Soaking Up The Sun
On my last day in Boynton Beach, I had a long to-do list to prep for my next day of travel. I began with a cup of Cold Brew of course so I could clean out my pitcher and pack it up for the trip. I spent some time repacking my suitcase and organizing for my travel day. I have a large suitcase filled with clothes and then a smaller suitcase that I pack for the next leg of the journey. My spacious empty townhouse digs gave me plenty of room to spread out and repack for my next trip before I began loading bags back into the car.
I had a lunch date with my host who was experiencing life as a normal Friday workday. We met at a chain fast food place called Pollo Tropical that was near her office building. It seems this restaurant is only located in Florida at this time, but I highly recommend it if you pass one by! I ordered a Tropichop - a bowl with rice, black beans, fajita veggies, tomatoes, and corn as well as their chopped up grilled chicken and a delicious Cilantro Lime sauce. Yum! Definitely more than I could eat for lunch. As a bonus, they had free wi-fi, so I was able to stay longer to upload a few blogs.
After lunch I set my compass to Atlantic Avenue in nearby Delray Beach, FL, parked, and set out on foot downtown to locate a touristy shop that would have postcards. Would you believe that none of the retail establishments I entered carried local postcards? Not even the visitor center directly across from the beach. Since I made it all the way down to the beach, I thought I might as well go kick through a few salty waves. The sand was so hot, I wished my tired feet were fireproof. Heading back up off the beach, I rested in a pavilion for a moment to let my feet dry before hiking back up to my car. I was melting like a thermometer by then!
By now, afternoon storm clouds were rolling in and I could hear distant thunder, but I pressed on to check the Hallmark store for postcards only to come up empty handed. I continued on to Shoe Carnival to pick up a new pair of driving shoes. Since trudging through puddles somewhere along my journey, my driving shoes had gotten pretty dirty and stinky. I was ready for something a little fresher!
Funny story about the Shoe Carnival. On Wednesday night after our pedicures and dinner with the fam, we were driving home when an interesting little entrance to a shopping area caught my eye. I thought I should probably go explore that at a later date. That entrance turned out to be the location of the karaoke I found later that night and the location for the Shoe Carnival. It's funny what you notice when you take notice of what comes into your awareness.
Back at my place, I worked on some laundry. Noticing that the threatening weather had passed me by, I suited up and headed to the pool to soak up a little more Florida sun. I hadn't visited the community pool yet and it was completely vacant on this Friday afternoon. I took a dip in the hot water and then spread out on a lounge chair to enjoy a gentle breeze on my wet skin. I caught up on my journal writing while a woman and two young children entered the pool area and took up residence. After finishing in my journal, I took one more dip before packing it up to get ready for dinner.
It was Friday and I was more than happy to participate in the family tradition of going out for dinner. We had decided on a Mexican restaurant in a nearby town. With the drive time and a leisurely conversation surrounding delicious chips and queso, it was an all-night event. By the time we rolled back into the townhouse community, the family dropped me off at my place and we said our goodbyes in the parking lot so they wouldn't need to get up early on Saturday to see me off.
I would crawl into bed early, grateful for all the wonderful memories I made in Boynton Beach, but ready to face the drive bright eyed and bushy tailed the next day.
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