Saturday, November 30, 2013

Usually

so planned, plotted, and parsed I find my holiday to be serendipitous, impulsive, and ephemeral.

Oh, I might need to buy bottled water tomorrow. That is the one big plan. Smaller plan: read one book every day. Otherwise...

So far south is better than north. All the southern adventures have been satisfying; the northern ones not. Example: this morning I went north to the Aquarium. Bought a ticket. Took a bus to the dolphin thing, but the dolphin thing was a movie exhibit. Some kid movie, never heard of it and why would I, I don't watch movies. Did get a nice trolley ride across the harbor into Clearwater and an interesting ramble from the driver. So the "Church" of Scientology owns over 69% of Clearwater. Lots of tidy buildings.

Didn't that "Church" start as a joke? As a way to make money? An irony? Yeah, pretty sure it did. Well, that's America for you.

No dolphins at the end of the tour, just props from the movie of which I had not heard. 5 min later I'm back on the trolley, back to the Aquarium. Once there I saw a few manta rays and 3 injured dolphins. 5 min later I'm headed back south.

Stopped at the other Mexican restaurant. Yesterday was all cheesy tomato soup bean mush at a fancy place. Professional wait-staff and blasting Mex music. Today was wild teens and make it right there in front of you burritos, etc. I bought a big bag of dried chipotle peppers to bring home, $2.99. Had a delish tofu burrito.

Stopped at a nature reserve. It was so quiet. I walked on a boardwalk. Geckos scurried. It was swampy.

Went to a beach and hung there all afternoon. Watched pelicans soar, plop, gather, take off, and repeat. Do they sleep? Dolphins don't, according to a woman at the Aquarium this morning. She has a bachelor's degree in marine biology, and dolphins don't sleep. They would die if they slept; they have to breathe. They have 2 sides to their brains (don't we all?) and switch back and forth (don't we all?).

Anyway. That beach was relatively deserted.

The north beach is wall to wall people. Chairs, tents, and umbrellas are neatly arranged. You may rent a space and sit elbow to elbow with your new best temporary friends. There are boat rides, parasailing, drinks, and snacks.

Tomorrow I'm going south. The teen Mex place, the bird sanctuary, and the deserted beach.

I will be spontaneous, I will explore, I will enjoy wild nature.