I know this post is late in coming. Afterall, I've been back from Florida since last Sunday.  I had a terrific trip!! I finally got to meet my homeschooling friend of three years, Christy!! Wow, was it wonderful to actually just to get to sit down face to face and talk! We had both talked time and again about how great it would be to one day meet in person and talk. Well, that happened and it was as if we had known each other our whole lives and had only been separated for a short time. We were catching up on old times. It was terrific! And Christy is such a wonderful, funny, and sweet person...just as she has always been through our talks via email/IM.

My initial flight take-off from Ohio was a little nerve-racking, but it went well. I just wasn't used to the 'feel' of flying since it was my first time in a plane. I've only been in a helicopter before...a much different feeling. lol! But after that first 'shock', I was fine. I and my eight year old daughter had a great flight experience. I think she enjoyed it more than I did though, at first. lol! Now, I don't mind it at all...it was pretty cool looking down at all the small buildings and square miles of city lights. We got to fly both in daytime, at take-off, and at night as we continued to fly.

Upon our arrival at the airport in Tallahassee, we were greeted not just by Christy, but her whole family!! Woohoo!! I truly wasn't expecting the kids and hubby to be there as well, but was a welcome sight. Christy and I greeted one another with hugs and so did her eldest and mine. The girls acted like they too were old friends and were getting together for a sleepover. lol! It was great!  All of us had the chance to talk for two hours on the way to Christy's place, which was nice. It broke any nervousness that we may have had about meeting each other face to face.

The following day, our stay began with a visit to the local beach. Boy, was it gorgeous! It was much prettier there than I remembered from my visit to Florida when I was eleven.  The water was much bluer and clearer than the beach I had visited when I was young. Just the sounds and sights were enough for me. I just tried to soak it all in. The water was a bit chilly for me, since it's still early Spring...but the girls all played in it readily and searched for seashells with their nets. Christy and I waded in the waves some, but no deeper than our shins. (We're both scared of the water!) lol! But that was enough for me to enjoy it still. I shot plenty of video while there...even capturing her hubby's netting of a rather large jellyfish and also a pod of dolphins swimming by! (They aren't as easy to see in the video though, since they were further out. But looked MUCH closer with the naked eye!) They took me to a nearby lagoon area at the beach where they captured a bright blue crab. For a crab, it was beautiful. lol! Unfortunately, he lost a claw...but it'll grow back.  Surprisingly, I didn't get sunburned either!! Woohoo!! That's a first for me in a LONG time! Even with sunscreen, I usually  burn. But this time, however, the sunscreen worked and I was untouched by the rays. Nope..no tan either. Bummer. Destined to be stark-white forever! rofl!!

We dined at one of Christy's favorite restaurants, Callahan's, and also enjoyed some bowling, with lots of laughter by all of us. I've never bowled a worse game, but it sure was fun!! Both of our daughters were happy as larks to have beaten Christy and I in all three games!! lol!!! We also went to Ripley's Believe It or Not, in Panama City.  The place was shaped like the Titanic and needless to say had many neat things inside.

We also did some more siteseeing and I did some souvenir shopping for my girls that didn't accompany me on the trip south. You should see some of the towns down there...absolutely beautiful..but different too with all the bright colors and odd architecture like in the cities of Seaside and Watercolor. But quite a bit was also similar to up north here as well with normal looking neighborhoods,etc. I also enjoyed seeing palm trees...something you'll never see up north here. lol!

Throughout the week, we spent most of the days at Christy's house which was also great. I got to meet her two lil doggies...Brodie and Charlie. They are quite the lil characters and very loveable. Charlie was the one to wake me almost every morning with hopping on top of me, licking my cheek or ear and then springboarding off of me again. rofl!! They both fought for attention regularly...and got it too. I'm such a sucker for cute lil dogs...and cats...and many other critters. Christy also rescues guinea pigs, so we got to see three of them there as well. Love the lil chirpy sounds they make. 

Both Christy and her hubby had to work during the week, which gave me time with the kiddos. Loved it! My daughter and her eldest got along like sisters...and sometimes even fought like sisters too. lol!! But for the most part, they got along great. Her lil one was also terrific..so sweet and quiet. I hear she's not that quiet usually, but she sure was when I was there. But she was also ALL smiles!! Her and I played with some of her toys and also put a puzzle together. All of us also played outside a bit as well...though they did most of the playing. During Christy's breaks from work shifts (She works split shifts from home.), we enjoyed the weather outside together and chatted, joked, or I scared her with a wagging gecko tail. lol!! Yeah...another animal body part that snapped right off...just like that crab claw. Hmm...wierd.  Lucky for both critters, they grow back. lol! But we had a good laugh over the gecko!

I also got to check out Christy's makeup line, Geniveve's Garden,  that she has at her place!! Wow!! She certainly knows how to make a buisiness!! She has all shades of the rainbow for eye shadows (ask her hubby...rofl!! Sorry Christy..had to put that in there! lol!) and blushes! And she had the PERFECT shade of mineral foundation for my skin...which I purchased. It is extremely hard to find a shade to match my pale skin...really. I've gotten the palest shade I could find up here and it still shows darker on me than it should, especially in natural lighting. So, I was elated that she had a shade that's perfect for me!! She's great! We also exchanged recipes throughout the week as we cooked dinners for one another and scarfed down the fixin's!! Oh boy does she have the BEST pork tenderloin recipe!! AWESOME!!! And Kim W....I fixed your taco soup and they loved it! It's now a hit in Florida as well us up here in Ohio!! I took no credit for your masterpiece chica...I only fixed it! I hear it's now going to replace their chili night like it has my own. lol!!

Later in the week, we had plans to visit an aquarium similar to Sea World, but there were some pretty hefty storms that moved in. Sooo...we rented a couple of movies and enjoyed a movie night. That was nice and peaceful. Once the storms subsided after a day or two, we hit a different aquarium nearby, and it was terrific!! I got plenty of video and pics of the wildlife. I even got so close to a dolphin that I could've rubbed noses with it, but we weren't allowed to 'touch the animals'...no matter how close they were. UGH!! But it was beautiful to see them so up close. And yes, I have video of it too. Yippee! We also went to a local bar (Yes, I have no problem with having drinks, so long as noone gets toasted...though we did no drinking while there at all.) and looked at the local wildlife...alligators! We even got to pet one, though it was only about 3 ft long. Most of the ones there are only that big, but there are LOTS of them...hundreds from what I was told in a little pond underneath the bar..which has boardwalks/piers all the way around the place so you can look at them and even feed them! Yep..we fed them too! We had long bamboo fishing rods with string tied on them and an oversized bobby pin. We stuck what looked like the 'bits' from Kibble 'n' Bits dog food in the bobby pin and lowered the string down to the alligators. If you got it close enough to their jaws, they would snap at them and eat it right up. lol! It was dark out, so my pics aren't that clear. Sorry. But we all enjoyed it a lot!

My last day there, we went to the beach for a last good-bye. It was once again breathtaking. The sounds, the breeze..all of it wonderful. We took our group pics there and pics of just Christy and me, and my daughter and me standing on the beach. The time of day was perfect lighting for the pics. They turned out great! It was very chilly that day, so we had to keep our jackets on and stayed out of the water...til we got splashed mid-picture!! rofl!! But it was gorgeous. LOVED it!!  We also did some shopping after that and then got some lunch at the Cracker Barrel. Yeah..they have that down there too! Noplace is too city-slicker for the Cracker Barrel!! rofl!!  I love to eat there...the country, home-like feel of it.  And especially the food! Yum!! But I also love shopping in that country store of theirs. After our lunch, it was off to the long, two-hour drive to the airport for our departure.

The drive to the airport was bittersweet. I was sad at the thought of leaving my friend...having finally met her in person and hitting it off so well!! But I was also anxious to see my hubby and other three girls again. How I missed them. I had tried not to dwell on the fact that they weren't with me that whole week, so as not to ruin my stay with my friend. It had worked that whole week and I had a wonderful time. But now was the time to say good-bye and I wasn't looking forward to it at all. Both Christy and I were expecting each to break down in tears, so we fought it off when we felt them welling up. We took pics at the airport as well and gave our last hugs. Then we parted ways, for whenever we get the chance to see each other again.

I am home now...looking at pictures and video from my trip. As terrific as all the sights were that they took us to see...I miss my Christy the most. I miss our late night chats and our tears of laughter. Our run to Charlie Sheen's gas station (lol!) and our venture into the 'redneck video store'. rofl!! Scary stuff there, chica! I also loved seeing where you go on your walks at...what a beautiful pond and overly friendly ducks! lol!! Hugs from Ohio, Christy!!! I miss you!! I sure hope we get to see you in August!!

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