Having just read my last post I was appalled by the spelling errors. I hope it still made sense.
The return to Boca Raton was without incident. I still could not get used to Florida's flatness. To drive for five hours without meeting one hill seemed a bizarre experience.
The chill winds of the last night at Clearwater left me with a cold, so my final few days in the States were effectively winding down from the highs of the past four weeks, plus catching up on laundry and subsequent packing.
Wednesday morning I bid my good friends and hosts adieu then I returned my rental and took the TRI-rail to Miami Airport. A cold is not a good companion for an eighteen hour journey home and was glad to cross my doorstep in Plymouth and crash out.
In retrospect I must count my blessings. It was a wonderful four weeks of a holiday of a lifetime. Karma pervaded the entire journey and I was extremely fortunate to meet so many warm and friendly people en route that enhanced the whole experience. Their generosity exceeded any expectations and I'll carry those memories forever if Altzheimers doesn't intervene! To all of you who were there with me at the various stages, it's hard to find the words to express my thanks. So It will have to be a simple THANK YOU.
As anticipated, a pile of work ensued on my return, adjusting to normality and jet lag. Writing up the articles for the Blues Matters magazine and the further research involved intertwined with matters domestic has taken up most of my time since. Over 800 emails were backed up on my PC, many through facebook so will have to consider ceasing that connection. With spring starting in bud, the garden's chores also beckon including building a new summerhouse.
So here endeth the blog! Some readers have complained that some of it was gobbledegook, mainly I think relating to it's blues content, but that was intended for the converted in the main, which was the whole raison d'etre of the trip of course, so I don't apologise for that. I do apologise for probably what was insufferable enthusiasm inflicted on friends in the prospect of my Odyysey! Suffice to say that in the event, that enthusiasm was fully justified.
Thank you for reading all of this.
Yours,
goin' down slow (a line from a blues song)
Mike
