The Moons on Moon Day

I'm back in Tampa now, having driven halfway across the state width-wise, and then halfway down length-wise, altogether spending something like seven hours in the car. Whew! That's OK, though -- I like some alone time in the car, as I said yesterday, and besides, all that driving was for a good reason.

And that is -- I got to visit esteemed blogger Mary Moon and her clan in Lloyd, outside Tallahassee. On the fiftieth anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, the mission that carried astronauts to the moon. How coincidental is that?!

If you read Mary's blog you already know this, because she's a much more punctual blogger than I am and she's already posted about it. (And if you don't read Mary's blog, you should!)

I've known Mary for years, and while I met her through blogging, our lives contain many intersections that make me feel as if we've practically grown up together. She and I lived in the same small Central Florida town (although at different times) and we even know some of the same people from there. We share an appreciation of Florida and all its foibles. Now that I live in England, reading her blog helps keep me connected to my roots in the Sunshine State.

My original mission was to meet her for lunch and to visit some thrift stores, since both of us love a good browse in a Goodwill. We gathered the clan at Tan's, an Asian buffet, and Mary's husband Glen, daughter Lily, son Hank, and grandkids Owen, Gibson and Maggie were all in attendance, along with family friend Lauren. I'd met many of them on a previous visit, so it was a chance to catch up (MY GOD, and I know it's a cliche, but kids grow up quickly in just a few years) and I'd post a picture, but as I told Mary, somehow I feel like I'd be trampling her blog territory by showing off pictures of her family!

So I'll show you this instead:

That, my friends, is a shell. On a stick.

We went to a couple of thrift stores after lunch, and couldn't stop marveling at the profusion of unnecessary junk out there. Like a shell. On a stick. And it's not even a real shell -- it's a plastic shell! Why are Chinese factories using the world's resources to churn out completely irrelevant junk like plastic shells on sticks?!

Other finds included...

...drag queen shoes...

...bad records...

...and hideous home furnishings. (That's a plastic plant in that artificial broken Greek column. Or is it Roman?)

It wasn't all bad. Mary and I found a couple of good things, too. We found some tables we'd have bought if either of us needed tables, and if I didn't live across the ocean. I also got an excellent shirt, which I'll show you maybe tomorrow, and a questionable shirt with fish all over it that's kind of cool but that I also may never wear. We shall see.

I also had a quick stroll around Mary's homestead, to revisit her chickens (the population has changed quite a bit since I was last there).  Unfortunately all my chicken pictures look like this -- birds fleeing at top speed. They were very suspicious of me and my intentions.

And then I had to jump back in the car and get down to Tampa in time for dinner, since my stepmother very kindly made garbanzo bean soup, which is one of my favorite meals. So I said goodbye to Mary, feeling once again like we didn't have enough time to spend together, and drove south.

On the way, I listened to the Sirius Radio '60s channel, as I said I would. Here's my question about '60s music -- why did anyone ever think "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vita" was a good song?! I listened to the whole thing, possibly for the first time, and I could barely tolerate it. I suspect that's because I didn't have any pot.

And also, have you ever heard Richard Harris' version of "MacArthur Park"? It was a huge hit, but that man cannot sing. Give me Donna Summer any day.

I encountered some stormy weather on the way -- I stopped in Chiefland for a coffee at McDonald's, but they'd just been struck by lightning and the computers were knocked out. The whole place was immobilized, with puzzled employees trying to figure out what to do. I just kept driving and got my coffee in Crystal River.

Anyway, that's a very long blog post about a very long day!