Yesterday, was an amazing day. Doug and I began our day having an amazing breakfast buffet with our “chosen family” at Paradise Lakes Clothing Optional Resort. We then we headed to the pool area to relax. At 1pm, the owners of the resort and several guests poured several bottles of Mr. Bubble into the conversation pool. When the bubbles hit the jets, the jets created a beautiful soapy bubble foam that surrounded everyone in the pool. In the next 30 minutes, the soap bubbles grew to 2 ft high, and I was instantly transported to memories of a first winter snow in Ohio…only this had a fun Florida twist. When people got out of the pool, they were covered from head to toe in thick bubbles like Abominable Soap-Men and Soap-Women…an army of laughing foam yetis.
At 5pm, it was time to get ready for the golf cart parade. We had so much fun getting ready for the Memorial Day golf cart parade - we couldn’t WAIT to do this one. We kept our red, white, and blue lights, patriotic bunting, and stars and stripes seat cushions the entire month of June. Our golf cart has built in speakers, so Doug took the music from the Memorial Day playlist he created and made a few fun changes to make it perfect for July 4th. Our friends D & T were visiting Paradise Lakes for the day. They had heard about this golf cart parade for years, but never experienced it.
At 6pm, we arrived for the parade line up. The golf cart parade organizer was so impressed with our showing at the Memorial Day parade, she made Doug and I the Grand Mashalls of the parade…much to your delight and surprise! After kicking off the parade with a cavalry call, we led 40 golf carts all decorated in red, white, and blue around the Paradise Lakes property. With so many golf carts IN the parade, we didn’t have a lot of spectators say by Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade standards. But I guarantee you, Macy’s parades don’t have naked bystanders that waive American flags AND pass out jello shots and Fireball to the participants!
At one point, we made a 180 on the route and got to see all the carts in the parade. The last golf cart in the parade had our beloved bisexual / gay / crossdressing residents…I couldn’t help but laugh at how much fun they were having “bringing up “the rear” of the parade. We laughed at the ridiculousness of the whole thing the entire time. T said this had to be one of the highlights of her life…and I had to agree. We ended the parade with the first ever flash mob dancing The Cupid Shuffle in front of the resort…and flash mob at a clothing optional resort has a very different connotation, as you can imagine.
Already a great day, but our adventure was not over! After saying goodbye to D & T, Doug and I had a few minutes to clean up and then head to Clearwater Beach. More of our chosen family members, J & R, drove down from Boise, ID in their RV. On the way down, they stopped at every fireworks seller on the way to their 2nd home in Clearwater, purchasing thousands of dollars in colorful fireworks for their own display. J spent much of the evening rigging up the remote controlled detonators. Other party attendees set up chairs and made sure passing beachgoers knew what was about to happen so they could enjoy the display from a safe distance.
As the beautiful display of fireworks were going off…I couldn’t help but think what an amazing day this was. In the foam party, I remember puffs of foam floating to the heavens. I followed their journeys to the sky, I wondered for just a moment what my parents would think about all this.
And then as one of the puffs disappeared, I realized that whatever my parents (or anyone else) would think about my life…just doesn’t matter.
I am free to make choices. I choose to do things that make me happy.
I am grateful for what I have. I am living my best life.
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