2023 Life Logs, Day 328: Back on Cape Cod
Date: Friday, November 24, 2023
Weather: Sunny: High 51, Low 33 F; Sunset 4:18 pm; Sunset 4:18 pm (-0 min)
Location: At the Goldstones, Falmouth, MA
At 2 am, I said my final farewell to Finca Maravilla
and Justin and I were on our way to the airport in Aguadilla. By 2:30 am, I had gone through the USDA check at the airport and was in line to check my bag. Justin was waiting outside in case I needed assistance, but the miracle I had been hoping for all week came true. I woke up after only 2 hours of sleep with no pain in my right hip. There was still a heaviness at the bottom of my spine and tingling and a little numbness in my legs, but I could walk without the excruciating pain. There was a long line waiting to park at the airport, so I insisted that Justin drop me off and just wait a bit in case things in my back changed. But they did not. Aguadilla is a very small airport, so I was able to get my luggage checked and get into the gate area to wait for my 4 am flight to Orlando. I let Justin know he could head home and by 6:40 am I was in Orlando. I deplaned at Gate 28 and needed to walk to Gate1 for my flight to Boston. I had planned to ask for wheelchair assistance, but with only my backpack and still no back pain, I walked slowly to the Food Court, had breakfast, and then walked the distance to Gate 1. So far, so good. The flight to Boston left Orlando at 9:30 am and by 12:45 pm, I had my luggage and waited to catch the bus to the Plymouth Park and Ride where I had left my car. Finally, just after 3 pm, I was back in Falmouth. But I went to Heather and Jed’s, instead of going home, as the house sitters are there until Sunday. I had received a text from Karen Baranowski inviting me to dinner, so I took a nap and then went to dinner. Since I only had 2 hours of sleep before leaving Puerto Rico and only two more during the two flights, the afternoon nap was much needed. And not having to cook dinner was such a treat. Thank you, Karen and Peter.
Heather and family are in New York City and will return mid-afternoon on Sunday, so I settled in to finish the book I have been reading, Hello Beautiful, and went to bed. By the way, I highly recommend the book. It is on the list of the New York Times Top 100 list for 2023 and I agree.
Heather, Jed, Sam, Jonah, and Ollie had Thanksgiving in New York with the Dearman’s, my summer neighbors when I lived in the cottage, and today they did a behind the scenes tour at Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty,
and the 9/11 Museum. They are doing more New York City touring on Saturday before returning home on Sunday. Then they will switch into Christmas mode as Heather leaves on Wednesday for Dubai and doesn’t want to wait until mid-December to put up their Christmas tree. Sunday will be Christmas tree day.
My trip to visit Justin and Jo was plagued with cloudy and rainy weather and my back issues, but we made our own sunshine by just enjoying being together and limiting activities to things I could manage. My memories of our Thanksgiving feast is one I will also cherish and the time spent with Ziggy and Coco made it well worth the trip. And I loved that the kids insisted that they decorate their Christmas tree while I was there to be a part of it. I hope to return after my knee surgery and after I resolve the issue with my back so I can fully enjoy the sunshine and snorkeling, as well as spend more time with Ziggy and Coco who are growing up so fast. Thank you, JJZ&C for a wonderful week.
