Just a Day to Recoup

 I got up early and went to the beach to reserve loungers.  I thought Art could use the rest and sleep in. I wan't sure if he would even feel like going to the beach but wanted to be prepared in case he did.   I scored a couple loungers and moved them to the spot we have been going.  I was pretty proud of myself.  When I got back to the room Art got up and said he was hungry so we went to breakfast.  He didn't eat a lot but it was good to see him have something.  The meds seemed to kick in and he seemed to be doing better.  He said the pain wasn't bad unless he moved around.  That was improvement.  I was glad and relieved he was doing better.  

We went to the beach but it was a little chilly so we went back to the room and rested until the sun came out where our loungers were.  We just hung out at the loungers then rest of the day.  As the day went on I could see a change in Art.  He was fading.  He said he was tired from the day.  We did go to dinner but Art ate very little.  The antibiotics are taking a toll on his already distressed colon.  

This trip has been a real eye opener for us.  We have lots to consider. We head for home tomorrow......... hopefully all will go well.  It will be good to be home even if it isn't as warm. I will miss the warm weather. 

Trip to the ER

 I am not even sure how to describe this day other than bizarre.  It all started off with a knock on the door early this morning.  Art had left to go reserve loungers for us.  We had decided to go back to the place we had yesterday as it was so perfect. We would only be there for part of the day as we had planned to go to the Malacon and our favorite restaurant this afternoon. I had gotten up and was getting ready so when Art got back we could go to breakfast.  There was a knock on the door.  I thought that early in the morning, it must be Art......he must have forgotten his key.  Just as a safety precaution, I looked out the peep hole. There stood an employee.  I opened the door and he very cheerily asked are you ready for breakfast?  I looked down and saw the room service cart.  I told him I didn't order room service.  He said oh yes you did you filled out the sheet and he point to my room number on the sheet.  I assured him once again I didn't fill out sheet and didn't order room service.  He looked at me for a few seconds then broke out in a big smile and said maybe it is really your neighbor.  He went across the hall and knocked on the door.  The gentleman answered and the employee very cheerfully asked are you ready for breakfast to which he said yes.  He showed him the sheet and said you wrote the wrong room number down and I tried to give your breakfast away.  The gentleman looked at me and started apologizing profusely.  I was glad it all worked out

When Art got back I said oh man you missed all the room drama.  He looked me in the eye and said I bet my drama beats your drama.  Oh my!!!!  Curiously,  I asked him what his drama was.  Very seriously he said "I think I have appendicitis ".  Wait ....what?  He had been woken in the night with a bad side ache on the right side and it had just gotten worse.  I asked if he need to go to the hospital but he said he wanted to wait.  You know to be sure.....in case it passed.  He laid down for a couple hours.  I am not sure how on earth he was able to rest because as he tried to rest, I pretended to read but I really had my eye on him.  I was really worried for him.  He seemed to do a little better. But then the chills set in.  I knew then he had a fever.  He wanted to go down to the lounger to be in the warm sun. 

We went to the lounger and it did help for a little bit.  I texted Doctor to see what he thought.  I knew he was at work and it would probably be a while before we could talk to him.  As we sat there Art really didn't feel well. He made the decision he needed to go to the ER.  We grabbed a cab and went to the ER.  After blood work and a CAT scan it was decided he has diverticulitis. They wanted to admit Art and give him antibiotics intravenously until the surgeon could see him.  That would be about 2 hours and we had to pay up front.  We shared the results with Doctor and came up with a plan. We were so grateful for his help.  He could read the results, interpret them and reassure us. We got some prescriptions and we will go home and see a dr there as soon as possible.

While I went to the pharmacy to get the prescriptions, Art contacted the airline,  We will be going home  on Saturday morning.  That will give Art all day tomorrow to rest and get ready for the journey home. 

There is a big plan in play.......everything has a reason and purpose.  Hopefully the medications will kick in soon and Art will be better in no time. 

And for the record........ Art's drama definitely beat mine. 

Drama from the Elevator

 Today just flew by.  Not sure why it went by so fast but it sure did. I slept in so we were a little later going to breakfast.  What a difference 30 minutes can make.  The restaurant was super busy.  Fortunately, we were able to get through the buffet pretty fast all things considered.  

I forgot to take my sunglasses so I ran back to the room to get them.  The man I met at the pool yesterday was in the elevator.  Boy he was full of drama.  We had no idea of all drama that went on yesterday.  Apparently a tourist's body washed up on shore so they were trying to figure out who he was.  Crazy!  Then someone was swimming in the ocean and got stung by a jelly fish.  The guy said most people don't know what they should do and asked if I knew and I said yes you pee on the sting.  He was stunned that I knew.  He said I must have been stung before......  nope.  But that was a lot of drama for an elevator ride.  

Art scored us loungers in the most ideal spot. We were on the beach in a spot that wasn't wall to wall people and it had some nice palm trees that provided shade until late afternoon.  I think we will try to be there the rest of the week.  It was just perfect.  We stayed there the whole day and just loved it. 

The weather was perfect.  Couldn't have asked for a better day.  Back to the room to get cleaned up and be serenaded by Art on his guitar. We got in the elevator for dinner and there was a man in the elevator that reminded us both of my dad.  Everything about him including his look and mannerisms was my dad.  They totally could have been related.  It was really crazy!  Off to the hibachi for dinner.   Now we are tucked back in our room. 

Laid back but busy day

Today was a laid back yet busy day.  The day seemed to fly by.........We started out on the beach.  Art got us great loungers but for some reason there was not only the usual shortage of umbrellas, there was a shortage of little tables between the loungers.  It took some searching but Art found us one.  We spent most of the morning at the beach.  Then around 11am  it warmed up to the hot zone and with no shade it gets pretty hot. Not only that it had gotten pretty full.  Folks were trying to steal loungers.  Art went to the bathroom and while he was gone, I had three people ask for his lounger.  At least they asked and didn't just take it.  When he got back,  we packed it up and went to the private pool.  There was plenty of loungers,  little tables and most importantly shade. 

The pool was pretty cold but the big hot tub area was heated.  I opted to be in the hot tub pool.  After being in the hot tub pool a little while Art decided to give the cold pool a try.  While he was doing that I stayed in the hot tub pool.  There was a young couple in the hot tub pool and they came up to me and they were all friendly and smiley and asked if I was at the hotel alone.  I said no I was there with my husband and just then Art came back.  Then they were super curt and left me alone after that.  Not sure what they would have said if I would have said yes.  We did have a great conversation with a man from North Eastern Canada.  He has traveled all over Idaho and named several cities he has visited.  Small world.  

There was a iguana at the pool area.  Art was snoozing it his lounger and it was fascinated watching him.  He sat at the end of lounger watching him until he woke up.  Then another bigger iguana came.  When he saw the other iguana he start nodding his head wildly then made his move and hoped on her.  She was not having it though and in the water they went.  By then everyone was gathered watching her get away.  That is one wild pool for sure.

It has been great people watching this week.  We started giving people names that we think they should be named.  One couple we named Birdie and Hank.  Not sure what Birdie's real name is but I found out today Hank's name is really Hank. Too funny!

We walked to Outback for dinner. It is really close to our hotel.  The road we had to cross was a little scary but we managed it just great. The food was.......  OH.MY.WORD!!!!  It was beyond delicious.  We decided they had to have their meat imported from Missouri.  It was tender and flavorful!  Art order a gin and tonic and the waiter brought all the stuff for it and let him mix it himself. He thought the bartender made a great drink......hahaha.  Our waiter spoke perfect English with hardly any accent. I would bet he spent time in the US but we didn't ask him. We really want to go back again before we have to go home. 

We had a beautiful sunset tonight.  The sunsets here are so incredible.  That is one of the things we have always really enjoyed here,  They have the perfect spot to watch the sun set here.  

Today is drawing to a close.  It was a great day!  

first Iguana watching Art

                                                        second Iguana 

                                                Tonight's sunset with a cruise ship setting sail

                                                    Us watching the sunset

We Discovered Another Pool

Last night wasn't as wild thank heavens but we did have a visitor at 1:30am.  We were woken up by a bunch of laughing and carrying on from the hall.  Then there was a loud knock on the door.  We are at the very end of the hall mind you so there is no mistaking our room.  We of coarse ignored it and they went away.  It was quiet after that.   I had a strange epiphany today.  We used to be the young people partying  and having fun, then I watched the young folks and think goodness I could be their mom and now I look at them and think holy smokes I can be their grandma. Wow where did the time go?  Such a crazy thought.  I thought about it the rest of the day.... heck I am still trying to get my head wrapped around it.  

The restaurant this morning didn't seem terribly busy so it seemed the hotel wasn't as busy but then all the loungers at the pool were taken.  The beach still had some openings though.  Art scored us loungers at the beach.  There were no umbrella's anywhere this morning.  We talked about going and buying a little umbrella like so may others have so we would  have some shade.   As the sun heated up it was hard to be without any shade so Art sat at the outdoor bar to keep cool.  It is under a hut so the heat isn't beating down on you.

More folks arrived and they have a convention going for the rest of the week so it has filled back up. 

After lunch we went for a walk around the sister property and we found a nice quiet pool with a lot of shade and open loungers.  They had soft music playing and the few people in the pool appeared to be about our age.  We were so excited.  We are going to hang out there tomorrow afternoon.  If we hang out there we won't need to buy an umbrella. 

While I was enjoying the sun, my masseuse found me and wanted to know how I was feeling today after my massage.  She said she sure enjoyed me and couldn't believe how ticklish I was.  Hahahaha I wasn't  ticklish, she and her warp speed just made me giggle.  Anyway it was nice of her to come up to me to see how I was doing. 

Later this afternoon we walked over to the barter market.  It is about a two minute walk from here and it is where the cruise ships come in.  Didn't buy anything but was nice to stretch our legs and walk.  Then we decided to stop by the grocery store.  They have a little of everything not just groceries.  They even have umbrellas so if we need we know where we can get one.  Art picked up some gin that he prefers and the hotel doesn't carry.  One of the workers came up and asked  if we are finding everything and we said yes.  At first he said he was in customer service but then after telling us about his divorce, new girlfriend and showing us pictures of his son he told us he also arranges tours and when we were done to come see him and he would give us the family discount (wink wink).  We weren't interested but did enjoy talking to him.

We had a lovely dinner at the Italian restaurant.  We decided we would return a few more times as there were several items we would like to try.   When we were returning to our room, we were in the elevator with another couple.  Neither Art nor I could pick them out in a line up meaning we had never seen them before. The guy looked Art in the eye and said  "You didn't get sunburned today.  Good job".  Appears he could pick Art out in a line up. 

We went to the show tonight.  It was Mexican night so they had a lot of traditional dancing.  The dancers were really good.  The speakers were turned up full volume and all the Mexicans in the room would whoop it up so loud you could hear it over the speakers so you know it was loud.  It was high pitched earsplitting at times.  Best part of the whole night was coming back to the room and Art (who has extremely sensitive hearing) describing and demonstrating how it shook his organs up inside.  We both laughed so hard.  I feel bad for him but his acting it out was absolutely hilarious!!!  

Storm clouds moved in early evening and it is trying to sprinkle but tomorrow is supposed to be hot and sunny again.  We are excited to go to the new pool area. 

Some Pictures

Celebrating we made it with our luggage 

view from our room

view the other way from our room

our room

the hotel view from the pool

Yes that is Art in a Chiefs shirt 

 

Wild Night

Well last night was a wild one.  It started off with our drunk neighbor trying to get in to what we think was his room.  He pounded and I mean pounded on the door and yelled for someone to open the door for a good 40 minutes.  I was so glad he finally gave up.  We are on the 6th floor and on the 7th floor there is a roof top pool and bar.  Most of the people up there are between the ages of 20 and 40ish.  They are loud partiers.  A few hours after the pounder, the roof toppers started in yelling and whooping it up for about an hour. They quieted down around 3:30 am. Finally, we could go to sleep.  No sooner did I drift off and a couple of guys started fighting and yelling in the hall outside our room. Maybe one was the pounder I don't know I didn't get up and look.  But someone intervened maybe security because they stopped.  Once again  I started to drift off and about the roof toppers started in again.  It was 5 am before everyone settled down. Needless to say I slept in. 

  

Art was able to score a place by the pool today.  The place was packed again this morning.  I was going to get in the pool but the pool was so full, I couldn't see a place to be let alone a place to get in.  It was okay because after the long sleepless night I was able to take a bodacious nap.  Then shortly after lunch the place started to clear out some.  

Art and I walked down to the beach mid afternoon so I could get a massage.  Jesus was off so I was unable to get a massage from him but I did get a massage on the beach from his coworker.  holy smokes she was on warp speed.  Usually a massage is a slow relaxing rub but it was like she was on speed.  It made me start to giggle.  She thought I was ticklish.  Anyway, it was a good massage even if it was on warp speed and I did get a good laugh out of it. 

When we got back to our lounger more folks were gone.  None of the restaurants seemed to be overly full tonight.   I am wondering if we got in on the tail end of a busy season and wonder what it will be like tomorrow. 

Storm clouds started to move in this afternoon but it didn't storm and it stayed warm but rain is predicted for tomorrow.  

We laughed at dinner tonight.  The matre'd is the same one that was here last time we were here.  He said we told him we be back in 6 months not 7 years.   Anyway, he told us the salmon was delicious, the shrimp was delicious, the chicken was delicious but the lasagna...... was not bad.  We decided we would stay away from the not bad. Art had the salmon and I had the shrimp.  He was right they were delicious. He didn't say anything about the dessert and it wasn't bad.  

I hope tonight is calmer. 

Forgot to mention

I forgot to mention this in my last post. 

As mentioned earlier, I had a foot massage.  It was so heavenly and relaxing.  Jesus my masseuse was almost finished and I was basking in the relaxed state I was in and all of a sudden, I was jerked back to reality.  I heard an all too familiar sound of ....... yep a tuba band.  What on earth?  Had I jinxed myself?  Earlier today a band showed up  to play at the pool.  They were talented and actually quite good but they had the volume on the speakers up so loud you couldn't be close by.  At the time, I thought even though it was extremely loud, at least they weren't a tuba band.   If you recall, there was a tuba band last year only at a different hotel.   I am not sure if it is the same tuba band but if it isn't they are just as bad as the other one and if it is the same they are still bad.  The consolation is they only played two songs and kept walking down the beach.  Well I think it was two songs.........maybe they were just warming up...........I couldn't tell.  With any luck they won't have a karaoke night with the tuba band as the band like last year.  

Que Pasa

The hotel has been remodeled since we were here last.  The interesting thing is they added more rooms and expanded the outdoor dining area but they haven't added more outdoor space or more loungers. One of the problems when we were here in the past was there was not enough loungers for everyone and it causes problems.  There is a huge group that reserved loungers at the beach and the pool for everyone.  Because they were at the pool for a long time, a couple took two of the loungers.  A women in the group starting yelling at them and said the loungers were taken and the people who have them were in the bathroom.  So unless the pool has become the bathroom she was out and out lying.  And if she was telling the truth I am not getting in the pool. The loungers they do have are pretty worn out. And there are only a few umbrellas to provide any shade.  Some recently returning guest have brought their own umbrellas. Who knew.... The hotel is at full capacity so there are people everywhere.   It is almost too much.  

Anyway,  Art got up early this morning to reserve us some loungers on the beach. Normally, he reserves the loungers and has a cup of coffee and comes back to the room to get me.  This time he called and said the elevators were out so he was just going to stay down and wait for me.  I don't blame him.  We are on the 6th floor. The elevator was out for most of the day.  Not only was it out but the service elevator was out as well.  The elevators were a problem in the past as well but we are in the newer section so we didn't anticipate it still being a problem.  We will see if it continues to be a problem this week.  

The weather was nice.  It was 62 this morning but it warmed up to 80 by the afternoon.  The sun was out for  most of the day.  It was a nice warm day.  I even had a foot massage on the beach.  I am going to do a neck and back massage tomorrow.  I am super stoked. I didn't do it today because I had the foot massage late this afternoon and when it was done,  it was time to come back to the room and get cleaned up for dinner.

Our room isn't bad.  It just have a few issues.  The toilet seat doesn't stay up.  It is fine for me but not for poor Art.  He might have to work on his aim.  And the shower head is plugged.  We did report it and the maintenance guy came.  He was told the toilet was plugged so he came with the plunger.  I told him the shower head is plugged not the toilet but the toilet seat needed to be fixed.  I showed him the seat and how it didn't stay up and he asked if "I" needed it up.  I told him "I" didn't but my husband did. Then he realized the issue.  He left to find a new seat.  He couldn't understand the shower so I told him to forget it and just fix the seat.   Luckily, he just returned with a new seat.  

We were able to watch the games today.  We were happy the Chiefs could walk away with the win. After dinner we came back to the room and Art serenaded us on his guitar.  It was very enjoyable. 

It Worked

 I am not sure why but it seems like it is getting earlier and earlier that we have to go to the airport.  This morning was pretty early.  We got up at 3:45.  Fortunately everything lined up perfectly for us.

There were rumors that there could be fog this morning but there was none. The roads were clear and traffic was light.  Art dropped me off at the airport and then he went to the lot and parked the car.  For me it didn't seem to take very long.  There were some pretty long lines at the ticket counter but we just went right through.  

A few weeks ago, the airline changed our flights and so instead of having a couple hours layover, we had a thirty minute layover.  That is fine as long as we take off on time and the new gate is close to the one we would be going to.  We full well knew we had a good shot making it to the next flight ok but the chances were slim that our luggage would make it with us so we planned and prepared accordingly. 

The flight was full so boarding was slow.  Then the plane had to be deiced.  As a result, we were late taking off.   I wasn't too worried as I know the pilot can make time up. But he didn't. Good fortune kicked in and we were just a little late.  Unfortunately our gates were in different terminals.  According to the airline messaging the walk to the new gate would be about 9 minutes.  That's not too bad all things considered.  We hurried as fast as we could and made it in less than that.  When we arrived to the gate, it had already boarded. But believe it or not we were not the last to get on.  There was another couple that sat across from us that had a delayed flight.  They were a couple minutes behind us.  Once they got on, we took off.  Although we tried to remain optimistic, we were fairly sure at that point our luggage would not have time to get unloaded and reloaded onto our plane.  It was okay because we had prepared.

Customs was a complete breeze.  We walked right through.  We knew we had to wait for all the luggage to be off loaded before we could file a claim so we walked over to the carousel to wait.  When I pulled up the website and checked where our luggage was, it said it had arrived.  WHAT!!!  Holy cow could it be true?  Sure enough our luggage was some of the first to be loaded on the carousel.  We could not believe it.  Not sure how on earth it had time to get loaded on the plane but we were so happy......gobsmacked..... but oh so happy.  

Made it to the hotel.  Our room wasn't ready so we went to lunch.  After lunch they said the room still wasn't ready so they gave us another room but then decided the original room really was ready.  So we got to the room and the keys didn't work so I suggested we try the other room and it worked. So Art went to get it straightened out.  In the meantime, the bellman brought the luggage.  I told him what the scoop was and he said the original room was the right one and got the maid to let us in.  Nope that wasn't the right one.  The keys worked for the room we really were assigned to.  All worked out and we got all settled.  Not much of a view but the room is nice and clean.  I'll post pictures later.  The long day has caught up to us so it is bedtime.

And we have luggage.........woohoo.