Je suis arrivée!
Posted on | January 20, 2006 | 3 Comments
Y’all — I made it! At about 9:30 pm, I pulled into the driveway of my friend Andy’s cousin Rebecca who lives in Weston, Florida. Andy comes in tomorrow at about 4pm, so Rebecca has generously offered to let me stay chez elle while Andy is in town so that we can all do stuff together. But — I’m here! I made it! And thus, I am beginning my new life here in South Florida.
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Today is the Day!
Posted on | January 20, 2006 | No Comments
Well, I made it to Darien, Georgia, with the intentions of going over to Sapelo Island and taking a Geechee tour. “A what tour?” you may ask. Well, I got the idea from a movie that is one of my favorites from a visual standpoint, “Daughters of the Dust“, directed by Julie Dash. This movie has some of the most beautiful black people you will ever see on one screen at a time, and the story is wonderful, although a little difficult to gleen from the first viewing.
Hog Hammock on Sapelo Island, Georgia is one of the few remaining Geechee towns on the islands. It is tiny — the population is about 200 folks. But all of the descendants are that of African slaves brought over, and these people have been able to retain a lot of their parent cultures, something I am sure more black folks wished they had. Anyway, I encourage y’all to do a little research on both the movie and also Geechee and Gullah culture in the Gold Coast islands, just off of the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina.
Well, my more flexible approach to traveling (ie, calling the folks for a tour the day before getting there), was not particularly effective in getting the desired outcome. In other words, the guy was like, “oh, I am not going to be home that day.”
“Well, ” I asked, “is there anyone else who does the Geechee tour on the island?”
“Nope,” he said, “we are the only ones who do that tour here.”
So, I drove to Darien anyway, since it was only about 6-7 hours from Chapel Hill, and thus made the drive to South Florida only about 7-8 hours.
The weather was gorgeous this morning, about 73 degrees, and sunny sunny sunny. Just having that much sun and warmth was a huge boost for me, and after picking up a new pair of running shoes and a lovely deep red leather wallet at the outlet mall right next door to the hotel, I got back on the road to arrive at my final destination.
I was on the phone with Mom (with a headset of course), when I crossed the state line — I screamed a whoop of triumph and partial disbelief. I did it! I drove ALL the way across the country to the state of Florida! With my B-A-D-D self. I spent the rest of the day’s drive ruminating upon my life: what I was leaving behind and what I am moving toward and looking to incorporate and embrace. Have you ever had the feeling of expansiveness, of actually feeling the field of possibilities shifting and moving to accomodate your desires? The feeling of trust, of sureness that you are making absolutely the most right and positivie decision for yourself? I had this sense as I drove along, taking in the smell of sunlight mingled with aquamarine salt water in the air.
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Finally – Leaving the cold and heading South!
Posted on | January 17, 2006 | 1 Comment
Finally!! It was balmy driving from Pennsylvania to New York on Thursday — I think the temperature was at or near 60 degrees. It was beautiful and sunny — unseasonably warm, but very pleasant, given that is was the middle of January. Well, the party was over by Saturday: it started out raining for the whole day, but then the temperature plummeted. By the next day, there was a layer of ice and snow over everything.
Jess, Marc, and I went for pho yesterday for lunch, and walking the 2 blocks from the T station to the restaurant was *painful*. Today is a little better, but not much, but what do I care? By Saturday, I will be in Ft. Lauderdale to pick up my friend Andy at the airport and spend my first two days in Florida bopping around and having a great time with a dear, dear friend. It is one of the best welcomes that I can think of having there.
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About
Denise R. Jacobs is an author, speaker, presenter, and educator on many things web.
