Friday, September 20th, 2019
Los Angeles, CA and Shalimar, FL
It’s 3:30am PST and I am waking up for my 6:30am flight to Destin, FL. Admittedly I could have slept until 4am, but I wanted time for coffee and meditation and it’s not like 4am is any less painful that 3:30am.
Around 5am I arrive at LAX and are through security in a matter of minutes. TSA pre-check can really come in handy sometimes. I buy another cup of coffee and find an empty gate where I can play Pokemon Go and listen to music while waiting for my flight.
The flight to Atlanta is uneventful. Once we land, I have an hour to kill at the airport. I buy a cheeseburger for lunch and a liter of water for later.
I finally land in Destin at 4pm CST. When I check-in for my rental car, the attendant asks if I would like to upgrade the car for only a few dollars. As she walks through the pricing, it quickly becomes clear that the upgrade is significantly more. She is talking incredibly slow, however. I breathe slowly through my nose in order to tolerate this conversation.
Once I am finally out of the airport, I set my GPS to a Publix that is close to my grandmother’s place. I stop to buy a small plant and card as part of her birthday present.
I finally arrive at the Bob Hope Village at 5pm. I drive around for a few minutes before I find Hawthorn House, an assisted living facility, for members of the retirement community. My grandmother lives in a private apartment on the first floor. I knock on the door and she is dramatically happy to see you. She really knows how to make someone feel welcome.
It takes nearly an hour for her to finish getting ready, but it’s not really a big deal, since our dinner reservation is not until 7pm. We spend this time happily talking and catching up on each other’s lives.
It takes some extra time to find the Bay Cafe, but it comes highly recommended and I think that it’s worth the effort. When we arrive we are seated on a large wooden deck that overlooks a small inlet of ocean water. It’s beautiful outside and when I see the menu I become even more excited.
We order an appetizer of crab claws and I get the grouper Wellington for dinner. I also order a glass of the house chardonnay, which, admittedly, is not as impressive as the food or atmosphere, but I am still happy. Dinner is amazing and we finish it off with a creme brûlée and cup of coffee.
On the way back my grandmother begins to insist that I stop at Publix for a bottle of wine. I will not argue with that.
It’s 10pm by the time we return to the Bob Hope Village. I am extremely tired. We both agree to call it a night and save the wine for tomorrow.
I drop her off at Hawthorne house and retreat to a guest apartment down the street. I am grateful for my own space and am fast asleep within a matter of minutes.
No comments:
Post a Comment