November 9th the end of paradise

November 9th the end of Paradise 

It's the saddest day of a vacation… we go home tonight which is bittersweet. It's been a fantastic vacation but I will be glad to get home to see the beasts.

We had to check out at noon, our shuttle to the airport is at 8:20pm, our flight at 11:55pm (it was delayed until 12:45). There is a snow storm bearing down on home, a Canadian welcome home. I'm already stressed out about the drive from the airport. We will be lucky to get home by 5am (I was optimistic! it was 5:30 on the dot). Brutal!

On the plus side, we nabbed lounges in the shade beside the lagoon pool, a bit closer to the music than I'd like but this side of the resort plays more music from my era than the party pool which is mostly rap. 

I've got a giant Pina colada in my 🍺 mug. Carm's new drink is an Amaretto sour. He didn't bring his mug though. Mine will last all day. We don't have much money left for tips so will have to stretch it! 

The old adage of bring twice the money and half the clothes is true! Next time I won't bring so many shorts and t-shirts but maybe an extra bikini or two. I brought 3 tankinis… I wore one the first day and then rotated through my skimpy ones. The first day and a half I wore a cover up whenever I walked around… after that I just pranced around the pool or beach without caring - there are all shapes and sizes doing the same thing.

Carm brought 3 or 4 baggy shorts bathing suits - he got badly chaffed the first day but luckily, against his will, I bought him a bathing suit that leaned towards being a budgie smuggler without being gross so he's been wearing it the whole time. It looks pretty good on him!

We've been good with sunscreen and shade so no sunburns - today might be different! I've shifted my chair to get my legs into the sun for a while. They are still blinding white…

Shorts, socks and sandals are a thing with young men!

Saturday we had a leisurely breakfast with Olaf and Stephanie before sending them on their way home. I will admit to tearing up a bit when we said goodbye. We had a great time with them!

Carm and I were both exhausted so had a nap, did the packing (the salad boxes made it so easy!), then we went for a long walk along the beach. Sun, surf!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at our swim up. The afternoon show was one of the best, we were sad that O&S weren't there.

For supper we went to the Italian restaurant at the 'sister' resort next door. Some said that it was better than the breathless one, but we disagreed. It was good, maybe a 6/10 vs 9/10. Carm had a pizza, I had pasta with a salmon sauce. It was satisfying but not outstanding. Still, someone else made it and cleaned up!!!

We've met some nice people, Canadians and Europeans are the most friendly. Some Americans have been nice but there have been some deeply Maga racists. We avoid them like the plague.

Late afternoon… it poured for about 10 minutes but we were dry under the umbrella. Around 5 we left the pool, got showered and changed in the 'courtesy room' then sat in the lounge sipping an espresso martini while we passed the time till 8:20… time passed quickly and slowly! The bus was a bit late but eventually we were hurtling down the highway towards the airport.

2:30am… we are in the air, jetting towards home. The flight was delayed almost an hour due to the terrible weather back in Canada. It was a relief to settle into our seats which gave us a chance to close our eyes, but honestly it's so uncomfortable that I only dozed for a bit… obviously as I am writing this now! Carm is having more success, which is good as he'll be the one to drive us home on treacherous roads. The seats are designed for taller people so the neck rest hits me in the back of my head, pushing it forward.

3:50am… we've been tossed around like a pea in a traffic cops whistle which has made it nearly impossible to even doze.

It all makes me never want to travel again! How did I ever manage 36 hours of travel time going to New Zealand?

Luckily, the plane is only half full so we have an empty seat between us which lets me stretch out a bit!

4:30am… we've landed and Carm is off to get the car! I wonder how hard it will be for him to clean it without a snow brush?

5:30am… we are home! The roads were terrible but Carm took his time. Boundary road was the worst, it was barely cleared and there was a lot of oncoming traffic. Carm dropped our speed way down when they passed, so I only felt some anxiety and wasn't in a full on panic attack!

Noon on Monday… I'm mostly unpacked! We got less than 4 hours sleep but didn't want to screw up our sleep tonight. Pat is here so she nipped the dogs out early, letting us sleep in.

Back to regular programming!