FIRST TRIP SINCE THE PANDEMIC

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 Elizabeth and I flew from Albany to Baltimore and then on to Tampa yesterday.  The Albany flight was uncrowded and easy, but the Baltimore flight was full.  The only empty seat was next to Elizabeth.

I was comfortable on the flight.  There were only 3 hours in the air and since that was broken up, I did not even have to use the bathroom on the place.

I did not like the crowds in Baltimore.  It was unreal.  I guess everyone was busting out of lockdown.  I am happy to be fully vaccinated and would not have wanted that experience before now.

Elizabeth packed some lamb sandwiches and we had them while we waited for maintenance to fix the exit sign.  We had been boarded first as I was in a wheelchair.  So, we had a fine uninterrupted time to eat and clean up before the rush.

Mike K. was right there to pick us up from luggage.  The guy who wheeled me down actually got our bags for us as well.  I tipped $5. 

Once home we unpacked and then Michelle and Mike came for supper.  Michelle had made a fine spinach pie and a noodle dish.  Both were delicious as well as a sweet.  

I slept well.  This morning we had stone crab on the patio, visited briefly with Nancy, Em and Mike, Jane.  

We had a late lunch that Ken and Minnie brought with our bikes. Lots of talk about dancing.  Denise stopped to talk with us too.  She is in a different class of dancers.

Tony stopped and visited as well.   He turned 90 this past January.

We made a fine order from Instacart and adjusted our Amazon subscription to come here and to come a bit earlier, so we are still here to receive the items.  So the house is well stocked.


Read a grand fishing story in the book "Remembering Paradise Park."   

"Reginald Lewis told a reporter that one day his grandfather mentioned that he would like some fish, so Lewis headed out to the dock and went to work.  Because Silver Springs owners didn't allow fishing during the day, he had to hide what he was doing, so he sat down, tied a line to his toe and sank the baited hook into the water.  A bass hit the bait and the line tightened on his toe, nearly slicing it off,  but he was not deterred.   When the boat captain pulled up to check on him, he didn't want to get into trouble and he acted as if he were okay.  Somehow he managed to keep his toe, land the fish and present it to his grandfather."

from "Remembering Paradise Park" by Lu Vickers and Cynthia Wilson-Graham.

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