Of Pelicans, Small Dogs, and Shopping Purgatory

We returned late last night from our day in David, too late for the caretaker to help me lug our purchases up the stairs (he was asleep). It was our typical Tuesday back in my Favorite Panamanian’s hometown as we laid in supplies for the week with the added and welcome requirement of insuring we had enough for Great Aunt when she arrives on Friday. We were uniformly successful; we even located the elusive half and half. We failed on this last year as it isn’t a regular on Panamanian grocery shelves and we’d never noticed because neither of us drink coffee. We hit a total of eight stores in our quest. We had a few other purchases to make, including longer HDMI cables for the television so we could take full advantage of its new mobility. We ended the day at the movie theater before the late-night drive back to the condo.

Wife and I Sunsetting
Our Condo Behind Us (with sun screen down)

I’ve written before about the pelicans of Las Lajas. They are a fairly ubiquitous feature of the beach. They cruise the top of the waves each morning. I always greet them with a loud “Pelicanos!!”, when they pass by during the morning bogie board session. In the afternoon they cruise much higher in a stately formation above the beach, usually right by our balcony. I knew I I was going to write about them so I was looking for a picture of them as they passed by in the afternoon (the morning was easy). I kept the phone ready as I lay on the couch watching the NFL playoffs and missed each time they floated by (they never came by on a commercial!!!). I finally got a shot of them as they headed into the sun after passing by, take my word for it though, it’s a very cool sight. I guess you’ll have to come to Las Lajas to fully experience it. Note – just as I was writing this a huge formation passed by but I was too late to get out there to capture it. These daily observations lead to a question of when these guys eat. I know they descend on any fishing boat out in the bay but it would seem they waste a lot of time cruising the beach, but hey, who hasn’t?

Morning Pelicans Cruising the Waves

Elusive Afternoon Bunch
Halfway between Sun and Treeline

We had some day visitors on Monday when my brother in law’s ex and her two daughters as well as my mother in law spent the day with us. They brought a very small dog (true rat with a hormone problem) with them. It was a long, hot hazy day at the beach and I could tell my Favorite Panamanian had aimed the rat at me with the intention of continuing her campaign to get me to buy a small dog for her. I will admit I enjoyed playing with it although I was more concerned about that the large birds that frequent the beach would take a run at him. Dogs, of any size, are true companions but I couldn’t stand the constant yapping of a small dog.

Visiting Rat

Newly Mobile TV - New HDMI Cords worked!

We went to see Anyone But You while back in David. I wasn’t prepared to like this movie as much as I did. I will admit the chance to see Ms. Sweeny in various bikinis did a lot for me but this movie is an equal rights teaser as my wife is now in love with Glen Powell. They both make a hugely attractive couple jumping through the rom-com hoops as required. I laughed a lot more than I thought I would and the setting of Australia was beautifully shot. The two stars meet in a Boston coffee shop (meet cute all the way) and spend a glorious day together only to fall afoul of fate (otherwise, no movie) and end up hating each other. They are thrown together with an invite to the Australian wedding where the predicable happens despite all the roadblocks they as well as their friends and family throw up. It was about an inch deep but a thoroughly enjoyable, harmless romp. The screen credits at the end were absolutely hilarious.

Sunset, Of Course

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                     

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course