The Road To Florida

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm leaving for Florida soon. In fact, the shuttle taking me to the airport should be here in just over 4½ hours. 4½ hours? Yes, that's how dedicated I am. I am staying up to write a brief post tonight with only hours in which to get a night's sleep. That's dedication... and I'm lately accustomed to not going to bed until 2 or 3 AM anyway.

My parents live in Florida, in a town called Homosassa Springs, about an hour north of Tampa, on the gulf side of the state. (It's also about 90 minutes west of Orlando.) This is "old Florida". There is a river which leads from town out to the coast, and that river looks like every episode of Flipper. There is Spanish moss draping from every branch. There are alligators (or crocodiles) in the water as well as manatees. I actually saw a dolphin once while we were having lunch at a restaurant on the river. Bears and bobcats roam the dryer areas. (My uncle, who lives a few streets over from my parents, took a picture of a bobcat in his backyard a few years ago.)

It being Winter, however, the most commonly seen wildlife will be the snow birds. For the next week, I will be the youngest person I see.

My Mom will be putting out a traditional Thanksgiving spread on Thursday, and I almost feel guilty about that. She had planned on a quiet day with my Dad until I called a few weeks ago and asked if I could come visit them. I'm sure a few pounds of turkey and potatoes and sweet potatoes and gravy and dinner rolls and cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie will assuage my guilt however.

So, this is it for me pre-flight. I hope to be able to grab some computer time while I'm away and write up a few posts. If none appear, you know why. Please, enjoy your Thanksgiving, and know that I am thankful for all the friends I have.

I look forward to your comments!

"My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that's the law." — Jerry Seinfeld