There and Back

When my husband left Tuesday afternoon, I felt a tugging in the center of my chest around the time his flight lifted up into the sky.  It was as if the invisible line connecting my heart to his was being pulled and stretched beyond its boundaries.  It would only be 48 hours before we would reunite in Clearwater, Florida but I felt the world shift slightly after his departure and settled into that wobbly space that is left when someone is missing.  

The girls missed him greatly too; Pink most of all. She wrote him the sweetest note telling him how she cried buckets the first night and kissed his photo by her bed a thousand times, blowing kisses into the darkness hoping they'd reach him.  Obviously, he and I don't travel much so the kids are not used to it.  

I was happy to spend Valentines Day morning with the girls before I shuttled them off to school then made my mad dash to the airport to spend Valentines eve with my man.  Rella's pre-school had a "Sweetheart Dance" and my father-in-law was her "date."  I don't know who was more excited, him or her.

After a 10-hour journey from the doorstep of my house to the hotel on Clearwater Beach, I finally made it for a very happy Valentines Day!  Dr. Fabulous had made reservations at a delicious restaurant and even though it was almost 9:30 pm when we ate, it was worth it.

The rest of the weekend went something like this...

Don't let those blue skies and beaches fool you. It was COLD. Ironically, it had been 80 degrees before I arrived and then the day I came it dropped down to the high 40s - mid 50s, windy the entire time. A few days it rained. My teeth were actually chattering a few days.  Now, I get cold easily so maybe some people would not be so put off by the weather.  You can see Dr. Fabulous is wearing shorts below but I was freezing my tush off in capris and a light weight coat.  Warmer than Jersey, but still cold by Florida standards.  The day we left it was 40 degrees. The day after we left, it shot back up to 78.  Figures.

The great thing about Facebook is that when you post a photo of the palm trees out your window and an old high school friend you haven't seen in over 20 years asks where you are because those palm trees look familiar and you tell her "Clearwater beach" and she says "OMG I'm right down the street and we're going out tonight!" it's fantastical, spontaneous magic.

So, that's how I ended up watching an incredible rock band at the Capitol Beer House in downtown Clearwater catching up with an old friend from the 1980s when we had stirrup pants and feathered hair and locker combinations and walkmans playing tapes of The Cure and Depeche Mode. I love when stuff you don't plan turns out even better than the stuff you do.

And she is as adorable as ever.

After 2 nights in Clearwater, we decided to do some scenery changing.  Dr. Fabulous got the idea to spend our third day and night in St. Petersburg which was my favorite place.

We stayed at the Renaissance Vinoy, a gorgeous historic hotel which has been graced by many famous people to include Julia Roberts, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt... the later two I was hoping to spot somewhere but no luck.

What I love about St. Pete's is that it is so beautiful with the boats and water and also very walkable and cute with lots of great shops and eateries.  It is also home to many fantastic art galleries.  We went to the Salvador Dali Museum which boasts one of the largest collection of Dalis in the world in an incredibly unique building which holds a helix staircase in a modern glass and concrete building.  Spending a day there after walking down the pier and getting a midday gelato was simply wonderful.

Our last night we stayed in Tampa, which was pretty low key except for the part where we walked over 5 miles to Channelside Drive in flip flops and now my feet are all torn up and I have a mild case of shin splints but that was good exercise.  The rest of the day was pretty much zonking out in the hotel room with only one brief interlude across the street for an Indian food run.  

It was a great little slice of time away... probably would have been a bit nicer if the weather was actually warmer but nonetheless it is always awesome to get away alone and thanks to my amazing in-laws, we can do these things annually.  But now, it's back to the grindstone!