this summer has been more about catching up and reconnecting with friends and family than it has been about traveling...i've traveled in order to see people, but not so much to see new places...(i've seen a few new places this summer, but not so many as is normal for me)...
my next visit was to ft walton beach, florida, to hang out with a buddy i met during the summer i interned for the navy in iceland...this was the 4th time i've visited ft walton beach, i almost feel like i know the town:)
my buddy is a florida state fan, a braves fan, and a cowboys fan...i don't understand...i cheer for michigan, indiana, and the white sox...i don't much care for the NFL, NHL, or NBA...
i didn't plan the visit more than a couple months ahead of time, but not long after booking the tickets, my buddy found out his mom had stage 4 lung cancer...awful, just awful...my buddy had retired at the beginning of the year, so he has been able to spend time with his mom every day, taking advantage of what time he has left with her...because of her illness he and i didn't get to spend as much time together as either one of us would've liked, but she clearly took priority in his time...
during the last two days of my visit, i spent a lot of time paying attention to the weather forecast...there was a hurricane coming, it wasn't sure where the storm would make landfall...i seriously considered flying out early, but in the end i decided to wait and see what happens...everyone who has lived on the florida panhandle has had to deal with hurricanes...people who have lived there their whole lives often don't do anything until they're sure they'll be in the line of a direct hit...it would be funny if it weren't also so very serious...the hurricane ended up hitting really close to new orleans, just where hurrican katrina hit...
one of the fun things about hurricanes is called storm surge...miles and miles away from the storm, the coast is hit with storm surge waves...my buddy took me and his son out to the beach for a few minutes, just to see what was happening...needless to say, both of us kept an eye on the kid as well as the water...(we met because we were both lifeguards that summer in iceland, that's a job that never quite leaves you)...he was 9 yrs old, and fully capable of listening to directions not to get anywhere close to the water, but we still watched...
while in ft walton beach i also got to have quick catchups with other friends i've met during other visits...a set of twins and their mom (dad was out of town at a softball tournament) and a husband (wife was at work?)...
one day my buddy let me drive his truck to the beach while he spent time with his mom...as usual, i was an idiot and completely forgot about sun cream...i wasn't out for long, but it was too long...whoops...hours later that evening, my entire body not covered by my bikini was red, and for the rest of my visit standing up, sitting down, dressing, undressing, etc, were all rather painful...why don't i ever learn my lesson???
i would be happy to live in fwb beach for a year or two, though during summer days i wouldn't be a very productive person...i can be such a beach bum:)
my next visit was to ft walton beach, florida, to hang out with a buddy i met during the summer i interned for the navy in iceland...this was the 4th time i've visited ft walton beach, i almost feel like i know the town:)
my buddy is a florida state fan, a braves fan, and a cowboys fan...i don't understand...i cheer for michigan, indiana, and the white sox...i don't much care for the NFL, NHL, or NBA...
i didn't plan the visit more than a couple months ahead of time, but not long after booking the tickets, my buddy found out his mom had stage 4 lung cancer...awful, just awful...my buddy had retired at the beginning of the year, so he has been able to spend time with his mom every day, taking advantage of what time he has left with her...because of her illness he and i didn't get to spend as much time together as either one of us would've liked, but she clearly took priority in his time...
one of the fun things about hurricanes is called storm surge...miles and miles away from the storm, the coast is hit with storm surge waves...my buddy took me and his son out to the beach for a few minutes, just to see what was happening...needless to say, both of us kept an eye on the kid as well as the water...(we met because we were both lifeguards that summer in iceland, that's a job that never quite leaves you)...he was 9 yrs old, and fully capable of listening to directions not to get anywhere close to the water, but we still watched...
one day my buddy let me drive his truck to the beach while he spent time with his mom...as usual, i was an idiot and completely forgot about sun cream...i wasn't out for long, but it was too long...whoops...hours later that evening, my entire body not covered by my bikini was red, and for the rest of my visit standing up, sitting down, dressing, undressing, etc, were all rather painful...why don't i ever learn my lesson???
i would be happy to live in fwb beach for a year or two, though during summer days i wouldn't be a very productive person...i can be such a beach bum:)
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