So I landed in Jacksonville, but it wasn't my final destination - I was en route to Gainesville where my friend Michelle is working at the University of Florida vet college this year doing a fellowship. Smart lady, choosing somewhere warm to go for the year.. and everyone who got to escape Ontario to visit her this year is very grateful.. thanks Michelle! :) I went to pick up my rental car and the guy was busy setting me up with my Kia Rondo (I tried not to actively pout when I heard the news, but it was difficult). Then he said "oh, you're dropping in Gainesville - WELL, would you like a free upgrade to a Ford Mustang?" UM, yes?! Who would say no to this? So awaiting me in the parking lot was a shiny new Mustang waiting to be driven all over the state for the next 4 days.. woohoo! Nice note to start the trip on!
..because of course as soon as I got going I was in a typical Kristyn hectic moment of not being able to find the power connection to plug in my GPS, not able to receive a satellite signal on my GPS because I was in an airport parking garage, and not being able to figure out the windshield wipers on the car while it poured outside. And whoever designed the pkg garage at JAX needs a slap, you can't see any cars coming around any of those corners!! But I have to say, as I blasted the radio, fiddled with the controls and drove out somehow without smashing the car into the dusky evening with palm trees blowing back and forth in the warm wind, I could NOT stop smiling. I had a happiness that was filling me up from within!
The reason for the bubbling happiness, I actually figured out. Work has been tough for the past couple of months. Got a new job, which comes with new responsibilities, new committments, new challenges - and am also helping "finish out" my old job, which is basically a non-stop stream of crazy tasks that I am happy to FINALLY be turning the tap off on. Bailey has been sick on and off the whole time we've had him. Wheat sensitivity suspected.. roundworm confirmed (euwww).. sensitive stomach likely.. treats banned.. dogfood questionable.. bland diet seems to be working... my head had been swirling since getting up with him in the middle of the night the morning I left for my trip wondering how to fix my freaking dog who has lost a lot of weight, lost the shine in his fur, and just isn't quite himself. And winter has been LONG. Dogwalkers or even just those heading outside from time to time can agree this winter was ridiculously long with very little reprieve! Also, field season is fast approaching which means a whirlwind of travel and outdoor work which is awesome, but can be overwhelming. SO... I looked at my life at home over the past couple of months as this pie:
The dog has definitely taken up a lot of my brainspace and capacity to worry, but also just the general amount of time taking him for walks, taking him to the vet for vaccinations, meds and check-ups, scouring pet stores to find treats that might work with the crazy tummy, etc. etc. - it's kind of insane! Work is sort of an inevitable that's going to take up most of my thoughts during the week, and hopefully in only a limited capacity on evenings and weekends! :) Health and fitness has taken a nosedive - though I am only 5 lbs away from that New Years Resolution of losing 9 lbs, so I'm not doing too badly! At one point I was only 3 lbs away.. but that was 2 lbs and a bunch of easter chocolate ago ;) I'm glad I'm still able to make time for friends and family, and very proud of Jeff and I for ALWAYS picking at least a night or two a week that is strictly date night, where there will be no talk of housecleaning, dog poop, work or stressors and we just take the time to lay on the couch, watch the Leafs game, cuddle and be us. Yay. All in all, the pie is sound. But the "me time" and "friend time" slices were what I was hoping to work on most in Florida, with some health and fitness where I could fit it in.
And I'm very happy to report that I maxed out on me time (reading nearly an entire novel and many trashy magazines :), random day naps, leisurely shopping trips), had a great time squeezing in some friend time with Michelle while she luckily got the day off work to explore and shop Florida with me on Sunday, and focused on health and fitness with (mostly!) healthy eating, a 5k solo nature hike and a vigorous workout at the gym at Michelle's condo (and another at the Atlanta airport.. stay tuned). It definitely recharged my batteries getting to focus on a few of the really great and fun categories, and made me appreciate other categories even more when I got home, featuring furry dog hugs, furry Jeff hugs, time with family over easter, lots of fun plans with great friends coming up this month, and getting on top of some nagging tasks at work. Florida pie was delicious; everyday pie not all that bad!
Highlights!
1) Swimming with manatees. This was hands down one of the weirder and cooler things I've done in my life. Strap on your snorkel, wetsuit and sink down into a spring fed river to search for ginormous gray underwater elephants, snoozing and swimming in their natural habitat. Too bad the area was a BIT overrun with overzealous tourists (Michelle was subject to some manatee road rage which involved bumping and elbows) and that most people couldn't figure out that if you don't step on the sandy bottom the water will stay clearer so we can all see better, and too bad the guy on our tour decided to have a random "I'm drowning!!" moment and had to be towed in to the boat.. sort of cut our trip short. But the underwater quiet, huge schools of fish and slow-moving manatees were an incredible sight to see. My favourite was leaving the overrun area and finding a manatee just hanging out on his own, where we could all float around and watch him. One time when he came up for air, we made eye contact and I got goosebumps (on top of my 72F water goosebumps!). Very very cool. Hoping the conservation efforts around these awesome endangered cuties works out well for them!
Check out this great video Michelle took of our lone manatee friend coming up for a gulp of air:
2) Nature walk at Paynes Prairie. This should have been a very small mid-afternoon adventure just to the south part of town, but I of course followed my GPS 30 km south to the south entrance of the park where I was told that the good stuff (gators and waterbirds) were all at the north end of the park. Defiantly, I walked a 0.5km nature trail and took lots of pictures, chased a butterfly through a forest and hiked up an observation tower to take a look. Then hung my head in defeat, walked back to the 'Stang and plugged in the name of the road the park ranger had told me I needed to access to get to the GOOD nature trail. I thought it was weird that I was now travelling east BELOW the park.. I was sure I needed to go back north just WEST of the park.. but I had a lovely drive, saw some things, and then inevitably nearly got stuck in mud in a hillbilly driveway off the highway that was clearly marked "No Trespassing!" in all three direction. GPS 0.. Kristyn... 0.... While I was frantically trying to figure out where I WAS (times you wish you had a freaking hard copy of a map or a U.S. data package on your phone), the hillbilly ominously drove past me.. I didn't make eye contact.. but DID make it out of there alive and found the RIGHT trail. On the La Chua trail I saw gator after gator after egret after ibis after bison poop and more. I nearly ate some of the vegetation along the trail I was so hungry (unexpected 1 hour detour being the reason I did not have lunch) but made it home in one piece. I killed most of the groceries I'd bought that morning I was so starving, and drank nearly a whole brita full of water, looked in the mirror and started laughing at my million new freckles, sunburned cheeks and a tiny sunburned triangle where I hadn't quite zipped my zippered shirt up all the way. Not to mention the massive blisters on my toes from choosing that particular 5k hike to break in my brand new hiking boots. Some field biologist who brings neither a map, food, water, bandaids, or sunscreen. Ah, well - it was all worth it!
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| Hanging with gators at observation tower |
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| Nature hike in southern portion of Paynes Prairie |
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| Gators! |
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| Birds n' gator! |
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| A beautiful view |
3) The BATS. Seeing 300,000 bats emerge from their bat house/bat barn on the UF campus just after dusk was unlike anything I've seen before. A sky black with bats! Michelle and I wisely took shelter under some shelter - bats gotta pee too, you know. Check out vid that I only remembered to take about 5 mins after the peak of the mass bat exodus:
4) The SHOPPING! Michelle and I agreed neither of us was really into shopping - but let's try out those Orlando outlets we've heard so much about anyways! 4 hours, very tired feet, very empty wallets and very heavy bags later, we were done. IT WAS AWESOME. It's like a collection of all those fancy stores I'd NEVER dare to go into at home, then everything priced super cheap, then everything 50% off of the super cheap price. My mind was blown! I am in love with my new finds, and slowly changed into a new outfit as we moved from changeroom to changeroom - I looked fantastic by store #4 ;) Now I just need the 28C weather we were having in Orlando that day to pay me a visit here in Guelph so I can rock my new capris soon!! Two non-shoppers had a very successful shopping day.
Hijinx...
1) Trying to find Michelle's apartment. I often think I can outsmart my GPS or I know better (then again, it tried to force me down a hillbilly's driveway to get me to a state park, so you can understand my lack of FULL trust for its abilities!). I basically drove up and down her street for 10 minutes before realizing I was a total idiot and had passed the place twice already. When I got there her buzzer box was broken so I tried to follow someone in through the automatic gate. Mustang is quick, but I was not, and the gate started to close on me. AUGH! Iron gate! Rental car! In fast-thinking mode, I honked at the gate. Sadly, I am not joking. When that didn't work (a wonder), I threw it into reverse, pulled over and just called Michelle who came to my rescue. I was wary of the gate the rest of the time I was there.....
2) Trying to pay a toll. You think two relatively smart girls could figure out that if you're not sure if you have exact change, you should take the toll lane that says "change provided". Instead, we confidently blazed through to the "exact change" lane where all my Canadian quarters were promptly rejected by the automatic machine. Oh shit. As cars started quickly lining up behind me, eager to get on with their own highway adventure, I, on some weird instinct, jammed my hand into the change return area at the bottom of the machine which yielded a dime... another dime... a quarter! a nickel! I was going to make it!! As I crammed coins in desperately, including trying the Canadian quarters again (?! surprise, they didn't work), Michelle rolled down her window and asked the "change provided" toll lady if she could make change for us. Her cruel "no" seemed unwarranted, but just as she said it, I got the last nickel in, hit $0.75 (yes all this drama over 75c) and the toll booth arm flew up and I slammed on the gas. Then I noticed my hand - it was black with whatever disgusting deposit was lining the bottom of the dirty, public, change return repository in the ancient toll booth machinery. I screamed as Michelle found an extra napkin from breakfast, wiped it on the condensation from my water bottle and handed it over so I could wipe my hand - classy! Mad drama at the tolls.
3) Nearly getting hit by a tornado. As we waited in the rush hour-like traffic to get into the outlets (no joke, 45 mins to go approx 2 km and park), we noticed the sky was incredibly dark. At that moment, weather nerd Jay texted to tell us there was some crazy weather coming our way. Michelle said "oh well, at least the sky isn't green" - but when we looked again it definitely had a distinct greenish tinge..... Umm.. The rain started pounding the Mustang relentlessly - at that point I was glad we were only crawling along a snail's pace instead of out driving somewhere at a proper speed. The thunder and lightning were INSANELY loud and bright, and actually very cool. The palm trees in front of us bent nearly 90 degrees in the wind. And when it was all over and we were safetly inside the outlet mall (thought that's a bit misleading as it's mostly outdoors and was a bit of a wet go for the first hour!), a woman told us that a tornado had touched down in a town 10 minutes away (side note - the town is called.. Doctor Phillips..? what's up with Floridians?). So that was a bit of a near-miss. We sent Jay a pic of me pointing at the green sky in terror, and he thought we were trying to make him JEALOUS because he loves storms and texted back "F*** you guys!". Lol - oh weather nerd Jay!
4) Trying to make my connection. Oh dear goodness. Ok, so my flight is leaving Gainesville at 11:50 a.m., destined for Atlanta for 1:15 p.m., where I then have a 2 hour layover until my 3:15 p.m. flight to Buffalo. This should all work fine and get me home for about 8:30 p.m.that night. Checked the flight before I left - on time. Super! Standing in line to check my bag with all the other passengers and suddenly every single one of our cell phones starts ringing. Ominous. Indeed, Delta calling us to tell us the flight will be delayed for an hour and a half! Luckily this is still enough time for me to make my connection. Until it gets delayed another half hour.. and then another.. and then another. Until now the flight isn't leaving until 2:40 p.m. and there's no WAY I'm making that 3:10 connection to Buffalo. Dejected, I get myself set up on the 8:30 p.m. flight out of ATL, which will get me into Buffalo just before 11, getting me home for around 1:30 a.m. on a Tuesday night when I have to work the next day. BUT ALAS - my new airport best friend (random guy I was chatting with in the waiting area) notices that the "later" flight to ATL is now actually leaving earlier than our crazy delayed flight - let's try to get on standby! I love this guy - we got on standby, he let me use his iPhone charger (lesson: never assume you will have a short day of travel and put your chargers in your checked luggage) to make sure I had enough juice to last what might be a very long day, we had a great chat about Texas and Ontario (I enlightened him that, actually, most Canadians do indeed have air conditioning units in our homes...) and he was willing to give me his standby spot if I didn't get it. I wish I had his name to say thanks. Stroke of luck: we both got on the 1:40! But do the math. The plane didn't get in the air until almost 2 p.m. 1 hour flight (at least) leaving me approximately 10 minutes to make my connection. Another nice older man, my seatmate, helped me burst to the front of the line of the plane as soon as the seatbelt signed clicked off at the gate.. it was 3:00 p.m.. And the Atlanta airport is BIG.
I crashed down the tunnel out of the plane to the terminal and burst out just behind the stewardess opening up the doors. I spied my desired gate on the screen, and I RAN! I landed into C37 (marked 57 on this map.. luckily not!) and needed to make it to B36 (honestly, what are the odds?!). I ran all the way down to the transfer in the middle of concourse C, went down the biggest escalator of my life (by this point, sweating and wheezing and in very close proximity to many people evidently not in any hurry, looking at me a little strangely, but nicely letting me by), ran blindly, following signs for "B", up the longest escalator of my life and then booting it all the way down the B terminal to 36. I have no idea how far it was, how long it took, I just kept thinking "if you miss this, it's an extra FIVE hours in this airport!" with a dead e-reader, a barely-living iPhone and a very disgruntled self - I lived by the "no regrets!!" mantra and just went for it. At one point I remember yelling "get outta my way, kid!" and there were definitely lots of incredulous stares as I was in a full out sprint. I came up to the gate, waving my arms frantically going "it's me it's me" through my panting. "Did I make it!?" I asked desperately. The attendent said "we shouldn't have held it for you.. but we did". PHEW! I burst onto the plane in a red-faced, panting, dramatic sweat and collapsed into my seat (sound familiar? this is why: http://www.sincerelygoofy.blogspot.ca/2012/01/ireland-first-12-hours.html). Then I spent the whole flight home AND next day coughing, feeling like I had fluid in my lungs. Umm.. any thoughts on that? Did I break my lungs sprinting?? It remains a mystery, but another successful airport sprint down on the books!
I managed to sail home without any other major catastrophes. Of course my luggage didn't make it. With switching flights and 10 mins of sprinting, I didn't expect my bag to be able to do both with me. Not sure where we lost each other along the way, but I was happy to be reunited the next day at lunch - thanks Delta airlines and friendly guy with WNY accent who drove my bag up from Buff and left it on my front porch!
Highlights, hijinx and all, it was a really wonderful few days and I am definitely rejuvenated after getting away. Sliding my feet into those flip flops was the BEST and I am now more eager for spring than ever! A lovely chance to refocus the pie of life for a few days, and what better place to do it than Florida.
Sorry to hear your pooch isn't feeling well these days :( Loved hearing about your trip though--those gators are crazy!!
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