British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It was time to look that up on Wikipedia after landing in Miami and recalling the lyrics of Back in the U.S.S.R by The Beatles, “flew into Miami Beach BOAC.” Why I never before had that curiosity before, I simply can’t explain? We spent our first night in the city under the protection of Mother Marriott at the airport after renting a Buick Encore SUV. It took me back to years of owning Buicks thanks to my advertising client Lochmandy Motors in my hometown of Elkhart, Indiana. I hadn’t thought of Brian Lochmandy in years or the Skylark and Regals he sold me. I remember that I always wanted a Riviera, but the job led me to another city and another client relationship. Eventually, I got company cars, a perk of being in management.
When we moved to Austin ten years ago I didn’t even have a car, using my wife’s Lexus sedan on occasion. We soon settled on a used Solara Convertible as a second vehicle once I found a suitable job, and my wife upgraded to a Lexus convertible. We’ve already transported that car to Florida, housed in my son’s garage, and will make a similar cross-country drive in the Solara in a few months. Once we arrive in Florida with that car and schnauzer Tally, it will mean that we are permanent residents. Tally had to stay home with her pet sitter on this particular trip that will take us to our Venice construction site and back to Miami for a restful week on South Beach.
It was actually American Airlines not B.O.A.C. that took us from Portland, through Dallas, into Miami. I can’t seem to get that song out of my mind.
“Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC
Didn’t get to bed last night
On the way the paper bag was on my knee
Man, I had an awful flight”
“I’m back in the U.S.S.R.
You don’t know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the U.S.S.R.”
“Been away so long I hardly knew the place
Gee, it’s good to be back home
Leave it till tomorrow to unpack my case
Honey, disconnect the phone”
“I’m back in the U.S.S.R.
You don’t know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the U.S.
Back in the U.S.
Back in the U.S.S.R.”
We’re still planning to tour of what’s left of the U.S.S.R. in six months via river cruise. That is if Corona doesn’t once again get in the way, as it has with Bali, Egypt, Hawaii, and St. Kitt’s. At least thankfully Florida is still open to tourism.
We’re Miami bound tomorrow morning, with a bright and early start. There will be no time for a blog post, just an early one-mile minimum run and a quick bite to eat at McDonald’s. Finally, we’ll be escaping this prison of an apartment and see the sun – or at least the sunset when we arrive. The flight will likely be miserable with a stop in Dallas. The original intent was for my wife to continue on to St. Kitts for a girlfriend week, but Covid screwed up those plans. Instead, we’ll head to Venice, Florida and our new homesite, spend some time with the grandkids & friends, and enjoy a week on South Beach in Miami.
The Hitchcock viewings continued last night with North by Northwest. Miami will offer a temporarily diversion from our incessant TV watching, but one last movie tonight before we go. Packing and cleaning will occupy some of our attention this afternoon, along with a virtual Zoom “Leadership Meeting.” The excitement is building for tomorrow morning’s flight. Our schnauzer, Tally, however, will not feel the same way when she sees our suitcases. She’ll stay home with the pet sitter after an early outing. I can only hope that the rain holds off until after we leave.
I’ve already lost interest in college basketball, so I will not spend much time in Florida watching sports. We will get to dine out, including a bucket list dinner at Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami. We’ve been to all the other locations, but this is the original. It’s about a mile from our South Beach condo in the Marriott Vacation Club’s Pulse. I may also try to hook-up with “The Raven,” a fellow streaker that does a sunset run on the beach every day . He’s the 7th ranked runner on the USRSA list, while I’m at #203. He’s two years younger than me but has a 34- year longer streak (16,817 days – 46 years compared to my 4,401 – 12 years). I should probably get a signed copy of his book, since I’m Miami Bound!
it’s the last day of 2020, as if fortunes will change dramatically at the stroke of midnight. Realistically, we’ll be facing the same viral and economic concerns tomorrow, but optimism prevails with the start of vaccine distribution. The last nine months have been tense with health fears and isolation. We were so looking forward to our first year of joint retirement and travel, but trips to Bali, Egypt, and Hawaii were soon cancelled. The two of us then compromised with some long cross-country drives into Glacier National Park and to Florida via San Francisco. We will see what next year brings in the way of planned cruises from Barcelona and on Russian rivers, but I’m skeptical they will happen. At least, we will have a new Florida home to look forward to enjoying in 2021.
The Florida Keys and Miami are our first travel targets for 2021. We’ll arrive in Florida just in time for my granddaughter’s dance recital and grandson’s birthday. Two days will be spent with some Indiana friends, vacationing near the Gulf Coast. We also get to check-out construction progress on our house. We’re expecting a video conference update next week before the interior drywall goes up. Time will pass quickly as we anticipate the move in March and first cruise in April. I will likely miss Spring Training in the neighboring Braves stadium this year but the following year will be exciting.
My wife has special dinners planned for tonight’s New Year’s Eve celebration and tomorrow evening’s dinner with family. Last year we were in Florida exploring building sites and enjoyed a dinner at Bern’s Steakhouse. The year before we had just returned from our last venture back to our Indiana roots. It was the last time we spent with my wife’s mother before she passed. The New Year prior to that my wife spent several uncomfortable nights at her hospital bedside, so despite the stay-at-home isolation, tonight is a big step up in terms of celebration. Happy New Year!
The Christmas movie theme continued yesterday with White Christmas and It’s A Wonderful Life, two classics I’ve probably seen before but found most of the scenes unfamiliar. I can’t recall a span in life when I’ve had this much idle time on my hands, but most likely I just don’t remember. Yesterday, I only went outside three times for my run and two dog walks, but otherwise I was at my writing desk. With little to do, a couple of long overdue notes went out to a childhood neighbor and the wife of my birthfather, Cecil Ralph Banister. I’m not yet in the holiday spirit, but trying hard to rekindle some more childhood memories.
I did make dinner last night, but it was really nothing more than frying up some beef tenderloin, onions. and potato chunks to create a tasty hash. I’ll have enough left over for lunch today. This evening is the first of two family Zoom calls. It is organized by my son and will include grandkids, nephews, nieces, my sister, and pets. Christmas Eve is a conference with my wife’s side of the family. In the meantime, it will be the usual writing and watching. I can’t say I’ll miss the parties and get-togethers associated with the holidays, particularly those work-related. This is the second Christmas for both my wife and I to be officially retired, but last year we were able to fly into Orlando for the start of our forever home search. Next Christmas, we’ll be in our new Venice, Florida property.
Without the benefit of safe travel this year, we began looking ahead to next October to arrange a family get-together in Lake Tahoe. This will include both of my wife’s daughters and spouses, bridging the distance between the two coasts that our move away from Portland will create. This means that two trips to Florida, plus The Keys, St. Kitts, two European cruises, and Tahoe comprise an aggressive 2021 travel schedule. However, these plans are beginning to change and cancellations are expected. It’s, unfortunately, the Covid way!
I could have been waking up to the sounds of waves crashing against the beach, but instead it’s the roar of leaf blowers as they clean the downtown streets of Portland. The good news is that it’s a Monday and I’m not working and haven’t for nearly four years. Retirement has definitely made these viral times easier to tolerate, but the inability to travel has taken away one of its greatest joys. I could have crossed off Bali, Egypt, and Kauai on my bucket list. Will this continue through 2021? At least, we will be able to get to the Florida beaches once we’re settled there permanently in the Spring.
We hope to get all the paperwork finalized this week to secure financing approval. It’s been a long process selecting the site, picking the options we want, and working with the mortgage company. We anticipate closing in less than two months and moving there in three. There should be some more pictures from our project manager coming soon, with maybe a few more walls and the start of a roof. It certainly gives us something to look forward to, when there’s little to do around our apartment these days.
We visited my wife’s daughter yesterday, delivered a birthday gift to her husband, and took their dog Falco for a walk. They were supposed to join us in Kauai this week along with her other daughter and husband. Going for a short drive like this is about as exciting as it gets. Our schnauzer Tally also needs a break from her routine and it gives the two pups a chance to romp together. Tally loves to ride in the car, or just get out the door for that matter. We’re all suffering from cabin fever after about 90 days of going nowhere but on a run, walk, or to the grocery store. I did get Christmas presents ordered for the grandkids last night and the cards are ready to go out.
The eleventh and final season of Shameless starts streaming today. I also found free access to many of the James Bond movies that I want to watch. Apparently, with Sean Connery’s recent death they are now available. Last week, I sat through License to Kill (#17 1989), Doctor No (#1 1962), From Russia with Love (#2 1963), and Goldfinger (#3 1964). I want to revisit all 24 of them on my list that started with A View to Kill (#15 1985), Goldeneye (#18 1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (#19 1987), and Die Another Day (#21 2002). (See Post #888) It will be a busy week getting through all of these 007 classics. Bond…James Bond, not to mention Honey Rider portrayed by Ursula Andress.
As 2.1 million travelers passed through airports last Sunday alone, we can expect a spike in Coronavirus cases. At the same time, the first shipments of the vaccine are arriving in the Northwest, expected to first go to healthcare heroes. Decisions beyond that will be interesting, considering current politics. As a 69-year old male, I’m among the most vulnerable but certainly don’t expect any preferential treatment. Somehow, I’ve been able to avoid exposure for eight months now, even despite some risky traveling, or I’ve been infected without symptoms.
On the economic front, the Dow just had its best month since 1987. Personally, I’ve seen a jump in my credit card balance, spending more in anticipation of 2021 travel. I also have several airline, ticket, cruise, and hotel credits that will need to be used in the next year. Since we couldn’t get into Hawaii and have our doubts about Spring travel in Europe, there will be additional dollars returned in the way of credits. For example, Viking Cruises already gave us 125% credit from the cancellation of Egypt. This was reinvested in a Russian expedition next summer. If our trip from Spain to Norway is cancelled, we’ll probably re-book Egypt with the bonus dollars rather than take a refund. This reflects the sad state of the travel industry, having to provide incentives to keep the dollars already collected.
The Marriott Vacation Club has not been a good investment this year. We still had to pay maintenance charges, despite only using their facilities in Orlando, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Desert Springs this year, totaling just 20 nights. 24 nights were cancelled, and 13 are already scheduled for early 2021. We need to stay at least 40 nights a year to make this deal feasible. Once the travel bans are lifted, we’ll have a lot of time to make up. Fortunately, there are more more easily accessible Marriott resorts in Florida and on the East Coast than here in the Northwest. Mother Marriott is tired of all the cancellations and calling for us to come home. Get us the vaccine and Stop our Travel Woes!
There is no Kauai in our immediate future, contained to the mainland through the rest of the year. The virus has saved us nearly $25,000 in travel and dining costs this year. It’s money we’ll put into our new house, or already have, considering all the hidden building charges. At least we’ll have more than just memories to show from our investments. Travel is great but it goes by quickly and all that is often left is just a good sun tan, bragging rights, or pictures to share with friends. In the case of Lost Hawaii, we also missed out on a great week of bonding with my wife’s family. There was Thanksgiving and Christmas to celebrate, along with several Birthday, home purchases, and anniversary toasts – all lost.
These moments together are not lost forever because someday we’ll do a make-good, once there’s a vaccine. In the meantime, we’ll use our airline credits to see our daughter’s new house in Oakland and get together for Hawaiian Time take-out. There will be no travel hassles like Covid tests, flight delays, packing issues, security checks, and rental cars. Instead, we’ll all sit at home wondering what might have been. My wife will continue to get her travel fix by watching episodes of The Amazing Race, and I will carry on with running the streets of Portland rather than the scenic Pacific oceanfront.
We’re stuck at home in front of the T.V. for at least another 50 days. Hopefully, we’ll get some construction updates to lift our spirits. I might be able to organize a couple of noon “Leadership Meetings” to watch basketball or football games. At least, it will get me out of the apartment for more than just a dog walk, food pick-up, or morning run. On the positive side, I’ve been able to successfully dodge alcohol for the past couple weeks, with only a couple of glasses of wine for Thanksgiving dinner, so pumpkin bars are my only current addiction. We remain happy and healthy, so all is not Lost – just Hawaii!
With just seven days until our planned trip to Kauai, Hawaii, the governor of the state has changed the rules to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Everything suddenly changes as we digest this new information. Is it preferable to sit and stare at an oceanfront view or continue to look at the same boring rooftops in front of me now? My wife and her daughters will make a decision today that will probably involve canceling our flights, hotel, and other reservations. We had several restaurants booked, a catamaran tour, and a hike. These would all certainly not be possible – even the pool will probably be closed.
A discussion took place and the consensus was to cancel. Our next travel is scheduled for mid-January, prior to our permanent move to Florida. This means another two months of apartment isolation and gray skies. Also, because we used booking points, the only money we’ll really save is on dog sitting, dining out, Covid tests, airport parking, car rental, occupancy tax, tips and excursions. I feel sorry for all the small business owners and resort staffers for their loss of wages. It will not be a Merry Christmas in Hawaii. Our restaurant and shop owners here in Portland are feeling the same crunch. For us, it’s home for the holidays!
We probably shouldn’t be traveling at anyways with all the money we’re putting into our new house, not to mention health concerns. The virus is making that easy! Here we are in the prime years of our retirement without the ability to leave the mainland. Two pending Viking European cruises scheduled and paid-for in 2021 are also in jeopardy. At least, we’re staying healthy. The travel industry is dying. A vaccine is imperative! This Kauainteen is just the latest retirement set back!
It took two full weeks of visits and travel to get to the next Coast – the Gulf Coast of Florida. We’ll complete the full cross-country adventure when we travel to Miami in January. At that time, we’ll pick up our car in North Port at my son’s house where we’re leaving it to fly back to Portland next week. We’ll then drive it through Alligator Alley and down to the Keys to get to the Pacific Ocean. So far, we’ve gone nearly 3,000 miles, with stops in San Francisco (3 nights), Cambria (1 night), Desert Springs (2), Tucson (1), Marfa (2), Austin (2), Foley (1), Lake City (1), and now Venice, covering the states of Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida. We’re here to start the build of our forever home in the resort community of Island Walk.
We made another Cracker Barrel food stop, tying McDonalds’s in road-trip nourishment. I’m happy to report that I have not had one single Diet Coke in over three weeks. I’m sure their stock value has dropped dramatically, as I was once their number one consumer. However, it still hasn’t kept me from visiting the bathroom any less. Any lost fluids have at least been replaced by strictly water, with a few evening cocktails and/or wine. I’ll be curious to step on the scales once we return to Portland next week, considering the fact that I’m not getting healthy home cooked meals. I do, however, sweat like a pig on my daily runs to the point where my shirt sticks to my skin. This will be the new norm living in the Florida humidity, as opposed to the cool Oregon mornings. I’ve also yet to see a homeless person with the exception of a few hitchhikers.
Today, I’ll take advantage of the washing machine we once bought my son. We’ve already decided on the pool specs, but will go through the model home one last time before my wife’s decorating meeting tomorrow. I’ll spend the day shuttling grandchildren around while enjoying another family meal for seven tonight – probably pizza. Last night it was Chili’s. We’ve finally arrived at our Coast-to -Coast destination and will spend the next four days entertaining the kids, as they get to know us again.
The Coast-to-Coast adventure is gradually coming to an end. We’ve entered the third time zone and finally in the home stretch with only ten state licence plates yet to find. There have been limited issues, as we settle into Mother Marriott’s arms tonight. We’ve now covered the gambit of Marriott properties from Ritz-Carlton to Fairfield Inn & Suites. We did have a near-casualty, trying to dodge a semi’s shredded tire that left only a few removable black rubber marks on the newly restored Lexus sports-car body. Also, some disturbing news from both my son and my wife’s daughter ended the day.
A bottle of wine soothed my nerves. We started with an 18-pack, while most went along as gifts. Two Oregon wines went to my half/bio/from another mother-sister. I’m not sure which is the preferred term? Nonetheless, we shared some “throwed rolls” yesterday and talked about the man we have in common. I will never meet him, while she grew up with him. Apparently, he was a pretty tough father that raised five girls and a boy. His favorite saying was, “you can’t win with kids.” He was selfish, competitive, and ultimately took his own life. I would now describe him as the polar opposite of the man I got to call “dad” – the man who adopted me. They both did have explosive tempers, but I would choose the life I’ve led over what could have been.
My half-sister was raised in a small Indiana town, not too far from John Cougar Mellencamp’s Seymour. She remembered picking beans & blackberries in the family’s massive garden, playing croquet in the yard, billiards in the basement, and sitting down to meals for eight. Her dad was quite the games-man; good at just about any sport, including semi-pro shuffleboard in retirement. He built a nine-sided cabin next door to their home that eventually served as their residence and loved to hunt.
If he had married my birth mother instead of his wife of 60-years, this half-sister would not exist, and I would have lived a rural life of sports, hunting, and manly trades, instead of my country club upbringing. My father didn’t own any tools, couldn’t teach me sports because he was left-handed, and despised the outdoors, especially after living in a tent during the war. He did encourage me to enjoy sports, get an education, and work with my mind, not my hands. If circumstances had been different, I would be a completely different person.
I’m appreciative of the life I do live, especially now that I’m comfortably retired. I owe it all to my adopted parents, who raised me as their own and provided the resources for success. I’m also grateful for this man I never met who gave me life and for his family that is beginning to accept me as their brother. My half-sisters lost their only brother at an early age in a motorcycle accident. Although, I will never come close to replacing him, I was struck by a comment a friend made as we were eating our Lambert’s lunch yesterday: “I wish I could find a brother that I never knew I had.”
