As journeys go, this one actually went quite well. I was a little worried that the gods would be angry with me about the luggage thing. As we arrive at the airport I notice that Randy and Kitty and Peggy and Mark have carry on bags. They remember last years events and are taking no unnecessary risks. But, Paul and Holly being the devil may care travelers that they are said ‘bring it on!’
We make it through security without any problems. That is unless you consider Paul leaving his phone on the conveyor belt a problem. Thank goodness we hadn’t gone far when one of the TSA agents runs after us to return the phone. Now, when you see a TSA agent running in your direction, in these troubled times, you get a little anxious. And when you see that they are aiming for you, you down right panic! But, the nice lady returned Paul’s phone and strolled off to seek other shady creatures to chase.
Just as we left security we came upon Randy and Kitty ‘shopping’ she says. She then directs our attention to Randy’s feet. Flip flops, ok. Look closer…..two different flip flops. One light brown the other dark brown. According to Randy he had on one of his new ones Kitty bought and one that he likes. Hey, he could be a trend setter. We’ve all decided to follow suit during the trip. It’s the ‘in’ thing. Trust me! Next Peggy and Mark join our merry troupe at the gate. Apparently security didn’t like all the metal thingies that are in Mark. Bells and whistles kept going off. After quite a while Peggy starts asking good looking men who happen to pass by if maybe they would like to go to Belize…but,finally Mark makes it through. We have about 45 minutes to kill before we board so an unanimous decision was made to find a bar and start the Bloody Mary tradition. Actually, Paul and Holly started at the house, but that’ll be our little secret. We find this nice little bar that looks more like a wine bar but after close inspection we see they are amply supplied to take care of us. A round was ordered. A round was delivered. Hot! Hot! Hot! They put red pepper in the salt on the rim! My lips! Holy crap! Let’s just say not only was Mary bloody, she was burned at the stake! I actually couldn’t finish mine. But big brother came to my rescue! What a guy!
Once on board Kitty starts to notice that there seem to be a lot of people on this flight. The line just keeps going. I’m guessing she’s worried about the passenger to vodka ratio. But, miracles of miracles this plane was amply supplied! Whew! Now, our little group took up all of row 19 and apparently the left side group had more than the right side group. I say this because when we got off the plane Peggy and Mark realize they left their immagration papers on the plane. Kind of important. And when the were finally allowed back on to the plane they found Randy’s book still in the seat pocket. See what I mean. There was some kind of left sides preferential treatment going on. Actually I think the FA realized the credit card was on the left side. While I’m talking about liquor, (doesn’t happen very often, I know), I need to tell you about our Duty Free shopping excursion. Kitty said we needed to buy our liquor before we got on the plane. Cheaper, I guess. She said we should each get 2 bottles. So, 2- Johnnie Red, 2- Crown Royal, 3 Baileys and 5- vodka. We figure this will get us through Monday. Maybe. While we’re filling out the customs papers Randy sees in the fine print that it looks like we can only take 1 bottle each! Oops. Maybe we’ll have a long layover and we can have a little party. Really don’t want to visit the lockup in Belize. But, Randy and Kitty find a very friendly lady that works on one of the airlines and she rushes us through the customs process. VIP’s she says. Vodka Infused People. She got that right. We hand over our bottles to be loaded and on ‘de plane’ and set out in search of a bar. We plop down and enjoy the feel of the warm wind on our skin. Our beers are delivered. A local brew, very good. And yes, I know I’m supposed to tell you the name, but at this particular point I can’t remember. We have a little wait for our flight so we have another. And another. Then it happens! We drank a bar out of beer! Now that’s a first! I may have to get t-shirts made for that one. Finally our names are called and we board this little 14 seat plane to head out to the island. What a blast! After piling into a taxi we alert the driver that we need to buy beer and wine. Now, this is the guy that just loaded the 12 bottles of liquor into his taxi. One can only guess what was going through his mind. As we drive he points out little bars and stores with fresh fruit and veggies, taking his eyes off the tiny road a little too much for yours truly. We arrive at the store and purchase beer and wine and were off again. After way too many speed bumps and slamming of brakes to avoid all the little tourists in golf carts, we arrive at Casa Tortuga! Wow! What we can see in the dark is wonderful! And our sweet cook is waiting to serve us a dinner of fresh red snapper, pineapple chicken, rice and key lime pie for dessert. Wow! What a day!
After dinner, we wander around and check out our little home away from home, find a nice patio and plop down with a little Baileys to enjoy our surroundings and company. This is going to be a great week.
No. Really.
