So I left home last Thursday to head to Florida where we have a condo not far from the ocean. We bought it at the beginning of 2021 when it was clear that the pandemic was not going to make travel much easier anytime soon. We could get a direct flight if we used an airport about an hour from our home in Virginia, and we’d simply buy a used car to keep down here since the pandemic nearly took out the car rental business and drove prices through the stratosphere for what few cars the major companies had left in inventory.
Within a year, we took a 2BR, 2BA first-floor lakefront condo 5 min to the Atlantic and renovated the 1981 interior completely. This drove our next-door neighbor literally mad, and he still does not speak to us to this day. Apparently, he got COVID during the month they gutted the baths and kitchen, redid the floors, and upgraded all the baseboards in our unit. The noise was relentless and intolerable for him. I have apologized, but the reality is that the work had been scheduled for months before and it’s not my fault that most of Florida at the time thought that COVID was something thought up by the democrats and that facemasks and basic handwashing were just more than they could stomach. Soooo – there was a lot of COVID here.
Long story short, we now have a great condo to escape to. Hubby comes with friends to metal detect. I come to escape the winter and just have time that I don’t have to worry about anyone else.
This trip has been complex. The main goal is to get our car from FL to VA so that it can be serviced and inspected. To get FL tags, you must declare residency in FL. To do that, you can’t be a resident of VA. Also, to have a car in FL, you must buy car insurance in FL. To insure a 2018 RAV4 with nearly 90K miles on it costs as much as insuring all 4 of our vehicles that are tagged in VA. So it’s got VA tags and needs a VA annual inspection. It gets driven home and back every Feb/March. The plan this time was to enjoy some time in the sun before 1) heading to Nashville to hear some music from an artist I’ve got some investment in, and 2) heading to SC where my high school best friend has a dollhouse and jewelry left to me by her mother who died 2 years ago this past November.
The weather has not cooperated. I’m not saying that 70 degrees isn’t better than 26 degrees, but it’s not the low 80s that I was hoping for. There has been only a little sun. Weather improves, but it does so 3 days from now when I start driving the car back.
My best friend has had some barriers to getting things together so it’s clear that while we will spend time together, picking up the dollhouse is not so clear at all. Time will tell on that.
The trip to Nashville should be OK but there is some chance of rain. Honestly, I won’t be there long enough for it to make a big difference but it’s hard to know how to pack. Temps there will be upper 40’s.
Still, I’ve managed to do quite a bit of crafting while here. I cranked out 8 “Galentine’s” Day cards. I’ve been to Costco twice for great deals on underwear, jockey sports bras, and jeans – all in regular misses sizes. I have not been in regular misses sizes for nearly 30 years. This is a win. I finished next month’s book club selection in record time and am diving in on the book I received at Christmas from one of the ladies in the group. I watched all the playoff games. I cannot believe that the Bills lost again (1994 redux). I’ve cleaned the condo – including buying an extended squeegee thing and rod to get to the top of the patio glass doors.
As I said – it’s been productive. Some day I’ll talk about something that is renting some space in the worry department of my head. Not today. Today is for being grateful for how very, very fortunate I am. I have anything I need or want. My life is free for me to explore whatever makes me happy. There are some holes (losses), but I cannot complain. My life is awesome.
Tomorrow fly and listen to live music. Wednesday, have a leisurely breakfast and return to FL. Thursday, start the trip up the coast, stopping for strawberries, oranges, and grapefruit if I can find them, and land in Summerville, SC for 2 nights. Friday, step back in time and gratefully accept gifts from a woman I loved so very much. Saturday, homeward bound to hubby and the cat who rules our household.