The Florida Trip, Part Two: Monday and Tuesday

MONDAY

By Monday, Emrick had started to warm up a little… at least with some of the folks!

Emrick shows Aunt Sam his book about trucks.

Here is Grandpa Ed, teaching Emrick how to bump heads. This little activity is now a part of Emrick’s daily repertoire.

Emrick even found and explored the pantry, leading to his discovery of the popcorn stash, or as Emrick calls it, “tock torn”. He loves the stuff and is quickly becoming a tock torn fiend.

Emrick even found a bunch of rope. Yikes. After snapping this pic, I quickly took it from him and put it on the topmost shelf of the pantry. Toddlers playing with rope just doesn’t seem like the best idea!

So do you notice all of the indoor pics again? Yeah, that’s because Monday was gray and rainy, just like Sunday had been. But you don’t need to worry about our poor vacation! No indeed, because as if Emrick weren’t entertainment enough, some of us condo dwellers found ourselves a bit curious and perplexed by an interesting fellow who was standing on the beach walkway visible from our balcony.

What interested us about this guy was a few things. For one, he was standing there for a loooong time doing nothing really. Once we noticed him, we would be hanging out in the condo and every once in a while someone would look out and the guy would still be there. Hey, that’s his right, right? But there was something in his occasional, restless shifting that kept us curious, and we wondered aloud what his story was. Is he waiting for somebody? He kind of looks like maybe he’s waiting for somebody. But it’s been forever and nobody has shown up, so he must be a lifeguard. But if that’s the case, then why isn’t he sitting in the lifeguard chair a few yards away? And anyway, doesn’t he look a little old to be a lifeguard? But maybe he’s not old at all… maybe he’s just overtanned and leathery which makes him look older than he really is? But wait, maybe he’s not over tanned; maybe he’s naturally olive. No, that’s orange, not olive, so probably not natural. Plus he has blond hair. No, that hair is gray. Ah, but then that means he is old. Old and tan. Really tan. And maybe really old too, which means he’s probably not a public beach lifeguard, which brings us back to wondering what this guy’s story is, which must certainly be fascinating.

Then! Finally, the guy made a real move. He did a few stretches and then descended the stairs.

Ah, of course! He’s going to go for a run on the beach, Chris concluded. And of course, that made so much sense! Well, right on! Good for him! The dude was just resting up, stretching and then getting on his way! Here’s to the elderly staying active!

Except.

When he got to the bottom of the stairs?

The dude. sat. down.

And then after a little while, he repeated the whole sequence. Standing and staring into nothingness, then stretching, then going down the stairs, then sitting down, then going back up, etc.

Anyway, a short time later, Chris, Samantha, and Samantha’s boys, Ed and Nick, got sick of not being on the beach during their beach vacation (of course!) and decided to go for a walk along the shore. The lingering cloudiness was enough to keep me away, but I picked up my camera one more time, just in case anything interesting happened when the group walked by this mysterious figure. And how could something interesting not happen?

Nothing interesting happened.

But when the group returned, they reported that the man appeared to be a white male, approximately 132 years old.

TUESDAY

The highlight of Tuesday, yet another rainy day, was going to Woody’s BBQ for lunch. Woody’s was our family’s favorite BBQ place back in the 80s, and we do not ever make a visit to Jacksonville without eating there at least once. Enjoying a meal there is such a family tradition, in fact, that I had assumed that there would be a day in the week where we all went together in one big group. But when my parents returned from their “errands” on Monday, my dad revealed that he and my mom had gone to Woody’s for lunch by themselves!!!!

!!!!

Just in case, you don’t understand: !!!!!!!!!!

While Mom and Dad were sneaking lunch at Woody’s, the rest of us were back at the condo, heating up a Digiorno’s frozen pizza (not even delivery, y’all!) and wondering if that night would be the night that we all got to go to Woody’s, not knowing that as we wondered this, Mom and Dad were already there. Yes, they were sitting in a booth at Woody’s, smacking down on sliced pork sandwiches served on garlic toast with mustard-based BBQ sauce.

When I rung this fact from my dad’s happy mouth, he couldn’t help but laugh. Maniacally.

But the next day, Marcus, Emrick, Sam and her boys and I went to Woody’s for ourselves and enjoyed a delicious lunch!

I wish I had kept that Woody’s cup! 

Bones and scraps. I’ll bet this picture makes you hungry for BBQ, doesn’t it? 

I have no idea why Emrick is giving that straw the beer bong grip, but it’s the only reason I am including this pic!

That night we hung out in the condo where Emrick continued to grow more comfortable around his stranger-relatives.

Emrick sitting happily in Aunt Sam’s lap.

Emrick enjoys Grandma Cinda’s tri tip while sitting in Grandpa Ed’s lap. We all agreed that the delicious and tender roast, prepared by Grandma, more than made up for the Woody’s Fiasco of 2012.

That was Tuesday.

Stay tuned for the next installment. The forecast says sunshine!