But I wasn't there for long. In fact, my suitcase didn't go back in the closet (though it was unpacked and repacked) because only four days after returning, after allowing myself a couple days to reclaim my home, rest, and catch up at work, I stopped for a quick spray tan and hopped back on a plane (and, incredibly, had the entire rear of the plane to myself...an introvert's fantasy flight!), this time bound for my annual retreat to Florida.
It wasn't a smooth landing, however. I was scheduled to arrive in Orlando at 3 p.m., but the pilot announced at 2:45 that thunderstorms had closed the airport (temporarily, I prayed), so we'd have to land in Tampa instead. Ugh. Unfortunately I couldn't notify my brother-in-law - who was patiently awaiting my arrival - of the delay until the plane landed (in Tampa) 30 minutes later. There was radio silence for 10 minutes until the pilot announced we'd depart for Orlando in 20 minutes for a 20-minute flight. I forwarded the update to my brother-in-law and settled in for my second (and hopefully final) flight of the day.
As expected, my flight arrived in Orlando at 4:30 and I was picked up by my long-suffering brother-in-law, who'd waited without complaint for two hours (Lord!) - I wouldn't have blamed him if he'd left me behind - and then drove me through rush-hour traffic to my sister and nephew (and a pizza) at their home.
I settled onto the couch for a low-key, lethargic evening and dragged myself to bed at 9:30. I tossed and turned (I love traveling but never sleep anywhere else like I do in my own bed), then finally dozed off...and woke up at 9 am (much later than usual for me) the next morning. No doubt I was exhausted and on vacation. I spent most of the day by myself, watching TV while my family went to a birthday party, which conserved my energy for a big night out for dinner at Universal's CityWalk.
Unfortunately, it was an hour-long wait (at times in the rain) for a table at the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, a popular newish steampunk-themed restaurant with outrageous desserts...which I couldn't visit without trying. After feasting on a full plate of vegetable penne pasta in a garlic white wine sauce, I still had room for a Peanut Indulgence milkshake (vanilla ice cream with whipped cream, nuts, Snickers pieces, and a full-size Reese's peanut butter cup). "No one ever finishes these," the waitress informed us. But I was up for the challenge and thought, Watch me. Sure enough, I did (and she was suitably impressed), though I didn't feel great afterwards.
The trip's most exciting adventure happened two days later when my sister, nephew, and I got up early and left at 8:45 for a ziplining expedition (a bucket-list item of mine) at a nearby park/zoo. We started at the adventure park, which was a wise choice. The upland obstacle course, on the other hand, might not have been. We each paid $33.95 (have I ever paid so much money for so much torture?), were fitted into our harnesses, and joined half a dozen adults and kids for a safety lesson.
A young man led us (literally) through the first, easy section of the course, first showing us how to do it and then instructing us as we did it. I started having second thoughts after my instructor gently but firmly scolded me for unhooking both carabiner clips simultaneously (one always needed to be attached). At that moment, I felt like I was back in school, desperately trying to escape a teacher's wrath, rather than on vacation. (Plus I'm acrophobic, so I was trying to work my way through that issue.) I managed to hoist myself off the first low platform without total disaster, but the guide encouraged me to go back and "do it with confidence." (Do I have to?!) But I did. (I wish I could say I loved every second of flight, but I was anxiously thinking the whole time, When do I brake? Now? Now?)
And that was just the warm-up. The course got progressively higher, scarier, more dangerous and challenging. There were rope bridges and wires to cross (Lordy!), logs, rickety plank bridges, and increasingly-faster ziplines along the way. I just stood and stared ahead for several minutes on each platform, contemplating, trying to overcome crippling fear and find the gumption to tackle each one. Thankfully, my 11-year-old nephew was behind me (and my sister was behind him), or I might not have kept going. But there was only one way down (short of quitting) and it was (lamentably) via wire, rope bridge, and zipline.
It seemed to take forever...and that was only the first half (and not the advanced one). By the time I reached the halfway point, I was finished (as was my sister). I'm physically fit, but the oppressing humidity (Florida in June) and anxiety zapped my energy and my nerves were shot. We returned our harnesses and walked through the adjacent small zoo, seeing giraffes, goats, alpacas, snakes, an iguana, birds, a warthog, lemurs, a rhino, and a gator.
We ate lunch and rolled out when the rain rolled in. I took a nap when we got back to the house and woke up feeling lousy, sniffling and sneezing through my final day in Florida. I sincerely apologized to my sister for being sick. ("It's not your fault," she assured me, but I felt like it was.) I figured I'd be wiped out after a high-energy week in Paris, and I'd warned my sister that I was looking forward to lounging at her house, but I never envisioned being miserably sick and lacking the energy to do anything more than watch trashy Lifetime movies (which undoubtedly made me feel worse) for an entire day while I was there.
I can't imagine my sister was sorry to drop me off at the airport the following morning for my flight home. Unlike my arriving flight, my departing flight was packed, and I felt terrible for the man who was squeezed in the middle seat next to me as I leaned against the window and sneezed and sniffled endlessly into a wad of tissues through the two-and-a-half-hour flight (hard to say which of us was more eager to land). Mercifully, the flight arrived on time at the right airport, and I stopped for groceries (basically soup and cold medicine), and went home to collapse.
Once again, though, there was limited downtime. I had to regain my health because I was leaving for a whirlwind concert weekend in only three days, and I wasn't entirely sure I was ready for it.
