Dorothy's Florida Adventure: Settling In and the Holidays

Once we had settled in, David and I decided to explore one of the state parks for which we had seen several signs. John D. Mac Arthur Beach State Park is 317 acres of coastal uplands and another 120 of submerged. It is a unique area of estuaries, hardwood hammocks, beach dunes, and reefs. The visitor’s center had a resident a large turtle along with some other reptiles found in the park.  After crossing the estuary along a long wooden bridge, we took a sandy trail to the beach.  It was a beautiful warm day, but with very few people actually in the water.  At a time when South Florida’s natural coastal areas are almost nonexistent, the park is one of the finest examples of subtropical coastal habitat remaining in southeast Florida.  If you ignored the high-rise buildings to the south, you would think you were in the middle of a wilderness.

After spending several weeks arranging the apartment, it was time I did some job searching as the holidays were coming quickly.  We had arrived at the high season so finding a position at the local Hallmark store was no problem.  After being my own boss with my own style of dress, I had to go shopping for the required black slacks and white polo top.  In addition, my closed toed (required) black shoes decided to wear out as soon as I put them on. (To those who remember, I wear a very narrow shoe, so finding a pair to fit is almost impossible.)  A desperate e-mail to Margaret and a package containing two pairs of shoes arrived the next week.

          I became one of the official greeters at the Hallmark store.  It was my job to greet everyone and to direct him or her to the proper section of the store.   Captain Peacock in "Are You Being Served" had nothing on me.  I enjoyed meeting all the customers, saying hello to the children, and exclaiming over the dogs that came shopping as well.  Soon after that, I was offered a position at the local Barnes & Noble working almost full-time.  There was no uniform needed, but close-toed shoes were also required.  This was the holiday season, so every day was a busy one.  I met customers from all over the world, as well as from all over the United States and Canada.  When I mentioned I had a store called "Horton's," most of my Canadian customers offered to send a sample of Tim Horton's coffee to me.  It was great fun, but very tiring.  My hours often meant I would leave the apartment at 3:00 p.m. and not return until after 11:00 on weekdays and midnight on Friday or Saturday.  Right up until Christmas, I worked one of my off days at the Hallmark store, as they were still busy with the holiday shoppers.

Alice in her favorite bowl

Christmas tree in bowl and presents all around the coffee table

            As we did not have space for a big Christmas tree, I opted for a very small already decorated one from Michael's.  There was a large bowl (one of Alice’s favorite resting places) in the center of the glass coffee table, so it became the official spot for the tree.  To give it some depth, I put a decorated wreath around the bottom of the tree covering the bowl.  As for the presents, the space under the table became the spot.   It actually looked pretty good.

            I had also brought down several unpainted plaster "Santa's Village" buildings.  Setting up on the small dinning table, I painted buildings and matching trees for several weeks.  As there was a small buffet with a mirrored display case, I placed the houses on fake snow on the bottom shelf of the unit.  Christmas stockings and pillows completed our decoration for the season.

On one of my weekend days off, David and I traveled to Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park.  Inhabited since the Archaic Period over 5,000 years ago, the park had been the scene of two battles:  Powell’s Battle on January 15, 1838 and Jesup’s Battle on January 24, 1838 during the Second Seminole Wars.  Trails led us by wild and scenic rivers as well as through scrub and palms.

Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park

Since my work schedule would not allow us to travel back to Carrollton, Margaret and Kenneth made the journey down here.  It was a little crowded, but we survived.  Kenneth slept on an inflatable mattress in the living area while Margaret took over the guest bedroom.  For several days, I had been at work at 8:00 a.m., so I left everyone sleeping.  The kids and David took several day trips while I worked.  They had a great time exploring the Jupiter Lighthouse and the state parks in the area.  Together we visited the Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden in Delray Beach.  After the park, we found a “Friendly’s for lunch and a “Happy Ending” dessert.  The ice cream was just as delicious as we remembered from Maryland.

   On January 30th when I arrived to work for my 8:00 a.m. shift I slipped on the wet floor in the staff room and fell on my knees.  My left knee just hurt at first, but within an hour, I could not stand on my left leg at all.  Luckily David and the kids had not set out on any adventures, so he was able to take me from work to the Emergency Room at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center.  The bad news was that my kneecap was broken; the good news was that Workman's Compensation would take care of the expenses.  With my leg wrapped in a knee immobilizer and walking with a pair of juvenile sized crutches, I crawled into the back seat of David's car on the way to the pharmacy and home.   Needless to say, I would not be returning to work anytime soon.