Thawing out - take the last train to Titusville
29 December 2017 | Flying back to Titusville
Cold in Chicago, cloudy and 50s in Florida
When last we were in Florida, the temperature was in the mid to upper 70s - maybe even 80. And I could see the sun. I left that to go back to Chicago, where they proceeded to treat me to the two coldest days they've had in the last four years - two days where the temperature didn't make it to 10 degrees and it was below zero in the morning. At least my tooth woes were finally capped, so to speak, with a permanent crown. But even that was just too much fun. This will be a piece of cake, they promised me. However, because I was gone a month, they used a more permanent cement on the not so temporary crown, so ... out came the cutter and that lovely drill noise that dentists like to make as they struggled to remove the temporary crown. And if that doesn't hurt enough, then they give you the bill.
At the Charlotte airport, I sat down at the gate area to eat my sandwich. I was sitting in an aisle-facing seat, watching the world go by. As I'm biting into my delicious sandwich, a dog walks by on a leash and decides it must poop right now - three feet in front of me - and with some issues. The whole scene was a mess, and did nothing to enhance my dining experience. And then there was this other woman with a large plastic bag which she ripped down the sides to spread out over the drippy spots, as she stood guard over it, directing traffic around the scene of the accident.
For some reason, Florida was worried that the warm weather I left behind would be too much of a shock to my system, so the temperature has been dialed back a good 20 degrees. I'm not sure who to complain to, but really, I would have been fine with the 70s. My first clue something was wrong was when I was leaving the plane. I overheard the stewardess say that when the doors of the plane opened, the chill that greeted her was not what she was expecting. Sigh ... time to dig out the heater again. So I am thawing out, but a bit slower than anticipated.
Pat and I spent Christmas with family and friends. The last afternoon was spent visiting Joyce and her husband Jim. He is seriously into model trains. The folks who do this build elaborate landscapes and track layouts. It is meant to look like and act like real life, but scaled down. The cliff by the tracks has some fallen rock at the bottom. The water tower has the town name on it and looks like it was last painted 10 years ago, etc. The work and artistry that goes into making things look authentic is amazing. And then there is the actual complication of making it all work with multiple trains and the track switches ... maybe if this boating thing doesn't work out, I'll try that.