Before I get back to the road trip, I wanted to share something fun. A week ago, Amy Newmark from Chicken Soup told me she'd passed my name to the folks at HuffPost Live. Apparently they were doing a series on four-footed miracles scheduled to air December 9, and Amy thought my story in CS Hope and Miracles would be a good fit.
Sure enough, Allison, an assistant producer at HuffPost Live, emailed me. I agreed to participate with 3 others to discuss "miracle stories". Of course, I needed a webcam, which I didn't have. So I dragged myself into the 21st century and bought one. Then I had to download Skype. Nope, I didn't have that either. Nor had I ever used it. This was beginning to sound pretty nerve-wracking to technology-challenged me.
Allison is a very busy gal, and we didn't get to chat until the night before the broadcast. We tested my new acquisitions, and yes, I had trouble connecting the video. Allison, bless her, is patient. We (meaning I) finally fixed my mistakes.
The day of the broadcast, the request for me to connect came through. I clicked, but we didn't connect. Now I'm really starting to sweat because we're 5 minutes from show time. After several attempts, the video finally went through. Holy last-minute-do-or-die!
Anyway, if you'd like to see the tape of my nervous yakkity-yak on HuffPost Live, here it is. The entire video is 22 minutes, but I only muddy up about 6 of them. All I can say is I'm pretty sure becoming a screen star is not in my destiny.
Now back to the road trip...
We drove for 13 hours on our way from NOLA to Port Orange, Florida, minus potty and food breaks. I think that's the longest stretch of time I've ever spent in a car. Who'd ever think sitting would be so exhausting?
When we finally arrived, we ordered a pizza delivery, unpacked the bursting-at-the-seams minivan, ate, and collapsed in bed. I don't remember a thing until 8:00 am next morning when this adorable Doppelganger to my daughter's dog showed up to meet us. Isn't she a dead ringer for Tinker Bell?
The agenda for our first full day in Florida was to visit Blue Spring State Park which is winter home to more than 200 manatees. The entire place is beautiful and we enjoyed walking the trails. Funny thing is, you see signs everywhere warning people about alligators, yet there's an area in the park deemed to be okay for swimming. They did graciously post signs warning swimmers to be on the alert for 'gators. Note: I did not enter the water.
Alas, since we were outside of the manatee's arrival time, the only manatee we saw was this colorful guy. Cute, isn't he?
Blue Spring Park is lovely, and worth a visit. However, I don't recommend bringing your swimsuit.
