Long Overdue Visit to FL

So ever since my life at Kite, and even somewhat through Eric's time with Kite, traveling to FL to visit my family was not an unusual thing. It was almost par of course... you know... expected at some point throughout the year, if not even multiple times. But now that neither of us travel for our job on a regular basis, the thought of getting on a plane for just a basic visit has become almost foreign.

Last month, Eric suddenly finding two different conferences on his schedule. The first one was just down in Nashville, TN - no big deal. Even though there were more days to it than the second one, which was in Philadelphia. Which meant a flight. Now Eric may have been initially joking around, but at one point, he said, "you should go down to FL and see you family and fly out the same time I do." Umm... okay!

Of course, when I go to book my flight and start asking abut his, he conveniently forgets this was his suggestion. But it was still a go. So I looked at flights and ended up having to book flights on 'off days' in the realm of travel to keep prices reasonable, which meant it would be a short trip, or a longer trip than anticipated. I opted for the longer trip. I had the PTO that needed to be used by the end of the year, anyway. So I proceeded to book things... and decided to keep it a surprise for the niece and nephew. Just for fun. They're teenagers... don't get to have fun like this as much as I used to.

So last Wednesday morning, well before the sun rose, I was up and on the way to the airport with Eric, whose flight left just fifteen minutes before mine. Still before sunrise... (saw that on the plane!)

Of course I had to go through ATL... which has a runway closed for construction... which means delays. This concerned me a bit, only because I had a tight connection. I just didn't want to spend hours in the Atlanta airport. Who does?? But, even with the hold at IND, we still made it in time... I just had no time to do anything else besides get to my next gate. But it was worth it to be in FL well before noon. And the vacation truly began.

Now mind you, I had absolutely no agenda. None. Nothing was on my radar of things I wanted to do, other than just relax with the family, and maybe a little shopping for Christmas. Yes, Christmas shopping. It is just over two months away, so why not?? Quite frankly, I think my 'no agenda' agenda worked out just fine.

The rest of Wednesday was spent catching up with my parents, and then we went out to dinner. I crashed pretty early, then, since I was up so early for my flight. Thursday, my Mom and I went shopping out at St. John's Town Center... nearly all day. Easy to do, there, and a good day to do it, since it was a weekday. Didn't actually buy much, but it made for a nice long day of walking. Friday, we ran some errands and got ready for the Pitts' arrival that evening, including a new recipe for dinner from Publix Aprons (Asparagus Shiitake Chicken with Sesame Rice). it was absolutely amazing! I will be cooking that again, soon! And the kids were surprised to see me... thought it wasn't nearly as exciting as it was when they were younger. Teenagers...

Saturday, my Mom and I were actually able to talk BOTH kids into going out shopping so we could get ideas for Christmas. They were both reluctant, at first, giving us no ideas. It was looking to be a frustrating day... but the second stop, they got more into it and actually found some ideas for us. Yay! So after a bit more shopping and a nice lunch a Panera, we had a successful afternoon with them. This was doubly good since they had to leave right after breakfast the next morning. But we even kept it short since one of them had homework to do.

So Sunday, after the Pitts left, the house seemed all too quiet. My Mom and I decided to go down to the St. Augustine outlet malls, since she had something to return. So we did some more shopping there, and got a little more done for Christmas. I like this early Christmas shopping deal... I used to do this all the time! On Monday, after one more quick trip with my Mom, I wrapped up those Christmas gifts so they're all set for the tree when it goes up. Then I packed for the trip home.

My flight got in LATE last night. Sure... I've gotten home later, but it's been awhile and I've been wiped out all day. Not used to this travel thing anymore. But I still miss it. It was great to see all my family down there, and it was way overdue. I'll be back down in a couple of months... but for now, I've had my family fix and that makes me happy.