Mar 1 - recovery and packing

I always seem to be either in riding or recovery mode ... why is that ?

Anyhoo ... Off to Mass then to Home Depot and Publix and the ATM.  The official currency of Ecuador is the USD and I need to carry some cash, more than usual (usually very little).  The driver who takes us from the airport in Guayaquil to Salinas doesn't take credit cards ...

I caught up on some Sunshine 1200k stuff, worked out pre-rider fees, exchanged a bunch of emails, had a snooze ... and by then it was mid afternoon and Jim and Sheryl arrived.

They unloaded their car; only staying here for a week but of course they've been in Florida for two months so they were packed like we will be heading north in the Spring ... to the roof.  Actually now that I have the little trailer it won't be quite as bad or maybe I'll just bring more stuff ?

We went to Off the Hook for dinner, all having our usual or rather, the same as we had last time.  Soup and Salad x 3; gumbo and cobb salad for me (heavier soup and bigger salad).  Three deserts followed (not me).  I don't know how Jim's was (key lime pie) but Sandy's and Sheryl's were a disappointment.  The so-called vanilla bread pudding (Sheryl) was more like ice cream and croutons and the molten chocolate cake (Sandy) was a little cake and a huge amount of ice cream.  I'll bet that we skip desert next time ....

We were back home in time for Sandy to catch the 2-hour season finale of Downton Abbey.

I went online and updated flight information (passport number etc.) and printed boarding passes, so we're relatively good to go at that end.  I still haven't decided whether I'll check a bag; Sandy, of course, has her big new lightweight bag to check.  The old bag weighed 17 pounds empty; the new bag weighs 8 pounds empty.  That means that the bag will be lighter, right ?  No, that means that she can put more heavy stuff in the bag and still stay under the 50 pound limit :).

Sandy has Jessica, the trainer, this morning.  We'll be out of here by 11am on our way to Miami.

I expect to be able to blog down there and I also plan to turn on SPOT occasionally, just for fun.

Onward !