Ms. Clean

I nearly always leave a vacation rental cleaner than I find it. When we're in Florida for a month, I clean and do laundry several times a week. Bathrooms and the kitchen get a good cleaning before guests arrive and after they leave. I always feel satisfied after I finish, even though the job is far from perfect. Bob jokes that he's going to get me a job cleaning vacated condos, but I know my skills and effort aren't up to professional standards.

This Good Friday morning, a time I often devote to Easter cleaning at home in Saint Paul,  I performed the usual tasks, including a quick once over of the deck furniture, and am listening to a load of laundry complete its last rinse cycle. I hear kids playing in the pool and am looking forward to the visit of grandchildren Adam and Mitchell, as well as their parents Trudy and John. Easter weekend will be more lively than usual, and we're looking forward to their cheerful presence.

A little grocery shopping and we're done with scheduled work for the day. Looks as though the rain will hold off so we'll find something fun to keep us occupied. At home, we'd go to Good Friday services in the evening, one of two in our large parish, but there's only one at the traditional 3:00 p.m. time at St. John Vianney Church and I'm not sure that we'll make it.

I love the clean smells and the faint odor of salt from the Gulf of Mexico. I'm trying to ignore the occasional strong whiffs of sewage from the pumping station across the street.

Save my Seat!

Saved spots around the pool

TripPix.

There's nothing that seems to annoy people more than "saving" seats, and yet so many people do it that I sometimes wonder about the universality of the annoyance. In our parish, the pastor put an end to seat saving for popular ceremonies, like school events, Christmas Eve and the Easter Vigil. I was surprised that he succeeded, because the practice prevailed for many years without any evident opposition.

At nearly every resort, the seat savers run to the pool early in the morning and get what they consider to be the best spots, usually for the sun exposure. I hardly ever care, because all I need is any dry surface for my swim bag or, often, just my towel, cover-up and glasses case.

This morning, seat saving seemed a little excessive, especially for a cloudy day. I'm laughing at the prospect of a fight -- and I'm sure I'll see one some day, though perhaps not among this population of relatively quiet vacationers.

Alone for Now

TripPix.

My sister Marilyn arrived last Wednesday evening and left this morning. The weather was less than ideal during her visit but we enjoyed lots of activities anyway. Since we grew up in the northern community of Temiscaming, Québec, neither of us minds swimming in cooler temperatures so we did plenty of it. Of course, we swam in warm pool fit for cold water sissies, but no matter: we were out there!

Yesterday was a cold day in this part of Florida, even for Minnesotans. We woke up to the mid-fifties, so Bob and I wore shorts, but most people we saw were bundled up, as we would be in below 0F temps. We decided on a visit to De Soto Park, one of our favorite destinations in the St. Pete area, and for the first time hardly anyone was in the park. When we arrived in the late morning, the wind chill cooled the air by about 20 degrees.

At the beach, near shore birds -- some of them migrating north -- were feeding as the tide receded. I got some good pictures, but my favorite memory isn't visual. Instead, it's the noise made by the laughing gulls whenever a child tried to approach the area occupied by the birds. Loud enough to frighten anyone off, including me!

We watched the kite sailing on North Beach, marvelously colorful in the rough waves. Before leaving the park, we stopped at the fishing pier, usually filled with people from many lands enjoying a day of fishing. Yesterday, it was empty but the three of us resolutely walked to the end, hoping for dolphins. No luck this time.

Today, we delivered Marilyn to Tampa International Airport and stopped for breakfast at Skidder's. It felt strange to be by ourselves once again but we are enjoying our "down" day. I love a good day of housecleaning and laundry!

Finished with work early enough to watch the baseball game in Cuba between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National Team. ESPN's coverage is excellent and very sensitive to today's horrific ISIS attacks in Brussels. The interview with President Obama was thoughtful and intelligent, and it seems that his visit to Cuba is very successful so far.

We're all ready for the arrival late Friday of our next visitors.

Don't Forget a Jacket

Sailboat in the fog

TripPix.

In all the years we've been vacationing in Florida, this is the most unusual weather-wise.

Even in years when we had only 7-8 days, a day of rain was unusual. I remember weeks of unremitting sun when I wouldn't even unfold my sweatshirt. Tampa Bay boasts of so many days of sunshine in a year (sources vary in their reports, from a low of 246 to a high of 360) that sun lovers want to hop on a plane right away, and the fair skinned like me pack plenty of sunscreen.

My resident weather watcher started looking at St. Pete Beach weather in January and by February he thought we might have a "cooler than average" month of March. He was right. The first couple of days we were here, I was the only swimmer whenever I went down to the pool. The "wind chill" was such that I started using the hot tub for the first time ever, learning -- rather late in life -- that a few minutes of heat will keep me warm until I get back to our condo.

Flooding on Gulf Boulevard

Last week, the famous Sunshine Bridge was closed twice because of fog, trapping commuters on the bridge for seven hours last Tuesday. Our resort handyman told me a closing of the bridge increased the commute by 75 miles. That's if you're smart enough to avoid the bridge when fog begins to form.

Saturday we experienced heavy rain and today feels like the Twin Cities on a cold Labor Day. It's my sister Marilyn's last day in Florida, but the pool will have to suffice. Today is no beach day! But it is Florida and the sun is shining.

Destination Dali, St. Petersburg

Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea

TripPix.

Yesterday was a perfect time to visit the famous Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. A cool breeze from Tampa Bay wafted through the gardens and it was almost difficult to go inside for the day. No need to be concerned, though, because the beautiful beach neighborhood is visible from the geodesic dome in this unique building.


I always thought Dali was a little too crazy for my taste, but I discovered that Dali pursued some of my own obsessions (and more) with such brilliance that I was totally drawn into his surrealistic universe. The permanent collection is excellent, the best in the world, I think. Dali himself attended the opening of the museum in 1982.

One painting that attracts a lot of interest is Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea. At 20 meters the picture of the artist's wife becomes a portrait of Lincoln. I didn't see Lincoln until I looked at the small picture on my camera, but Bob got a clear picture by squinting.



Mirror, mirror on the wall ...

I hadn't known about his relationship with Walt Disney until yesterday. In fact, Disney wrote a fan letter to Dali after he saw one his animators reading The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí. In 1945, Disney and Dali began collaborating on the production of the animated film Destino, finally completed in 2003 by Walt Disney's nephew Roy, who had discovered the project while working on Fantasia 2000. The exhibit Disney and Dali: Architects of the Imagination is so interesting and entertaining that I can't wait to look at offerings on the Disney Channel when I get home.

We walked outside to the lovely gardens. I loved taking pictures looking into reflections in the dome, but my entertainment was cut short when my ride started to leave without me. My sister Marilyn treated us to a delicious lunch at the Parkshore Grill, a perfect end to a great day.

Day at the Beach

Trip Pix.

I tend to prefer a pool to fresh water swimming -- I like to see the bottom and not worry about what might swim by me. When I swim in cold  Minnesota lakes, I like depths of over 100 feet so that I don't have to touch bottom. In salt water, I'm always a little afraid of sharks, jelly fish and sting rays, even though an encounter with any one of them is highly unlikely.

The first year visited Cocoa Beach, sometime in the late nineties, I rediscovered the fun of swimming in high waves. Our last trip to the Atlantic side was a six weeks after my first knee replacement, and my balance was too shaky to swim in the waves. The following year, we moved over to tamer (mostly) St. Pete Beach, and we've always had a great pool, so our beach swimming is much less frequent.



Don Cesar Hotel in the distance

Yesterday seemed like a perfect day to spend at the beach: a mid-week day with lots of sun, not too hot. We weren't disappointed, though plenty of others had the same idea and we had to drive to Pass-a-Grille, south on the Don Cesar Hotel, to find a parking space. We hoisted out bag chairs on our shoulders and walked across the boardwalk to the beach, carrying only our towels, sunscreen, water and small camera.

The water was surprisingly refreshing and therapeutic, quickly giving me a feeling of extreme wellbeing. Just as surprising was Bob's wisdom in packing up after a couple of hours, before the sun burned through our sunscreen and protective covering.

Turns out the beach was the best idea, because the pool was full of bathers when we returned home. I washed our salty swimwear and enjoyed the cool of the late afternoon.

Mini-Tuesday: March 15, 2016

TripPix.

I'm a political junkie; always have been.  I think this primary season is my favorite campaign of all time, even better than the 1980 Canadian federal election. As a staffer for then MP Senator Marcel Prud'homme, I was personally involved in that one, and I was proud to play a small role in Canadian political history.

My other favorite campaign was a 1964 peak into the future, when I followed the fictional campaign "Pettigrew for President 1976", a visionary 10-issue story in Catholic comic book Treasure Chest. Until I looked it up just now, I had actually forgotten that Tim Pettigrew was an African American candidate, and this must have been a daring story or a Catholic children's publication during the Civil Rights movement.

Voters cast their ballots in five states today, including Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio. This is Republican candidate Marco Rubio's home state, but Donald Trump is ahead and all political ads have become very aggressive and nasty.

This NY Times analysis identifies some key metrics to review when I watch election returns this evening. Donald Trump seems to have a formula that targets a rapidly eroding traditional Republican base by appealing to voter insecurities and fears. Today may be a day when the Republican field narrows, and while I dread the prospect of 1237 delegates committed to Trump, I am as fascinated watching his campaign as I am when a  hawk descends on some helpless prey here around Boca Ciega Bay.

Where the Heck is Clam Bayou?

TripPix.

Got a later start today because we spent a couple of hours in the pool this morning - very refreshing hours, because the water is cooler than it's been in the past. The water temperature could still lose a couple of degrees; the cooler, the better!

I wanted to visit Clam Bayou but didn't pay any attention to the coordinates, because I wanted Bob to do a GPS search for this destination. He's getting proficient at using the GPS, a new tool for him because I've always been the navigator, but it seems like a good idea for him to know how to use it.

The GPS didn't recognize the name of the park, and by the time I stopped fiddling with it, we were already in Gulfport. I pulled out my cell phone, which had us follow Gulfport Boulevard until it turned into 22nd Avenue, and then turn right on Quincy. This route took us through a shabby neighborhood and the street stopped at a dead end. We turned around and, sure enough, we could see water behind a gated fence on our right, but since neither one of us was prepared to scale a fence, we hightailed it back to 22nd Avenue and went into Gulfport, figuring we deserved lunch at O'Maddy's.

After lunch, we walked out on the pier. A warm breeze was blowing off the gulf and whitecaps made navigation difficult for the few boats on the water. We didn't stay long because we wanted to make 4:00 p.m. Mass at St. John Vianney.

Clam Bayou will have to wait for another day. We weren't far from 34th Ave. S. & 40th St. S., which I should have found on my phone. I'm not quite as smart with that new phone as I'd thought I was!

Fun Day in St. Petersburg

TripPix.

Cath and Linda

Linda O. and I were classmates at De La Salle High School in Temiscaming, Québec hometown, but we weren't particularly close. It's been a joy to get to know her over the last couple of years, from our Temiscaming reunions in the fall and a couple of lunches here in Florida. Our husbands also get along well, so I was looking forward to today's lunch at Jack's London Grill, suggested by Linda.

The restaurant looked very ordinary from the outside but the food was excellent: Bob and Linda shared a corned beef sandwich, I had a simple garden salad with grilled chicken and goat cheese, and Linda's husband ordered the lamb. All beautifully prepared and delicious.

Our server offered us an impressive number of dessert choices, including several crème brûlée variations, so I wondered about the chef. Turns out he is Master Chef Peter Leonavicius (a Lithuanian name) so I'm very curious about the restaurant's story. Anyway, it's a good place to eat.

Hard to get a good picture from behind a fence

We enjoyed catching up and then went on to our afternoon activities. Bob was very keen on going to downtown St. Petersburg to see the Grand Prix preparations, which had, in fact, kept us from choosing a downtown location for lunch. In his inimitable way, he found a good place to park, not far from the track.

Feeling happy after the trials

The racers were getting ready for trial runs so we got to watch for a while. Even though we were behind two fences, we did see the track and the cars quite well. Bob was enjoying himself so much that his pleasure was contagious, and I had a great time watching him as well as the cars.

We stopped at Barnes & Noble for a needed restroom break (me) and a couple of beverages (frappuccino for Bob, Earl Grey tea for me). The traffic was heavy but not impossible on the way home and we enjoyed a quick dip in the pool when we arrived home after another perfect day.

On Wisconsin!

TripPix.

Common wisdom: never discuss religion or politics. I don't mind talking about either, but I do avoid football and hockey, and throw in the defunct Montreal Expos. Such conversations always leave me resentful and angry: the Vikings have never won a Super Bowl, neither the Wild or Minnesota's beloved NorthStars has brought home a Stanley Cup, and the Montreal Expos  lost the 1981 National League pennant to the Los Angeles Dodgers. All stomach churners guaranteed to ruin the rest of my day.

It's ironic that some of the people I like best and enjoy the most love sports, among them fans of the Chicago Black Hawks (a team I love to hate, and the Green Bay Packers, long time nemesis of the Minnesota Vikings.

I've judiciously avoided the subject of football with our Wisconsin friends Carol and Joe, who invited us to a poolside lunch, including he group they socialize with over cards and conversation nearly every day.

Joe grilled Wisconsin hot dogs and Carol set a beautiful table with appetizers, fruit, salad, and a whipped cream cake made with peanut butter and chocolate chips. The best in Midwestern hospitality: we enjoyed pleasant conversation with our table mates and swam in the pool after lunch.

At the end of the afternoon, I checked on my current obsession (primary politics - March 8 results here. We had a light supper and walked a cross the street to enjoy the sunset.

Every Day is the Best Day

TripPix.

I've always loved to swim, in any weather, except in a thunderstorm. My siblings and I grew up in Temiscaming, a pulp mill town in northwestern Québec, where we swam in the Ottawa River all summer. In early July, our eyeballs froze from the cold and by Labor Day the water was getting cold again. The season was brief but Temiscaming kids loved those long summer days at the waterfront.

I last swam there in the late sixties, but I'm still an all weather swimmer. This season, St. Pete Beach mornings and evenings have been chilly, but not in our resort's beautiful pool. A friend from Wisconsin greeted me from her balcony when I was swimming laps this morning, and I yelled that today is the "best day yet!".

As I swam back back and forth, feeling strong and healthy, I reflected that every day is the best day, full of surprises and opportunity.

St. Petersburg Grand Prix

TripPix.

We've enjoyed watching the preparations for the St. Petersburg Grand Prix for several years now. Until this year, the race has always been several weeks later, so we've always been on our way home, or home already, on the day of the race. This year we will be in St. Pete Beach for the race, so we could go to the race if we wanted to do so.

We were in St. Petersburg today and much of the downtown area is already blocked off for a full weekend of activities. The main even is Sunday, on a street course near the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront. The party atmosphere includes live entertainment and the opportunity to meet a number of celebrity athletes.

I've always kind of wanted to go to a car race, but I think it might get tedious after a while and it would certainly be too noisy for my sensitive ears. Years ago, I enjoyed hearing the roar of engines many miles away on Montreal Grand Prix day. Maybe I'll hear them this weekend on St. Pete Beach, 10 miles from the course.

Vacation Icebreaker

TripPix.

About ten years ago I ordered a Minnesota Vikings shell jacket offered free with a subscription to Sports Illustrated. I wore the jacket so much that the zipper was shot in a couple of years. Fortunately, Sports Illustrated had another promotion and I somehow ended up with two more jackets. When we travel, I leave one in the vehicle and the other in our hotel room or condo.

It's perfect because it's light enough to roll up in my purse, and yet it keeps me warm on a windy day. Perfect for bicycling or a walk on a chilly spring day.

Its best attribute is its use as an icebreaker. Wherever I go, people strike up a conversation, sometimes about the Vikings or other Minnesota sports teams, sometimes about Minnesota in general -- or any other topic.

Other Minnesotans smile at me on elevators or in the street. Wisconsin fans of the Green Bay Packers hurl a friendly insult. Everybody smiles.

Pelicans, Herons and Egrets



Pelicans on the  dock

Great egret waiting for a handout

TripPix.

We have pelicans, herons and egrets in Minnesota, but they're not nearly as common as they are here in Florida, and of course they're very seasonal residents of the north country. I can't get enough of them here!

TripPix.

The other day, we met a young man in Gulfport who told us he loves all the birds on the Gulf Coast. As a fisherman, he regularly pulls in one of the shore birds on his line, and often spends many hours pulling hooks caught in the birds' backs and untangling fishing line, his own and older line that sometimes wraps itself around their neck or legs. I have a new admiration for people who do this -- and I've seen disentangling work quite often. A few years ago, my sister Marilyn helped a fisherman performing such a task.

This afternoon I watched a couple of commercial fishermen fillet fish at one of the docks in Blind Pass. The guys threw skin, tails and guts to the pelicans swimming close together in the area below the dock, each greedily jumping at the treats and even attempting to grab food out of one another's long beaks.

A snowy egret sat quietly to the right of one of the fishermen, waiting for special handouts, regularly thrown to him. He was clearly a favorite, and it seemed that the egret actually got fillets, not just scraps. One was so large that the bird had trouble swallowing the big chunk of fish.

These beautiful birds seem so vulnerable to environmental messes created by humans, but today I felt hopeful and certain that much is right with the world.

Lenten Fish Fry

TripPix.

 

Every year we see a notice in St. John Vianney's Sunday bulletin for a fish fry on the Fridays of Lent. I've always been somewhat interested in attending, but not until today did Bob show any enthusiasm at all.

After an afternoon in the pool, we showered and enjoyed our view of the gulf for an hour or so on the front balcony. As we drove to church, I felt somewhat apprehensive, knowing that St. John's would be written off if the fish meal (baked or fried fish, French fries, cole slaw, hush puppies, beverage, dessert) turned out less than "good".

My concern was unwarranted. The parish hall was crowded but the event was well organized and we were soon seated at a long cafeteria table, beside an older couple originally from Maine. The husband, an Air Force veteran, had spent time at Fort Snelling (Minnesota) in the early 1960s.

Our dinner companion had a comment on every subject, including politics, football (he'd once met former Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton in St. Pete Beach), Rotary International, the Tampa Bay Symphony. He founded an electronics company forty years ago and firmly believes that "if you can stay awake for eight hours, you can make money in St. Pete".

We enjoyed our meal very much. Bob had apple cobbler with ice cream for dessert (delicious) and I saved my butterscotch brownie for later consumption. We were particularly impressed with the happy and competent volunteers, who provided an excellent meal, served promptly and with impressive efficiency. All for $20, including the $2 donation Bob left on the way out.

Accident on Gulf Boulevard

Accident scene in front of our building

TripPix.

We often hear sirens, especially in the evening. For the most part, we've learned to ignore them: Gulf Boulevard is busy most of the day and night so occasional incidents are inevitable.

While we were eating dinner on Thursday, we heard sirens from several different vehicles stop in quick succession, obviously very near us. Bob couldn't resist going outside and I soon followed, with my camera, of course. The emergency vehicle response (two fire, several police, one paramedic) seemed excessive for what looked like a minor accident between two vehicles facing north on Gulf Boulevard. Bob summed it sum as "Piece of sh__ car hits nice car and nice car calls police".

It was dark at 7:00 p.m. and we were too far to hear any conversation on the street below. Five or six police officers spent what seemed like forever around the POS car. Eventually, both vehicles involved in the accident turned into TradeWinds Resort , turned around and drove south on Gulf Boulevard.

Our Osprey Family

TripPix.

We checked on our osprey family right after we arrived. We soon saw the familiar white breast of one of the parents guarding the nest from a high branch in the tree across the bay from us. It's quite far away so it's hard to get a half decent shot from the balcony.



Last winter we watched the adult birds for several weeks, until all activity around the nest suddenly stopped. We sadly concluded that some predator had stolen the eggs and the adults had no reason to stay around.

On our first day we witnessed a couple of crows trying to gain access to the nest. The osprey sentinel fought them off but the attack almost seemed like a test run for a pair of clever crows. The osprey would be a poor match for an aggressive, determined team of crows. I just read an interesting article about the life of the crow, and it seems that their predator behavior is not uncommon.

I was surprised that the 50X zoom of the little Canon PowerShot SX530 does a great job, rivaling the long lens of the Canon Rebel.

Feels like Home

TripPix.


We've spent five of our six St. Pete Beach vacations at The Sunrise Resort. This is our second year in the same condo unit, and we were at home the minute we walked in. Love the fresh new couch and loveseat, as well as the faster Internet access.



I never tire of a sunrise over St. Petersburg

Our first day was very quiet. We took care of checking in first thing in the morning and had breakfast on Pass-a-Grille, at our favorite Seahorse Restaurant, followed by a quick visit to Land's End.  Picked up groceries at Publix. We ran into our friend Carol Van Ells, who has been a regular here for many years.

I walked on the beach across Gulf Boulevard after lunch while Bob napped -- well deserved after a couple of grueling days on the road. I went for my evening swim after dinner. Heaven for me!

The night was dark and filled with the familiar sounds of our March home.

Arrival in St. Pete Beach

TripPix.

We left Panama City Beach before 9:00 a.m. and were encouraged by the GPS prediction of a 6h22min trip to our destination. Turns out it's a slow ride on Hwy 231 and I10 to I75. Lots of trucks and plenty of traffic. Our rest stops used up about an hour so it seemed like a long day already by the time we approached Tampa.

View from our balcony. Unit 208, Sunrise Resort.

We were delayed by an accident on I275 at Hwy 4. All lanes were closed and traffic was diverted off the freeway, but we were on our own to figure out the next turn. The GPS took us around the block and back on I275 before the Howard Franklin Bridge. The rest was trouble free but we were both tired and the sun was beating down on us.

We arrived at the condo after 5, so our keys were in a lockbox. We read the instructions for gaining access to our apartment but neither of us could get the box open. Fortunately, a guy "with experience" came along and took charge of the situation. He soon determined that were entering the wrong combination of numbers, a variation of our AREA code, not our ZIP code. A few clicks later, we had keys and access to the condo.

A few hours later, we'd put away most of our stuff and were ready to enjoy our first evening.

Panama City Beach

Pat and brother Bob on the beach

TripPix.

A change-up this year. We  visited Bob's sister Pat and her husband Jim in Panama City Beach where they spend a month every winter. The stop took us off our route but it was fun to visit the Florida Panhandle for the first time. Panama City Beach, always been a draw for spring breakers, has  implemented a 2015 ordinance that bans drinking on the beach, and apparently the kids are staying away this season. We did see a few younger faces, but cound the beach very empty for the time of year.


Sea cucumber

The area reminded me a little of Atlantic City (which I haven't visited for many years), unplanned and overbuilt. Single family residences are squeezed in between highrise buildings that restrict the view and light of their neighbors. However, the beach itself is beautiful white sand, great for walking and, of course, sunbathing. A local fisherman had four rods in the water, and he cheerfully answered questions about his catch (pompano and, he hoped, grouper). He identified the strange looking creature we were wondering about - sea cucumber blown in by a recent storm.

We had dinner at the famous Pineapple Willy's, directly on the beach. The most fun for us was the deluxe tour of Panama City Beach, with color commentary by Pat and Jim, and, of course, catching up on family news. They are gracious hosts who made the visit a major highlight of our Florida road trip.



Montgomery, Alabama

TripPix.

Sunday was a better day. We woke up to sunny skies and rising temperatures. This would normally have been our “nightmare day” driving through Atlanta but, despite lots of traffic, getting through Birmingham was trouble free.
We saw only patches of snow in isolated, shady places and no ice in the rocks along the highway. I finally noticed a few spring flowers on the side of the road near Cadiz, Kentucky, but nothing in full bloom until we reached our hotel, another Drury Inn, in Montgomery, Alabama. Here, spring is old news, but the air is fresh and full of promise.

Infomercial for the weary traveler: the Drury Inn is great on a road trip because the rooms and amenities are cookie cutter: free one hour of domestic long distance, identical wifi connectivity, Keurig coffee maker, comfortable bed, same white linens, bathroom fixtures identical to the last hotel we were in.

The full hot breakfast is free and so is the happy hour food (salad, pasta entrée, baked potatoes, nachos, hot dogs) and three alcoholic drinks per person (beer wine, mixed drinks). Popcorn and soft drinks are free in the lobby from 3 p.m. – 10 p.m.). Nothing great, but very welcome after a day on the road. Staff are pleasant and well trained. This morning, I reported a broken hair dryer and a replacement was delivered within 5 minutes.

We were exhausted last night and fell asleep during the Oscars. I was awake well before 5 this morning, but feel ready for the day.

Spring on the Road to Mount Vernon

TripPix.

We left home just before 7:00 a.m. and the temperature was already well above freezing. I discarded the lining of my winter jacket before leaving the house and soon took off the outer shell. Early spring!

I woke up in a foul mood, feeling somewhat anxious about the long day on the road and still tired despite a fairly good night's sleep. I was angry with myself for not programming the GPS last night, because sure enough I had forgotten how to use it in the months it has been sitting in Bob's glove compartment. For some reason, unless I entered "Madison" as a coordinate on the trip planner app, I couldn't get the device to accept "Mount Vernon, IL" as a destination.

That decision added to confusion around Madison, because the GPS directed us through the city center, a definite costly "wrong" turn for us. I scrambled to read the paper map and kept us on a route that avoided the city. Bob was sure we were on the wrong route but turns out we were not. Anyway, we stopped for gas not far down the road and confirmed that we were going in the right direction. However, I was flustered and furious, and remained so throughout the day.

A good strong drink might have improved my mood but wait, I can't drink alcohol. Damn. For the first time I regretted the "no booze" restriction imposed by one of my medications (isoniazid - the precautionary drug for latent tuberculosis because of last December's positive TB test, due to childhood exposure to TB or perhaps to subsequent vaccine).

I wished I hadn't worn a warm sweatshirt today! The temperature rose to 58F sometime in the early afternoon. I drove a few miles toward the end of the day and we pulled into Mount Vernon shortly after 6. Our hotel, the Drury Inn, is quite comfortable. Free food and adult beverages from 5:30 to 7:00. We'd snacked on the trail mix Sonia packed for us and weren't particularly hungry, so I picked up a couple of hot dogs -- plenty of food for us.

Ready for Florida

TripPix.

Tomorrow the temperature will rise to 40F in St. Paul, but winter returns on Sunday. Time to get out of town.

We leave for Florida in the morning - a trip that was very iffy when I was so sick last fall. Two months ago I had been out of the hospital only five days and was barely able to navigate stairs. The short walk between the house and the garage was a challenge and I was weak from lack of sleep, probably because of the 40 mg daily dose of prednisone. Today I feel healthier and more energetic than I've been for several years. I am thinner (or, rather, less fat!), very lucky and so grateful.

My stamina is still lacking and I was a little afraid of a grueling road trip with crazy Bob Hennessey, who is always ready for the extra mile, or 100 miles. Fortunately, we've added an extra travel day and will spend Monday night with Bob's sister and her husband in Panama City Beach, a new part of Florida for us to discover. This is our route:

St Paul MN-Mount Vernon IL-Montgomery, AL-Panama City Beach FL-St Pete Beach FL