We had arranged to drive up to St. Augustine and Jacksonville this weekend to spend time with Dave and Jennifer, as well as Carlos and Kristy. Our plans were still somewhat tentative, but our theme park schedule isn’t set in stone, so we really have no reason to commit to any specific schedule.
We left Davenport around 11 am and set off towards At. Augustine to see for the first time where Dave and Jennifer were now living. The initial plan was to spend the night there and then head up to Jacksonville to our old stomping grounds to see Carlos and Kristy.
Joey and Jae tolerated the 2-hour drive reasonably well. By that, I mean World War III didn’t break out in the car, although there were one or two minor skirmishes. I don’t know what it is about boredom and monotony of a long drive that sends them into such a frenzy. I’m perfectly happy to watch the world go by while driving. Joey was switching between watching videos on his iPad and playing with his Transformers. Jae was immersed in her TikTok stream, ducking out occasionally to exchange messages with her friends. Knowing that Sandy hates long car journeys—admittedly because I tend to sit in the driving seat almost silently throughout—I did my best to start a conversation now and then to puncture the monotony.
Dave and Jennifer live in a picture-perfect subdivision. Quiet, leafy streets and well-manicured lawns presented an idyllic and serene atmosphere as we passed through the gates and into the community. Most of the immaculate, detached townhomes were decorated for Halloween. Skeletons, ghosts and ghouls were on display almost everywhere we looked. Some homeowners clearly put a lot of time and expense into their Halloween scenes, indicating they would be open for business for trick-or-treaters later tonight.
It was a thrill seeing Dave and Jennifer again, as they welcomed us in and showed us proudly around their stunningly beautiful home. With high ceilings, vast open spaces, and seemingly endless numbers of rooms and bathrooms, they have a house that’s to die for. It looked like a show home, with no object accidentally placed. Jae later told me she felt the home to be a little sterile, being so immaculately kept. Like the rest of us, Jae tends to favour a bit of disorder in the house, preferring the lived-in look and feel. I thought it was a refreshing change to be in a space that was so orderly and calm, although I’ve become comfortable with the ever-increasing entropy we typically live in. Left to our own devices, our house would naturally become progressively more lived in.
After settling in, we enjoyed helping with the final preparations for this evening’s expected parade of children trick-or-treating throughout the suburb.
Once dusk had set in, and most of the neighbourhood kids had been along to collect the candy Jennifer had laid out in a bowl, Sandy and Jennifer took Joey and Jae for a wander around to do some trick-or-treating of their own. That left me guarding the bowl full of tootsie rolls and other treats. Oops! That was naïve defending!
When the gang returned from their trick-or-treating around the manicured neighbourhood, I asked them all how it went. Jae’s behaviour was ever-so-slightly different. She seemed more loose—tipsy even. It wasn’t long before the reason for this became evident. Some of the homes were, shall we say, accommodating some of the more mature trick-or-treaters. Alongside candy for the children, they also laid out shots for the adults passing through. Jae was hitting them all up, downing as many shots as she could get away with.
Notwithstanding the legal age in Florida being 21, my mischievous little darling was convincing everyone she was 22. She even went as far as embellishing her rouse by bemoaning the fact that she often gets carded going to movies because of her youthful looks. Judging by her wobbliness, she must have been quite convincing throughout the evening. Evidently, one house had so-called pudding shots. Jae tried the salted caramel one—very delicious, but also very strong. She immediately slept for an hour after returning, no doubt reeling from the effects of the alcohol.