Anniversary Florida Trip

This year for our anniversary, Chad and I went to visit friends that moved to Florida a little over a year ago. We were hoping that we would be escaping the cold when we booked the flights about 6 months ago, but that was not the case. In Colorado, we have had a fairly warm winter with a few exceptions. We left nearly 60-degree weather to go to temperatures in the 40s and 50s. When factoring in the humidity and the breeze, it felt cooler than that, and we were not prepared. The good news is that there are fun things to do even in cooler weather. 

On Sunday after church, we went to Blue Springs state park to see the manatee. They congregate around the springs which are consistently 72-degrees because they can't be in water less than 68 or they will die. With Sunday being in the 40s, there were over 800 manatees in and near the spring. This made for great viewing! It was fun to watch them swim around and see the groups of moms and babies. 

Monday, we went to Sea World and Disney Springs. We had a lot of fun at Sea World. We went to all of the shows, viewed the aquariums and habitats, and rode the few rides they had going. (It was too cold for most of the roller coasters.) This was my first time going to anything like this. I haven't even been to the Denver Aquarium. The shows were amazing! I clapped and squealed in excitement multiple times. Going to Sea World was not on our original list of things to do. I'm glad the weather didn't cooperate to do the other things because I loved seeing everything there. 

Disney Springs wasn't that big of a deal to me. This part of Disney has no entry fee. It is kind of like an outdoor mall area with shops and restaurants lining the "streets." We went to a cookie shop, hat shop, the Star Wars shop, Marvel shop, and a chocolate shop along with the restaurant we ate at. The restaurant was way overpriced for what we got. I had a club sandwich with fries and a Cherry Coke. Chad had a grilled grouper sandwich with fries and a coke. It was good, but not something particularly memorable. Of course, we may just have a problem with fancy food. Who knows? The cookies were ok. Again, they were a bit overpriced for something that wasn't particularly memorable. At the chocolate place, we got a big s'more to share. That was fairly good. It was definitely fresh and had a hint of cinnamon. This was the only Disney type thing we really saw, too. I would say, I'm glad I went to know what it was, but it's not something I would really seek out now that I know what it really is. 

Tuesday morning, we went to a French bakery, bought a variety of pastries, and brought it back to the house where we all shared them. They were so good! It was a wonderful breakfast!

Then, we ended our trip with a boat tour of De Leon Springs where we learned about a lot of different birds. We say how the trees adapt after storms and how interconnected the water systems are. I wouldn't say it was the highlight of the trip, but it was fun to learn about the vegetation and wildlife in Florida. It was a good, calm way to end our trip before heading to the airport for the long trip home. 

Temple with Michelle

 

Michelle, one of my best friends, and I have been going out to dinner or breakfast at least once a month since October of 2020 when my therapist at the time told me to find someone to do this with. These are months when we find reasons to go out more. This month being one of those months. We went to breakfast last weekend, she took me with her family to the Christmas train when her son-in-law couldn't go. Yesterday, we went to the temple together. It is such a wonderful way to wrap up the year!

Michelle and I have gone to the temple together before, but this was a special trip. Her birthday is next week. He late husband had a tradition of taking her to the temple on or as close as possible to her birthday. Two years ago, I took her for her first birthday without him. Last year, her so took her. This year, we went together for her birthday again. I would love to keep this beautiful tradition going for her as long as she'll let me. Being in the temple is one of my favorite things to do. Going with such a special friend makes it even better. 

She Will Be Missed

In 2015, I started the Pathway program which started my journey to my bachelors degree. At the time, it required that I meet with others in a group once a week. I felt out of place often because I had to leave a bit early to rush off to work, but there were a few people that always made me feel a part of the class: Brandon and Michelle. 

Unfortunately, life made it difficult to keep up with these friendships (they lived about 30 minutes away, and our paths didn't naturally cross). I have done my best to keep up with them on Facebook and told myself I would eventually arrange a meet up with them.

Today, Michelle passed away after her second bout with cancer. She was one of those people that exuded goodness and kindness. She loved scrapbooking, Hallmark movies, her daughter and grandchildren, and Christmas. In the last month or so of her life, she posted something that brought her joy each day which shows exactly who she was. I cried a bit as I read the post from her daughter informing every one of her passing because the world was a better place with her in it. I hope he knows how much she was loved in this world even from people who haven't seen her in person in about 8 years.