My friend Heidi and I knew the first time we ever chatted on
the phone, before we ever met face-to-face, that we were destined to be good
friends.
She is a traveling physical
therapy assistant and had been assigned a 3-month job here in Craven County and
was looking for a place to live short-term. I had advertised for a roommate on Craig’s
List and she answered it.
It’s rare that one finds someone who they immediately feel a rapport with, and once we did meet, it was all over but the shouting. She asked after about 15 minutes, “So is it okay if I go ahead and move in?” and I enthusiastically welcomed her into my home.
During her very short stay with me, we became close friends. We had fun, we laughed, we
talked, we bonded, and we supported each other. Heidi also became good friends with my sister Lynne. When it came time for her to leave, I choked back my tears, told her how much I would miss her and wished her well, and we both vowed to stay in touch. And we have kept that vow.
So recently the opportunity came up for me to cash in some travel rewards points, and I called Heidi and we made arrangements for me to come and visit her. She is currently on assignment in Tallahassee, Florida.
As the time approached for my mini-vacation, I was excited,
not only to visit my friend, but also because I had never been to Florida
before. Plus it had been a stressful few months in my life and I was ready to get away.
Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder
Wednesday I left work after a short day and headed home to pack. I am the world’s worst over-packer and this time was no exception. My suitcase was too heavy, my carry-on duffle was too heavy, and my purse was too heavy. Plus I had decided to take my laptop with me. After dropping Emma off at my sister's around 5:00 I was finally on the road to Raleigh.
I arrived at my hotel on Wednesday evening, checked in, made arrangements for the airport shuttle the next morning and also for leaving my car in the parking lot while I was away, and after grabbing a quick supper at Wendy's across the street, I settled into my room. As I was unpacking my pj's I discovered that sometime during the trek back and forth from my car to the hotel I had
managed to lose a pair of reading glasses (luckily I brought an extra pair just in case because I can’t read anything without them). I was too keyed up to sleep, so I read until I felt sleepy. By then it was past midnight.
Most of you who know me know I am NOT a morning person. So on Thursday I dragged myself out of bed at 4:15 a.m. to catch the 5:30 shuttle to the airport. There
was no time for breakfast but I did grab some coffee and a (very) small Danish
from the hotel continental breakfast bar. The shuttle arrived on time and
a very pleasant Asian gentleman who spoke almost no English and I were the only
passengers.
The airport is a fascinating place for people watching. A bustling sea of humanity, in all shapes, sizes, ages, and colors, running to and fro, some smiling, some scowling, some harried, some
relaxed. I was really enjoying the show when it suddenly occurred to me that I had forgotten to pack my Dramamine. Uh oh. This oversight would haunt me later. More about that in a minute.
My 7:00 a.m. flight to Charlotte was full and we were packed in like sardines in a tin. The couple who was seated in the other 2 seats next to me were really nice though,which made the trip a little more pleasant. When our plane landed in Charlotte, at gate B5, I looked at my boarding pass and realized I had less than 30 minutes to get to the opposite side of the terminal to gate E13 to catch my connecting flight to Tallahassee. All while carrying my *heavy* carry on, and my *heavy* bag containing my laptop and my *heavy* purse. I barely managed to make it…they were boarding
group 8 (I was in group 6) when I hurried up to the gate, out of breath. Mental note to self: No more excuses...START EXERCISING!!
After boarding was closed it was obvious that the plane was not full, and the pilot announced that if any passenger wanted to switch to an empty more preferred seat we were allowed to do so. I managed to grab a seat right behind business/first class with boucoup leg room. SCORE! The cherry
on the sundae was that my neighboring passengers were 3 very lovely and lively
African-American ladies close to my age and we just had so much fun chatting and laughing,
plus we were offered refreshments. Bottom line: this flight was MUCH more pleasant than the Raleigh-to-Charlotte one had been. Confession time: I enjoyed a Coke for the first time in over a year. No I don't feel guilty and I savored every last sip.
At 10:15 my flight landed in Tallahassee, and while I was waiting for my only checked bag I texted Heidi that I had arrived.
The
Tallahassee airport is surprisingly small, even though the city is Florida’s
capital.
Heidi arrived to pick me up and after
some heartfelt hugs and greetings she drove me to her place. She had to go back to work and since I
had been up since 4:15 and was exhausted, I promptly passed out and slept for 4
hours.
Did Anyone Catch the License Plate of the Semi that Hit Me?
That evening Heidi cooked dinner for us, and afterwards made our favorite cocktail. We settled
in for an evening of vanilla martinis and a movie - The Nice Guys starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, and after that, 2 episodes of a show on CW called Jane the Virgin. Just like old times! However, when Heidi was living with me, we drank our vanilla martinis out of regular martini glasses. Since Heidi didn’t have any martini glasses, she had to serve the drinks in *red wine* glasses, and rather large ones at that. In other words, glasses that held about 3 times the amount of vanilla martinis than we were used to. I had 1½ glasses, about the equivalent of 3½ martinis. Now at this point I need to mention that vanilla martinis - at least the ones Heidi and I drink - are made with 3 main ingredients, all alcoholic: vanilla vodka, vanilla liquer, white creme de cacao, and just a splash of half and half. In short…Charlene got absolutely HAMMERED. I remember most of The Nice Guys, *some* of the first episode of Jane the Virgin, and *none* of the second episode. At some point during the festivities Heidi’s daughter
Chelsea arrived home from work and I greeted her, and I *think* I hugged her but I can't be sure. I finally stumbled to bed when I realized I could barely hold my head up and not from being sleepy. And I paid for it on Friday.
On Friday we all slept late and I woke up feeling like there was a tight steel band around my head that was slowly squeezing until it felt like my brain was going to leak out of my ears. I did manage to make myself a light breakfast and Chelsea made coffee, and she and I planned to do a little shopping and have a look around Tallahassee.
As I was showering and getting dressed all of a sudden the spins hit.
And almost immediately after that came the nausea.
So instead of shopping and the other fun activities Chelsea and I had planned, I spent the rest of the day lying on the futon in the living room, chatting with Chelsea, feeling sick as a dog and absolutely hating myself. I asked if there was any Dramamine in the house – there wasn’t, but there were some natural ginger chews that are supposed to relieve nausea. I chewed 2 of them and...nada. No relief from the nausea at all. Chelsea volunteered to go and get some Dramamine and I stayed on the futon until she got back, and once she did, I took 2 right away. Unfortunately I discovered later that the “natural” Dramamine formula – capsules containing only ginger – does not work very well for me.
Meanwhile, Heidi got home in the early
afternoon and we packed to leave for her brother John’s house in Spring Hill, about 3½ hours south, where we planned to stay for the rest of the weekend. We did stop at Kohls for a little
shopping and lunch at a little burger place, then it was off to Spring Hill. The stop and go traffic in Tallahassee did absolutely nothing for my queasy stomach, but I managed to hold
on. Once we actually got out of traffic and onto the 4 lane highway, I finally started feeling a little better. However I asked Heidi to stop at the first drug store we came to…I was in search of some REAL Dramamine, the original stuff. We found a Walgreen’s and the Dramamine, I literally dry-swallowed two of the tablets and we were off again. We got to John’s around 9:30 or so, and I was happy and excited to meet him, his roommate Tim, and Heidi’s mother Penny. I also met and squealed over John and Tim’s dogs, Buddy, a 10-year old Shih Tzu, Milo, and Bella, the youngest and a spitfire, a real little diva, who reminded me a lot of my Emma. Finally feeling like myself again, I was happy to be in the company of these wonderful folks. We sat on the lanai in the cool Florida evening, enjoying the fresh air, great conversation and laughter until late.
They Don’t Call it the Sunshine State for Nothin’
Saturday we slept late. We packed for our trip to Caladesi Island, which is only accessible via ferry. It was a picture-perfect day, and we spent it relaxing on the uncrowded beach, soaking up the sun enjoying the gorgeous white sand and aqua water, until we had to catch the ferry back at 6:00.
While we were waiting for the ferry this lovely couple and their son were among those waiting, and the husband was playing music. The wife, who was from New York and Puerto Rican, requested a salsa song, and she, Heidi’s mom Penny and I wound up dancing the salsa, right there on the deck.
We arrived back at John’s, and after dinner and showering, Heidi and I decided we wanted to go out and look for a place to go dancing. We decided to try a place called Monti McGill’s, which usually has live music on Saturday night. Unfortunately this particular night there was no band. Heidi and I had some drinks and decided to head home as we were both
pretty tired. Since John, Tim and Penny all sleep late I said my goodbyes to everyone and went to bed.
Homeward Bound
On Sunday Heidi and I were up early (again!), at 5:15, for the 3½ hour drive back to Tallahassee airport for my trip home. We got to the airport and said our goodbyes, and I waited for my flight to Charlotte.
We landed in Charlotte, I looked at my boarding pass and...you guessed it, I had to make ANOTHER mad dash across the terminal, from gate E19 to gate C4, to catch my connecting flight home! This time I only had *15 MINUTES*. Again I barely made it and arrived out of breath.
After my flight landed in Raleigh, I took the shuttle back to the hotel, retrieved my car, and met Jessica and Andrew at Cracker Barrel for lunch. Driving home, due to the effects of lost sleep and the Dramamine, I got so sleepy I had to stop for coffee and take 2 5-minute breaks. Once I got to New Bern I picked up Emma from Lynne’s house and finally...I was home sweet home.
Reflections
Life is a constant learning opportunity, and on this trip, I learned to overcome little mishaps and to appreciate the blessings of good friends, new friends, new places, and new adventures. My fear of flying was also lessened somewhat.
Several other lessons learned on this trip: 1) Pack lighter,
2) DON’T overindulge in alcohol when traveling, and 3) NEVER forget Dramamine, ever again!
Oh and one more thing...as much as it hurts me to say it, I may be turned off of vanilla martinis forever.
