Sunday, January 2, 2022; Sending the Kids Home

 

Sunday, January 2, 2022; Sending the Kids Home

Price was able to book another flight home, but his flight was boarding at 6:30am so he wasn’t able to partake in the hotel’s breakfast.  Ben drove him to the airport at 4:45am which was a very quick 5 minute drive from the Embassy Suites.  It seemed like it took the shuttle driver at the Courtyard Marriott more like 20 minutes to get to the airport despite the hotel physically being just a stone’s throw from the airport fencing.  Although the Embassy Suites charges $30 per day for parking, and the Courtyard Marriott charged only $5 per day, it seems like the Embassy Suites is a better experience overall.  Our balcony suite at the Embassy suites has two double beds in one room, and a dining table, sleeper sofa, TV and comfy chair in the other.  It was able to accomodate all 5 of us, although having just one bathroom is definitely a first world problem.  But overall, it saved us a fair bit of change over having to book two double rooms, and included a pretty decent breakfast.  

Ben returned to the hotel and slept a few more hours until it was time to get Ciara to the airport.  This time we had time for breakfast.  They had quite a line, but it moved pretty quickly.  There is an attendant who prepares toast or hands out rolls/muffins/bagels.  At the next station you can order eggs or omelets to order, and then the next person dishes out scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage and bacon.  There is also cereal, juices, yogurt, fruits, coffee and tea on the periphery.  It seems like only about half the people wear masks indoors, but at least we weren’t physically or verbally attacked by non-maskers for wanting to protect our health.  It was a little easier to get to the airport in daylight as her flight boarded at 10am.  We walked by the outdoor pool to get to the car, and it looked very inviting.  We may spend most of tomorrow there after we drop off the rental car.  

We did change into swim trunks and spent some time poolside waiting for John’s afternoon flight.  Unfortunately they had run out of pool towels, but it was about 80˚F so it was quite comfortable even if you were wet right out of the pool. The pool was also heated so it was nearly the same as air temperature.  

As we got John to his flight at the airport, we learned that Ciara had spent an inordinate amount of time on the ground in the plane so that she would not make her 7pm Whidbey Sea-Tac Shuttle, while Price encountered an even longer delay which made it impossible for him to make the 4pm shuttle that we had rescheduled.  We called the shuttle and they booked Price on a 10pm shuttle from Sea-Tac.  By the end of the afternoon, it looked like Price would take Ciara’s 7pm shuttle seat and Ciara would take Price’s 10pm seat.  This would get her back to Oak Harbor a little after midnight.  Price will have to make a second run from home to pick up Ciara, and Ciara will probably have to spend the night in Oak Harbor and drive in to work late on Monday.  

While the kids were in various stages of flight or waiting, we drove the minivan to the Costco in Davies, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, to gas it up.  The gas at Costco was $2.99 while it was $3.20 elsewhere, so there was again a massive gas line at Costco.  We were very close to the Plantation Ford dealership where Ben had placed an order for a 2021 Ford Bronco.  We did get to test drive a lightly used (1800 miles) Black Diamond trim in a 4 door soft top, but just around the block and no freeway driving.  Since we have gotten used to the refinement of our Volvo XC-90, it was quite the contrast to drive this off road beast, which you have to climb up into, and likes to sound like a off road truck from the ‘60’s.  It is brash, bold and would be a blast to drive off road but isn’t nearly as easy to drive or comfortable as our Volvo.  But then again, as a tow-behind vehicle for our RV, it would be perfect for running around exploring the wild, or even towing the Pacific Skiff.

We stopped at a nearby Pollo Tropicana for lunch and found it was still crazy busy, even at 2pm.  We had a Cuban sandwich and 1/4 chicken with boiled Yuca, rice and beans.  The Cuban sandwich at 925 Nuevo Cubano was both more impressive and tastier, but the Pollo Tropicana’s version was still tasty and could be finished in a single sitting.  The chicken was less dry than what we had eaten 2 nights ago in Florida City.  Perhaps that chicken had been sitting under the heat lamps too long.  We could see the chicken being grilled at the back of this store.  

We then drove to the Anne Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park south of Fort Lauderdale.  They had a remarkable visitor center with board walks through the local mangrove forest and it was all free admission.  There is a 3 story tall observation tower with an elevator to the top which gives a bird’s eye view of the mangroves and estuary system.  We saw ibises, mud crab burrows and mangrove tree crabs from the board walks.  We left just as the park manager was closing up the front gate.  

We returned to the hotel and rechecked in to our same room but now with only 2 guests for the remainder of our stay.  We received drink tickets for the 5-6:30pm manager’s receptions which featured mixed well drinks, wine or beer, and popcorn, broccoli, cauliflower and celery.  Last time we stayed here, they had nacho chips and salsa. 

We walked to a Mexican Restaurant about a block behind the hotel, La Bamba, which was a Mexican/Spanish restaurant.  I ordered Arroz Con Pollo, expecting boneless chicken in a red sauce with onions, mushrooms and olives, but instead was presented with a large mound of yellow rice with sautéed onions and peppers.  Buried under this was a white quarter chicken which was juicy and moist.  The seasoning was mild and buttery rather than tangy and is the Cubano version of rice with chicken.  Janet ordered a chimichanga which came out more like what we’re used to. The servings were huge, so we had leftovers that can be lunch for tomorrow.  

We picked up pool towels for tomorrow’s pool day and watched Sea Biscuit on the TV to finish the night.  At 9:30pm, we heard that Price had arrived at Sea-Tac, but somehow his luggage was still in Denver.  Ciara’s flight was finally on its way to Sea-Tac, and John had boarded his Boston to Newark flight after a long layover.  

It was nearly midnight when we were able to confirm John had made it back home to Jersey City, Price was through the snow and back in Oak Harbor, and Ciara had boarded the shuttle from Sea-Tac airport to Oak Harbor.  Price and Ciara discovered our master bedroom sinks had sprung a leaks presumably from freezing pipes during our absence because the temperatures had dropped into the teens for more than a week while we were gone.  We’ll have to further assess the damage after we get home, but had the kids shut off the water valves to those sinks just in case.