Avoiding the Snow

Last Tuesday I stuffed everything I own into my little '96 Honda Accord, including the dog, strapped my bike to the back, and set off for Saint Petersburg, Florida.

It's usually a 12 hour commute from High Point to St. Pete, factoring in the various stops along the way. So, I anticipated arriving around 7:30 that night.

For those of you who do not know, I struggle with directions. And when I say I struggle with directions I mean, "For goodness sake, Grace, can't you go five minutes without turning around!?!" Sadly, I'm not exaggerating.

Example: After about an hour of driving in South Carolina I passed a sign that read "Welcome to North Carolina!"

Sigh.

I ended up spending the night in a hotel in Lake City, Florida because it was getting late and I was feeling just short of exhausted. I drove the remaining three hours on Wednesday morning. By the time I made it to my grandparent's driveway I'm not sure who was more agitated with me, the dog or the car.

But I made it!

The past week has been lovely. St. Pete is a fabulous city. (I think I now understand why my grandparents have spent their entire lives here.) [Side note: In my 19 years, I've lived in over 3 times the number of houses my grandparent's have lived in in their 70 years.]

St. Pete has sidewalks lining the streets to promote walking instead of driving. There are multiple bike trails and dog parks and people parks and shopping centers...so much to do!

Today I indulged in my first Riding the Bike for the Purpose of Transportation to the public library and got myself a library card. It was everything I imagined it would be. It was so much fun and down right cool. (Ironic because I came back sweating.) Riding my bike down the sidewalk I felt both childlike and grown-up at the same time. And then "The New Girl in Town" from Hairspray popped in my head. Watch out people, Grace Gaskill has moved to St. Pete!

My grandparents are a riot. So many shenanigans and fake-outs and unintended adventures...and it's only been a week!

So in a nutshell, I'm loving my new life. So much ahead of me and I have the rest of  my life to explore and learn and experience it all!