in a straight line, or drove over 30mph!
Our first stop was at Eau Gallie High School. The fact that
the boys soccer team had a home game that night had an awful lot to do with the
fact that Melbourne was even on our itinerary. We arrived shortly before the JV
game began and were greeted warmly by Roxanne, who I believe was the only one
on site that knew we were coming. We had a great time surprising our friends
that were in attendance, getting caught up, and the teams even cooperated as EG
won both matches.
After the game we headed to our friends Terri and Jerry’s
house, as they had graciously offered us a place to stay for the duration of
the Melbourne portion of our trip. A little talk, a little wine, then it was
time for some sleep.
I spent most of Wednesday doing some work on the computer while Leslie shopped for a few
of the things that we had identified as needs that we would have trouble
finding (or paying for!) on island. Fortunately I was able to get to a point in
my project that we could join some dear friends at our favorite Melbourne riverside
restaurant, Captain Katanna’s! It was
really great to see all of them, I just wish that I had been able to spend a little
more time with each of them. Terri invited all who were interested in extending
the evening to come back to their place for more food, drinks, and fun. The
spread she put out made me wonder why we’d bothered to eat dinner!
Thursday morning we had breakfast, did a couple of quick
things on the computer, then headed north. We would end our day in Tallahassee
at my brother Bruce’s house, but we had convinced Jason to take a break from
studying for finals long enough to let us buy him lunch, so we made a stop in
Gainesville. We picked him up by his apartment, and went to Ballyhoo’s, which
had become our “go-to” spot whenever we visited either or both of the boys up
there.
During lunch I mentioned that on
Saturday, when we’d be back for the commencement ceremony, that we would likely
just meet up with him afterwards since we’d need to get seated before the
procession of candidates started at 9:30. He commented that it seemed like an
awful early time for us to get there for a 2:00PM event. A couple of weeks prior I had sent him a
message asking him to find out the details for me, which he had somehow managed
to forget to do. So I went online and got the information myself. Now he was
telling me that I had it all wrong. I hoped he was right – an afternoon
ceremony would allow us to leave Tallahassee at a much more reasonable hour,
but I suggested that he verify it before we finished lunch. After checking on
his phone he said, “how about that? – my ceremony is at 10:00AM after all – I better
go and get my cap and gown”!
We made it to a chilly(ish) Tallahassee by late afternoon –
it felt good to get out of the car! Temperatures were supposed to drop into the
30s that night – quite a change from St. John! I actually had a pair of jeans
and socks with me – items that I had to dig out just for this trip. Even though it stayed refreshingly crisp
(according to me – it was mind and body numbingly cold according to Leslie)
other than the two occasions where decorum mandated that I wear slacks, I
stayed in shorts the whole time! I did however wear socks, shoes, and long
sleeve t-shirts.
We spent Friday visiting with my Mom, who drove over from
Panama City to join us, and helping out around the house – Sunday was to be the
day of Bruce and Candace’s annual holiday open house, an event that we had
never been able to make it to before.
Saturday dawned bright, clear, and crisp, and shortly before
sunrise my Mom, Leslie, and myself got back in the car for the two and a half
hour drive to Gainesville. We made good time, found a place to park literally
just steps away from the O’Connell Center (where the event was being held) and
we only had a short wait before they opened the doors and we were able to
secure very good seats.
THEN the wait began! There were probably some 1500 conferees being
honored during this particular session, so with the speeches, awards, etc. you
can imagine that it went on for some time. It was entertaining to see how the
parents/friends/loved ones of the graduates responded during their particular
10 seconds of excitement.
After the ceremony we met up with Jason and some of his
friends across the street from the arena. Some of these kids had delayed their
trips home for the break between semesters so that they could see him “walk” –
how nice! We had met most of them before, either at our tailgates or at other
events we’d attended during Jason’s time there, and it was good to see them
again, possibly/probably for the last time.
A good friend of mine from my high school days has a
daughter who graduated at the same time/place as Jason so after going by Jason’s
apartment so he could pack(!) for the trip, we met Jeri, her daughter Kelli
(the new grad), and some more of their family for a great celebratory meal at
KC Craves – a new one for us! We had a great meal and a great time hanging out
with them. Between the early start to the day and that giant late lunch, I was
one sleepy driver by the time we got back to Tallahassee.
Sunday morning was a flurry of last minute activity ahead of
the open house – which was wonderful! Great food, met a bunch of their friends
for the first time as well as getting caught up with some of the ones we’d met
over the years. After everyone had gone home and the initial clean up had been
taken care of, we headed to an Irish Pub (a pub in Ireland had been completely
disassembled, shipped to the states and recreated in this space) for a couple
of hours.
Monday morning we said our good-byes and the three of us
(Leslie, Jason, and me) headed back to Tampa. We had a 7:00AM flight out on
Tuesday so we opted to stay in the airport hotel in Tampa, which was a choice with
which we were very happy. After checking
in I went and topped off the gas tank, returned the rental car, walked back to
the room, and from that point on we had everything we needed right there.
Suddenly it was Tuesday morning. It was hard to believe that
it had been a week since we’d boarded a plane going in the opposite direction. Boarded and flew to Miami without incident,
and the layover there was spent much as the previous one had been. Then we got
on a plane bound for – home!
This was a new experience. Not flying to St. Thomas – I have
done that a number of times. Not even flying to St. Thomas when it’s not for a
vacation, I’d done that in October. This was my first time flying BACK there,
as a resident, after visiting “the real world”, and I was curious as to how
that would feel.
Would the short stay in the land of long hot showers,
abundant food options, and convenient (and cheap) shopping make me miss all of
that upon my return? Would the teasingly short two day stay in the place that
had been my home for decades fill me with homesickness? Would the brief respite
from humidity leave me dreading coming back to that?
No, no, and no. I was truly happy to be coming home. This is
where I live now, and it’s where I hope to be able to continue to live. I
really loved seeing some of my family members and some of my friends back in
Florida. I do miss them, but I hope I can convince them to come and see us!
The plane landed on a rainy St. Thomas. The THREE of us
deplaned, and had a welcome to the Vis complimentary rum shot while we waited
for our bags. Three of the four showed up almost before we could get to the
claim area. The fourth one helped us get back on island time! Once we had it,
we grabbed a van, then once again waited. The driver was determined to fill it
up before he’d leave. The time we had to wait until he squeezed that last
couple in was going to, I was sure, cause us to miss the 3:00PM ferry. But we
pulled in 2:59 and while Jason and I waited to get our bags, Leslie ran into
the terminal to get our tickets. And we made it! The text message to Shane to tell him we missed it remained
unsent.
Shane met us with the Jeep next to the ferry dock in Cruz
Bay. We piled all of the luggage in the back, put Leslie in front, and told
them to come and pick us up by the free parking lot once they’d dropped
everything off. As Jason and I walked in that direction I was so glad to be
home, and to have him here with us for the next 10 days or so. For a little
while we were all going to be back together again. Shortly after we got to the
parking lot I could see the jeep in the distance as it rounded the corner by
The Marketplace. And who do you suppose Leslie had brought with her to greet
his original owner/best friend? Champ, of course! What a reunion! And what a
week we all have ahead of us. Stay tuned…
Can't wait for the rest!
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