Florida Vacay

Thursday, May 19, 2011 by Rachelle

A couple of months ago, I was pondering what I should get my mom for Mother's Day. I always seem to get her the same thing every year, so I was trying to think of something a little different, but nothing was coming to me. I started remembering how I haven't been home for Mother's Day since high school and how nice it would be to go home for Mother's Day. I checked my schedule to find that we had already planned a triathlon for that day, and I also had the hockey banquet the night before. And let's not forget that it was the weekend before finals week, so even if I didn't have obligations, I would still just end up studying all weekend. Then I checked my schedule for this past weekend. Absolutely no obligations. I was then sold on that fact that I would visit my mom for Mother's Day. It also made for a good excuse to get away from this terrible Boston weather (but no one could have expected it to be this bad at this time of year).

I left early Thursday morning (no seriously, 5AM flight...who does that?). Its usually hit or miss whether or not I can sleep on the plane. Sometimes, I fall asleep before I get to zero when counting backwards from ten. Other times, I don't think they put enough anesthesia in the air, which is what I was stuck with this time. I got a coffee in Charlotte to make sure I stayed awake during my layover, but it turned out to be a bad idea after not having coffee in nearly a month. I was wide awake until midnight!

My aunt picked me up in Gainesville and dropped me off at my parents house. I tried to nap, but was just too awake, so I went for a run at 2PM instead. I always forget why I don't want to live in Florida until I run outside and then I remember. I ran 1.5 miles and felt like I was going to die. I went back home and immediately fell face first into the pool. Although, that was the same temperature as bath water so it wasn't much relief at all. My aunt and uncle took me out to dinner at BJ's for my graduation present. They also gave me a lovely pair of Swarovski earrings (picture to come soon). Also that night, my dad and I stayed up late watching Game 7 of the San Jose vs. Detroit series (yeah, Sharks!).

On Friday, I went for a run in the morning with my mom. The temperature was much more tolerable. We went to lunch at Sabore which is a Caribbean restaurant. My mom scheduled us for a spa appointment for the afternoon as my graduation present. We got a deep tissue massage and a mani/pedi with ice cream.

Saturday morning, my mom and I ran a "5K". Well, it was supposed to be a 5K, but the instructions that were given the runners turned it into a 1.8 mile run. Apparently, we were supposed to go around the loop three times, but they told us specifically twice. Even the course marshalls were saying that it was only two loops. Imagine my surprise when I saw the clock as I finished. Best 5K time ever! I was ok with it though. It was getting pretty hot already and I'm not sure I could have kept the pace for the rest of the race. I did the 1.8mi in 13:59 and won my age group.

We then headed up to Amelia Island where my aunt and uncle own a condo on the beach. Unfortunately, as soon as we got there, this happened...

Somehow, storms on the coast just look so much worse

This is not in black and white, its just that dark

Waited just a tad too long? Its not like you couldn't see the clouds coming

The wind was so strong, you can see it blowing water off the ocean

Yeah, it was cutting into my beach time. It stormed until dinner time which was good timing because I was going out with my mom, my friend Brittany from undergrad and her date. We had dinner in Jacksonville at Caribbee Key which was delightful. We then went to a martini bar afterwards. It was nice to catch up with my friend and finally meet her boyfriend. Of course, as we were driving back to the condo, it started to rain again. Bah, humbug.

Fortunately, Sunday morning welcomed us with cool weather and the sun.

I had a great 7 mile run along the beach. And then finally it was beach time. We spent all day at the beach and I got some sun. Thanks to the spray sunscreen I was using, I have white circles on my reg legs. I'm trying to start a new tanning fad, crop circles. I tried to stay up late enough that night to watch the San Jose vs. Vancouver game, but I was passed out by 10PM.

My mom and dad had work on Monday, so I had the house to myself. I went for a hike that morning and then went with my aunt to check on her chocolate shop in Trenton, FL. Then we went to TCBY for dessert (as if we didn't have enough free chocolate samples). My dad got home shortly after my aunt dropped me off, so we went for a Tour de Gainesville bike ride. I had the pleasure of using my mom's bike from the 80's, you know the kind with the shifters on the drop bar? I never realized how many cow farms there are in Florida (or how many rednecks there are).