Sunshine in the Sunshine State

My cousin Morgan came for a long weekend in Tallahassee.

She arrived on Thursday evening at around 10 and although we'd both had long, busy days and swore that we would go straight to bed, we talked for too many hours. 

On Friday morning, we got up late (we'd thought about sitting in on Carson's class, but that didn't happen because we were being lazy) and then walked around a little on campus. Morgan's pregnant self combined with the heat made it a short walk, and we sat outside the Chic-fil-A on campus to wait for Carson to get out of a meeting. We walked over to have lunch at the Pitaria near campus. After eating, we browsed a few thrift stores, looking for deals and good baby finds, and came back with a few things. 

Carson made us dinner that night, his "famous" (so he says, he's made them once) spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and vegetables. We were so full afterward and we sat down and watched a movie. We talked for just a little bit after it was over, definitely feeling the effects of staying up so late the night before. 

On Saturday morning, we went to the beach! You know it's weird, because just 13 months ago, Morgan visited me in Cleveland and we went to the beach and we walked on ice. Now here we are in March in Florida in the mid-80s with swimsuits and beach umbrellas and actual sunshine.

An interesting truth about Morgan and sunshine and me: basically every time we've gotten together in Florida, it's rained. When we were little and my family would visit hers? Rain. I remember being stuck in the penguin exhibit at Sea World for hours. We visited the springs and the same thing. Disney last year? Rained. When she came to visit me last summer? Rain. The forecast doesn't always indicate rain, but we've learned to expect it. All that to say... we were surprised to have a successful beach day... but it definitely did sprinkle Saturday night and then pour on Sunday evening.

Carson had forgotten that he can't deal with sun in his eyes, so he used the hat from Grandmama to shield himself. 

The beach wasn't deserted, but there were only a few other people out there. That's been our experience at the beaches here, and I think it has something to do with the fact that driving out to them can be a bit of a hassle. Works for us; we like quiet beaches!

Morgan is sad she forgot to bring her matching golf tournament hat. This thing restricted eyesight (like blinders on a horse) but was GREAT for when the sun was blazing down. 

Baby Colucci is finally showing himself! This was very exciting.  

Out of the three of us, Carson burned the worst and was very red. This is due entirely to the fact that he decided he didn't need sunscreen. Morgan burned a little too, and mostly on her feet (weird). I got a little sun on the back of my legs but it was faint and gone the next morning. Not too bad. 

We stopped in Apalachicola on the way back to explore the little stores they have there. It was busy with people in restaurants and stores and we had fun browsing. On the boardwalk there, we spotted these pelicans hanging out. 

We had a little "birthday party" for me that evening. We stopped by Dairy Queen to pick up an ice cream cake (my favorite... cake is much less interesting to me than ice cream in any form) and Carson chose an Oreo one. They sang to me and I opened a gift from Morgan. 

We watched the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" that night. Morgan and I hadn't seen it before, and decided that we didn't like it very much. This surprised us, because I feel like I've heard so much about how great it is and how much people love it. We decided to stick it out and wished we hadn't. 

On Sunday, we went to church and then to lunch with some friends of Morgan's who moved here from Ocala. Afterward, Carson stayed behind to get some work done while Morgan and I went to get my hair cut and then did a little shopping. She found some fun maternity things (which she tried on in the store. Nice.)

We watched another movie on Sunday night and I made Pad Thai for dinner. 

On Monday morning, we woke up late again and then Morgan and I went to brunch at Uptown Cafe. We ordered the same thing, both with grits instead of hash browns, but I ordered a biscuit and she got toast.

Afterward, we went through the carwash. Her car had been parked under the trees in our driveway all weekend and the pollen was nuts, so she needed it. 

Here are our carwash faces. 

After the carwash, we went back to the apartment for a minute to say goodbye, and Morgan was off again! Once again, I'm so glad she lives close enough to come for a weekend! It's really great having family and friends nearby.