Random Top Seven List of 2011

I had some thoughts based on my 2011 travel.

So why not a Top Seven List...

Yucatan Peninsula

1. Best Presidents Club...

So let's be honest.  I'm starting with this because I've become a travel snob.  I like elite this, quicker line there, upgrades, frequent flyer miles.  And for anyone that travels as much as I do, a Presidents Club pass is a MUST. Thank you Kelly for turning me on to this. Leather seats, free drinks, accessible outlets for charging. What else could you ask for?

Winner is... Cleveland.
Home room wins by a nose. Clean, comfy and convenient. Good service and accessible to most gates. It's the only way to spend the inevitable delay during the winter, and during the random summer storms.

Close second.... Newark.
Elevated view above the cattle, unique work space.

Worst... O'Hare. They charge for drinks. Damning.

2. Best unmanly drink...

Tough choice here. Every night another bar/restaurant. And it's hard to mess up Jameson. But, if you must drink something else...

Winner is... Bonefish. Fayetteville NY. Lemon drop martini. (must get on the rocks with not fruit or sugared rim. Gotta be a man, in spite of the fact that it's not a manly drink.). Plus, the service here is impeccable. Ashley, Kelcie, Kate- you can't go wrong. It's like Cheers. Everyone knows your name.   And try the Bang Bang Shrimp...

Close second...  Smirnoff Ice.   Walking down the middle of Las Vegas Blvd, 10pm, struggling to make it to midnight, New Year's Eve.   This stuff was refreshing and perfect.  Besides, walking down the street with a jug of Jameson is obnoxious.  Even for me.  Well..not  that obnoxious.

3. Best appetizer ...

Easy choice here. A local establishment that serves a non-tradional twist on a typical app

Winner is... Cheesesteak egg roll, Dublin Square Pub, Cherry Hill, NJ. An egg roll. With cheesesteak inside. With cheese to dip it in.  Wow.  End of story.

Second place...  If you are ever in Erie, PA, and God knows everyone gets here sometime...  head down to the Bayfront Sheraton.  Great hotel, amazing view, for a nothing sort of town.  They have mussels in a white wine and garlic broth.  Amazing.  Extra points for view and the fact that you wouldn't expect this from a Sheraton.

4. Best bar...

Tough, tough decision here. But based on some good advice, with ten hours to kill BEFORE a red-eye, Yo Adrien directed me to...

Winner is... McMenamins -White Eagle, Portland OR. Tucked in the middle of nowhere, spent several hours on the patio reading. The band was playing by 4pm on a Wednesday. Great covers, good music. The least I could do was buy their CD.  They wanted $10, and I gave them $20.  Generous Squires strikes again.   I listen to it in the Jeep all summer long.

Second place...  Winking Lizard, Coventry. We've spent every other Sunday during football season here for ten years.  Loyalty and good service, do still count for something.  Now if they had just kept the Golden Tee machine.

5. Best beach bar...

Discounting my honeymoon (see below), I don't see many beaches in my travels. But I did get to San Diego. And it has nothing to do with a whale's vagina.

Winner is... 710 Beach Club. Great bloody Mary. Amazing people. And the BEST FISH TACOS ever. Trust me. I've had a few.   It's an odd sort of bar though, with deep roots to Chicago.  Bears and Cubs stuff everywhere, so for a boy from the Midwest, it felt just a little bit like home (in the beautiful sunlight, warm temperatures and did I mention sunlight, in January!).

Erie PA.  (no really, it is...)

6. Best (surprising) view ...

I'll go with the surprising view because I get some places sometimes.

Winner is... Sheraton Bayfront Erie.  Nobody ever wants to be in Erie, PA.  I've found no evidence to the contrary.  But if one gets stuck there, make your way through the dirty, decrepid downtown, towards the Bayfront.   There is a halfway decent seafood restaurant, a better than average beach type bar, and a damn surprising Sheraton Hotel.  I've stayed here enough to get to know the General Manager and let me tell you, it's amazing hospitality always.  All of that would make it a pretty good spot to hang out on a summer day, even without the spectacular view.

7. Best honeymoon experience

I've had two (so far) and they were both Caribbean, St. Lucia and the USVI. 

Winner... Morningstar Charters.  Though I had thoroughly planned the surprise our honeymoon, leave it to Jen to find the hidden jewel of our adventure together.  Sitting at a bar in Charlotte Amelie, USVI, Jen (my lovely wife) mentioned that someone she went to high school ran a charter down here somewhere.  Enter Captain Mike Roses and the Morningstar.  A day and half of sailing around, to St John and back, drinking Painkillers...  Our best memories of the trip were on that boat.

Second place...   nothing comes close.


SO there are my Top Seven thoughts from the last year of travel.  Been to a lot of places, met a lot of people, drank a lot of Jameson.  I'm sure I'll have more.

Shutting off your mind

Shutting off your mind

Trauma. Stress. Unexpected occurrences.

These cloud the brain, confuse you with thoughts, reactions. People deal with it in different ways. Some with tears, others with anger. Some are patient, they want to assess the situation, proceed with caution.

I lean more towards action. Quick, decisive, early decisions. For better or worse, this is what is built into my DNA. I'm not cocksure, certainly not a hero. Many of my reactions are wrong. Assumptions sometimes are made that are not my place. But in the grand scheme of things, this can be ok. These decisions were made with the best intentions.

Sunday at 7am my cell rings. It's mom. This can't be good, especially at this hour. My grandmother has suffered what is only described as a massive heart attack. I must get to FL to be with her, to help the family. I pack haphazardly, not thinking, not planning. Yet I know, I've got what I need.

I'm in an odd position as the eldest grandchild. Not quite adult, not quite child, odd juxtaposition, even at 37. What help cam I be, why am I going? Just the sense that I need to be there.

arrive at the airport, find my Mom. I just realized that this is the first time we've ever flown together. Once in my seat, the tears finally flow. First moment in two hours that I've thought, not simply reacted. The support from work is overwhelming.

"do what it takes, we've got you covered "

Land in TPA, grab an uncle. A cousin drives us north, with no news. Or at least none good. un Still the same. May not live the night.

Hospital. Small, satellite southern hospital. ICU. Nothing prepares me for this.

My grandmother was a kind sharp fun woman. She told me some of the best dirty jokes I know. Taught me to cook, more accurately cooked with a passion that I desperately wanted to duplicate. For her cooking was love, a way she showed it. A way she brought us all together. She made each and every one of us feel special in our own way. She was a confidant but would also gossip about everyone else. Somehow you trusted her, fully knowing she'd share what you told her. It never mattered.

Most of all she was willful. From my early teens she treated me like an adult. Spoke to me like one. Chided me when I was acting foolish, or immature. She was clear about she felt about everything. Especially death. No machines keeping her alive. No alzheimers. No wheelchair. No diminished quality of life. Don't mourn. Smile, know she's in a better place. Most of all, toast her. Have a party. No mourning. No tears.

So to walk in and see the machine. My heart fell. She was breathing on a ventilator. Her head was tossing and turning as seizures racked her body. Her eyes, open. As if she was frantically looking for help. We attempt to calm her, to make her see us. But the movement is involuntary, we are told. Her brain was without oxygen for too long. I swear she can see us, but I secretly pray that she cannot. It's too painful. For her. And us.

It's Alice in Wonderland. Everyone has their role. Mom is the rock, gathering info, creating consensus, making decisions. Dennis is the passion. His anger fuels our questions until we get satisfactory answers. Al is the spiritual one. Knowing its somehow God's plan, not letting us lose perspective. Denise is our cheer. Quick to laugh, first to hug, hold a hand. And I'm the worker. Hunger sets in, I grab subway for all. Where's everyone going to sleep? I go home set up the rooms and the air mattresses. Sheets blankets pillows, and hopefully rest for all. No one wants to leave on night three? I'll make a pasta and bring it for everyone to eat. We need hospice? I'll make the call, coordinate the meeting.

I don't remember doing these things specifically. The brain takes over and solves situations.

At 221pm, on 2-2-12, at the Hospice House in Citrus County, she finally drifted away peacefully. 48 hours later, I'm at the airport headed home. Finally with time to think. But I don't really want to.  Or more specifically, I can't.  It's feelings, pictures, moments in time.

What, if anything, did I learn? Will I learn more with perspective? With time?  It gets easier, right?

I ponder this over a beer, and a Jameson.