It was the kids' spring break this past week, so we went to S's parents for a visit. S's sister was there too, so it was a full bungalow. They live in a gated, quasi-retirement community near Tampa, and it's a culture shock every time we go down there. The area surrounding the community is your typical, suburban American sprawl -- miles of intersecting arterial roads lined with pockets of shopping centers, filled with chain stores. There's a Walmart nearby, a Publix, a McDonalds, a Chick-Fil-A. But if you want to sit in a coffeehouse and work for a few hours (as my sister-in-law did), the Panera down the road is your best bet.* If want to grab a drink, you can probably find a bowling alley or a Buffalo Wild Wings within driving distance. If want anything more interesting than that, you will have to drive the half-hour to Tampa (which does have some really cool neighborhoods).
*They are soon opening a Starbucks not too far away, and we all got way too excited about it.
There are not even any parks or public greens spaces in the area, and the only way to get around is by car. Basically, everything is designed for old people, who live in gated, quasi-retirement communities and only go out when they need something. It's not for parents with school-age children, or anybody who wants to enjoy what a city has to offer. Your gated enclave is your city. And as far as that goes, S's parents' "city" is quite nice. It's on a little man-made lake with a geyser in the center, palm trees line the streets, and everybody you pass smiles and says hi, even if they're total strangers. My sister-in-law and I were joking that when you drive through the gates its like entering Oz. Everything goes from black-and-white to color.
But like Oz, so much of it is superficial. There's not a lot of there there. After a few days, once you've gone to the pool a few times, you realize there's really nothing to do here. My in-laws like it, and so that's cool,* but I just can't imagine ever wanting to live in a place like that, even when I'm in my eighties. Also, it's way too hot, and there is almost no shade anywhere. You're on sizzling concrete the instant you step outside. No solar panels either. Every time I'm there I get so annoyed by the fact that people live in one of the best possible places in the country to get cheap renewable power, and they just don't take advantage of it. Maybe things would be different if they had a governor who was more interested in energy policy than fighting stupid culture wars.
*They have a lot of friends in the community, which is big reason why they moved, and I totally get that.
I don't mind visiting though. Actually, I like it. I'm good at doing nothing, and S's parents are so good to us. (Her mom's cooking is amazing!) I usually bring my computer and work, since we have so much downtime -- save my vacation days for other times. This time, however, I did take one day off, Tuesday, so that we could go to Sarasota beach. It was quite nice. We rented some beach chairs and an umbrella and just laid on the beach. Lil' S1 did not come because he had an earache, so we had three-on-one adults-to-kids with Lil' S2, and we all took turns going into the water with him, which was the perfect amount of in-water time.
Whenever I go to the beach, I just sit there and watch the water and the people and maybe doze a bit. I don't read or look at my phone or anything like that. It's one of the few places where I prefer to do nothing other than absorb the environment. There was this old guy -- an obvious local with his telltale bleached white hair and leathery, bronze skin -- sitting not too far from us, blasting yacht rock from a bucket speaker. So, at one point I took a weird psuedo-nap, in which I was half-asleep, half-groving to Steely Dan. There are worse ways to pass the time.
The next day, I worked, and S, bless her heart, spent 14 hours taking people to the doctor. Her dad has some sort of vascular ailment that is causing his ankles and feet to blister and swell. It had gotten to be quite bad, so he had to see a specialist about an hour away, so S drove him there at 7:00 in the morning. Then, when she got back, she immediately took Lil' S1 to urgent care, because of his earache. They didn't get back until about 5:00 pm. Both my father-in-law and my son got some medicine and seem to be on the mend, so that's good. It sucks for Lil' S1 because he couldn't go in the water the entire time we were there, and we had to fly back with his ear still bothering him a bit, but so it goes.
S nearly had to make a third trip to the doctor for me, because I strained my hamstring, but it wasn't quite that bad. It's been a little sore the past few weeks, but seemingly nothing major. I mean, I'm nearing 50, so just about every body part is a little sore all the time. But it started really nagging me while I was running on the treadmill, so I stopped and tried to stretch it out, and as I was doing so, I felt a pop. It was a little pop, but it was a pop nonetheless. I just thought, Great, that's me laid up the next few weeks.
I've had the full-on hamstring blowout, where you are in constant pain and can barely move, and this ain't that, but I certainly won't be running anytime soon. And that sucks because vigorous exercise is my main form of stress relief. Without it, my mental health and mood really are adversely affected. I can still do pushups and upper body weightlifting, so that's good, but I need something cardiovascular to get that good sweat going. Maybe I'll dust off the road bike and take it for a spin. I don't think I've used it since the lockdown. I don't really enjoy cycling as a form of exercise -- I much prefer running -- but it is much easier on the hamstring, and it's better than nothing.
On Thursday, we went to a matinee showing of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and were literally the only people in the theater. It was fine. It's not going to win any Oscars, but it was a decent enough way to pass a few hours. I put it third on my Ghostbusters film ranking. It goes the original Ghostbusters, followed by a big drop to Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (they are about the same), then another big drop to the girl Ghostbusters, and then a final big drop to Ghostbusters II, the worst of the bunch by far. S could not convince everybody to watch Dune: Part Two in the theater with her, but she was able to stream it and watch it on my in-laws' big screen TV, while I occupied the kids, so that worked out okay.
We did a new thing this time and flew into and out of Sarasota airport, instead of Tampa, and it was like, Why didn't we do this before?! It's much easier to get to and navigate. We just didn't know about it, but now we do, and I suspect we will use it every time from now on. There is chatter about sending Lil' S1 back during the summer by himself, and the fact that he could arrive at a smaller airport like Sarasota (and one my in-laws could drive to without going on a major interstate*) is a big reason why we might be okay with it. We will see though. The thought of him taking a flight by himself understandably makes me nervous. Although he is pretty good about being independent and handling himself in those types of situations. In many ways, he's still very much a little kid, but in other ways he's quite precocious.
*At one point Lil' S2 and my mother-in-law had the following conversation, after she asked him if he wanted to go to the store with her.
Him: Wait, Avva, you still drive?
Her: Yes, I do, Bujji.
Him: Oh, you just aren't very good now?
On the flight home, I watched The Greatest Night In Pop, a documentary about the making of the song "We Are the World." It's really good, especially if you are a child of the '80s and want to take a trip down memory lane. I never really liked the song -- I always thought it was saccharine and corny -- but I have a newfound appreciation for it. If anything, it's worth listening to just for the vocal arrangements. It's probably the greatest collection of voices on a single song in music history. If you're into pop music at all, I highly recommend the doc.
Okay, that's all for now.
Until next time...
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