May 26, 2016
We're all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness- and call it love- true love. ~ Robert Fulghum
The next morning after I returned from two weeks of storm chasing in The Great Plains, JT and I finished packing up and headed to the airport to fly to Florida! We were headed back for another trip to The Villages to visit my family. Now, you're probably thinking "Geez, another blog about The Villages, yay". I get it. And I wouldn't have written another blog about it either, but this wasn't the vacation I expected!
The vacation started out relatively normal: we flew down, my mom picked us up at the airport, and we went out for dinner (this time at Beef O'Brady's instead of Sonny's right away because I had had so much BBQ while chasing in Texas) and eventually headed home after the long day of travel. On the way home, we stopped at the grocery to get some of our favorite chocolate ganash cakes for dessert and some milk. The next morning, we got up early to hit the driving range before playing our first of nine rounds of golf of the week.
The second morning we were there (Saturday) we woke up early to go shopping and set things up for my grandpa's surprise 70th birthday party. If you're wondering, its pretty darn hard to plan and accomplish a surprise party at the person's own house, but we did it! my grandma sent him out to do some errands and said to get out and do things until around 2pm, and he did just that. Mom got the cake (chocolate, his favorite) and ice cream while JT, Hannah, my grandma, her friend, and I decorated the house. I also made a slideshow of pictures from when he was a kid until now, which included a lot of goofy pictures he had taken with me that he didn't think I saved- silly him! I also included some of his favorite music. He absolutely loved it! I played it as he walked in the door. He was very surprised and didn't have a clue what was going on when he got home and there were over 30 people in his house! He told us that he had a fantastic day and an amazing time at the party.
After the party, we headed home to get ready for dinner. Since we snacked and had dessert at the party, half of us were hungry and half of us were not. I was one that wasn't really hungry yet. Why is this important? You''re about to see how it set up the entire rest of the night! Mom, Brad, and Hannah were ready to eat and wanted a big meal, JT and I wanted Sonny's and didn't want a meal quite yet. Shockingly, mom said "Well, sounds like we're just going to have split meals tonight, you guys go to Sonny's when you want and we'll go to Outback,". Normally we'd sit and argue for a bit then decide to go somewhere, but I just went with it. They left to go eat, and JT and I took one of the golf carts down to the town square, Lake Sumter Landing. We always walk down to the pier over the lake and look at the many species of fish, turtles, and alligators that roam the waters and docks, and we did just that. We sat at the end of the pier under a little gazebo watching a couple storms in the distance as the sun began to set. I told JT that I was glad the trip down here finally came after we didn't get to see each other while I was in The Plains for a couple weeks. He agreed, and I said "When we get back, we'll still have the rest of the summer together, and neither of us have any more plans to go away!" He then got down on one knee and said "We have the rest of the summer together, and forever if you'll say yes and marry me?" Of course I said yes! I couldn't believe it. I had no idea that he was going to propose, let alone during the vacation. Apparently while I was gone storm chasing, he talked to my parents, went ring shopping, and everything- sneaky! We were so excited, JT's family wanted to see the ring and talk to us, so we called them on Facetime. While we were doing that, a random lady came over thinking we were trying to take a selfie and asked if we wanted her to take our picture. We explained that we were on Facetime showing JT's mom, sister, and grandma the ring because we had just gotten engaged. The lady started screaming and jumping with excitement and hugged us about five different times while we were there on the pier. She ended up taking our picture then hugged us again before letting us get back to the video call. Everyone was so excited and we couldn't wait to share with our family and friends!
After we finally calmed down (somewhat), we went to eat at our favorite restaurant, Sonny's. We then headed toward home but made a stop at my grandparents' house to share the news with them and let them see the ring. They were shocked and excited too! We finally got home later that night, and went to bed on cloud nine.
The next few days were spent doing the usual down there: golfing, going to the pool, game nights, and playing Pickleball with the family. Always a great time! We definitely weren't used to the heat- each day was in the mid-90s, sunny, and humid! A few extra drink breaks and we were good to go from one activity to the next. When we're in The Villages, it's always go go go!
Wednesday, JT and I headed to Clearwater Beach for our usual one-day beach trip. We have a little tradition that we stop and eat at Frenchy's on the beach before we head out for some fun in the sun! Oddly enough, we've also gotten sat at the SAME table three years in a row now! Not planned or asked for either. After lunch, we walked down to the water, cooled, off and relaxed and enjoyed the sun for a few hours. We decided to learn from a couple years ago and NOT stay all day and get fried into lobsters again!
The last few days of the trip were spent back in The Villages with more golf every day! The occasional trip to the pool and Pickleball games were of course there too. Fun fact: we didn't realize how similar our golf swings were until we tried to get pictures of each other.
On our last night of the vacation, we played a round of golf at Tequesta, a championship golf course. We made it through hole 4 before the lightning from a nearby storm started getting too close for comfort. On the third hole, we came across this creepy little tree. Usually you see the area filled with palm trees and tropical-looking plants, so this really stood out to us. Not to mention, the eerie, stormy sky behind us to make it look even more ominous!
All in all, it was a great vacation for all of us, and one we will never forget. We will get to go back to the very spot JT proposed to me, many times in the future! We will never forget that moment. So in a world where everything has to be exciting and "extreme", remember, sometimes life's greatest moments aren't going where few have dared to go. Sometimes, it's in the everyday moments where many fail to look.