November 20-26, 2022
It’s been four weeks. WOW! Four weeks of boat life, sunshine just about every day, and warm weather in Florida.
We’re still in Fort Pierce and will be for another couple/few weeks, then we’ll head south along the Eastern coast of Florida until we get to the Florida Keys, which is where we’ll spend the Christmas holidays with Paul’s son-in-law and grandchildren.
In the meantime, though, it’s Thanksgiving week, so all around the country, people are making a point of being more thankful. Right now, I am especially thankful for the beauty of Fort Pierce- in all its forms.
First, I can be thankful for the natural beauty found with the plethora of peacocks (yes, I did that on purpose) that I see each day. They add an element of the exotic to everyday life. (Though I wish I could get a male to spread his tail feather for me (feel free to forgo inserting a tasteless innuendo)).
I’ve seen at least three different peacock crossing signs on my morning walks. When I first arrived and began exploring, I thought it was a joke. Until a saw a peacock, then another, and another… It seems that they roam all over parts of downtown, especially at the Samuel Bennett Jr. Memorial Park, which is not too far way.
After I observe the natural beauty of the area, including sunrises and sunset, I look at the ways Fort Pierce beautifies everyday objects.
I noticed that instead of the drab olive-green electrical boxes I am used to seeing everywhere, Fort Pierce has brightened up what is usually dreary and dull. Just look at how they’ve enlivened something as ordinary as electrical boxes.
They didn’t stop there, either. All around the downtown area I see the giant flower pots are decorate as well.
Even the benches are inspired pieces of beauty.
How many opportunities are we missing to beautify the utilitarian objects around us?
Just because it’s always been one way doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.
And as we move towards Thanksgiving Day, we embrace that mindset. I am thankful that I choose to not be bound by traditions, because sometimes you have to change things up to find where you fit, where you belong and what you are meant to do. So this Thanksgiving, we changed it up.
While others were planning a traditional Thanksgiving feast, Paul & I decided to go with something simple, yet delicious. We pre-ordered from Sonny’s BBQ and gorged on pulled pork, sliced brisket, BBQ chicken and sweet & smokey St. Louis ribs. We also ate ourselves silly with BBQ beans, coleslaw, cornbread and sweet tea. We enjoyed BBQ on Thanksgiving Eve, Thanksgiving Day and the day after Thanksgiving. If I had my way, I’d STILL be eating BBQ- it was that good!
We spent Thanksgiving binge-watching Grimm, eating BBQ and snacking on microwave popcorn (Hence my need to walk everyday!)
But rest assured, I’m still getting exercise every day!
I’ll pause in this moment to publicly acknowledge and give thanks for our first responders, who don’t necessarily get to be home with family, friends and other loved ones on the holidays. In fact, it is the holiday season that often shows them more of the uglier side of our humanity, yet they continue serving and protecting us (quite often from ourselves).
Well, that’s a wrap on this week’s update.
Looking ahead, I’m planning a brief solo road trip next week to St. Petersburg (West side of Florida) to visit my friends (Rachael and Matt) for a few days. And of course I’ll stop at some labyrinths on the way there and back, and You’ll have a chance to read about those labyrinth walks in future Labyrinth Lessons posts and hear about my St. Petersburg experiences in future Travelogue posts as well.
In the meantime, I hope my travelogue posts encourage you go out and have an adventure of your own.
