High on Sunshine

Jay and I just got back home on Friday from a vacation to Florida. We had so much fun. This was my first vacation since camping in August 2012!  I have been so excited about this since Jason brought it up.  I was really looking forward to the Florida warmth, the beach and most of all KELLY!!

We left Friday the 11th for Miami Florida.  We got there around noon, had some lunch.  We drove around Miami for a little while and then headed back to the hotel.  We ordered dinner in and stayed in that night.  We had o get up early the next morning to go meet Kelly.  It was a four hour drive to where she was in Palm Coast.  We met her at Marineland where Jason and I got to interact with a dolphin named Zac.  It was so awesome.  I have never touched a dolphin before and I was surprised at how they feel.  Their skin is very smooth and soft.  I didn’t expect my hand to glide across so easily.  We were able to touch him, play with him, feed him and give him a few commands.  Afterwards we washed our hands and she showed us some of the other dolphins there.

Later we went to eat at a seafood place and sat in a bungalow.  I tried snapper fish and gator for the first time.  I loved the snapper fish and it was very similar to Mahi Mahi.  The gator was OK, but nothing special.  I expected it to taste unique and awesome, but honestly it was almost like chicken just a little chewier.  After we ate we headed to St. Augustine.  We did a haunted house were we got to shoot Zombies with paint guns.  Haha  It was pretty fun.  We then signed up for a ghost train tour.  We had to take the last one so that gave us plenty of time to walk around.  We went to a few pubs and went to see Fort Mantanzas.

The tour itself was pretty neat.   On the tour we were looking for paranormal activity.  I am not a religious person at all, but I believe in an afterlife and spirits so the whole thing intrigued me.  We were given two instruments to use to help us spot this activity.  One detected electromagnetic fields and the other was a green laser that split into thousands of little dots.  He said that you can see the dots move when a spirit walks through them.  The train took us throughout the city and then we got off and walked at a few spots.  Our first stop was the Fountain of Youth Garden.  Here there was a statue of St. Francis of Assisi and this is where we actually saw an orb.  Another couple on the tour took a picture and right above the statue there was an orb.  It was eerie and got us all excited for more.  On the train the tour guides told us stories as we passed certain places throughout the town.  We also stooped at a few cemeteries.  We couldn't go in any of them though because it was after dark.  So we were able to see them through the fences as he told us about each one.  The stories wee interesting.  we learned a lot about St. Augustine's history and had a lot of fun.   However, we didn’t see anymore paranormal activity throughout the tour.

Our tour was over around 2:00 am and we got back to the hotel around 6:00.  We took it easy on Sunday because Monday morning we had to fly back home for Jason’s grandpa’s funeral.  He had been sick since I went in for my transplant.  When I came home he was in the hospital for a little while, but luckily was able to come home.  He had leukemia and was given a few months to live.  We had been going over to his place every weekend and spending as much time with him as we could. As our trip got closer we knew he was getting sicker.  We thought about not going, but our family told us not to change our plans.  When up here we thought about not coming back for the funeral due to the increased risk to me every time I fly, but we knew we would regret it if we didn’t.  So Monday we flew back up and went to the wake. Tuesday was the funeral and then we headed back later that night.

It was a very nice service and we are happy we made the decision to come back for it.  Not just for ourselves, but for the rest of our family too.  It was a lot of running around, but that is life.  And with all the energy I have I was able to keep up with it all.  On our way back to Florida we were boarding our flight and a little boy asked his mom why I was wearing a mask. She told him, "She is sick and doesn't want to spread it to anyone else." Not quite.  It's really because I am very healthy now and cannot be exposed to all of THEIR germs.  It is OK that people think that thouh.  It clears lines and gives me and Jay an extra seat on the plane because no one wants to sit by us. Haha

On Wednesday the 16th Jay and I had to go to a Quest lab to do some bloods for my Cyclosporine levels.  They are still not regulated so she wanted me to do some lab work while I was down there.  It took a little over a half an hour and we were back to enjoying Miami.

On Thursday we took a ride out to the Everglades.  Here we took an air boat ride to see some gators out in the wild.  We drove slow for a little while, then took a fast ride around and slowed down for sightseeing again.  After that we attended a show to see some alligators up close.  Both were a lot of fun.  We saw five gators while out on the ride.  During the show we saw a scorpion named Esmeralda, a three month old alligator and a much older one named Norman.  The keeper wrestled with the larger one while telling us about alligators’ weaknesses and strengths.   He showed us that the alligator will snap his mouth shut if the inside of his mouth is touched.  First he demonstrated this with a stick. When trying to get on op of him he told us how they can only see in front of them.  If you go to their side, they cannot see you.  Once on top of the alligator he explained to us that once you have your hands around a gators mouth he cannot open it.  The muscles to open their mouth are very weak.  After that he lifted the gators head and the gator's whole body went limp.  

Afterward we were able to take a picture with a small alligator.  I think he was about nine months old.  Now I am really not supposed to be around reptiles.  I know I cannot have them as pets because they are known to carry salmonella.  I was very careful and only held him for a minute.  He was placed in my hands and then removed.  I immediately washed my hands afterward.  I don’t know if my doctor would appreciate that I did this, but like I said I was excited and super careful.

The rest of our trip was relaxed.  We hung out at the beach went to restaurants, shops and just soaked it all in.  I have more pictures posted on on my page if you are interested in seeing them.  Oh and while doing all of this I was constantly putting on sunscreen with a SPF of 70.  After transplant some of the medications can make the skin sensitive.   Also there is a higher chance of skin cancer while on anti-rejection drugs.  So with that in mind I got the highest SPF I could find, stayed in the shade a lot and didn’t go to the beach during peak sun hours.  It may sound like a pain, but it did not bother me at all and none of that put a damper on our trip.  The whole time I had a smile on my face.  Not only was on vacation, but I was able to enjoy it.  I had so much energy and I didn’t have to lug a whole bunch of medical equipment with me.  I didn’t have my vest, nebulizers or oxygen concentrator.  Traveling was so much easier.  All I had to bring was my wheelchair, my meds, clothes, and myself.  This vacation makes me so excited for more.  There is so much I still want to do.  The only question I have is what do I do first?