Thursday, March 3, 2011

XXVII - A blog at the beach

One morning, about six weeks ago, I woke up with a (more than usual) intense desire to go the beach.  I had been told, when hired, that I would be required to attend conferences approximately twice a year, held in various locations.  So later that day when I was told I was going to be attending my first conference, and that it would be in Fort Lauderdale in February, I was intensely...pleased.

More so even, when I discovered not only would I be set up in a 4-star hotel for two nights, this hotel would be located directly *on* the beach.

And even more...that my flight would arrive around 4:30pm the evening before the conference, that the conference would go from 8-3, and that my flight out the day after the conference left at 5:30pm.  This gave me many non-working hours in which to enjoy this beach.

And enjoy it, I did!  I was sure to be on the phone with Husband the moment my feet first hit the sand, and the moment soon after when they were in the Atlantic Ocean.  Which was pleasingly warm.  SOOOO happy (read in sing-song voice).

I attended the conference, asked the hell out of some protocol questions, impressed my doctor boss, enjoyed my hotel room and it's kinky shower, and then a lovely dinner with the doctor boss, after which a mojito was purchased for me and enjoyed on the hotel terrace overlooking...the beach.  I believe my dress was enjoyed by others as well.

The next day was all mine.  Coffee was shockingly *not* available in the rooms, so I had to stumble downstairs to get some.  It was enjoyed on the terrace, and then I ventured out into the hot, humid, sunny, wonderful Florida morning to buy some sunscreen.

I discovered strange, slug-like creatures on the beach.  Jokes were made via text and with a passerby on the beach about alien invasion.  I dove through waves.  Lots of waves.  I picked up seashells.  And pieces of coral.  And managed to get a sunburn in a striped pattern along my arms and back (where I apparently missed with the aerosol can).

The day after I returned home, my inspirational daily email (also containing inspirational affirmations) suggested that "With a small change in my outlook, I am turning my workday into a day at the beach."  Smiling.

When was the last time anyone even *saw* the Good Year blimp??

6 comments:

  1. Jealous! My preference is for the other side of the peninsula in the Gulf, but I wouldn't split hairs. I wish my thighs looked like those, and I'd like to know more about the kinky shower.

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  2. @Les - the kinky shower: Glass door between shower and bed, with shutters controlled on the bedside (ie out of control of the person in the shower, who could be spied upon from the comfort of the bed). It also had a seat, and really nice soap.

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  3. Ha! You have ALL the fun. I just said to someone else today that I need to get away from home more often. I stayed in a room at a nice hotel once that had a connecting door between my room and another guest room. There was no lock on it. I could open it and look in the other room (where no one was staying). There was a lock on the other side. It wasn't a suite, like that other room was supposed to be part of my package. Weird.

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  4. @Les, after reading the description of the shower and the narrative of my evening, I feel the need to clarify that the hotel room and kinky shower were enjoyed without company. :-/

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  5. i yearn for a beach, any beach. i want to get my feet in an ocean, feel the sand trickle away from between my toes, get encrusted with salt. lacking that, i would settle for maryland steamed crabs.

    hmm, kinky shower alone? is that kinky? :-\

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