On March 9th Adam, Maia and myself headed down for perhaps our last camping trip in the keys before the big move out to Austin. We stayed at Bahia Honda. Originally Adam and Maia were going alone, but I decided to come at the last minute and take a greyhound bus back on Sunday night (that story is for later..).

Miss Maia loves her some edamame as you can see ..




Miss Maia hunting for hermit crabs which were hiding in all of these little rock pools.

 

Pretty much all we did this entire weekend is sit on the beach, swim, and walk. It was a very relaxing trip. One of the coolest sites on the key is Flagler's old railroad bridge which you can walk out on to get a great view of the island. This railway was damaged in a hurricane in 1935 and they never repaired it. I can only imagine how beautiful it must have been back in the early 1900's to ride a train all the way to Key West.

I headed out Sunday afternoon on my bus ride back home to Fort Lauderdale and Maia and Adam stayed for 2 more days. Sunday night they got horribly rained on and the rain fly didn't hold. I hear Maia was a trooper though, but time for a new tent!

 Monday Adam took Maia down to Key West to walk around for a bit. They paid a visit to the statue of one of my favs who spent a good portion of his life down there. Ernest Hemingway.

Maia and E. Hemingway in Key West.

a little work trip

Adam and I have some big news to announce. We are officially moving to Texas! Austin to be exact. I am in San Antonio this week working with the guy whose project I will be taking over who is retiring next Friday.. oddly Adam's last day of work (for now..) with the USGS in Florida.

So I got in Monday night and so far have had a great experience. I have realized that I have been changed profoundly since living in South Florida from my previous experiences living in Alabama, Tennessee and Montana and that that change has not necessarily been the best. My experiences, of course, were not all bad. I met some great people, made some life-long friends and of course saw many a beautiful sunset. But I am ready to move on. The change in myself I refer to has more to do with my day-to-day attitude which I mainly contribute to experiences I have had on a day-to-day basis in Florida. For one thing, in general, the people are just not nearly as outwardly friendly. What I mean by this is people aren't going to wave if you pass them on an open stretch of road, they don't seem to go out of their way to be helpful, and their driving, in particular, is enough to give you a thick-skin and a bit of recklessness after 4 years. I, of course, don't refer to the wonderful people I work with (not everyone in the office), or the wonderful friends I have made outside of work, but to the public in general. Maybe it has to do with the transient nature of the community. People come and go. Or maybe I was just a bit spoiled growing up in the south, where friendliness is just inherent, and living in Montana where people appreciate each other as there are less people around than cows. But either way, living in south FL has made me a bit jaded. A bit harder.

I have experienced the mirror-image of this in TX so far. The people are friendly, considerate, and much more laid back. In the 2 days I have spent in San Antonio, there have been 4 instances of people stopping in a road or flashing their lights to let me out at an intersection. This just does not happen in south Florida, a place where I have been closer to being in more car accidents than anywhere else I have lived.

No one has berated me for being late to work so far. No one has cared how long I take for lunch, or when I leave. People in general at work have been much more interested and supportive of my working, rather than what time I come or leave the office. There is an atmosphere of help and respect, which I must admit I have been craving. People so far have also been very direct, which makes work life a bit easier.

On another note, I went into a random gas station tonight near the hotel where I am staying and they had a micro-brewed beer selection that I can not even get at a Total Wine store in south Florida. Sold.

We are moving to Austin in April and, honestly, I can't wait to see what it all has in store for us. I will miss our friends, the few we have made in our 4 years in Fort Lauderdale.. the ones who are left and haven't moved on themselves. We will come back and visit. It will always be a special place for me. But day-to-day, I can only imagine that our lives will be a little easier. I already feel better, just knowing there is something better in store for all 3 of us.