"Gang aft a-gley," [often go awry]
(From Robert Burns' poem To a Mouse, 1786)
Our Unoccupied Booth Space - St. Petersburg Fine Art Festival 2015
With our sights on Florida, Peter and I left Bridgehampton on January 19th with the primary objective of participating in two juried art shows into which I'd been accepted late last year. Canvases, prints and framed giclée images were all carefully wrapped in moving blankets and secured to the shelves and walls that had been built out for us by Peter's cousin in our new Homesteader trailer, called "Challenger". Buckets of bungee cords held not only the art in place but also all of the tent materials, tools, tables, and bins. We felt confident that we were as prepared as we could be for our launch into the circuit. Our secondary objective was to spend a week in Rincon Puerto Rico with friends who rent a condominium there each year, and where I would be able to photograph more waves for our expanding inventory of images. These were our best laid plans.
Sadly, the first objective could not be met as Peter hurt his back just before we left and just couldn't lift, carry, bend or twist at all. Following an out-patient vertebroplasty procedure on his spine in Lakeland where a sister lives, the doctor and Peter agreed that the planned trip to Puerto Rico could come to pass as long as he didn't get wet ... even a little. The result of this part of our journey wasn't easy on Peter but did result in my getting some of the best wave images ever - something we could never have planned.
Our itinerary originally called for us to leave Florida to head home on February 16 but weather all along the East coast kept us hunkered down in chilly Florida for another seven days. On the 23rd, we saw a small break in the weather patterns, re-hitched the trailer to our car and set off for the snowy frozen north. A trip that should normally take a comfortable two and a half days took us five and a half thanks to the tail-end of winter storm Quantum and roaring Remus that nailed a good portion of the south and held us in place just south of the snow/rain line in Fayetteville NC for two nights. Gingerly heading toward Baltimore on Friday the 27th, we found the roads drier than expected and increasingly clear the further north we got. Finally, after forty days and forty nights, we returned our fully packed "Challenger" to its corner in our driveway to await the next two storms, Sparta and Thor, before we'll consider unloading its precious cargo.
As our key plans for participating in shows did go awry, we had to regroup and make the best of a bad situation. We attended four art festivals while we were in Florida and learned a lot, but we also enjoyed good food when we could, which is no surprise to anyone who knows us. Peter had in our possession over four ounces of osetra caviar left over from the holidays which would be enjoyed somewhere along the trip - or so we hoped, perhaps an anniversary (25) or a birthday (??).
Some of our greatest pleasure on this trip was enjoying meals in restaurants like Le Provençal in Coral Gables, Colombia in Ybor City, Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa, and a seafood shack near the beach in northern Florida that had wonderful steamed mussels with blue cheese and bacon! Another pleasure was sunrise at a few East coast Florida beaches that brought smiles to our hearts and made us forget the "schemes" that had gone awry.
Lessons learned? Be flexible, as "the best laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft a-gley," [often go awry], so be prepared to "Seize the day" ... enjoy the moment.
Here's a slideshow showing how we did try to enjoy the moments we were in with patience, humor, and an appetite.
Photos & Slideshow ©2015 Claudia Ward
"Carpe diem"!
It was odd seeing the gorgeous sun and scenery juxtaposed with the snow (a lot of it) at the end. I liked seeing how all fit in your trailer too!
What a shame none of it quite worked out as you both ga
had planned.
But hopefully Peter remains feeling better and at least he was able to recover in a gorgeous place-Puerto Rico rather than snowy Bridgehampton.
Hope spring arrives for you soon.
Posted by: Ally | Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 12:22 PM