Asheville, North Carolina!

 Asheville, we love you! For nearly two years, we have been cloistered at home, cautious and fearful. We are vax'ed and boosted and unafraid! We are on a road trip, and feeling like we are 22. We left home with barely a plan, only some celery and turkey sandwiches, and a 10+ hour roadtrip through the breath-taking Great Smoky Mountains. We drove through the Cumberland Gap and had a poignant talk about Daniel Boone and the Conestoga wagons. We saw very few remnants of the past, but did notice one huge Confederate flag, which took our mood from 10 to 1 real fast.

Tomorrow? Biltmore Estates!

Apicoectomy!

Fun times today at the Endodontist!  After a root canal on Tooth 8 in November and another RC on Tooth 7 last week, today I had an apicoectomy on both teeth.  I had vital abscess tissue that needed to go, too.  The doctor was great.  He told me to bite down on this tube that removed saliva from my mouth while pretending I was at the beach.  I did all of that, and five stitches later, I'm out of there for a week.

Dentists!  And my new favorite dentist became one only a week ago.

It's the good and bad all in one breath.  It's life.

Bye, “Mon”!

It’s back to reality today, to the schedules and duties we have chosen, back to the lives we treasure.  We both agreed, a few days in, that we probably wouldn’t return to Jamaica, quickly adding, almost in unison, that we still are very fortunate to have the experience, to be on vacation.

Staying at an all-inclusive (Seagarden Resort) worked well for us, as we couldn’t find a real store anywhere nearby. The “markets” were no more than souvenir shops, and they were everywhere. But our needs were easily satisfied, as we flitted between the pool bar, the beach bar, and occasionally the piano bar.

The locals were chill, for sure, and we enjoyed the resort staff and all the vacationers we met, mostly Canadians. The flowers and trees were in full lushness, accented by the Caribbean Sea and mountains. It was the respite we needed; memories were easy to make.

A Warm and Windy Day of Lasts

Our last full day in Montego Bay was full of lots of fun.   We had our usual early morning run, followed by a hearty breakfast, a long walk on the Hip Strip, followed by a competitive tennis match.

Then it was time:  for the last strawberry daiquiri, the last pina colada, the last dip in the Caribbean Sea,  the last veggie “wrap” poolside, the last plate of fries chased by final Red Stripes.

While it was everything we planned for, times away also remind us of how much we love the life we’ve designed.  We are coming home to a freezing rain, chased by single-digit temperatures,  but we are also coming home to people who love us.  Can’t get that here!

Just Another non-Manic Monday

Another relaxing day, running in the morning, reading (and sipping) in the afternoon, dinner and socializing in the evening.  We met two sweet (and young!) couples this evening - neighbors from Oakbrook IL and a “female empowerment” hair colorist (she called me a “champagne blonde” - not ash blonde) from Wheeling PA. We also met a Jamaican woman who sold us t-shirts (and has been doing this for 42 years) and, when we asked her how she perseveres (Indians have moved in over the last several years and taken business away from the locals) she showed us her Bible and said she vents to God.

Sunday: No Blues

After a thorough night’s rest, we grabbed a piece of toast and ran south, coastline, to Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. The church was not what we’d imagine a cathedral to be - the building was in serious disrepair, and zero trappings -but as the congregation gathered, all of that slipped away. There was joy, so much real gladness and that beauty was so very real! It was an experience I won’t soon forget because there was so much confidence in the room.

We have spent other idle hours today, reading, talking, and gently gawking at wedding preparations underway, at “our” resort.

Saturday in th Sun

We spent our Saturday lazily.  The day before, the day of our arrival, I approached our ocean bar with a Beginners mind, and way too much gusto for the complimentary rum concoctions, mudslides, rum punch, something else delicious, and of course, the ubiquitous Red Stripe.   Today I approached everything like an expert, not yielding to anything more of a treat than a Diet Pepsi.

We watched the planes arrive, saw a wedding underway, and this morning took our first Mobay run. My favorite thing this morning was a FaceTime call w Miles and Matt, and then with Kate, Jacob, and Ava.  We don’t miss the snow back home but we sure do miss them, not because we would necessarily see them today, but because we are so far away.

We are staying in a four star resort, at least that’s what they call it.  As we are starting to learn, everything has a “resort” in its name.   It’s a little bit tired but the pool is beautiful, the Caribbean Sea is beside us and is very clear, the drinks are plentiful...there are several bars and restaurants on property and we are having a lot of fun!  The locals are very easy-going, and we do not feel out of our element because tourism here is everything.