This is going to be one of those years where spring never comes to Minnesota. We’ll slip right from winter into summer, with only a long, grey, wet, cold blur of a March and April. Given everything going on — family health issues, the decline of a beloved cat, a bad case of Covid, not to mention the war in Ukraine and Elon’s purchase of Twitter — the weather feels apt. But as a person who barely makes it through February each year without a seasonal affective breakdown, I was never more thankful my dad decided he didn’t want to go to Florida to see my brother. I got his ticket instead.
My mom and I flew down in late April to see my brother who moved down there at the beginning of 2020. Given both the pandemic and other travel plans, I hadn’t yet made it down to see him and his girlfriend. They live in St. Petersburg, and from our 4-day experience of sharing life with them, they live there very fully and happily. Everyday they are either training for a marathon or embarking on 100-mile long bike trips or ocean kayaking or sailing on their Hobie Cat.
My mom and I kept up with them as best we could, but we also slowed them down enough to enjoy some time at the pool, drinks on the beach, strolls along the pier, and several games of 500. Such beach vacations always do make one wonder why we’re all still grin-and-bearing-it through Minnesota weather, but I’ll admit, there was a sadistic pleasure in getting back.
The newly completed St. Pete Pier
We kayaked to the tiniest little island, which we shared with a family and these two little dogs. My mom fed them bits of her ham sandwich and they loved her immediately.
