Floridian Stay pt. 6

Day 6: Beach, Floridian Food, and Company

                Tuesday was full of calm seas and good food! My mom and I walked to the beach in the morning, and there were some very small waves rolling to the shore and a little bit of cross-currents pulling at the water. I spent my time swimming and collecting anything unique I spotted on the bottom of the ocean (you’d spot me by looking for the girl with the tangled hair and goggles plastered on her face). The water was absolutely beautiful, and Mom eventually came out to join me in the water. I think she’s getting braver! After swimming for several hours, we headed back to Mummi and Pappa’s condo. At this point, my chest began to itch horribly. I was so incredibly uncomfortable! I recall putting some face sunscreen on my chest since it was all we had with us, but I’m not sure whether I blame that particular sunscreen or possible sunburn for my discomfort. On top of the itching sensation, my hair was one big nest of tangles. I figured this wouldn’t be a big deal since we had conditioner at the condo. I was happily showering and reached for the conditioner bottle to quiet the battle scene taking place on my head. To my horror, all that came out from the bottle when I squeezed was a gust of air. Fabulous! I ended up wrestling my unruly locks for about a half an hour, using some detangler Mummi had found, a brush, and a comb. I tired myself out to the point where I plopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling in defeat. Finally, I gave up and twisted it all up into one big bun. Oh well, I could always try again tomorrow once I purchased some conditioner, right?

NOTE TO ALL LONG-HAIRED PEOPLE: BRING LOTSSSS OF CONDITIONER TO FLORIDA!

                Everybody was waiting impatiently for me to finish with my hair situation so that we could go out for lunch. Hair piled on my head and fresh clothes donned, I emerged from my room at last to join the crew. We piled into the stylish mom-van-type car and drove over to John G’s for some good food. Mom and I ordered fish and chips and a gorgonzola salad to split, and they were pretty tasty. I’m usually not one for fried fish, but it was fun to eat it while in Florida. We then visited a Swedish bakery called the Polar Bakery that Mummi likes to go to every-so-often. (I know, another Swedish place; they’re just too good!) There was Swedish and Finnish candy, breads, and baked goods present, and the bakery was decorated Nordic-style. I chose out a bag of licorice and salmiakki (salt licorice) and two different types of macaroons to share with the others. Mummi and Mom contented themselves by buying some more pastries, candy, and traditional foods for future use and for company we were expecting that night. I highly recommend this place! The goods there are very difficult to find in the states and truly are a taste of the Nordic countries. Also, everything there was delicious!

                Once back at the condo, we prepared for some Finnish and Swedish guests my grandparents were having over. They were all middle-aged (I feel as though it’s been years since I’ve hung out with people my age!) and were extremely nice. They were all the same religion as us and one was a minister, so we held a small home service at the condo. Following the services, everyone ate (of course Mummi’s “little snacks” were closer to a dinner) and socialized. We had a pretty bomb fruit platter that my mom and I had put together as well. As we were talking with one of the women, we discovered that she was the mother of a Swedish girl who was coming to stay with a family from our church. Coincidentally, her daughter is the friend and soon-to-be traveling partner of the Swedish girl who will be staying at our house for the next couple of months! Disney’s right: it’s a small, small world! After our guests left, I did a quick workout and headed to bed shortly after showering off.

All in all, it was a pretty good day. :) Life is good.

Floridian Stay pt. 5

Day 5: Gym, Sweet Tomatoes, and the City Center

On Monday, the skies cast a gloomy cloud over Lake Worth, making mine and my mom’s morning swim last all of five minutes before a slew of raindrops fell on us. Luckily, Mummi swung by to pick us up and save us from being eternally drenched. Since Pappa had a doctor’s appointment, Mom and I spent a good hour at the gym. Endorphins, heck yess! We then walked over to Starbucks to wait for my grandparents to come by, and we satisfied ourselves with almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, and a good dosage of coffee. I ended up spending my time updating the blog for you guys while Mom used her phone down to its last drops of battery. (“Lidia, how come my battery is draining if I’m using their wifi? …You mean it still uses it up??”) Finally, after a good three hours (or three days, if you ask me), Mummi and Pappa came by to rescue us from our roaring stomachs in their sparkling chariot, a.k.a. the hulking, mom-style Dodge Journey. The chariot sped off with us on board, rushing to satisfy our hunger, and parked at the intricate palace that welcomed us with open arms, providing we paid the fee necessary to indulge in their many delicacies.  This palace, which goes by the name of Sweet Tomatoes, offered every dish imaginable. My salad plate resembled Mt. Everest accompanied by smaller peaks of food surrounding it. After filling the gaping hole in my stomach (and probably looking like a starving maniac while doing so), my ravenous feasting ceased, the monster in my stomach fast asleep once again. Basically, mom and I got hungry at Starbucks and went to Sweet Tomatoes with Mummi and Pappa. (I think the other description was more interesting, don’t you? Or maybe I’ve just been around old people too long on this trip and I’m losing it. ;)) 

After Sweet Tomatoes, we hung out at the condo (we seem to be spending a lott of time here!) until Mummi, Mom, and I were all ready to head to the city center. The City Center is located in West Palm Beach and consists of a variety of restaurants and shops. We did a satisfactory amount of exploring, and I managed to find a $20 beachy sweater from Anthropologie. The sale section, I’m telling you, is a gem unto all fashionable people! It was after this that I checked my bank account and briefly panicked about how I’m going to survive through the summer. (I just had to quit my job in Scottsdale since we moved to Peoria, leaving me a tad bit helpless.) By night time when we were back at the condo, I finally managed to calm myself down after researching some interesting places to find work at near home. Breathe, Lidia, breathe! Hahaha , anyways, I fell asleep after listening to my mom rattle off the name and description of every shop located in Peoria and Glendale. Alright, alright, maybe I was overreacting just a bit about my situation, Mom! 

Lesson of the day: Breathe and believe you will be alright, and it will work out. Take it one day at a time! 

Side note: Working out lifts your mood on a gloomy day. So, go and get those endorphins rushing!

Floridian Stay pt. 4

Florida Update! Day 4

(Also, 10 Things to do on a Beach Day)

1. GO SURFING. I would definitely do this if I was on a beach with surf waves! Unfortunately, Lake Worth doesn’t have surf waves, so I haven’t been able to surf here. However, I just thought I should really urge you to try. It’s an incredible experience! Anyhow, back to the main blog.

                Hey all! I figured I’d put a quick update about how things are going in the sunny (or not-so-sunny) state of Florida. Yesterday basically consisted of a long day of beachin’ it. We awoke to the brightest skies we’ve seen here yet and immediately began to dress for the beach. When the weather in Florida is sunny then stormy in an instant, you take advantage of these beautiful beach days! The ocean was calm, warm, and perfect for swimming. I finally got to use a pair of goggles I invested in ($20 Speedo goggles... expensive but worth it! No leaking at all!) while swimming. 

2. Go swimming. As much as possible! Enjoy the vast ocean while you can. You’ll definitely be glad you did.

I spent a good amount of my time swimming horizontally to the shore just since I’m a freak who loves doing laps. Later, I managed to convince my mom to get up and head out with me to the sandbar (sitting in a beach chair on the shore is overrated, if you ask me). This is when I became extremely grateful for my goggles. Yes, I may look like a geek with a pair of goggles on in the ocean, but I’m also the geek who found gorgeous coral, seashells, and got to watch breathtakingly gorgeous schools of fish pass by. 

3. Check out the underwater views with a pair of goggles. Totally worth it!

And 4. Dive for sea treasures with your goggles on. You can find many seashells that would be broken by the time they hit shore along with other wonderful finds.

Bet all you fashionable gotta-look-100-percent-all-the-timers didn’t get to experience that! Also, the goggles eased my mom’s hilarious critter-phobia. (“Hey mom, I thing that’s a stingray!” –horrified squawking ensues- “Oh, just kidding, it’s a plastic bag, sorry!”) All the more reason for you guys to keep your trash out of the ocean-it’ll save my mom from a heart attack and the sea creatures from injury.  Also, don’t worry: the coral I found was already dead, so I wasn’t harming the ecosystem. Once we had our fill of sun and sea for the morning (or maybe it was just my expressive stomach that triggered action), we hauled our things up to Mamma Mia’s Pizzeria. We looked like family that has a bunch of kids and therefore a huge load of equipment with them-I kid you not- because of all the beach chairs, towels, etc. that we lugged up there. Except, of course, it was just Mummi, Mom, and me. Oh well, they always did like their stuff! ;) Mummi and I went in to order pizza for the three of us (and one for Pappa to go). The staff was very friendly, the atmosphere was very relaxed, and there were pies and pies of pizza! Delicious pizza. CREATIVE pizza. They all looked so good! Mummi settled with a Tuscany slice (topped with artichokes, tomatoes, chicken, and some other things I can’t quite recall), and I ended up hunting for the slice with the most vegetables. You know me, I’m obsessed with veggies! I chose a slice loaded with steamed veggies and ordered the same for Mom. We literally have almost the same taste buds. The slices were big enough to cover the entire paper plate, and man were they amazing! The one slice filled me up completely and left me very satisfied. I highly recommend this place!

5. Eat a casual and fantastic lunch. Sooo good after exercise! Also, you don’t have to change out of your swimsuit. Double win!

                After stuffing ourselves full of pizza, we went back to the condo to relax. Mummi and Mom ended up falling asleep (uh huh, it’s the weather, you’re not getting old at allll) while I wrote for the blog. When they arose from the dead, I convinced mom into walking the beach with me. I always want to just do my flips along the shore, but when it’s full of people you have to: a) avoid knocking into people at all costs, b)live down all of the embarrassing screw-ups in front of everyone watching, and c) create conversation about you by making a spectacle. All of which are not my favorite things to do while I’m only trying to nail a new stunt or just have a good time! We put on swimsuits and slipped some beachwear over them and headed to the ocean. Surprisingly, it was super full of people! The lifeguards were off-duty since it was past five p.m., and the waves were a little higher since high tide was approaching. My guess is everyone came to play in the waves now since they were more apparent than earlier. We walked along for a while, observing all the little kiddies and a few dogs enjoying the salt spray. They were so peckin cute; I couldn’t resist a photo! As we walked along the shore, we picked out any interesting shells and pocketed them in a little bag we brought along.

6. Walk along the beach. It’s so relaxing and provides a beautiful view.

And 7. Search for seashells on your way. I found a couple with a hole perfectly placed that I’ll be tying a cord through and wearing around my neck. No matter what you do with them, they will remind you of the blissful ocean.

Once we came across a stretch of beach that was far enough away from the main shore that it was relatively deserted, I handed my phone over to my mom to get some videos of me doing a couple flips. (“Okay, Mom, I pressed the video button. Now just HOLD it. Don’t press anything! Wait, wait, get your finger out of the way. There we go. Okay, now hold it just like that!”) I’m definitely not your best gymnast/tricker, but I’m self-taught and like to look at the vids for critiquing. Also, once you have anything on video, you can screenshot at any time and get some good photos with the ocean in the background! Once I get my blood pumping after doing some flips on the relatively forgiving sand, I always feel incredibly happy/rejuvenated.

8. Do some flips or take videos with your friends on the beach. They’re fun to look back on, and you can screenshot to get a picture with everyone in the frame.

Once we were satisfied with our little jaunt, we headed back towards the main beach, where we promptly headed into the water for another swim.

9. Wear your swimsuit underneath your clothes if you are near the beach. You never know when you’ll want to go for a spontaneous swim.

There was the most adorable baby in the water with her mother who kept grinning at me. I would wave at her and she would just crack up, giggling contagiously. 

10. Wave at any happy baby that comes splashing by. Their smiles are contagious, I promise.

Well, there’s ten things to do on a beach day! The only things we really did after spending the day on the beach were walk to Starbucks (which was closed…Sunday causes irregular closing times, so remember to check the hours of wherever you go on your phone before heading out) and look at old, old family photos. Oh, they made my heart smile. All in all, the beach made for a wonderful day and provided lots to do. So, I’ll leave you with this phrase to abide by: if it’s sunny, it’s a good day for beachin’ it! 

Floridian Stay pt. 3

Warm greetings from the ever-so-tropical Lake Worth! It’s been quite a ride the past few days. I hope you find some of my recent travels interesting and take away some of the dos-and-don’ts of Florida. 

Day 3: Breakfast, Sea Animals, and Sightseeing

           Today began with brunch on the pier with my grandparents and mom. We headed to the restaurant Benny’s on the Beach seeing as Mummi kept mentioning (in her sweet, slightly-accented voice) “Oh, but that breakfast at that Benny’s is just so good!” After our experience, I would have to say that my lovely mummi has sound judgement! After ordering coffee and water all around, my mom and I ordered a vegetarian omelet and some berry granola French toast to split in half and share with each other. This turned out to be an excellent call since the dishes were GINORMOUS. Although they tasted amazing, I couldn’t help thinking that I wouldn’t have been able to eat that huge a plateful of the same thing! Do: Share different dishes if you are traveling with anyone. It’s so much more fun to be able to try as many new flavors as possible! Once our bellies were completely full, we practically rolled out of the restaurant. (This is when we decided that skipping lunch might not be such a bad idea.) On to the next thing!

We moved on to head to the end of the pier to catch some ocean views. Beware to the broke student: you must hand over a dollar to walk to the end of the pier! I don’t know if this is because they had to rebuild it not too many years ago after it was completely destroyed by a hurricane, but nevertheless, have some coins on hand. Luckily, Mummi decided to pay (she wouldn’t let us intervene). Ah, I love my grandparents! The sights were actually quite wonderful. You could see long stretches of beach on either side, birds flying in the air, and people from pint size to old and weathered fishing from the pier. Much to my jaw-dropping surprise, there were also some photogenic pelicans perching along the edges! Do: soak in the scene around you. You may be surprised by all that is going on! We found signs along the pier giving instructions on how to save a sea turtle if you accidentally hook one, which I thought was quite wonderful. I’m all for protecting marine life! There was also emergency equipment for keeping the turtles alive until help arrived. I guess this is a new program to Lake Worth, and I feel that it is a wonderful addition in spreading awareness for sea life protection. As a side note, here comes a don’t. Don’t: Endanger the sea life! Make sure to throw your trash away. Hint: The ocean is NOT a trash can. Also pay attention to boating signs, as they often demand slow speeds due to marine life below. Boats often harm marine animals, which is totally preventable!

 

After exploring the pier, we visited the Loggerhead Marine Life Center, coined the sea turtle hospital. This place asks for a five dollar donation, so I advise you to just give what you can. There’s a learning exhibit inside the welcome building/gift shop with a lot of information about sea turtles and a few tanks full of fish, a live conch shell, and other interesting critters. Take a moment to read some of the info; it’s actually quite interesting! Do: Educate yourself about anything unique to the area. You’ll find yourself more interested in your stay if you know something about the place. We then headed outside to see the recovering sea turtles at home within their own personal tubs. They are absolutely adorable! We were able to look through a glass window in the larger tubs to see the turtles up close, and they are truly gorgeous creatures. Their shells are a kaleidoscope of colors, light, and water reflections, making them incredible to look at. Next to each tub is a little sign telling of each turtle’s story of injury and recovery. A hospital building sits alongside the recovering turtles where the vets (I suppose they are called vets, but I’m not sure what you would call a turtle doctor) were treating injured and sick turtles. There were two large sea turtles sedated and strapped to a gurney for treatment. It’s amazing to me how this little hospital does what it can to help this endangered species. It’s important to keep the ecosystem’s diversity alive and thriving! After purchasing a small token from the gift shop (i.e. a necklace consisting of wooden beads and a turtle charm strung along a cord), we continued on our way.

As Pappa was giving us the grand tour of the Floridian cities and towns around us, Mummi, Mom, and I noticed a manatee sanctuary and quickly screeched out a “Turn around! Turn around! Let’s check it out! No, it’s on that corner. THAT one!” With a considerable amount of backseat driving going on, Pappa drove around the block until we made it back to the sanctuary, where we hopped out and meandered in to see what it was all about. Basically, the sanctuary consisted of an information building, a gift shop, and a lagoon-like area outside where manatees could come for warmer water during the winter. The power plant nearby the sanctuary is responsible for warming up the water by depositing the heat through some pipe or other. Seeing as it’s now summer weather, there were no manatees present (much to our disappointment), but we contented ourselves with learning about the mammals from the information center. It’s a pretty interesting place to visit, but I would suggest coming during the winter if you want to see the creatures in person. Do: Allow yourself to explore anything interesting you come across. You never know what you may find!

We left after filling our heads full of sea life information and continued our tour. (You may drive past one of Donald Trump’s houses…!I mean castles!... as you pass Palm Beach.) As driving through the towns in West Palm Beach, we went through the CUTEST area full of shops and coffee stops. Mom pointed out a gorgeous, modern Swedish coffee shop called Johan’s Joe, and poor Pappa had to listen to us insisting we stop once AGAIN. Mom and I ended up running into the place quickly to see what it was all about. We are obsessed with Finnish and Swedish coffee houses since we visited both countries last summer and fell in love with their coffee. We threw open the reindeer-handled doors of the café and were instantly transported back to Sweden. Swedish architecture, Swedish food, Swedish candy, and, best of all, delectable coffee. I’m sure everyone in the place was looking at us like we were crazy as we gaped around (“Look, Lidia, those tables…just like Sweden!” –camera flashes- “Oh, and look how cute! Swedish horses, Swedish candy…” –more camera clicks). We ordered some coffee and picked out some candy to go, and it was delicious! Do: Stop at unique coffee shops! They have so much interesting variety to offer. We quickly headed back to the car and moved on back to Mummi and Pappa’s condo. We ate a delicious salad there and ended the day with walking around the local neighborhood, relaxing, and visiting.