A Ticket To Ride

It was such a hot day for it being the beginning of June in 2007 when we boarded the plane. The humidity was ridiculous. Of course, that’s typical western Maryland summer weather. I wasn’t complaining standing in line while I handed the flight attendant my ticket. My neck was killing me from falling asleep inside Dulles airport for 2 hours, so it felt good to stand up and stretch for a bit. I wanted to be first to get on the plane because, well, words couldn’t explain how excited I was. With Sarah following right in tow, I found seats 22 and 23 and claimed the window seat. Grinning, she sighed, “Alright Zo, I’ll take that.” and plopped into the aisle seat. Her parents bee-lined for their seats across from us and crammed their carry-on items into the storage space above their heads. Peeling my eyes off of the mini window, I chuckled seeing Sarah’s dad sleeping like a rock about a minute after take off. Just then, I glanced at Sarah and read her mind as we both had a glisten of excitement twinkling in our eyes.

I could only watch out the window for so long admiring the farm fields and in-ground pools that looked like they were the size of a dime. Being on a plane for the first time wasn’t as exciting as I had planned on it being. I was disappointed that I got a wafer cookie instead of peanuts. The Coke in my plastic cup was getting warm so I threw it away and switched seats with Sarah until we got to Atlanta. I wished we didn’t have a layover, but I guess that’s how things just worked out and I didn’t care. All I wanted was to just be away from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The airport was flooded with people of all colors. I’d never seen anything like it in my life. Everyone was bustling around, in and out. I’m glad we only had to stay in the airport for less than half an hour; I was starting to get a little bit claustrophobic from all the people. Dragging my feet, I followed Sarah and her parents to the next plane to Ft. Lauderdale and was so thankful I could just sleep for a little while. When we landed in Ft. Lauderdale, my heart was racing. I was craving sand between my toes, and clear blue water. When Sarah’s dad told me we still had a 3 hour drive ahead of us, all I could do was slump my shoulders and wait until we got our rental car, which turned out to be a plum purple PT Cruiser Convertible. Seeing that car made me smile because it was another first. First airplane ride, first trip out of the north east, first ride in a convertible; I loved it.

As we drove through Miami I couldn’t help but notice all of the brightly colored buildings and random little restaurants. About every five miles we would hit a rain cloud and be drenched with water so we kept the top of the convertible up the majority of the time. The bridge to Key West was literally 7 miles. I wasn’t going to sleep though, I wanted to see what I had came here for. Just as I was thinking how I’d never seen water so blue in my life, Sarah leaned over and exclaimed “This sure is a change up from Ocean City; agreed?” and all I could do was laugh and nod my head because she was so right.

The town was beautiful. I can’t even put into words how pretty it was. As we drove through town I planned on which house I wanted to be mine because I was set on moving here. We pulled up to the condo complex and read all the numbers on the front until we found ours. Sarah and I both bolted out of the car to grab our bags and get inside. We contemplated on which bedroom we wanted and picked the one with the more beachy design. Walking to the kitchen I noticed the sliding glass doors that took you out to the deck of our condo. I slid through one of them and sat down in a folding chair. To the left, a palm tree was blowing in the soft breeze. Looking over the deck I could see the shoreline and into the water, a few fish. I thought of dad and how much he would like fishing in saltwater. Flipping open my phone, I dialed home to tell mom and dad that we made it safely. Mom was pleased with my call, seeing as she wanted to talk for a good 45 minutes. All I wanted to do was get to the beach, and apparently Sarah did too walking up beside me on the deck in her striped bikini and beach towel. “Go get ready!” she yelped at me as she pushed me back inside to put on my bathing suit.

It was true. It was just like the pictures. The water was the most crystal blue thing I’d ever seen in my entire life. The sand was white and soft on my feet. I had a good chuckle seeing an actual beach bum laying by the palm trees trying to crack open a coconut. Sarah and I blew up a huge two person raft and floated in the calm water. I knew this was going to be the beginning to a great week.

It became a ritual. Smathers beach all day, Duval Street all night. I’d done some of the best shopping of my life on Duval Street. I was excited to come back home with 3 sundresses I knew no one else would have. Sarah and I met so many interesting people. A man who would take palm leaves and make things out of them like roses and hats. It was like a beach clown, without the scary multi-colored wig. We met two of our best friends, Mike and Jordan, on Smathers Beach. We all vowed we’d never forget about each other because it turned out that they lived in Baltimore so in some way or another, we’d all be able to see each other again.

As the last day approached, my tan was at its highest. My hair had turned almost blonde, and I thought I looked more and more like a beach bunny every day. Sarah looked the same as me, except taller, and more freckles; which disappointed her. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to put all my clothes in the drawers at the condo and move in for a good year. I didn’t want to board the plane from Ft. Lauderdale to Atlanta and have another layover again. But mostly I didn’t want to leave the atmosphere of Key West. Mike and Jordan waved as we pulled out of the condo complex. Sarah and my phones both buzzed about a minute later. A text message saying “Miss ya already” was enough to make me want to bawl like a little baby and throw a temper tantrum just to turn around and stay in Key West.

The air was yet again, sticky and hot in Frederick. I groaned. The dry hot weather was so much better, I thought in my head. Sarah didn’t look too pleased to be back in this town either. I knew how much of a great time we’d had and I didn’t want to let those memories go so we got out our digital cameras on the way home and looked at all the pictures we took. That was enough to make us smile. I got to a picture of all four of us, Jordan, Me, Sarah, and Mike with the beach as the backdrop, and I told Sarah, “This is definitely going to be the background on my computer when I get home.” She slapped me on the shoulder and yelled, “Me too! I was seriously just thinking that!” and we just sat back, in the small seats of the Dodge Dakota and glanced out the window to this muggy town. We were back for good now. All I could do was grin and bear it because I knew I’d never have another experience like that again. It seems like every time I recall the memory of Key West, I smile, and it feels great.