Build Your Own ADVENTÜR! We Went to IKEA!

I feel like a lot of my blog posts this year (apart from the monthly Covid updates) involve some sort of changed plans! And, you know what, this one's not different...

Originally, I was going to do a Doobert Transport; there were two cats who needed to be transported from here to Winter Garden, but that transport fell through. Hubby, of course, had wanted to help with this transport - because cats - and had already taken the day off. Hubby suggested taking advantage of the day, renting an SUV and finally going to IKEA in Orlando to pick up our desk pieces. So that's what we did. 

I walked over to Enterprise Saturday morning (whoops, it was two miles, not one mile... wasn't really prepared for that) and, after I told the Rep that I was going to IKEA, was given a 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT minivan. I felt like I was driving a tank! 

2020 Dodge Grand Caravan

Leaving the rental lot, I felt like I was driving a tank. It had good pick-up, so I could shoot right into traffic (and, later, onto entrance ramps), and it was a very smooth ride. 

But I gotta say, after driving it all day, I'm not a fan. The interior, while pretty, wasn't efficient. To allow for maximum "stuff holders" in the middle (between passenger and driver seats, as seen in the photo), the gearshift was on the dashboard! Also (first world problems), I had to actually insert a key to drive the vehicle, which meant that all day long I was worrying about the key, and making sure it was accessible when I needed it. The "stuff holders" were awkward to utilize (not big enough for big cell phones, not dep enough for what I wanted to put there). The cup holders had a weird insert (meant to hold smaller cups, I guess?) that I ended up removing real quick and throwing in the backseats. And there was this weird open-sided cubby on the floor by the gas pedal that wasn't really a good shape to store anything. I have no idea if it was meant for purses/bags or what, but it was useless. 

2020 Dodge Grand Caravan Interior

Also, more first world problems that I've gotten so used to? There were no audio controls on the steering wheel, and no heated seats. 

Okay, enough bitching about a $35,000 vehicle that I'm never going to drive again! We grabbed some soda and headed down to Orlando, picking up lunch at McDonald's so we wouldn't starve at IKEA. 

Sadly, because of the ongoing Social Experiment that is Covid, half of the IKEA showrooms were closed off, there were "Please Don't Linger" or "Please Refrain from Touching" signs everywhere, and the restaurant inside was also closed. 

Hubby, who I thought was actually freakin' ready to buy his desk, didn't want to get anything because he couldn't get a chance to "look" at his desk again... Dear Lord, I love him, but I want to hit him sometimes. We talked about this for months. I thought that's what this trip was for... but no... he couldn't see the EXACT set-up he wanted, so he didn't want to get anything. I swear to God...

For me, I was able to get both LINNMON desktops and a linear KALLAX shelf that I'll use for a hutch, as well as some smaller organizational items for ALEX drawers that I'll use as legs, and the like. The ALEX drawers themselves, though, were not in stock. On the way out, we checked with an employee who was able to confirm that Tampa IKEA had a bunch of ALEX drawers in stock. I looked at Hubby, he looked at me and said, hell yeah let's go to Tampa!

Interstate 4 from Orlando to Tampa on a Sunday afternoon was terrible. We sat in a traffic jam for at least 30 minutes. 

Tampa IKEA was much better, with nothing but the restaurant closed off, no "don't linger" signs either. Here, Hubby was able to physically see his desk set-up again to make super-duper sure it was what he wanted. 

We talked to employee Jim to ensure that the ALEX drawers were in stock (the app was telling us they were out of stock), and after telling him that we drove over here from Orlando to get them, he jokingly asked why we didn't bring him a Friendly's ice cream sundae. 

Thanks to our trip to Tampa, we were able to get (3) ALEX drawers for me, Hubby's desktop, a 3-Drawer MALM dresser and 2-Drawer MALM nightstand. He'll be using the MALM pieces for office storage and a surface to place his computer tower. 

At this point, all we still need are legs for his desk, and possibly a few for mine (for support in the corner). ETA: I was able to pick these up the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in Jacksonville.

We loaded up the minivan and pulled out the Garmin to figure out what to get for dinner. 

You know where we ended up?

In Orlando. 

At Friendly's. 

Yeah, we make bad - but FUN - choices when we are out adventuring.

Hubby got a cheeseburger and fries. I had way too many options to choose from and settled on a Grilled Cheese w/Clam Chowder. I'd give it a 6/10. The chowder was very good; the sandwich was maybe too cheesy? It was a difficult sandwich to eat... it needed something to break up all the cheese. 

Clam Chowder and Grilled Cheese on Sourdough

Afterward, we each got a Friend-Z (their idea of a Blizzard). Mine was Reese's Pieces, which I thought would be vanilla ice cream plus Reese's Pieces. But there was peanut butter in it... it threw the entire flavor off kilter and I wasn't a fan. Absolutely nowhere on the menu did it mention peanut butter, nor did it mention it on the website (I just looked it up). For five bucks, I was bummed it wasn't better. Oh well. Hubby loved his. We spent about $45 after tax and tip, which I felt was a little expensive for a glorified Steak n Shake, but since $10+ of that was ice cream, it doesn't seem as bad. 

 

Description of a Reese's Pieces Friend-Z

After that, we hit up the Wawa down the street then headed home. 

Well... sat on the road. As we got near our exit (to get onto the Turnpike), we hit a standstill because DOT was trying to get four lanes of traffic to merge into one lane. In the rain. At night. On a Sunday. With hardly any warning...

To make it worse, when we got to our exit, it was CLOSED!  We had to drive up to the next exit, then turn around. There was a sign that said it was closed, but I guess it hadn't been closed off yet, because wee were able to get onto the Turnpike and head home. 

At this point, it was about 10:30 at night, and I'd been awake for almost 15 hours (very much atypical for me!). We had fun singing at the tops of our lungs. We had all sorts of random conversations. We both decided we didn't like the van.

One thing we definitely agreed on is that, when we retire, we'll never get a full-size Provost-type RV. 

Why do RVs all come with these stupid paint schemes?

And why not? I mean, yeah, it'd be hard to drive, hard to park, but it's so fancy and there'd be plenty of room! Nope, nothing to do with that... 

Interior of a random Bus-Style RV

It's because the seats are so far apart, Hubby can't keep his hand on my thigh while I drive!

Her seat is way too far back... jus' sayin'

I don't remember when he started doing this, but he's done it for years (decades, really), and it feels wrong to drive without his hand there. It's not sexual (though, yeah, it can be... <eyebrow waggle>). It's just... our thing. 

Anyway, in the Caravan, he was unable to reach over and tuck his hand onto my thigh, and it was really noticeable after a while. I actively missed him. I ended up holding his hand a lot before the waitress brought our dinner. 

So, we decided that if/when we get an RV, it will have to be a 5th wheel, or a tow-behind, and the vehicle we use to tow it will have to allow for thigh grabbing. This discussion soon turned towards the upcoming Anniversary Adventure Road Trip, as well as Road Trip 2 and Road Trip 3. Before I knew it, we were home. 

We got the van unloaded, had some quality time with The Kiddo, and then I was dead ass asleep by 1 a.m.

I am draggin' ass big-time today. I had to get the van back to Enterprise by 9am, and instead of walking the two miles home, I chose to wait for the bus. It took longer to arrive than it would have been to walk home, and I was kicking myself the whole time! I've spent the past seven hours trying hard not to fall asleep. I've hardly gotten any actual work done, but at least I'm not snoring at my desk. I'm just going to get to bed early tonight and start fresh on Monday. 

P.S. 

Now that I have all of the pieces of my new office, it means that it's really time to get my ass in gear and get my office ripped apart so I can rebuild it. 

I don't look forward to that, and yet... I do.  New beginnings are fun, but the mess to get there sucks.