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| JJ Hart, on a chilly Florida beach night. |
The return home from a rather lengthy vacation always presents a bittersweet time for me. While the trip to Florida went well and for the most part exceeded my expectations, our return to our home in Cincinnati and to our very lonesome cat was welcome. Similar to being able to sleep in our own bed again.
During this trip we played hide and seek with several major
weather systems. In order to stay ahead of the foot of snow, which was heading
for our native Ohio, the bus tour company decided to leave a day early and take
a different route South to Florida. It proved to be a masterpiece of planning
because we faced just a tiny piece of snowy weather around Knoxville, Tennessee
and none of the dreaded ice. Which went Southeast of us.
By nature, I have become a worrier in my old age, so on top
of thinking about all of the weather issues we would be facing, I had to put
the restroom anxiety I always feel in the back of my mind. Which was a good
thing because outside of a few startled looks I received from other women on
the tour, I had no problems with my choice of restrooms I used. In fact, the
biggest issue I faced was trying to wait for a handicapped accessible stall to
use which really helped me with my mobility issues, I was able to not use my
cane at all and rely heavily on my walker with wheels.
Past the restroom issue, I had to adjust to using my most feminine
voice again. An issue because I don’t have to think about it as much around
home because I don’t interact with strangers much. Day one proved to be more
challenging on my part because I was so shy with the others on the tour, and I
was afraid I was coming off as unfriendly or bitchy. I was fortunate in that we
had two experienced tour guides who helped me find handicapped accessible ramps
and restrooms.
As past trips and experiences have taught me, when I take
the first step with a smile and friendliness on my part, most people respond
the same way. So, by the time the tour of Florida was over, several of the
other travelers made it a point to tell me how nice it was to meet me. I couldn't
believe how good it made me feel. It was enough to warm me up even in the
record Florida cold spell they were suffering through. It was so cold and windy for them that they
canceled one of the Everglades boat tours we were on. It all worked out for the
better for Liz and I because we got extra time to explore the beach which is
why we went in the first place. Plus, the leisure time helped me to recover from
all the days we spent which required lots of walking. In fact, one day when we
went to the Hollywood Beach area of Florida, we ended up walking over seven
thousand steps, well over what I was used to.
Overall, I had a very good time on this trip even though it
was to a part of the country I don’t agree with as far as politics are
concerned. But my native Ohio is rapidly trying to become just as backwards as
far as transgender rights are considered.
What did I wear? The whole trip was casual themed and all I
took along was my best leggings and jeans, along with a solid pair of tennis shoes
for walking. Other than that, I wore sweatshirts. With a daily shave and a
liberal dose of my favorite foundation powder. I was ready to go for another
day of cold Florida.
As I said, we made it home safely and had a good enough time
that my wife Liz is planning the next trip which may include something to do
with train travel. Plus, I will be writing more about other in-depth events on
the trip.
