Dave and I are winding up our trip. Yesterday we left his family in Bradenton and drove back up to Tampa, where we stayed last night with my dad. We retrieved a bag of Christmas gifts, a box of old photographic negatives and a few other odds and ends (including my ball radio) we'd left at my mom's house, and today we have to figure out how to get everything into our suitcases.
I actually had a dream about packing last night. Well, it was sort of about packing. I was walking around London with a woman named Ruth who used to work with me at The New York Times. I was carrying an immense beige suitcase and asking shop owners to store it for me. They were all saying no.
I'm not sure what that means, except that I have packing anxiety.
This morning we're off to breakfast and then running a few last-minute errands. Our flight departs at 8 p.m. tonight!
(Photos: Top, the moose lodge in Bradenton Beach. Middle, the Kinky Kitty shop in Sarasota. Bottom, the octopus-fronted Plain & Fancy shop in Bradenton.)
Your ball radio - SO WORTHY!!! Packing is horrendous- I usually leave more than half behind and try to wipe it from my m
ReplyDeleteErik left all of his Christmas gifts behind boarded the train with three small bags and asked to have the rest sent...expensive hassle so I will have to re-think what I deem valuable enough to send- Penguin Popper does not make the cut...Have a safe and pleasant trip home!
Have a good return trip, Steve! I know it's going to feel great to get home once again after your Floridian travels!
ReplyDeleteI guess you're at the airport now - hope everything got packed!
ReplyDeleteI have a long sordid tale of packing nightmares in London, on my way home from Zambia. It involves storing suitcases at the airport while I went on a tour & then coming back & repacking everything in one suitcase & leaving a bunch of stuff in Salvation Army Hostel (which I'm sure they just burned). What a mess!
Safe travels to you and Dave -- and I love the photos, as always!
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