So I finished my last recap with going to Magic Kingdom after the race. (At the bottom you can find all the recaps!) Once we left the park, we still had to drive an hour to get back to Tampa - which WAS THE WORST because we had both been up since 2am that morning, RAN IN A HALF-MARATHON, and then walked around at Magic Kingdom for six hours. Either of those three things on one day alone would be enough to make you tired.
We got home and ready for bed and sat down to watch the Grammy's or Emmy's or some awards show that was on and we both fell asleep on the couch before the end of the opening act. We were tired girls. We woke up around midnight and David had gone on to bed! He didn't even wake us up. I'm sure the two of us laying on the couch under our Disney blankets would have made for a funny picture. We would have looked like 5 year old girls in 20(ish) year old bodies with our pajamas, Disney fleece blankets and sharing the couch.
The following morning I was able to sleep in because Erica and David had both headed off to work and Jill and her family were vacationing about 20 minutes from me, so she was coming to pick me up so I could spend a day at the beach.
Best idea ever because I COULD. NOT. WALK. I was fine going down the stairs to the kitchen, but when I had to go back up the stairs to get dressed, I had to crawl. I was in so much pain.
I spent the day laying by the pool and on the beach. It was a great day to relax and not jump right back on a plane and to reality.
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| Relaxation! |
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| A guy was doing sand sculptures. |
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| A pretty sailboat on the shore! |
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| I love America! |
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| Some Beach....Somewhere |
This was my first time seeing the Gulf of Mexico. It was unusually wavey that day, so not as calm as I expected. But Jill and I walked the beach, got a fruity drink at a little beach side restaurant and then I ran in to the water. The water was freezing! But I did it, I swam in the Gulf of Mexico!
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| It's cold!! |
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| Proof that I went way out in the water. It was like ICE! |
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| Done! |
I had dinner with Jill and her family, then Erica came and picked me up after she got off work. It was so weird for it to be so warm outside, but still get dark so early. I associate warm weather with long days, so it was dark at 6pm. It was February, I guess.
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| Beach Day with Jill. |
Erica and I splurged on Chipotle and watched tv when we got back to her place. I had to be at the airport early the next morning. I was so sad to leave her. I cried at the drop off place. This was the first time since I was in high school (9 years) that we had been together for 5 straight days. It was so nice and I made me miss her even more. I might even be getting teary right now writing this. ha! I miss you Erica Lynn!
My flights home I slept most of the way. My layover was in Newark, NJ which was so cool because I could see the New York skyline from the airport. I loved that. I didn't get to see it in person when we went to NYC last year because we came in on the train underground to Penn Station. I ate a really good cupcake there and did a lot of people watching and window shopping. My flight from NJ to Columbus was mostly empty, so I got a seat all to myself and slept for that hour flight.
Since I had only taken two days off, most people didn't even realize I'd been out of the office. I felt like I'd been away for so long!
But I had a great time. This was my first time traveling this far away by myself and it went great. I loved navigating around the airports. And I wasn't terrified at all while flying. If anything, this trip triggered my travel bug! ;)
If you want to catch up, here you go!
Part 1 - Travel and Pre-Race Shenanigans
Part 2 - My first HALF-MARATHON!
Part 3 - Post-Race at Magic Kingdom
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