The Florida Report

Day 1 - Monday Feb 11
I woke up and ran in Minneapolis.  Yes, the day after a blizzard.  I then celebrated my impending vacation by ripping the door handle off my car door which had frozen shut.  Mother F&*$#r. I flew out of terminal G at the airport, also known as "where they keep the big planes".  To keep me happy, they gave me my own personal iPad while I waited.  I also used the time to call my mechanic about my door handle issue.  In Florida, we hung out in the sun and played with geckos and then took a walk.  Later Aunt Joanie took me to Costco and was all "it's vacation, do you see any snacks or cookies you'd like?" and I was all "can we please get that 5lb container of fresh strawberries?  I promise I will eat every last one of them."  Win.

Day 2 - Tuesday Feb 12 and one of the only days I actually used my alarm clock.  I headed out for a run with a goal of around 4 miles (mission accomplished).  I took at walk with Aunt Joan and Uncle Joe.  Uncle Joe is a bit of a speed walker and I was pooped by the time we were done. Later on some of my favorite family members came over to play.  I entertained my nephews in the pool most of the afternoon.

Day 3 - Wednesday Feb 13 turned out to be the last nice day before it got "colder" and also started to rain some.  I did a five mile run which involved both the old and new parts of the community.  This also happened to be the day I discovered Instagram.  (That's it's own post entirely.) There was much playing around, and more than a little napping.

Day 4 - Thursday Feb 14 (Singles Awareness Day) it really started to get "cold" (meaning I needed sweat pants to sit outside) and it also started to rain.  That turned our activities from lounging to shopping.  I went for a short one mile run followed by walking the dog since I was already wet and gross.

    
Day 5 - Friday Feb 15. The weather had cooled down enough, and stopped raining long enough that it felt like the day for my "long run".  I had a seven miler on the schedule, so not a super long run, but long enough I wanted breakfast before I headed out.  It was a fairly grey day for a run.  Since it was so dismal out, shopping seemed like the right thing to do for the day so we headed to the outlets.  I got a couple things from the Adidas store and maxed out my credit card at the Nike Store. since we all know how I feel about their clothing.  We took a walk around sunset and I took pictures Aunt Joan bet me wouldn't turn out.  (How little faith we have in Instagram.  Judge for yourself.) We tried to go to an outdoor concert at night but it didn't quite work out.  The guy was a good musician but not much of a performer.  Instead Aunt Joanie and I learned how to use a visa gift card to set up an account for Postagram.  (Reminded me of the printer incident with my mother.)

Sunset over the golf course

          
Day 6 - Saturday Feb 16.  I got up early for a "quick" run, meaning only 4 miles.  That run was not "quick" in any other sense of the word.  Most of the day was hitching a ride to Miami Beach to play with my other little nephew.  There was a trip to Ikea involving a new bed, then lots of playing and even a walk in the stroller which was our thing from last year.  (No way did he remember it from last year but it was a nice coincidence.)  I had the best ceviche ever for dinner before coming home and having noodles with the little guy.  The highlight of the day had to be when my two-year old nephew showed me how to use Siri to get to the Elmo videos on my iPhone. Serious.

Day 7 - Sunday Feb 17 was perhaps my favorite day.  I woke up and went for a six mile run on the beach.  Yes dude, on the beach.  Even more awesome is the running trail they have that's part of the beach; it's sand but it's super packed and great for running.  We headed out for breakfast and then to see my cousin's studio and move some furniture.  The Ikea escapade from the previous day wasn't quite enough.  We met my Aunt and Uncle (grandparents of the little guy) for lunch.  Max entertained me by learning how to jump off the curb (in a safe place where there were no cars).  I spoke Spanish most of the day with this little one.  I was grateful for all the Spanish I've learned, plus Zumba which taught me to say "up", "down", "one side" and "the other side" from various songs.  It's amazing how relevant those words are with a two year old.

Day 8 - Monday Feb 18.  Saddest day ever.  I went out for one more run.  I thought it was going to be a one-miler since the temperature said 42* and all I had were shorts and a t-shirt, but I was warm enough to do 2 miles.  I even ran my second mile about a minute faster than the first mile.  We went back for a cleanup run at the outlets and I picked up an $80 pair of Nike shorts for $20 and then had Alfredo for lunch.  I cried all the way to the airport because the weather in Minnesota was depressing as hell.  The Ft Meyers airport was not my favorite.  Get some freaking charging stations.  Would you please?  Back in Minnesota one of my neighbors picked me up.  We ran by Target which turned out to be convenient since I had no food in the house.  Then I came home, unpacked, and did all my vacation laundry.  I cried the whole time because I wanted to be back in Florida.