Apologies, again, to any of you who followed this blog because of the original intent. I am hijacking it again for use as a diary of sorts of our trip to Florida. Unsubscribe, ignore, or enjoy … whatever your preference.
July 10, 2014 (Day 1)
Today was the big, long driving day. We knew that; we planned it that way. And if we had done even some of the prep or packing before Thursday morning, it wouldn’t have been quite so bad. The morning was fairly frantic as we did all of the packing, getting things ready for the cat, etc. We finally hit the road at 10am CDT. Our stops were limited – gas, food, bathroom. Even still we had a very, VERY long day in the car. We rolled into Valdosta at 11:30pm EDT.
The hotel was decent. The room was clean, the bed was okay, and except for being kind of old and needing some serious TLC, was worth the price.
July 11, 2014 (Day 2)
We partook of the iffy continental breakfast then headed for the Starbucks that just happened to be down the road. I’m sure that was purely luck. With a quad venti latte in hand, we got back on I-75 and continued south to Florida.
Josh saw the first palm tree outside our hotel this morning. With no caffeine and 6 hours of sleep, I missed it. We’ve seen lots and lots of kudzu which is sad. Once we crossed into Florida, we also started seeing Spanish moss. Also beautiful, but also quite destructive.
I brought my Nook with me, so I have access to a wide variety of books. But the primary reading material that I brought is graphic novels. Or comic books. Whatever they’re called. I’m currently reading Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. I had started it a few weeks ago, but it got set aside in favor of something else. I also have lots of Green Arrow – my favorite.
We have quite varied tastes in music, so I brought a wide selection. Box sets of 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s music, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Cranberries, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Grosse Pointe Blank soundtrack, and southern rock set called Goin’ South. Lots and lots of options.
We got a lot of strange looks when we told people that we were driving from southern Illinois to Key West. In Georgia and Florida alone, we have seen cars with plates from 19 different states so far, most of which are at least as far if not farther away than us. I’ll post the entire list at the end of our trip.
Our first stop today is in St. Petersburg to go to the Salvador Dali Museum. More on that later. As we were planning our trip, we realized or learned that we had friends and family very near to St. Pete. We debated whether or not to try to connect with them. If we were going to be in the area longer, we might have been more likely to try. But we decided to skip it this time.
As much as I like to find restaurants the old-fashioned way (stumble across them!), I am perfectly willing to take advantage of technology for this purpose, especially when we’re just passing through, as we were in St. Petersburg. And we got lucky. Yelp had a great review of an Irish Pub – Crowley’s – so we thought we’d try it. I had bangers & mash (sausages and mashed potatoes) with a Smithwick’s on tap – my favorite. Josh had fish and chips and iced tea. Mine was better than his, but the fish batter was great and the chips (American steak fries for you ‘Muricans) were fantastic. *The* Mr. Crowley stopped by our table to chat. A very pleasant Boston native, who was personable and appreciative. His son was working the bar and had the same pleasant, welcoming personality. On the whole, a good lunch and pleasant experience.
For those reading this who don’t know, I spent spring break of my junior year of college in and around Barcelona on our annual choir tour. They normally tour portions of the U.S., but once every four years, they go overseas. I could spend hours, days even, telling stories about that trip. But the point of bringing it up here is that while there, we went to a Dalí Museum. Don’t ask me which one; it was 20 years ago. Anyway, between my experience there and Josh having spent time in art classes, we were both familiar with Salvador Dalí’s work before arriving at The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg. I won’t bore you with the details of the collection – it’s on the website. But unless you’ve seen his work in person, I really just don’t think you can get it. The man was a genius. He was wacky and probably a bit nuts, but an absolute genius. I have never taken an art history or art appreciation class, so I am looking at his work from a true amateur’s point of view. One of the great things about this collection, in particular, is that it includes some of his early work, much of which is oil on canvas landscapes and still life. And yet, they are not pedantic. It doesn’t take long to see him add his personal twists and oddities to even the most blasé of subjects. I don’t know enough about the St. Pete area to know what else there is to do, but if you are an art lover, especially a fan of surrealism, I highly recommend a visit.
We left St. Pete late afternoon and headed south to Naples, where we had a hotel reserved. We drove through what we now understand is the typical late afternoon/early evening rain storm in Florida. This was about the time that my stomach started to revolt from the large and rich lunch. Unfortunate, but I should know by now that it almost always happens when I travel long distances. Chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese from Panera, bad TV, and a good night’s sleep did the trick. Mostly.
Trials, Travels, and Tribulations 