Tropical Birthdays and Mountain Dinners

Yesterday most of the crew around here were in heavy recovery mode from the depredations of the family reunion.  I had to get up at 6:30 to prepare a turkey dinner (at least get it into the oven) as a birthday present for my father in law.  He had one of my turkeys back in the early 1980s when I lived in Panama and ever since refuses to eat any turkey except mine.  It’s a tradition passed down from my father, one of the few reminders in my current life from that almost phantom like figure.

A Photo I Forgot to Include Yesterday
A Rare Sighting of my Son in Law on the Dance Floor
Somehow My Daughter Survived this Move

I take a little sneaky pride as there is nothing else I cook that anyone other than myself can stomach.  The price of my limited culinary success was this early morning wakeup with a fairly cloudy consciousness level.  My son in law forgot to get the turkey out of the freezer when he returned the night before.  I took it around midnight but even with that late hour the tropical heat was enough to thaw it out by 6:30.  It was worth it to celebrate my father in law’s birthday.  There were a couple times this past year that we thought we were losing him to some serious health conditions before he pulled his energizer bunny routine.  Now his daughters are careful to keep him from trying to climb the orange tree in the back yard.  Yesterday was his 86^th birthday.

The Birthday Boy - We Share a Love of Canines

The rest of the day was kind of a blur with refugees from the family reunion emerging with anecdotal evidence of consciousness.  Many of the family members heading back to Panama City stopped by to wish my father in law happy birthday and sample some of the roasted bird.

Having the oven on for seven hours straight is not extremely conducive to comfortable conditions when the temperatures are in the high 80’s.  Everyone was commenting about how hot the day was but all the survivors of the polar vortex found the heat kind of cool – for lack of a better term.

The Bird Wasn't the Only thing Roasting

The dinner was a huge success and I may have even discovered a new way to make gravy since my normal accoutrements were unavailable.  The fairly large bird was completely consumed instead of the usual left over’s, which we had planned on taking to the beach with us.

The Family Dinner

Fully engorged with an almost lethal level of tryptophan all took advantage of the age old Latin tradition – an hour long siesta. We had planned a late afternoon trip to the mountains but our driver, my wife’s sister, had disappeared ostensibly in search of a new bathing suit.   I’ve had a lot of experience dealing with this family trait of vanishing into shopping environs with a cell phone suddenly inoperative – it’s something her sister, my wife, has been accused of a few hundred times.

But Of Course There Was Cake
They Sing Happy Birthday in English (at least a variant)

There was some mystery involved since my wife opined about a certain airline pilot who may have been between flights, but I digress.  She did eventually show up without a new bathing suit but vigorously defending the inoperative status of her phone.  We journeyed up to the mountain village of Boquete, one of the coolest places to visit in Panama.

They’ve finished a new highway which made the trip much easier than in earlier days and we were there inside of twenty five minutes.  Despite the dry season there were some persistent mountain showers which robbed a little bit of the vistas.  We were driving literally through some of the rain clouds as we came into town.  We toured the town and then settled down for dinner in a bar/restaurant BaruBoquete, right on the town’s central square.

In Boquete - I Just Missed Capturing My Daughter's Signature Jump Move

We were surrounded by an eclectic group of fellow customers.  I counted five different languages spoken, as Boquete is a real tourist destination.  The waiter was definitely over matched but they did have a replay of the San Francisco/Seattle football game.  We saw why Richard Sherman has become the most hated man in the NFL and created legions of Broncos fans.  What a jerk! 

Dinner in Boquete

As darkness set during our sojourn waiting for the check we tried to locate a restaurant in the mountains which my son in law could score a local brew that would be the envy of his fantasy beer league.  We did eventually find it but it was a little upscale for our tattered appearance so we deferred and returned home. 

Outside BaruBoquete

The drive down out of the mountains was spectacular as the lights of the coastal cities were in view for the entire trip down.  Today we head for my favorite beach so I will probably be off the blogosphere (or whatever this place is called) until Friday.  Checking my work email I saw the following weather forecast which made the beach trip even sweeter:

Blizzard conditions expected across far southeastern Massachusetts this afternoon through Wednesday morning, heavy snow is likely across much of southern New England.

Locations: Worcester and Northwest Middlesex counties in Massachusetts.

Hazard types: Heavy snow accumulations of 8 to 10 inches.

Impacts: snow covered roadways will cause difficult driving conditions. Periods of moderate to heavy snow along with gusty winds will cause visibilities of one mile or less at times.

Wind Chill readings, as low as 18 below.

A sneaky giggle might have just escaped my lips.