Thursday, November 29th
7:33 AM - Since my cold is almost gone, and Tracey's seems to be gone, I moved into the main bedroom last night. Slept just OK, to be honest, but unsure for the reason for that. Seemed to wake up every couple hours after having a stupid dream. Back to sleep, then another stupid dream.
Good thing I am on vacation, where naps are almost mandatory.
My finger is about 25% less sore than yesterday. I don't know how long it will take for me to be able to go without a bandage completely, but at least this morning I am able to go with just a couple of small bandages and forego the huge gauze and medical tape that made it impossible to type. With all the cutting I have done since I've been cooking a lot (probably 7-8 years or so), this is the first time I've cut myself seriously. I guess I'm officially a chef now.
Oh and I forgot to post this a few days ago, but when we went to the farmers market when we got to this resort, we picked up a bunch of Hawaiian fruit, some that we've never had before.
The top plate is papaya and starfruit (non-Hawaiian apples in the bowl). The bottom one is pineapple and dragonfruit.
I confirmed that I still don't like papaya. The dragon fruit was weird and bland. Star fruit was pretty decent.
Not pictured, we also bought some tiny little bananas called Apple Bananas. They have tons of different kinds of bananas here, and these ones were just amazing. Similar in flavor to the ones we get on the mainland (called Cavendish), but with some additional flavors like strawberries, and WAY sweeter than Cavendish. Did you know there are over 1,000 different kinds of bananas? I didn't.
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| Stock photo of Apple Bananas |
8:25 AM - The sense of calm that comes over me during my "mornings of Zen" is difficult to really articulate. Sitting here with my morning beverage, overlooking a gorgeous pool and stunning golf course, with not a single person using either one of them, is one of the highlights of my day.
8:26 AM - LOL. Golf carts just drove by and killed my Zen. The path from the Clubhouse to the teebox of the hole that is directly in front of me is between me and the pool.
This course looks beautiful, I actually considered renting some clubs and hacking around it, but then "Fingergate" came into play, quashing those considerations.
9:30 AM - Had a shower and breakfast, and "morning of Zen" has resumed. The group of golfers that passed by an hour or so ago were the only ones so far. This island does not seem to be hopping early in the morning. These people seem to be morning resters. Sounds good to me.
10:45 AM - TO THE POOL!!!!
I cannot impress upon you enough how stress-free this last week has been. Actually, maybe I can.
A couple of months ago, I started grinding my teeth at night (caused by stress); something I had never done before, but I was doing it to the point that I was actually loosening the same tooth every night, and waking up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain. I had to go to SportChek and buy a hockey mouthguard to get me by for a few days until I could get to my dentist and get a custom-fit one. That mouthguard, which I wear every night, has solved the problem.
Since we got to this resort last Saturday, I have, unintentionally, been sleeping without the mouthguard. I just left it in my bag and forgot about it.
No sore teeth. No grinding. No stress.
Awesome.
That ends now, however, as I just got a call from my Mom's care nurse, Mom is not eating, and has fainted. I don't think she is intentionally killing herself by not eating, she simply forgets that she has not eaten. This is becoming a regular thing.
Hello, stress....I had not missed you. GRRRR.
Alzheimer's really, really, really sucks.
Anyway, back to the fun and frivolity of the trip. Tracey and I have decided that before our timeshare ends, in 2022, we have got to come back here for a couple of weeks. We just love this place. It is as close to Paradise as I think I ever want to get.
Since we already have 2019's trip booked (Florida), and want to go back to Florida one more time in late 2021/early 2022 for the Magic Kingdom's 50th Anniversary, that doesn't leave a bunch of time to come back here! Perhaps late 2022. We will make it work.
From 2023 on, we are actually going to have to pay full price for our resorts. That is going to be a kick in the nuts.
12:30 PM - Time to make some lunch, and, oh I dunno, I think there may be a glass or six of wine in my immediate future. I won't see Pool Bear for several more hours (unless she comes back for lunch, which is in no way guaranteed).
3:00 PM - After another dip in the pool, back to the suite for more relaxing and to marinate the chicken for dinner tonight. The Chardonnay that I opened a couple of hours ago was slightly underwhelming; maybe it has improved with some time. It came well recommended.
I can't believe it's almost time to go home. This trip has been a Godsend. Exactly what we needed. Everything has been incredible. The people here are just SO friendly and polite.
Even the BIRDS are polite here! Sitting on the patio in the morning enjoying my breakfast, a bunch of them (4-5) fly down and sit on the ledge a few feet away. They don't swarm, they just sit and look at me. Birds want food.....always....there is never much doubt about that. But there is just something different here. Normally I imagine that birds are thinking "Hey, buddy, food, food food food food food drop some food drop some food hey buddy drop some food or just get up and walk away and we will help ourselves food food food food food!!!!"
These birds?
"Aloha, good sir, my compatriots and I are just stopping by to ensure you are enjoying your time on our beautiful island! If you happened to 'accidentally' drop a morsel or two, we would be most appreciative, but if not, that's OK! Enjoy your day!"
6:45 PM - After a pretty decent dinner, the wife is back to the tub. "No tub gets unused", she says. We are both enjoying another beautiful bottle of wine as we slowly finish off the case we had sent here.
Oh, and the Chardonnay DID improve a ton with a bit of time.
8:15 PM - YAWN. Well another crazy night, time for bed. The Princess Bride just came on the TV, so I think I will fall asleep to the exploits of Westley and Buttercup and Prince Humperdinck.
Until tomorrow....our last full day here.........
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