Then There Were None(Delayed Post #2)

An editorial comment here. We got back to the condo on Sunday, February 23rd and learned the condo internet would be down until Wednesday at the earliest as they are installing a new wi-fi system. This means I can’t post this on Sunday as I am writing it and I’ll continue to write and then post when the internet returns. I’m sorry, because this means you’ll get an avalanche of news once Frail Deeds does return and you won’t be able to ration your exposure to my blighted text. So, you’ve got that to look forward (dread) to. I’m breaking up the posts into a couple parts. This second will cover the last couple days of the visit of my favorite daughter and the FBR.

Last Beach Photo with our Visitors

We returned to the beach for sunsets both Thursday and Friday albeit with an unacceptable level of clouds. The clouds could not dim the excellence present in the assembled sunset crew though. The FBR provided the needed entertainment, usually involving gymnastic moves in the sand or trying to coax her abuela down to the shoreline. Friday’s sunset was, of course, followed by the requisite visit to Sunset Pizza for the appropriate celebration of the First Friday of the Week. We were able to provide the full Panama tourist experience for our guests when there was a scheduled power outage for five hours on Friday. The FBR was a little put out by the lack of internet but she always had the refuge, just like her mom and grandpa, of reading. This was usually accomplished out on the balcony with the sun shades drawn. It’s almost hypnotic to read in the shade while hearing the waves break in the background.

Some of the Sunsets

Sunset Crew in Action

The Entertainment

Wife was on Phone and Didn't Realize The Rest of us Left

The FBR was ecstatic upon arriving for pizza to find her old friend, the stray cat Chow Mein, busily begging food from the patrons in front of the restaurant. Her joy was maintained upon entering to find the owner’s small dog, waiting to be petted by her. The pizza oven was being temperamental so the delivery of pizza was uncharacteristically slow but the excellence of those assembled around the table more than made up for the delay. The FBR could also escape to pet the dog whenever the wait became unbearable. We ended our stay with the customary servings of gelato before the trek back to the condo over what the FBR had christened “The Rocky Road”.

FBR With her Buddy 

Meanwhile, Back in NH

First Friday Pizza

Saturday came with the expected pain as we packed up my daughter and the FBR for their trek home. They were taking another red eye flight back to New Jersey, so we still had most of the day with them. We decided that time would be best spent with my wife’s family. After driving back to David, we all drove into the mountains for lunch in Boquete. It was a full 12 degrees cooler there which had both my daughter and the FBR changing into their travel clothes to deal with the 72-degree temperatures. (Wit til they get home – thought about them freezing at their Monday morning school bus stop). It was a lively lunch headlined, as usual, by Tia Loca’s antics and followed by yet another visit to a gelato shop; answering the age-old question, can you ever get enough ice cream?

Airport Farewell

Coming down out of the mountains we had to face reality and deliver them to the airport. This was every bit as painful as I anticipated. My wife’s family joined us at the airport to bid them farewell. I think Shakespeare had it wrong, there was nothing sweet about parting. The FBR finagled a final present out of Tia Loca and left with a toy sloth wrapped around her arm. They arrived back in New Jersey at 4:45am where Wingman welcomed them home and hustled them back for some rest. I cannot begin to describe how much I miss them. I know I didn’t live up to the expected “fun levels” the FBR usually experiences when her two cousins are here with us but I gave it a shot. I needed some rest too.

The Intrepid Travelers

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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