A Sanibel Travel Diary

Christmas Day, 9:30-ish a.m.—I got up. I was tired. This was completely my fault, but there you go. To back up the bus, as Bee Loo likes to say, we had our annual Christmas Eve party the night before, and as always it was great fun. It wasn't as big as some years, but we had excited kids and happy adults, and what more can one ask for? Well, this year, I was hoping to have a bit of an early night, since we were leaving for the airport the next morning. I got what I wished for—kind of. We started the party earlier than normal, and it wrapped up about 9. I was upstairs cleaning the kitchen when a car pulled in the driveway. The two sons of our good friend Jay came bounding in. "Where's our dad? We got dropped off here after church." Their dad had thought he'd make it, but wasn't sure. Slight communication mix-up, but soon thereafter Jay and his girlfriend Angie got here. Well, Jay loves to do shots. Yikes. Several shots and man-size Jenga games later it was midnight, and Jay, Angie, Joey, and Jackson were going home. Then I decided I wasn't tired, and I had been planning to watch “The Homecoming” ever since I bought the DVD way back in November. I loved “The Waltons” as a kid, and the original film with Patricia Neal is excellent. Mark fell asleep immediately, and I sent him off to bed. It was about 1:30 a.m. before I went to bed, and then I didn’t sleep well. Sigh. So yes, I was tired when I got up. Mark had gotten up about 8 and had the house picked up and coffee made. I puttered around putting my last few items in my adorable little vintage suitcase set that I bought on Etsy (I am not an overpacker) and making sure everything was set for Polly, our wonderful housesitter. We finally opened presents, then packed up the truck & said goodbye to the pets. I hate that. Terilyn the cat is pretty oblivious, but Mr. Rochester KNOWS what that vintage suitcase set is, and he does NOT like the looks of it. Finally, around quarter to 11, we were off. We got to Bun’s in short order, and by golly, Tony had breakfast ready. After a quick breakfast of eggs and bacon we hit the road. Bun had graciously agreed to drive us to the airport and pick us up. Woo Hoo! It’s not that expensive to leave a car, but it sure is a hassle. Much nicer being picked up, especially when you’ve just come back from Florida, your legs are bare, and you have to chip ice off your windshield. Or in my case, shiver while Mark chips said ice off the windshield. No problems on the drive, and when we got to Metro we were dumbfounded. NOONE was parked by the North terminal. Wow. We hugged Bun, went straight to the Spirit terminal and checked our bags/printed our boarding passes. Next stop: Hockeytown. Two sea breezes (me) and White Russians (Mark) later our plane was ready to board. Early. Mark had to run to the bathroom, annoying me since we could have boarded VERY FIRST THING as I had sprung for the Big Front Seats as a Christmas Surprise! However, we boarded soon thereafter, and when we got to our seats, he looked at his boarding pass, looked at me, and said, “how did we get these seats, sweetheart?” I said, “Merry Christmas baby! I paid extra.” They were great. Next year I’ll have them coming home too. Only two seats on either side of the aisle instead of three, with extra leg room too. Loverly. A beauteous smooth flight, we landed early, and there were Jean & Casey waiting as we came out of security, with Jean bounding up and down! It was so cool. Our luggage arrived quickly, and we were out in the Fort Myers evening. Whenever I get off the plane there I’m struck by the humidity. Even when there’s none to the locals, coming from a Michigan winter, I certainly notice it, and love it. Casey’s son James came over, and we had Christmas dinner about 8 p.m. Short ribs, roasted potatoes, pumpkin soup . . . it was a wonderful dinner. The boys played pool, Jean & I drank, and all was right with the world. (To be continued . . . )