I said getting there was half the battle, and now that I've arrived in one piece the rest was gravy. My cousin Keith told me the airport was small but when I got off the plane I was surprised to see just how "small town" it really was. I could swear I saw a couple sheep ahead of me.
Keith also mentioned he would meet me at the baggage claim area, and there was no way I could miss him because the airport was so tiny. I said "If you can't find me I'll be wearing pink... actually, if you lose track of me at any given time, I'll be wearing pink:)"
He wasn't kidding about the airport being small; as soon as I went through the doors I could see someone wearing my pink Team Leapfrog shirt. Of course I just shook my head as we both laughed. I guess he wanted to be certain I saw him; that, or he just got a hall pass from the nut house...
It didn't take long before we were on the road and I soon discovered "we weren't in Kansas anymore...". This was a far cry from the foot of snow I left back in Ohio.
I had no idea at all what Keith had planned for this weekend because he didn't want to give me any opportunity to back out. I told him I was up for any challenge, and he was going to hold me to it. He just kept telling me I would have some amazing experiences that I will never forget... I was excited, because this whole trip was a test to see what I'm capable of.
Ironically, I think this trip was a learning experience for Keith as well, because he asked if he could pick my brain and try to understand what I'm going through with all of my crazy symptoms. There are very few people who actually really understand all of the ins and outs; in fact sometimes I don't understand myself, but I planned to educate him the best I could.
Right off the bat he mentioned he had no clue as to what my limitations were and he would have to follow my lead. Of course, my limitations weren't actually crystal clear to me either. A lot of the things I shy away from are due to the fear of trying to keep up with "normal" people, giving a new meaning to the expression "taking a trip". I've been told a few times to slow down and let my brain and body communicate, but knowing most people don't get it, I've always felt the need to just try my best to go at their pace. For once I decided I would do everything put in front of me, only this time the pace is all mine.
Of course, the first day was all about taking in the fabulous Fort Myers sites. So the first thing we did was check out the beach, which Keith told me was "Florida snow".
Next we went to "Fisherman's Wharf", which was a restaurant right on the bay and the view was awesome. But I barely had a chance to catch my breath and we were off to the yacht club, which was supposed to have a fabulous view of the sun set, but nothing in comparison to the sunset we would see the next day at Fort Myers Beach.
As we were driving down a lightly traveled service road we spotted these "burrowing owls", which to my surprise let us get about five feet away to snap a photo of them. I think they were as intrigued by us as we were by them...
A little more sight seeing, along with a bit more walking then I would have anticipated, before we ended the day by getting pizza, which is something I rarely do but hey, I was on vacation, and every bit of this trip was about stepping outside the box. However, we had to make sure to find the best pizza in town and we did...
I knew for the next two days we would be going non stop, so it was time to call it a night and dream of many more white sandy beaches tomorrow...
Check back later to see what surprises were in store for me the next day:)
Happy Valentines Day!!
Christine:)
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