I turned over, thinking, I probably have to get up soon.
I look at my phone and it was 12:20.
I have to be up no later than 11:55 to be on time.
I have to be in my car no later than 12:15 to be on time.
I got to work 30 minutes late for my first day back from vacation.
And of course, everyone was there when I got there. Most day’s I’m the first to arrive.
Then, I settle in to return the 53 phone calls I have, and I can’t connect to the internet. I spend an hour trying to get logged in.
I finally give up.
And that’s about 5 minutes before the staff shows up early, to undecorate for Xmas and reset the dining room.
Without blinking it’s 5:00 and time to open the doors.
And then at 2:00 in the morning we get our first survey of the new year.
I’m convinced the woman who wrote it was drunk. It was insane and probably will set the tone for the whole year.
Here’s what it said.
Jeff was simply the best!!! Our table was beautiful and had the perfect setting for a relaxing meal. The food was amazing. Truly, this restaurant has the best service and the food exceeded expectations!
Adam goes in search of a couple of gifts at the mall.
He wakes me up when he gets home.
I had asked him to look for the bar towels all the restaurants used that have a bright red and blue stripe on them. I think they are fun.
He was walking down the street and a girl comes up to him, selling them on the street. He tried to buy them all but she said no, and only sold him 6. I was still excited.
He also shared, that he’d bought more wine.
WTF?
It’s around 2:00 and the day is quickly passing.
We shower and get dressed.
We stop and have lunch and then it’s off to the Casa Rosado. The Pink House. Of Eva Peron fame.
We spend 6 dollars getting there.
We take about 6 photos.
Then we spend 6 dollars getting home.
We make one last stop for coffee and a snack.
Then it’s home to pack.
We are really concerned about the weight of the suitcases with all of the wine bottles.
We cart everything downstairs and get started.
It takes a while, but an hour later, all the wine, all the clothes, and the gifts, all the shoes, all the toiletries have a home in a bag. Adam guesses they are all around 45 pounds.
It’s 7:00. We have 30 minutes till we need to be in an Uber to the airport.
At 7:15, I order an Uber.
At 7:35 we are starting to get worried as no one has picked up our ride.
Finally, we get a notice that Gerardo is on his way.
He pulls up and is immediately concerned about the size of the 4 bags we need to get to the airport. We assure him they’ll fit and 6 minutes later the car is loaded and we are off.
30 seconds into the ride and we discover we have a talker. I don’t mind this. Adam less so.
He starts with are we here on business or pleasure.
I explain that it’s both and why we are here.
He then asks where we are from.
I tell him Maine and now he gets going, wanting to know if we live near Stephen King, if we eat lobster, if the food is good et.
He then starts listing all the big restaurants in BA wanting to know if we’ve gone to them. As he asks, he tells us his opinion. Great. Over rated. Tourist trap. Excellent food, bad service. Bad food, excellent service.
He tells us that if it were a weekday, he’d never have picked us up because of the traffic getting back into the city.
We find out that he owns a web development company, but he drives more now since he doesn’t have a lot of clients any more.
He doesn’t stop talking the entire 40-minute trip. I actually love it.
At one point, he tells us that the only food he eats that comes from the water is pasta.
Adam leans over and tells me to write that down.
We get to the airport, we say our goodbyes, I tip him 40% of the tab and give him a rave review.
We head into the airport, get checked in. Holding our breath that our bags aren’t too heavy.
Whew. They’ve all been placed on the belt. They are disappearing. No one said a word.
We head toward security and run into Chef and his brother, and his family. They’ve all come to see us off.
We end up in a small café in the airport, with coffee and snacks.
The clock is ticking and Adam is starting to get worried.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Finally, we head up the escalator to security.
His mom takes all of our photos as we move upstairs.
The stand watching us move in the security line until we turn the corner and we all wave goodbye.
It’s now me, Adam, Chef and his brother.
The line is moving, albeit slowly.
It’s forced into a single line and we inch forward.
Finally we are at security.
It’s the laxest airport security I’ve been through since 9/11. They don’t scan us, they just send us through a metal detector. We don’t take off our shoes.
We get through, put our belts on and our computers away, and then move to another line, going more slowly to go through immigration.
It’s about 40 minutes before the flight, when we are through and headed to the gate.
We have exactly enough time to grab a beer and a water, and then they start boarding.
However, they have announced that you can bring no liquids on board. Meaning the water that Adam bought me for the flight, now has be consumed before we board.
They also have a team hand checking all the carry on bags. They search my back pack, meanwhile they just ask Adam if he has any liquids.
We finally walk down the hall to the plane.
We are greeted by the world’s oldest airline staff. The team taking care of coach were all born in the 50’s and all of them were men. The staff member, on our side was a GRUMPY old man. He was rude to the guy sitting next to us, who was trying to stow his carry on. All three of us were looking at each other thinking what the fuck is this.
However, once the plane was boarded, and the doors closes, he sat down in his seat across from us, and had tons of questions about where we were from, where we were headed, etc.
We get settled, the plane takes off, 10 minutes early, and we are told we are well ahead of schedule.
The flight goes off without a hitch until 2:38. I know it was 2:38 because when we were awakened by turbulence that makes the news, I looked at my watch and said, is this when I die. For about 20 seconds the plane bounced up and down and back and forth. When it was over, everyone was awake and the whole plane was buzzing.
30 minutes later, everyone was asleep again.
Adam was breathing deeply next to me.
I dozed off and on all night.
Around 7:00 they served the worst breakfast in the history of breakfasts. I had a cup of coffee and an orange juice.
FUN FACT: I’m allergic to citrus fruits. I learned this in high school, but it was confirmed after college when I had a back reaction to orange juice. I’m allergic to limes the least, lemons next and oranges the most. However, I love oranges and I LOVE orange juice. I allow myself one small glass a year. On Christmas morning. We didn’t have any this year on Christmas, so I treated myself on the plane.
In small doses, it make my lips numb and I get all sinusy.
Back to the story. Breakfast is served.
And I repeat my comment from a week ago, that people who put the blinds up while others are trying to sleep are the WORST.
We are told to buckle up and the plane lands early.
We get through immigration and customs and we are now in NYC. With a four hour layover.
Chef however, had driven to NYC and actually picked up his truck and was home three hours before us.
We tried to find breakfast or lunch. However, the only restaurant open, only had 3 breakfast items on its menu and they wouldn’t serve lunch for another 90 minutes. We ended up with a better breakfast than the plane but not by much. The service was lovely which made up for it.
Finally, it’s time to board.
We get on the plane, the doors are closed, and we are told we can only have beverages upon request. And we never see another flight attendant until we land. Once again, I’m as dehydrated as you can me.
We are now in Boston. It’s 2:00. We get our bags, and rush to the bus station.
But now we have to wait until 2:45.
We sit in the cold waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
The Portland bus appears and we are so, so, so grateful.
We get on. We choose our seats.
It’s almost 3:00 and we are on our last leg of the trip.
As soon as we board, the driver makes an announcement, saying that there are no phone calls allowed as no one wants to listen to you talk on the phone. There are other things she shares, all with a sense of humor and as soon as she puts the mike down, a phone rings and a woman two rows in front of us answers.
And we learn that she is speaking to JoAnne. And that her flight got in an hour early, so she’ll be getting to Portland early. She doesn’t know if Jeff can pick her up but she’ll wait in the lobby of the bus station is he is not there.
They say their goodbyes.
She hangs up.
Then Jeff calls. She has the same conversation with Jeff. She tells him she has spoken to JoAnne and that her bus is early, because her flight was early, and that she’ll wait in the lobby of the bus station.
She has 5 more of these conversations in the next hour. Oblivious to the fact that we aren’t suppose to be on the phone. I thought she might have missed the announcement but on one of the calls, she told the person that she wasn’t supposed to be on the phone and so needed to keep the call short.
We pull into the bus station. We collect our bags.
Adam leaves me on the sidewalk to get the car.
It’s 5:10 and we are on our way home.
We make quick stop at the grocery store for dinner.
And it’s 5:45 when we pull into the garage.
Exactly 24 hours since we got into the Uber to start our journey home.
We had a wonderful trip. It was beyond our expectations.
But 4 hours later as we sit down for dinner on the couch we looked at each other and both said, we were very glad to be home.
The Casa Rosado!!!
It won’t be easy, you’ll think it strange When I try to explain how I feel That I still need your love after all that I’ve done
Our last marienda.
Our bags are packed.
One last photo before we say our goodbyes.
Up, Up and Away!!!
Having fun in the security line.
Time to head home…
Adam is down there someplace.
We brought all the wine home. Don’t tell customs. Super excited about the 3 liter bottle of Aperol.
I'd Like to Speak to the Manager!!! 