Completion

Complete what, you might ask. That would be the assembly of our visitors this year, which was complete with the Saturday arrival of my daughter and the FBR. They took the red eye flight out of Newark and arrived in David at 9am with about two hours of sleep. The FBR might have gotten more since she fell asleep on top of her mom who couldn’t move without waking her. They were excited to be back in Panama and we stopped off for a Panamanian breakfast with my brother-in-law and his fiancé. The FBR was intrigued by a couple statues of Panamanian folklore monsters. My daughter was asleep as soon as we hit the InterAmerican Highway on our way to Las Lajas. The FBR unbelievably stayed awake, although she was assisted by her ever-present iPad. That ran out of power just as we arrived in the village of Las Lajas and she also fell asleep, even over the rocky final few kilometers to the condo.

The Two Stalwart Travelers Shortly Before their Midnight Flight

We arrived to find most of my wife’s family in residence as she had planned a celebration timed to our daughter’s arrival. We rented the common area for the day and during our absence the family had got everything prepped. While I was transporting our balcony grill downstairs, the FBR donned a new bathing suit and was in the pool literally five minutes after arriving. This is a constant theme with her, she is a true water bug. I began grilling only to discover I had placed the grill over an ant bed. My ankles were soon festooned with a series of bites. Every form of insect (and some of the plants!) in Panama bites, something I learned as a young lieutenant patrolling the jungle here.

Friday Night Pizza Before they Arrived

My Patented Photo Bomb Move

Airport Arrival in David

Breakfast Upon Arrival

Two Monsters

We were also celebrating the February birthdays, so a cake was involved. We did a toast to the BRS and Namesake Nephew’s new daughter, both back in snowy New England who qualified for the February salute. My Favorite Panamanian did not want to make it about her birthday but we made sure she was recognized. I wrapped up the grilling and ran over to the pool for a needed relief (grilling in tropical heat = not fun) much to the joy of the FBR who had been sadly lacking for anything to climb on top of in the pool. It was a great party with my wife’s fabulous family and was even blessed with a rainbow by some passing showers. We assembled for the sunset ceremony which was a disappointment because of the rain, but still a fun group for the crew. We ended the day with a lively game of Uno Flip in the common area.

FBR Five Minutes After Arriving

Welcome Party

Unfortunate Grill Location

Of Course, Dancing Broke Out - Panamanians Were Involved

Including Upstairs Neighbor with my Mother in Law

The Water Bug Coming Back from Ocean Dip During the Party

Wife with Rainbow

February Birthdays

One of the FBR’s stated goals for this trip was to learn how to boogie board. I was appointed to instructor status. She turned out to be a natural. After five minutes she was catching waves on her own and her screams of delight could be heard all the way back in the condo. She had the advantage of light weight, so basically any wave could zing her along. I did not share that advantage so I was constricted to catching waves a little further out and she would jump on as I passed by. It is a memory I will always cherish as we rode side by side and I looked over to see her look of pure joy as the waves carried us shoreward. Tia Loca spent much of both days of the weekend delving for clams which she soon drafted the FBR into helping. Sunday saw a huge clam bake to consume the spoils of their digging.

Tia Loca, Clam Digger Guru Returning with her Spoils

Clam Digging Crew

FBR Joins the Dig

Two Happy Campers

She's Getting Too Big to Throw

Saturday Sunset

The Crew

Late Arriving Sausages

Uno Flip Game

I usually restrict myself to two boogie boarding sessions daily, early morning and after 4pm, to avoid the sun at its peak. The FBR was having none of that and we ended up hitting the waves for five different sessions. By the end of the day I had my first sun burn of the year. I was able to treat it overnight so that it turned back to tan this morning but I’ve got to be more careful. That won’t be easy with the water bug in residence. It wasn’t so much the boogie boarding as the pool, which is where we are when we aren’t boogie boarding. Still, not a day I would trade for the world. The sunset ceremony was actually rained out as some stiff storms wandered in just as we were setting up.

Boogie Boarders Heading Out for First Time

Class Begins

She Always Went Further than I

Sunday Sunset Before the Rain

We watched The Gorge last night which was a pleasant surprise. It was hard to believe they could make a romantic film about two elite snipers separated by the titular gorge filled with zombie like hollow men, but they did and it rocks. All the credit goes to the two leads Anya Taylor-Jones (always so good) and Miles Teller. Revealing more of the plot would ruin some of the very entertaining plot twists. There’s the usual gaping plot holes you finds in horror movies but this really was a love story with the occasional zombie and lots of explosions. Even my wife liked it which was a huge surprise considering she usually walks when the first zombie appears. Highly recommend this action/romance/horror flick.

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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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course