I’m back in Orlando now and it feels a bit strange. Not strange in a bad way, just odd that I’m not hearing and smelling the Caribbean and sleeping in my son Richard’s apartment and not my trailer. I’ve gotten very used to my Belizean life and now, what was normal for 59 years seems odd.
My trip home started at 8:30am with Tricia driving me to the Dangriga airport where I took the 9:15 flight to Belize City at 9:50. I had an 3 hours to wait for my Continental connection to Houston, which actually landed an hour late due to thunderstorms in the area. The 2-1/2 hour flight to Houston was easy and clearing customs and immigration was no problem either. But the 3 hours between planes lasted forever! You know how hard any wait is when you are excited about getting somewhere. Well this was no different. I did have a chance to eat some good American food, something I’ve not had since the beginning of February when my journey began. Lots of walk-about, sitting reading, and watching the TVs scattered around the concourse. I didn’t want to put my cousin Pat out by asking him to visit me in at the airport but it would have been nice to see him and his wife Trece while I was there. They did so much for me in the early days of my trip. Housing my trailer while I traveled to see various aunts & uncles and cousins in the Ft Worth and Phoenix areas and a bit of sightseeing along the way; Pat helping me to get my trailer ready for the trip (he has a huge motor coach and is very savvy on things to help make trailer travel easier; and just the warm welcome and feeling of family that they showed me while I was there. And just plain putting up with me for so long! Anyway… The flight to Orlando was 45 minutes late in taking off and 2-1/2 hour flight seemed to last longer than the entire 1st part of my trip because I was excited about seeing my kids. I arrived in Orlando at about 11:10pm and picked up my rental car for the trip to Sanford and Rich’s. Avis “lost” my reservation and was completely sold out and when I contacted several other companies they were all sold out too. I sat near the counters and logged onto the free airport internet and started searching rental companies. I finally hit Hertz and was able to reserve a Toyota compact for a reasonable price. So off to the counter I went. When I got there and produced my rental number the guys said, “Do you want a convertible?” “Sure”, said I. He said you’ll have a Corvette convertible then. Whoa said I !!! I reserved a compact Toyota. We’re sold out of everything. Why did the system allow me to reserve if you are sold out. Got me says he. But I do have a Mustang convertible. How much??? Same rate as you booked the compact for so which car do you want? I’ll take the Mustang because I have a lead foot and I’ll get a ton of tickets. So I got a nice 2011 Mustang convertible to tool around in. I did some shopping at the 24hr Wal-Mart and got to Rich’s without a problem. He left a key for me in his mailbox but was already home from work. He gets off at 1:45am. We got settled in and watched TV and talked for a while. Not to embarrass him but he has been on a diet and looks great! I’m so proud of him for sticking to it. I know that he was really to do it, which is great incentive, but he is doing it by calorie count and set a very low amount for himself that I know made it tough on him. It pretty much prevented him from eating out with the family, although he did make a few holiday and special occasion exceptions.
I know that Carrie has plans to take me to Universal studios and traipse through the new Harry Potter/Hogwarts section of the park. I think we are going on Thursday 8/5. I saw a bit of the towers being built before I left and I’m actually looking forward to that. Of course Carrie and I had to have dinner at Cracker Barrel on Wednesday night because they have her favorite Chicken, broccoli, and cheese casserole. I’ll see the most of Richard as I’m staying with him and we’ll do a few things he likes to do. We hit Whole Foods on Thursday 7/29 and stocked his pantry and fridge with delicacies of all kinds so he’s a happy boy now. Matt and I went to Fishbones for Happy Hour and had curried frog legs and sushi, which we both enjoyed the heck out of. Not sure what the rest of my trip will bring except for a visit with my sister Bunny (Diana) sometime before I leave on 8/10. She lives over near Clearwater Beach.
I hit Wal-Mart yesterday and bought over $200 in fishing tackle to take back with me. I added 2 more reels; a 4 foot throw net; and a ton of hooks, weights, wire leaders, and swivel snaps. I should be set now for quite a while. This $200 is worth well over $1000 in Belize dollars because fishing tackle is so much cheaper here. I’m a happy boy!!! I’ll be restocking my pantry too. I brought 2 extra suitcases with me just for that purpose. I can check 2 bags free on my flight so that’s another 100 pounds of stuff I can bring back with me. It may be a bit hard to wheel through the airports but it will be well worth it when I get home.
More as events unfold!
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
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