Sand in shoes, Alaska in mind

Copyright 2007 Lydia Hinshaw

ORMOND BEACH, FL -- Prince Charming and I lasted eight whole days in Florida before we set out on a road trip to see a movie about Alaska.
We'd heard a lot about Into the Wild over the summer. We'd both read Jon Krakauer's book about young Chris McCandless and his ill-fated attempt to live off the land in Alaska's interior.
We'd even retraced some of McCandless' trip, out Stampede Road in Healy, about 10 miles north of the entrance to Denald National Park, where we spent the summer. (See Sept. 4 blog entry "Into the wild, but not very far.")
The movie was supposed to open Sept. 21, but when we arrived here Oct. 7 we found it wasn't playing anywhere in the Daytona Beach area. This set me onto an Internet hike down I-4, a road I'd ordinarily refuse to travel unless carjacked.
The movie wasn't playing in Sanford. It wasn't playing in Altamonte Springs. I finally found it at a theater in Winter Park, almost 60 miles away.
So Monday we set out at 9:30. With luck, we could drive to Winter Park after the rush hour, have an early lunch, hit the 12:05 showing and be headed home by 3 p.m., well ahead of the outgoing tide of commuters.
We enjoyed the movie and its familiar scenery that just a month ago was our neighborhood. If you go, it'd probably be a good idea to read the book first, since the story might be hard to follow if you don't know it already.
Happily, we made it to and from Winter Park without encountering one of I-4's infamous traffic boo-boos.
Otherwise we are settling in, relishing the sand in our shoes, remembering a few of the good things about Florida. Three days after we got home, I wandered back to last winter's job and was warmly received. They hadn't taken me off the payroll roster, so I was able to go back to work the next day without any paperwork more complicated than writing my name on a blank time card.
Starting next week, I'll be lifeguarding 20 hours per week with a better schedule than last winter. There's a lot to be said for a job whose work uniform is a swimsuit.
I've also been making extensive use of the swimming and workout privileges that come with the job, getting rid of some of the kinks, and pounds, that I acquired while working four months as a bus driver, and commuting to and from Alaska by car.
Life is good, and will be better once the Florida summer finally ends.