Flohreedah

Florida was such a glorious destressor after this year.  

I ate way too much and probably should have applied more sun screen, yet I was able to sleep, relax and not mope about missing college as much as I wanted to.  I realized that I have a penchant for palm trees.  There's something about them-- so many different sizes, species, bark growth, leaf formation --and possibly because of the toasty climate, I've decided that palm trees are just a feel good foliage.  In fact, I am so enraptured by them, that I walked up and down all the streets in our quaint development (it's 4 or 5 streets in a few square miles) and did a photographic inventory of every variation of palm tree I could find.  Needless to say, I tend to go overboard with things. 

Palms.
EVERYWHERE!

I saw a few of these magnificent Cuban Laurel trees.
They're not native, and they actually remind me of "Fern Gully" Amazonian/jungle trees!

 

I don't discriminate with my tree hugging :).

The house that my parents bought isn't directly on the water, though it only takes less than 20 minutes to reach the Gulf Coast.  I have never stayed near the Gulf before, and I really enjoyed it!  That area in general seemed less commercial and fast-paced than the Atlantic coast.  This is a picture of my parents enjoying the sun at one of the beaches in Boca Grande.  There were pristine white sands, zillions of shells (no exaggeration!), mind blowing blues in the water and sky, and beautiful architecture.  All the shells I collected I'm turning into crafts: gluing them to frames, boxes, making jewelry and key chains.. not quite sure what else I should do with dozens of shells!  Any ideas??

I also was a wildlife spotter in Florida!  There were many varieties of birds and cranes, my favorite being the sand piper.  It scurries up and down the beach, jabbing it's beak into the sand for insects whenever the tide rolled in and out.  I also saw osprey, an iguana, two manatees (they just appear to be brown blobs in the water but I adore them!  I believe that I will be reincarnated as a manatee in the next life.. all they really do is chill out and eat :D), the alligator that lives in the lake in our community and this funny little crab at the beach!  Well, it was actually the size of my hand.  I think it was quite perturbed with me being in its face for photos, then attracting other beach-goers attention.  I guess if I were a crab just trying to live my life on the beach, I would be upset too.

As we were leaving Boca Grande and the beach, we pulled over the side of the road because we spotted a manatee in the distance! Anddd I decided that it would be a marvelous backdrop for my new sarong :). 

Sunsets at our community lake-- which is also the home to the alligator.
Even though I didn't have any interaction with people below the age of 60, it was a grand time.  I become miserable whenever heat mixes with humidity, but it was actually very mild and bearable!  Except for Thursday when it reached 95-100 degrees and I had a headache.  Anyways, vacations are always welcome.  Despite the sublime weather, I don't think I would live there permanently; I enjoy the seasons of the Northeast too much.  Do you like where you're living now, or would you move to another region in the country?
Yup, and now I should go to bed.  I'm back to my job at the cafe for the first time this year tomorrow!  I'm scheduled quite a few times this week, so hopefully I don't fumble too much...

Listening: traditional Bolivian music :)