I SPENT THE WEEK AT MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE!

Our last family trip to Tampa, Florida was spent at MacDill Air Force Base right on Tampa Bay. Two years in a row now we have hung our family vacation hats there. It is beautiful and sad to leave knowing that we may never be able to step foot on that base again, depending on where the Harley Family (Our Naval Roots) move to in the future.

Just imagine a running path made of chipped tires situated next to the Bay with a gentle breeze floating through your hair, as the sweat beads drip into your underwear and the sand sticks to your tennis shoes, flicking itself up with a splattering wetness on to your exposed calves.

Tampa's skyline situates itself directly across from where it is I run. The clouds are a lilting baby blue, the sky a steely color of awesomeness all directly residing over the light waves of the sandy bottomed Bay.

Their house had a screened in porch that let you gaze day and night at the leaping Sturgeon and flocks of Egrets as they did what they do daily, live contently in the Bay, and apparently piss off boaters according to this Tampa Bay Times Article.
http://www.tampabay.com/sports/outdoors/leaping-sturgeon-a-growing-threat-to-boaters-on-suwannee/1229086

If ever you get the chance to spend the day at MacDill Air Force Base, TAKE IT! And be grateful because many never get the chance to see the world from behind those military gates.

I know how lucky I am.

SQUIRREL REFUGE? Huh...

To buy a squirrel one must deal with an exotic pet dealer...

Courtesy of Squirrel Refuge:
"It’s rare for most species of squirrel to breed in captivity. Your Prairie Dog was very likely vacuumed out of his natal nest, literally riped from its mother’s bosom and torn from the life it would have had in the wild. For every squirrel or prairie dog that lands in the hands of an exotic pet dealer, countless others lost their lives in the collection, transport and sale process. Many do not find themselves in good homes or prove to be more work than their owner anticipated.

The worst fate possible for one of these is to be unloved and/or cast out in the wild. Remember for these pets, release in the wild doesn’t make them free - it makes them dead! Please contact Squirrel Refuge if you need to re-home your pet for ANY reason."

Squirrel Refuge?! Well here is the site for anyone dealing with a...um, squirrel as pet related issue.
http://squirrelrefuge.org/squirrel_refuge_web_site_036.htm

Okay. What about a llama? GOAT! PYGMY GOAT!

Side Note of Awesomeness

My boyfriend won me a giant stuffed elephant on the first toss at Busch Gardens, Tampa!

I named the elephant Baby Elliot.

He wore a diaper.

It was a hot day.

20 minutes later Baby Elliot found his way to a new family with a convenient stroller for easy carry.

Live well and prosper Baby Elliot.

"No One Makes Me Bleed My Own Blood!"

After a trip there is always a day of staring. Whether I want to stare or not, that is exactly what happens and happened.

Yesterday I stared at Family Ties (never realized how Hippie-related the show was), my tables while serving them (probably thought me creepy), a tree, the cats, my hand for some reason, my plant Marcus Welby, collages I've recently finished, the freeway blankly, rain (cause that's all it did) and finally, the back of my eyelids.

Today, I bought groceries! It would make me groan normally because it's always expensive BUT I haven't reeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaally bought groceries since, well, January?

"Why?!" you ask, surprised.

Because I've been living the life on the road. Most of the food consumed consisted of Beef Jerky, mini "fake" pizzas, cheese and beef sticks, Cheddar Bunnies and whatever my boyfriend fed me.

I love travel but I also need time to refocus my career, regroup finances and recapture my brain cells so I can write the next book and the book after that and so forth. (Hint, Hint-Anyone check my book out lately?)

My hiatus is never long even when it's planned to be long, but there will be a break from large travels until October...so far. 

Never fear, I will not be sedentary in my blog writing, I have so many stories built up from the last 6 months about my travels it will make your eyes bleed...!

"No one makes me bleed my own blood!" Dodgeball

Fine, how about it will make your eyes water from laughter or...allergies!

Peace Yo!

DON'T SHOOT THE SQUIRREL, I need a pet.

Time to go back.

Time to go home.

Or something like that.

But I'm okay.

With the "like that."

I'm kinda happy with the going home.

Which is novel. It is new. To be happy or at least kinda with returning from a trip. I tend to not want it to end or at least not board the plane that takes me back to where I once flew from.

The last time I left Tampa, I almost landed in Prague.

But today I wouldn't want to land in Prague when flying out tomorrow. Not never. Just not tomorrow.

And it wasn't a change in the trip that has moved my mind set. It was the same type of wonderful Tampa Bay trip that I experienced last September. The activities differed but the warm feelings are the same.

This time we Disney'd and danced or at least I did prance through Floridian hot as sh** weather (every day mind you) wearing a mostly almost total smile that was induced by relaxation and at one point a 34" pure sugar bong that all parks sell to keep children high and 2 iced coffees to keep the parents flying with them.

I Busched the Garden today surrounded by the beauty that is Safari animals. My chest puffed to the gorillas, my heart went to the tigers, and my laughter spilled to the twists, turns, ups, downs, and all arounds of the wild rides.

A Lakeland tour with Wright's amazing architectural sights, run-walk-lunges were not forgotten to a vacation mind-lost, relationships and families were bonded, and a Grandma, my Grandma, celebrated her birthday today with happy tears, presents only she would love, and an extra, extra chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. (She is a pretty wonderful Grandma I might add.)

At this time, it's the final night as I sit on a white wicker chair, in a beautiful screened in porch, listening to wind, thunder and the Tampa Bay waves, with a Dan sprawled nearby enjoying all the things to enjoy with me as I write this post.

I am thinking...

Gosh this is wonderful. I smell salt and campfire in the air. The wind and waves lull to a serene backdrop of what a life when you just breathe, just smile, just pause, must be like.

I am happy for that. For this moment. For the "now" that I feel.

And that "now" just last September would've spiraled me to bust to somewhere else, anywhere else than was where I had to go back to. Heck, that is exactly how I ended up in Chile.

But...

My happy heart lies deep in a place that resides where I shall return tomorrow. There, is where I want to be.

So I'll take the sweet "now" and tuck it in a memory that keeps the other "nows" that suck donkey you know what, from being such, well, suckers (to put it kindly). They are a balancing act for each other. Besides, the "nows" that suck have been reduced greatly in size since I let my heart lie, like a puddle in the place that it resides...right now, next to me, but tomorrow, where I shall return on the morrow.

Entiendo? Gnome saying? Comprende?

PS-I need to look up the logistics of owning a squirrel...or something squirrel-like...maybe an owl...a small owl...like a stunted owl that can't harm small dogs...or my squirrel...supposing that I already had the squirrel (if legal I guess)...and then decided, hmm, I want a stunted owl.

PPS-Sea otters rock.

PPPS-Now what I don't understand is that we can shoot squirrels and eat them but I can't have one as a pet? And I'm not talking about chinchillas cause those suckers are mean. I know. First hand. MEAN. But I met a nice squirrel today named Ralph...and so I wonder.

A DINGO ATE MY BABY!

Okay! A plan is being hatched.

Next big trip for 2013 is...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

Grab the tambourine.

Shake it.

SHAKE IT!

Are you really shaking it? Like that's your shaking?

Meh. I've seen stronger, faster, more feverish shaking.

Gnome saying?

BRING ON THE HORNS!

The old-style trumpets from the medieval days where the trumpeters would have an aneurysm by the age of 30 (but their lives were ones of luxury.)

Where is the Saki?!

Saki? Why Saki?

With a sushi roll, a GREAT WALL NEARBY, a kangaroo country just a smidgen down under, a house on the Marine Corp Base of Camp Courtney, Shuri Castle and Gusuku Ruins.


Domo arigato, MR. ROBOTO...

A 16 hour flight or 38 days of driving according to I-Phone Maps (course they had us on a kayak but hey.) 

Konnichiha, Okinawa, Japan!

Schneaky Peeps!

You know you are (not a redneck) working on your resume cover letter when you ask your family for help and each family member slowly disappears from the room one by one.

Schneaky peeps.

STUCK IN THE MUCK

Life is a forward motion.

Don't get stuck in the muck.

But if one does.

Fight.

I know sometimes fighting sinks you deeper.

Draining the energy.

Needed to survive.

While stuck in the muck.

So you wait.

Heal and recover.

Flowers bud.

The yuck of muck...

It turns to dirt.

Your ground.

That is your time.

Shake your legs.

Wake the toes.

Crack the earth.

Bend down.

To pull your self up.

Of the stuck.

No more muck.

You won't sink.

Safe. It's safe to move again.

Move forward.

Rob Schneider says, "You can do it."

Yes you can.

I write this for you.

My dearest friend.

You will be on the mend.

JUMP IN THE OCEAN AGAIN?! Sure.

We are leaving for Tampa, Florida on Friday!

We being:

Grandma (Ruthie), Mom (Char), Dan (Dan'l), Me (Rissy)

Why are we going?

1. My cousin Emily is graduating from High School and going to college (CONGRATULATIONS!)
2. My uncle Jeff is being shipped out to Okinawa, Japan and Aunt Cindy will be moving out there shortly (I'LL BE VISITING SOON ENOUGH!)
3. Dan's family lives in Lakeland (HAPPY BRUNCH)
4. It's Grandma's birthday next Thursday (YEA SEXY GRANDMA!)

So much to do and so little time...

My rapid thoughts are:

I'm so excited to see my family and meet Dan's! And Gus. There is a dog named Gus. I want to throw him a ball.

I get to run outside next to Tampa Bay because THEY LIVE right on the Bay (naval base).

My hair will rise to the humidity and break rubberbands again.

There is an alligator from my last trip that I've been dying to meet but hopefully won't die upon meeting. (He lives on base.)

I hope we jump in the ocean again. With all our clothes on. Cause that was awesome.

Should I try for surfing again?!

And I get to read and relax and just be. They are always wonderful hosts when I visit. I always miss them when I leave.

But the leaving is for later. Today it's all about the "Hello's!" and "How ya doings?!"

WHAT ELSE CAN HAPPEN?

GOING CAMPING!

DAY ONE

Need to drive to Wisconsin to pick up:  

Tent

Tarp (ha!)

Lanterns

Gas Grill

Fishing Tackle/Fake Bait

Sleeping Bag

Cooler

We have the rest. You are probably wondering what's left?!

 Food

Mallet

Fishing Poles

Canopy

Down Blanket

Tent Chairs

Doggy Stuff

2 PUPPIES

Guns

By 12:30 p.m. we are packed up and ready to fly to Wisconsin to pick up necessities.

We arrive at my mom's house by 2:30 p.m. D unloads the pups and guns while I take off to Rice Lake to pickup camping gear.

By the time I get back and all is loaded up, it's 5:00 p.m.

WE BUST OUT TO JAY COOKE STATE PARK!

Along the way we make a pit stop for gas and Bloody's.

EXCELLENT!

My car starts to make funny noises.

Uh oh....

It starts to sprinkle.

SUCK.

We arrive around 7:45...and it's raining and COLD.

We set up the tent and canopy. They are soaked as well as us.

There is no firewood. The state park stations are closed.

D burns his thumb on a propane lantern.

And no pillows.

We are hungry.

To town we go!

My car sounds terrible. My heart is sinking trying to calculate how much money I can scrounge together in case it's a $2000 surprise.

No restaurant is open for food.

My car sounds like it's about to fall apart while we drive.

McDonald's will do.

We pull into a gas station to buy firewood. I stress eat my McNuggets while checking out my car.

Finally we get back to the tent and try to sleep...on the floor. One blanket and one sleeping bag is not enough to combat a cold, damp floor.

Shiver me timbers.

DAY 2

D accidentally lights the kerosene grill on fire.

We use the fire for cooking instead.

Bring on the grilled Spam, eggs, hot dogs and smores.

Time for a shower except the toilets and showers are CLOSED for the season.

"Please use pit toilets located at..."

Raw chicken has spilled all over the cooler damaging all the food. One of the pups has gotten a hold of the cooler and is chewing it up.

I drive my NOISY car to the mechanic around 2 pm.

NEW BRAKES! But I feel better that the car sounds normal again.

Found a tick crawling up my leg.

I come back to our campsite and WE ROCK CLIMB! And then play cards and laugh, enjoying the beginning of the night.

We stoke the fire and figure out what we can do for food.

Found another tick crawling up my leg.

Okay let’s go to town, have a bloody and get some food.

Within 10 minutes of being at 3RD BASE BAR we met "I'M 39 TODAY!" She refused to leave us. All she said was, "I DON'T AGREE! Where is Tom? I'M 39 TODAY!"

Finally she stumbled away only to be replaced by Tom the Dill Hole. He proceeded to drunkenly slur and hit on me--trying to challenge my boyfriend who is now standing next to Tom the Dill Hole and getting quite pissed.

I am camping to get away from this crap. So we pay up and leave instead of getting in a fist fight with Tom the Dill Hole. Wouldn't have been much of a fight, Dill Hole would've been knocked down with a flick of finger.

He wasn't even worth that bit of energy.

We walk down the street to an open bar sign.

I step in dog crap.

VFW! There we meet Matt the bartender and an empty bar. He pours us huge shots. We listen to music.

I am drunk.

D drives us back.

He also burns 2 more of his fingers on the propane lanterns.

I pass out using one of the PUPS as a pillow.

DAY 3

We wake up. I have a headache. So does D.

D notices a tick crawling near us. He does a tick check.

BULLS-EYE! Yep! A Bulls-Eye tick is embedded in his side. D’s skin is red and the tick’s head is deeply burrowed in.

Squirrels are making a terrible ruckus outside. We peek out the tent to find they ate through the mesh in the chair to get at sunflower seeds.

After they ate the seeds they pooped all over the chair.

I run to the pit toilet to pee. My head is spinning.

I get back.

He asks me to pull the tick out.

So I grab tweezers, alcohol and Jameson. Neither of us drinks the Jameson but we should've.

I scrape at the wound with shaking hands. It's not good enough. So D grabs the steak knife.

I pour alcohol and Jameson on the steak knife...and cut out the tick.

D just stood there while I stabbed at him. I was amazed but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

At one point I held the knife up to him and said, "You made me do this."

Then I smiled.

I pull the body out without spilling any of it's guts but the head is still stuck in there. Another 15 minutes of cutting and scraping and the SURGICAL PROCEDURE IS COMPLETE.

With alcohol poured on the wound and a band-aid attached it's time to let the day begin.

We are hungry but there is nothing to eat except Chex Mix and Spam. And that's breakfast folks.

I rock climb 3 more times making it 10 times I climbed the rock! D didn't feel up to climbing that day but he hit the top of the rock 8 times the day before.

It's time to pack up. I grab the water jug (with snazzy handle) and run to fill it up to douse the fire. On the way back the handle busts and the jug crashes to the ground. I yelp.

And laugh.

D hears the yelp and comes looking for me. He finds me holding the broken jug and laughs.

We take down the tent. We find a hole burned into the tent canopy which we assume came from the kerosene lantern.

And we laugh.

That, folks, is what it's all about.

LAUGHING! Laughing together.

On the way back we stopped at ART'S CAFE in Moose Lake for Hot Beef. I was just craving Hot Beef.

It was AMAZING! And it made us happy. And sleepy.

Back to our respective houses we went, both doing a thorough tick check and massive loads of laundry.

First time camping together, CHECK!

It was quite the experience and has not thwarted our desire to camp again, and again, and again.

Why? Because we still had a great time together. What can happen next time?

We will just find out!