Back In The USA
I normally leave my comfort zone in Panama and return to the U.S. each year in April (after it warms up) and again in September (before it turns cold). This timing is driven by a several factors: 1) Panama requires that people in the country on a tourist visa leave the country every 180 days, 2) my doctors in the U.S. write my prescriptions for a 90 day supply with one refill, and 3) in six months both my family and my friends in NC have recovered from my last visit and can therefore again put up with me for a week or two.
The schedule on this visit got disrupted when my daughters in Kansas City decided we needed to have a family reunion of sorts and, since Wilmington, NC was one of my regular stops, Carolina Beach sounded like an ideal place. So I delayed my normal April visit until June and avoided the cost of two forays to the U.S. just a couple of months apart. I also was certain that the previously mentioned family/friends contingent would appreciate one visit -vs- two this summer.
The following is a synopsis of the last couple of weeks:
Traveling from David, Panama to Charlotte, NC
Since I have a son in Charlotte, that city is a great initial target for my visit. I normally spend a few days there and then drive across the state to Wilmington (which is the city I now call home) to visit another son and visit my doctor. This really works out logistically as well since U.S. Air has a daily non-stop from San Jose.
However, the trip starts with a little 'hold your breath' factor due to airline schedules. There are really only two ways to get from David to San Jose commercially. The 12-14 hour bus ride (that also includes a frustrating and time consuming border crossing) I reject out of hand. God, what a thought! The air travel is limited to a one hour commuter-type flight on Air Panama. The problem is Air Panama flys just one flight to San Jose and only on Mon/Wed/Fri.
The Air Panama flight is scheduled to arrive in San Jose about 11:30AM and U.S. Air doesn't depart until about 2PM. Sounds perfect, right? Wait folks, this is Latin America we are talking about. If Air Panama is late (not unusual) and you don't make the connection, U.S. Air charges you $200 to change the Charlotte flight. You also now have an unscheduled day lay-over with hotel and meal expenses. And you get to spend the day on the phone juggling rental car and other reservations, and notifying family, friends, etc.
Even worse, if the Air Panama flight is canceled for any reason (not unheard of) everything slips two days (from say Mon to Wed), plus you now get to 'sweat out' making the connection all over again a couple of days later.
Thank goodness, this trip back went smooth. Both airlines where on time as scheduled and less than four fours after leaving San Jose we landed after a smooth and uneventful flight.
Charlotte - Welcome Back To The Real World
It seems like every few days I have to get smacked in the face with something to make me feel older than dirt. This time it was something as simple as a rental car - thanks Avis.
Let me start by saying, as sort of a defense, that I have never been a 'car buff'. Iam one of those people that bought a new car (usually a 'new' used car) about every 6-7 years and I paid no attention to the auto industry in between purchases. So the search for a new car was always a 'discovery adventure' for me. Really, no more 8-track players? Or years before - really, there called turn signals? Or, cruise controls? Anyway, you get the idea. Add to that, I haven't owned a car for 5 years, and I have been out of the U.S. (and away from U.S. TV advertising) for that period as well.
So Avis upgrades me to a different car and explains that my Ford Taurus is in spot #6 outside. (Keep in mind, my idea of a Ford is a tinny little thing). There is a big, red beautiful thing in #6 and it is a good thing my son was with me or I would have been back inside looking for help. Also a good thing my son was there or I would still be sitting in the lot trying to figure our a 'keyless' car. You kidding me? - this bob that unlocks the doors and the trunk has some kind of magic in it? As long as that thing is in the car (on dash, in your pocket, in the cup holder), you just push the button on the dash and the thing STARTS! Well, it does if you have your foot on the brake at the time. If you don't have your foot on the brake, it just keeps turning the accessories on and off - I know, I proved it.
Of course that was just for starters. There is a big 9" square screen in the center of the dash board that controls the entire world with visuals and touch-screen technolgy. Various types of radio systems (some of which I have never heard of), the climate controls, etc. etc. My son also loaded my cell phone in there, so that incoming calls could be answered with a touch and the built-in microphone transmitted my voice and the responses came through the radio speakers (which it automatically muted). I could also call any of my 6-8 contacts at the push of a button. There was a computer center built into the center console where you could plug in computer USB drives and plays your own music, etc.
The thing I appreciated the most was a back-up camera that came on the screen when you put the car in reverse. It had lines on it that projected your backup track that was color coded so you could tell distances. It beeped at you as you got closer to obstructions and even better had peripheal visions. So if you were backing out of a spot in say a shopping center lot, it would warn you of cars coming down the row that whetre not yet behind you. A really clever feature was a security measure. If you put the car in park and did nothing for about a minute, it assumed you were waiting so it turned on the rear camera. Would make it harder for someone to sneak up on you in a shopping mall lot.
This is a house on Lake Wylie on the south edge of Charlotte. NiceI drove the car for over two weeks and there were still more bells-whistles that I hadn't even figured out what they were. Ha. Welcome to the modern world, Larry. Think I'll go back to Panama.
Hello Clover, S.C.
My son lives on south edge of Charlotte, so most mornings when I am here I drive south about 5 miles to the little town of Clover, SC. If you need a place to shoot a movie about small town America in the 50s, Clover is waiting on ya.
All the waitresses in the diner call ya 'Honey' (even the ones young enough to be your grand-daughter). And biscuits/gravy is a premium item on the breakfast menu – love that sausage gravy. That is the kind of thing you don’t find in Panama. And in the diner, as in many other places, it is just assumed 'ya want grits with that', regardless of what you order for breakfast. Love it!
A Week-Long Party on Carolina Beach
My two daughters in K.C. along with my ex- decided we needed a family reunion (of sorts) this summer, and we ought to do it at Carolina Beach. So I rescheduled my normal April trip to Wilmington to fit their vacation schedules in June and we had a ball.
Turns out there were 22 of us there and it pretty much represented the family tree. All my kids made it - my two girls and three sons with their respective spouses or significant others. Six of my grandchildren, including a year-old and a three month old I had not seen.
(The famous river walk on the river front in Wilmington)
To me it was a little chilly for the beach, but I am used to the weather in Panama. It did not seem to bother anyone else.
They rented two big beach houses, both of which, as you might imagine, turned into beehives of non-stop activity of some kind. It was a great week – an instant family memory.
Back To Charlotte
I drove back to Charlotte on Saturday (my flight back home is from Charlotte) and spent a couple more days with my son and his family – my normal travel pattern when I return to the U.S.
The drive from Wilmington to Charlotte across southern North Carolina has to be one of the most boring trips on earth. For most of the four-hour drive there is nothing to see – nothing! No farms, houses, filling stations, not even any cross roads to divert your attention. Just grind, grind …..
Then you get to Monroe on the east side of metropolitan Charlotte and it is normally a traffic jam nightmare. There is one main drag – a divided four lane that is a constant string, mile after mile, of businesses and shopping centers. It must be 10 miles long, but seems like forty. Ugh! And then you hit the interstate loop around the city, and hopefully not at rush hour(s).
The highlight of the last couple of days in Charlotte was the telecast of the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. This year as an experiment, the final two rounds were started later than normal so that the telecast was in prime time on the East coast. Since the tournament was in San Francisco there was little impact on the players. The leaders teed off about 3PM (6PM Eastern), rather than a normal 1PM start. The tournament ended at almost 10PM Eastern time, and according to early indications it may have had one of the largest viewing audiences ever for a golf tournament.
My son and I watched it at his (our) normal hangout, the City Tavern. It was a slow ‘tavern night’, so the viewers included one other customer and a handful of employees. But there was REAL excitement at the Tavern because the young man who won, Web Simpson, is a Wake Forest grad who now lives in Charlotte. Yahoo!
An Overnighter In San Jose, Costa Rica.
One minor glitch in my normal travel plans involves the return trip. The U.S. Air flight into San Jose arrives after the flight to David departs, so I have to spend the night in San Jose. By that time you are anxious to get home and a 22 hour layover, with a couple of additional ‘bag-drags’ and two additional immigration processings is an irritant at best.
Plus having lived in Costa Rica for a while I am still shocked at the price escalations in that country over the last four years. Come on - $145 a night Holiday Inn Express and $15 Denny’s breakfasts.
Does make me appreciate how Panama was virtually untouched by the economic crises of the last few years.
Till Next Time. Pura Vida
The 'real reason(s)' for this trip - my kids
My five kids
Year old grahdson - Wyatt
3-month old grand daughter- Piper.
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