Death By 10,000 Cuts

To say Dustin and I have had a rough month is a bit of an understatement. I mean, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. From car accidents to a death to family issues to house issues to illnesses. IT HAS BEEN ROUGH. And still we know, it could be so much worse. It can always be worse. I cannot wait to say goodbye to September because quite frankly it hasn't been any fun.

Dustin and I aren't beach people. I enjoy the beach here and there. And he tolerates the beach, for me. But we've been going to the gulf coast once a year for awhile now. This year we had to change up the location because I forgot to book our normal Siesta Key hotel 6 months in advance. So by the time I did get around to booking, the only rooms left were incredibly expensive. I decided to book something in Clearwater back in July thinking it wouldn't be too much different. I have been before and remember it being really nice.

After dealing with the shit that has been September, we decided we didn't really feel up to going any more. So two weeks ago I actually tried to cancel our reservation. They required a cancellation 30 days in advance in order to get a full refund. It was either eat the hotel cost or go and try and have a good time. We chose the latter.

Saturday we set out early. By the time we got into town it was around 10:30 and Dustin was starving. I always eat breakfast the minute I get up but it takes him awhile. We stopped at Bob Evans. I know, I had the same reaction. I'm not saying I'm better than Bob Evans, I'm just saying there are better places. Dustin assured me it would be just as good as Cracker Barrel or IHOP. It wasn't bad but certainly nothing special.

Now that we were super stuffed, we headed to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium; where movie stars Winter and Hope of Dolphin Tale (and Dolphin Tale 2) call home. I've of course seen both movies. Top notch animal films along the quality of Homeward Bound, Andre, and Flipper. I've actually been begging Dustin for years to go visit Winter (and now Hope). If you don't know the story, Winter was caught in a crab trap which resulted in the loss of part of her tail. She was eventually fitted for a silicone tail that helps her swim normally. She has lived at the Clearwater Aquarium ever since. The aquarium also took in Hope after she was found at only a couple months old next to her dead mother. So now they are best friends. I just find it so awesome that they found each other.

I've been to a lot of aqauriums and this one certainly stands out in it's rehabilitation. They seem to put the rehab first and the "attractions" last which is pretty refreshing. It's not the prettiest aquarium but it's just as cool as the big ones. We got to see turtles, otters, a Pelican, and of course Winter. We watched Winter play with two kids for a good 25 minutes. The instructor would let one of the kids spray Winter with a hose. They both loved it. The kids were able to pet and feed Winter too. It was such a cool and intimate interaction.

We had some time to waste before checking in to our hotel so we decided to go up the road and check out the local mall. This mall was pretty damn nice and to top it off it had an ice skating rink in the middle! Dustin and I were so impressed by this. We just stood by and watched everyone skate around.

I have been to Clearwater before but I must be romanticizing it in my memory because the reality did not live up to what I had envisioned in my head. It's kind of become (or maybe always was) the Daytona of the gulf coast. It's certainly no Siesta Key. The traffic is worst than Orlando and the people are pretty douchey. It just wasn't the atmosphere I was hoping it to be.

I could sugar coat the trip and say we had a great time but we didn't. There were moments of fun but overall it just wasn't great. The weight of all the bullshit is still holding us down. And then more bullshit in the form of my A/C going in and out and me getting really sick was the breaking point of the trip we didn't even care to be on. For a lot of reasons, but mostly because I wasn't feeling good and wanted to be in my own bed, we headed home that same night. Dustin described this month perfectly, calling it "death by 10,000 cuts". A lot of little things just keep adding up and chipping away at us. I'm glad that I have Dustin to go through all this shit with. It's hard but better together. Come on October, show us a good time!