So, a few weeks back it was snowing and cold in Louisville, Kentucky. That was about the time a couple of friends and I decided it was time to visit the great state of Florida.

The plan was to leave on a Wednesday night after work. We would pack up our things and drive through the night. Now, when I say “we”, I really mean everyone, but me. Our arrival time would be the following Thursday morning. We would have Thursday, Friday and Saturday on the beach. And we would head back Sunday. Sounds pretty perfect, right?

Well, nothing is ever “perfect”…so as you can expect, we faced a few challenges. We left after work on Wednesday around 7:30PM. Once we had been on the road for a while we decided to stop and grab some dinner. Naturally, we opted for something light (preparing for our bathing suit attire)…so we ate at Taco Bell. I ate a giant burrito. Okay, so when I say “light”, I really mean hydrogenated oil-soaked goodness.

After dinner, I did my best to stay awake. But, I had the whole back seat to myself. It wasn’t long before I found myself drifting off to sleep. “Drifting off to sleep” sounds so peaceful. Sleeping in the car is never peaceful. Let’s just say, I had a forehead print on the window that I was propped up against. Guess we hit a pot hole.

Anyway, the ride down was smooth…well except for breaking down in Nowhere Florida (aka Jasper). Thankfully, one of my friend’s had AAA. Bobby Joe (for anonymity sake) with Dennis’ Garage came and towed the car. Yes, we had to be towed like 30 miles down the road. It’s amazing to think about the conversation we had while riding with Bobby. He couldn’t have been a nicer guy…aside from pulling a shotgun on his neighbor. But there was good reason for that…his neighbor was insisting he cut his (not the neighbor’s) grass. Wouldn’t you pull out a shotgun?

Anyway, we made it to Lake City, Florida. Most of our Thursday morning was spent at Kings Tire. But, hey, the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. AND, they had GREAT coffee. It sounds strange, I know. But, I had a good time.

We eventually made it to St. Petersburg. Once we were there and settled into our hotel rooms, we decided to get something eat. We spotted an IHOP and again partook in a “light” meal. After food, we returned to the hotel and lounged around the pool for the rest of the day. Did I mention the weather was beautiful? Cause it was.

On Friday morning, we ran some errands at Target. I had to get some sun screen. I picked up SPF 75 and was immediately made fun of…so I opted for the SPF 50 (peer pressure). We ate lunch at Panera (half a sandwich and a giant smoothie…don’t worry I think it was with low-fat ice cream). We stopped for gas, broke down again, got towed to a dealership, rented a killer Honda Accord and were on our way to the beach.

The next two days were filled with lounging, burning, beach soccer and football, eating, more burning, jet skiing, Uno playing, sleeping and burning. It was great!! The burning actually wasn’t all that bad. Thanks to my SPF 50, I didn’t even blister. However, I did have one slight glitch. Apparently, my armpits did not get the necessary sunscreen coverage. So, yes, I burnt my armpits. Thankfully, I brought my aloe vera gel with me and applied such gel to my armpits twice a day.

Now my armpits are tan…I look like I have dirty armpits. Oh well. At least I have tan lines. Haha!

We drove back all day Sunday and I didn’t sleep a wink. Of course I regretted that choice come Monday afternoon when I was about to fall asleep at my desk. But, that’s okay. We had gotten in around 1AM (BTW, the car was fixed at the dealership).

All in all it was a good time. We certainly hit a few speed bumps along the way, but it helped us appreciate the 80 degree weather, cloudless sky and sandy beach that much more.

Until next time…