Everywhere you go, you always take the weather with you
1 Sep
Well, after days on end of searingly hot weather, Florida obviously realised we were headed to the beach today, so it choose to dump more rain than was really necessary on us. All day.
We have some previous form with this. Last time Terry and I were in Florida, we decided to go to Cocoa Beach. It was to have been Terry’s first view of the Atlantic from this side of the pond, but note the past tense, here: Terry wanted to see Cocoa, but Cocoa obviously didn’t want to see Terry, so it rained so hard we couldn’t even see the beach, never mind get on it. "Never mind!" we thought. "One day we will come back to Florida, and we will come back to the beach!" That day was to have been today. Again, note the past tense. It looks like the beaches here have something against Terry, because we visited two but only actually laid eyes on one – and that one was only seen during a brief break in the storm.
The first beach was St. Augustine. My parents had been there last year, and had spent the intervening twelve months telling us how great it was, so naturally, as soon as we drove into the city limits, the storm clouds started gathering. Luckily we had enough dry time to take a walk around the historic district, and the trip was worthwhile just for that: St. Augustine looks like a little slice of Spain that’s been dropped down in the USA. I mean, it even has a castle. It’s so pretty and quaint, and also: has a LOT of chocolate stores.
We had a great time wandering around and… well, eating, really… then the storm broke. "No problem!" we said, like the fools we so obviously are. "We will jump back in the car and drive to Daytona! We will take the weather with us!" Well, OK, we didn’t actually say that last bit, but we may as well have, because when we got to Daytona, guess what was there too?! Did you guess, "the storm"? Go to the top off the class! Undeterred, we drove down onto the beach and posed like Playboy Bunnies with the car:
Note: not actually like Playboy Bunnies. I just said that to see what kind of crazy ass Google hits it gets me.
Despite the weather, it was actually lots of fun at the beach. Moments after this picture was taken, for instance, my parents and Terry all started waving and gesticulating like crazy at me, making me rush screaming out of the water convinced that a shark was after me. Fun times, folks!
There were no sharks, though. Just a stupid-ass red haired girl posing in the water. Posing , and celebrating the fact that, until today, she’d been walking around with RED WEALS on her eyes for over a week, meaning that she couldn’t take her sunglasses off AT ALL, ever. GOD. She is still unable to wear makeup, which sucks much more than you can possibly imagine, but at least she is a weal-free zone.
We had a great day, though, weather aside. I really, really don’t want to go home.
Heh. I remember a few years ago visiting Florida in August. I nearly died of The Hot™. LOL
I vowed to never visit during that time again. It was either hot or raining. I could never quite figure out what to wear exactly so I just started carrying everything I owned with me. Swimsuit, towels, umbrella, jacket, shorts, chewing gum (I always carry chewing gum), the kitchen sink, everything. It is a wonder my car wasn’t over the weight limit.
I’m coming out there on the 14th for 18 days with my brother. I would say that I hope the weather improves but I’m aware from the obsessive research that I’ve carried out that rain is normal at this time of year.
Still if it means the crowds are slightly less then all the better. As long as I can add a little colour to my pasty complexion I’ll be grateful.
You’re so pretty!
Hi Amber,
Glad you’re having fun in floriday, if not the sun. (Did you see what I did there?!)
I’m going on my first week long holiday in 10 years tomorrow. I know 10 years is a way long time and I’m so excited. There’s nobody int he office today so I had to share that gem with someone!
So, happy holidays!
I love the song that your title comes from! It looks like you’re having so much fun.
Googling the term ‘ginger’ with ‘red’ and ‘hair’ your website emediately came up.
In Breda, the Netherlands, we had a RedHeadDay (RoodHarigenDag) last sept. 2nd. More than 800 ginger women (and a few men) gathered in Breda’s citycentre to have a meeting and find out what it was like to be ‘one-of-many’ in stead of the 1-2% of the entire population.
The result of last Sunday was broadcasted around NL, and newspapers’ frontpage headline. More photos and information will be placed on http://www.roodharigen.nl but if you take an average newspaper such as the local http://www.bndestem.nl there’s photoalbums with photos etc. (‘fotoalbum roodharigen’)
My own project was Red-On-Red (translated directly from the Dutch frase Rood-Op-Rood) which is shown here: http://www.studio23.nu/expo1
I hope one day I can do a same series of artwork in UK…
Wow, your red hair makes me practically green with envy. Sorry that you have to come home.