florida pot pourri

the view from the beach tonight
tonight is our last night here, and i think we’ve both realized that, perhaps, two weeks at this condo is about three days too many. a ten- or eleven-day visit would be perfect. after that, ennui sets in. both young beatrix and i are big-city dwellers – i live downtown, she works there. we’re used to a certain level of hustle and bustle. the first week of swimming and walking along the beach and looking for shells and watching sailboats pass and shopping at U.S. retailers and enjoying american cable was fantastic...but the novelty wore off sometime around day nine, i think.

by yesterday, we were like two lost souls in search of vacation meaning, and i think my brain high-tailed it back to toronto several days ago already. i started checking my email and RSVPing to film screenings and perusing work-related messages. i began wondering whether my apartment suffered during the recent storms there (i left each of my four windows about halfway open, unfortunately). i looked up when my library books are due. i’m ready to go home.

so, on our final evening in the sunshine state, i present a small mish-mash of random factoids about our trip alongside a half-assed photo essay of shots taken on our final beach stroll earlier tonight:

the view looking north along the beach...
* in my last random-stuff post, i forgot to mention that we’ve also become addicted to Baby Ruth chocolate bars. we made the mistake of buying a 10-pack of mini bars at Dollar Tree (the greatest dollar store ever) and finished it in a day and a half. i’m fairly certain they’re infused with crack.

* dear fat, swarthy, oiled-up men with beer guts and gold chains, squeezed into bathing suits that are several sizes too small: I AM NOT INTERESTED. thank you.

* the lovebug situation has gotten worse. they are ALL over the exterior walls of the condo building, sunning themselves as they copulate and then alighting just as you walk past...thereby necessitating some of the swatting and flailing that i mentioned in a previous post.

* can we chat for a moment about the queen helene mint julep face mask? because it’s divine. i’d read about it online months and months ago – its virtues trumpeted by scads of gay men – so young beatrix and i decided to seek it out whilst here. we found it, dirt cheap, at sally beauty supply (what a great little chain that is!) and tried it. know what? it works! zaps your pores full of minty goodness and gets rid of all kinds of unmentionables. when i took the wee jar to the elderly, blue-haired cashier to pay, she looked at it and said, “you know, this stuff really works. been around forever and coming into its own again.” it sure is!

and looking south.

* our quest for free things continued with moderate success. we managed to get free samples at godiva chocolates, harry & david (a gourmet chocolate/candy/snacks store), an indie ice cream place and sephora. nothing has managed to beat the $5, though.

* an update on last night’s bug incident: we found two more (one alive, one dead) today. i also went down to the front desk to alert the staff and, thankfully, it went smoothly. young beatrix and i were worried that we might be blamed for the presence of the creepy crawlies, but the extremely pleasant guy running the office actually thanked me for bringing it to their attention. i showed him my “samples” (i’d saved a few of the dead bugs as evidence) and he asked if he could keep them to show to their pest-control guys. i shared my findings (saw-toothed grain beetle!) and some tips on eco-friendly pest control (namely: diatomaceous earth!) for his own reference. he actually asked, unprompted, after our mom and called her by name because he remembers her from previous spring visits, which i thought was rather sweet.

a wisp of a crescent moon rises over the pool as night descends on indian shores...

* why do so many people drive around with their dogs unharnessed in the backs of trucks? do they not realize that a sudden turn or just about any kind of collision will result in their pets being hurtled out of the vehicle? this has caused me mild distress during our car travels.

* dear omnipresent hand-lotion kiosk employees who accost me with the fully transparent “may i ask you a question?” pitch as i actively avoid you in the mall: I AM NOT INTERESTED. thank you. this goes for you “’scuse me, is your windshield chipped or scratched?” guys, too.

* in florida, the following items are acceptable as dinner: sunchips and ice cream; a chicken finger, a slice of garlic bread and a brownie; a smoothie of any persuasion; potato skins and chicken wings; salad and fries; cake (of course).

* in florida, the following items are apparently considered acceptable as dinner attire: speedos; bikinis; daisy-duke shorts (with or without unsightly bulging at their seams); spandex of any variety; no shirt? no problem!; pyjama bottoms; chicken costumes...okay, not really, but probably.

* trixie’s contribution: the PT cruiser cannot make sharp turns. though, she adds, “it may just be my technique.”

the sun sets on our trip...and on a contemplative young beatrix.

and so ends our holiday. we fly back tomorrow afternoon and, as lou so accurately put it to me many months ago when discussing the reality of a vacation ending, the steel door will then slam shut on this experience.

hopefully, it’ll take out a lovebug or two when it does.

an update: about five minutes after i posted this, we found two more bugs in our bedroom -- one on trix's pillow (what IS it about that area that they love so much???) and one on the wall near the closet. we're glad to be leaving them behind and have thoroughly checked every item in our suitcases to make sure they're bug-free. ditto the suitcases themselves, which are now sealed tightly.