Spent my 33rd birthday in Florida with my sister Kelli. It was a quick decision made a week before departure. I had some miles I could use, and I really wanted to go do something fun. So I flew to Orlando where she picked me up. We had decided to drive to Daytona Beach and spend the night there so that we could start the day already at the beach...
Our adventure began trying to find a gas station to refuel the work truck she picked me up in. (long story short- her car battery was dead and she had to jump in the truck). My flight got in around 11:30pm, so we were out in the middle of the night, relying solely on our phone GPS to find a station. We got off several exits not finding anything, or finding one, but the pumps were shut off since the store was closed! FInally we found a station open.
We arrived at our Daytona Beach hotel around 1:30 and hit the sack. Kelli loved the hotel, because it was kinda a dive and she loves that. haha. But we were right on the beach, and the beds were comfy.
We had breakfast at a little diner in the morning. Kelli ordered grits- not great. lol. Daytona beach is pretty cool. You can pull your car down and park on the beach (but we didn't, because we didn't want to pay). There was a pier and we decided to walk down the beach to the pier and then sit out after a little shopping. THere were the typical touristy surf shops, and then we ventured a little further and the town seemed desereted and a little sketchy, so we turned back around and got some ice cream. As we walked out of the ice cream shop, it began to rain. We decided to wait the rain out under the pier...After about 10 minutes, it was apparent the rain was not letting up, and the lightening and thunder were all around us. It was pretty cool. We had almost a mile walk down the beach to our car. I'm sure it was pretty funny for all the people huddling in their cars to see the two of us leisurely strolling down the beach in the pouring rain with the lightening and thunder. I told Kelli we should begin running around frolicking in the waves, then they'd really think we were crazy! We spent the next hour browsing a local antique store- entertaining ourselves by trying on old furs, and looking through vintage toys and books. Still the rain continued. We gave up our plans of sitting on the beach and headed back to Kelli's place in Ocala. It was almost a two hour drive. About 1/2 way there we came upon this shop/yard full of painted sculptures and pots. THere were huge statues of roosters, bulls, and giraffes outside. We knew we had to stop! Luckily the rain had let up and we enjoyed exploring the large yard, taking funny pictures on benches that were sculted as bums, and posing with the various animal sculptures. Nothing funner than being silly with your sister!
The next two days we lounged at Kelli's place on a beautiful horse farm. We went to the farmer's market on Saturday and browsed the stores and boutiques in the area. That night we went back to town for dinner and after leaving the restaurant, we heard this really loud heavy metal music and decided it was imperative we find out where it was coming from. We rounded the block and found O'Malleys bar. We ventured in, and out to the back bar, and found the noise! A crazy heavy metal band with painted faces, and long headbanging hair was screaming away. It was pretty awesome. It was so fun to just sit and watch. They even had groupies screaming along with them. haha. After about 5-10 minutes we had enough of the pounding music, so we headed out.
Sunday Kelli took me for a horse ride around their farm. It was the first time she and I have ever ridden together, and it was fun to be in a different situation with her. She was very cautious and watching me, and making sure I was ok. COnstantly reminding me what to do and teaching me. Funny how this has been a part of her life for so long, and I had never shared it with her.
Monday was my birthday and we decided to visit a beach on the Gulf side of Florida. We headed down through Tampa and out to Clearwater beach. It was amazingly beautiful! It was a gorgeous day, the water is calm and warm. And the beach was full of families and sea shells. I can't wait to talk the kids there. It was a nice relaxing day of reading, visiting, and a little swimming. We went to a nice dinner in Clearwater before heading back to Orlando for the night. When we got to the hotel, we realized our butts were kinda sore... Upon inspection...we had fried our backsides. haha. It was hilarious! We were exhausted, and taking pictures of our burns and sending them to Cole was so funny to us.
I had an early flight, so we were up and checked out by 5am. I said goodbye to Kelli and hopped on the shuttle to the airport. After a little wait, I was on my flight and headed home.
What a trip. It was a mish-mash of everything, and I had a really good time being with Kelli and experiencing some of her life.
I will post some of the pictures tomorrow.
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