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I hadn’t had a vacation since I was a kid. When I got the opportunity to do so a few weeks ago, I jumped on it. At first I didn’t know what to do. With all the COVID crap happening at the time everything was closed and I couldn’t visit most of my friends.

After a week of hanging out around my mom’s house and all my responsibilities lifted, I decided to drive half way across the country and visit my sister in Florida. I spent a full day on the road, listening to writing podcasts and just enjoying the journey. I learned a lot in that time.

It was nighttime when I arrived and after the initial reunion, as well as some habitual writing, I went to sleep.

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The following morning I got up. My sister had to work so I was all alone. It was time to explore my surroundings. I got dressed, grabbed my laptop and personal affects, and started walking.

I ended up at this little restaurant that had just opened after their shutdown. They had the tables remarkable far apart and everyone was wearing face masks. Everyone but me anyway. I ordered a breakfast burrito and a glass of water.

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After breakfast I went on a search to locate the beach. I knew the direction from my sister’s direction the night before but I had yet to see it. I walked quite a way, within view but still no way to access it. A bunch of hotels and fences locked my path. Finally I found a little foot trail and gained access.

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I stood on the short, watching the waves crash around me. I saw a jellyfish. I noticed numerous little lizards all over the place. That was one of the constants of my trip. There were lizards everywhere. I ended up taking a shore side walk for about three miles. I then returned to my sister’s house and started working on my book.

We went to a restaurant called Dat Cajun Place for dinner. It was good, though I had to add some spices to make it taste right. This was also the first time I’ve ever had alligator. The texture reminded me venison, and the taste was similar to that of calamari. Both are among my favorite meats and I am required to add alligator to that list now.

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I did a lot of walking. My record was seven miles in brand new sandals, which was stupid. I should have taken them off since I was walking the shore with waves lapping at my feet. The sores atop my toes have still not fully healed. I found a little tiki bar on the beach and had a Rum Runner, which seemed to be my drink of choice while I was there because I had a lot of them at nearly every place I/we went to.

This long walk was began because my sister had taken me to this little hotel tiki bar and I wanted to go back there. Needless to say, I didn’t make it. Not on foot anyway. When I left the beach I was exhausted. My legs were coated in sand and I just wanted to relax. I came up right across the street from this local bar called the Salty Goat. Due to COVID concerns they had a few rules in place but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. I ate and drank and looked at pretty women, and eventually called my sister, letting her know where I was.

I got kind of drunk that night so I don’t remember the exact order of details from that point on, but I know we visited the tiki bar I’d been in search of. It was still another two plus miles down the shore from where I’d stopped. We drove around and enjoyed life, and listened to music, and eventually ended up back at the house.

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My sister took the following day off. We drove around, her showing me where the rich people live, where she works, cool things she’s found in her time living there, and a couple of the parks. I saw an alligator minutes after asking her about them. She’d only seen one up until that point.

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We went for a hike around a place called Gator Lake. There were no alligators there that I saw, but there were a lot of birds. It was a short drive to the levee where the Gulf of Mexico blends with the bay. There was this old pedestal remains from a mounted turret during World War II.

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We climbed the levee and went to the end, at least three hundred yards into the water. I was warned there were a bunch of raccoons who live in it and they’ll try to steal your stuff, but I only saw one during the climb.

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When we reached the end there was a group of eight to ten dolphins playing not twenty feet from up. We sat there for about an hour just looking at the water and the world around us.

Later that evening, after we’d gotten cleaned up, we went to this beachside restaurant and had amazing food. I don’t recall the exact items we ordered but I remember there were no complaints. The crab claws were spiced with Cavender’s Greek Seasoning, which is one of my most favoritest seasonings in the whole wide world. I even had the waitress check what they’d used and was happy to be correct. I also had more Rum Runners during this time.

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We went for a walk through the tourist area after dinner. There were a ton of people out and about, clearly tired of being trapped in their houses. It was a Friday night, which was to be expected. Unfortunately there wasn’t much more to do. We were both stuffed so bar hopping was out of the question. We ended up going home around 9pm, and I worked on my book.

Saturday was to be my final day. We didn’t do much. A trip to the store to get some fresh seafood, a conversation with my sister’s neighbor, one of the guys who leads the dolphin tours. He also happened to be an ex Navy cop, which provided some insight into my book as it’s a detective type story.

We grilled shrimp, scallop, and pineapple kabobs, steak, corn on the cob and asparagus. It was a fantastic final meal before my return trip.

In the end, it was a wonderful vacation. I ate more than I should have. Drank more than I needed. Walked more than I’ve walked in years. And had a great time in a vibrant culture with fun and interesting people. I look forward to going back.