I was in Florida from June 25th till June 29th, well almost. It started out on June 25th with me getting text after text from the airline about my flight being delayed. Normally I would not have cared about that but I had to catch a connecting flight from Atlanta GA. to Pensacola FL. We could not find any direct flights there so I had to do the whole one flight here then another flight there. So, my concern was the connecting flight, it was leaving out of Atlanta at 2315hrs that night and I did not want to miss it.
Well after a whole bunch of delays we finally got off the ground, but we were delayed in the air because of runway issues. And would you know it, I missed my connecting flight by 15 minutes! Oh fucking hell, and the next flight did not leave until 0830hrs the next day! I wanted to raise all kinds of hell but I was not really in the mind set to argue about anything. I just took a big old bite of the shit sandwich and smiled.
I spent the next 9 hours wandering around the airport making numerous single serving friends. One of which I had the pleasure of talking to for 4 hours! I have this ability to get anyone talking, and usually its the people with problems that want to unload are the easiest to talk to. My first single serving friend was named Meily, she is from Hawaii and was trying to get home. So here is Meily's story:
I saw what I thought was a guy just standing outside by the pick up and drop off area, sorry no offense Meily, but then 'he' turned around and I saw 'her' knockers. And big ones to boot lol! She had really short hair and a baseball cap so the mistake was understandable from the rear, but I will say she had a very pretty face. I am kicking myself because I didnt get a picture of her, it didnt dawn on me until she was gone.....la sigh. Now, I had bought some smokes for the trip which I know was bad but these days they have been a real comfort. And nothing breaks the ice like giving a woman in need a smoke haha.
Well, after our introductions I was able to get her life story and hell I am not even sure where to begin with her lol. She was in Atlanta because her would be husband never came to get her when she landed in Washington, D.C. You see she was supposed to be getting married that very day but the would be groom went AWAL on her. So she took a flight to Atlanta where she had family but they lived 4 hours away from Atlanta by car. So she was at the airport waiting to be picked up.
It turns out she is a Marine, just back from Iraq, lost the hearing in her left ear due to a mortar going off next to her, been married two other times and to top it all off her friend is having a baby that she plans on adopting. So her plans to be married, with her new baby had fallen through so she is now making plans on being a single mom in the military.
Needless to say those 4 hours of chatting went by pretty fast lol. After she left I met some drunk dude wandering around the airport, he said he was homeless but he never asked for money and had to be the best dressed homeless person I have ever met. Then I met another guy in the smoking lounge in the terminal. And yes the Atlanta airport has a smoking lounge in it!
Well this guy was dressed in full army camo, even down to the boots! I come to find out he got out of the military 20 years ago.......so whats up with the gear? I never really found out, just another guy who never let go I guess. But he helped pass the time chatting about this, that and nothing at all.
The below picture was taken about 0200hrs in the morning out in the pick up and drop off area. The guy in the bottom left hand corner was passed out when I got the camera out but popped awake for like 2 seconds when I took it. Then he was back to lala land.
See, I wasnt joking!
I finally get to Florida but had to wait for Doug to get done with his classes to come pick me up. I am not used to the Florida sun at all and was just about blinded by the sun when I stepped out of the terminal. I had been awake for almost 30 hours at this point with no real desire to go to sleep just yet. I had already waisted enough time trying to get here and I wasnt about to waist anymore sleeping haha.
After Doug picked me up we went back to the base got dressed for the beach. We meet up with some of his buddies with a cooler full of beer and hit the sand. I stopped and got some sunscreen, SPF 70! And for good reason, just look how white I am!
It was hot, Florida hot! I have no idea how people can live down there, it is just to damn hot.....all the time. And the water was warm, I am used to the Jersey shore. Where it is hot on the beach but the water is freezing, not in Florida. It had to almost 100 degrees outside and the water had to be almost 80! But it was fun never the less.
Now for the next 3 days we bar hoped all over the place. From Buffalo Wild Wings, to this huge outdoor bar called Florida-Bama, to Hopjack and so on. It was a nutritional nightmare of a vacation but I regret nothing lol. Here we have Doug at this place called Hopjacks. -take note of his hat ;) -
There was a live band playing that night, they were really good, not my taste in music but they put on a good show. Now, Hopjacks had one thing I have never come across.....Vodka infused flavors that just defy reason. You cannt really see it in the picture below but right behind the bartenders head are large jars with Vodka and .....other things to give it flavor. The normal stuff is on top, like different fruits and so fort. But the two I could not even bring myself to try were the Peanut Butter and Jelly, which was just Vodka and peanuts. And the other one ....ready for this BACON. Yes I said bacon, the jar was filled with bacon and Vodka! I love bacon with a passion but some things just should not be mixed with it.........namely Vodka.
One of Doug's buddies said the peanut butter and jelly one was actually really good but I just took his word for it. Just thinking about it now makes my gut do flip flops. Here is the band, sort of a reggie sounding band. And even though the bar was small the sound was great, not to loud and no feedback.
Last day there we had a barbq on the base. It was hot, just hot as Florida can get lol.
The guy in the hat is Doug, he has the affinity for hats these days lol.
And thanks to BP the beachs were closed due to the oil. This beach was right next to where we were cooking, it sucked that we could see the water but could not go near it! So a real big FUCK YOU to BP for this.
Gee I wonder where those steps go to?
This is a shot from the beach up to the Navy lodge, I wonder how many venomous snakes live in there?
Everyone but me was tan, I felt like an albino around people here lol.
I have been trying to get this post out for a while, my desire to blog seems to waver in and out. For a while I just did not want to do anything, I felt like a wind up toy. Going through the motions of being human but not feeling alive. This also related to why I was smoking so much, smoking seemed to help fill a void in me but I know it isnt a healthy way to deal with it. I have cut them way back but some days are just harder than others. Tuesday was a really bad day for me, I had gone 2 days without any but on the third day I just kind of went into a downward spiral. I cannt say what set it off, if I knew what triggered these days it sure would help.
Today is Friday so I should be happy, and in all I am some what. This funk I am in is more than a funk, its a lot deeper that only time will work out. It is still early so lets see how this day pans out, one step at a time I guess.
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