So we finished an absolutely epic travel day yesterday and Wayne and I ended up at my Aunt Zhanna's house in Long Beach, NY. As a surprise, my cousin Shalla is also staying with Zhanna for a few days (she goes to NYU and is in New York for the Summer) and she came to greet us at the door. It was really great catching up with everyone today. We're about to go for a walk on the boardwalk outside Zhanna's house on the beach and then we're going to visit my cousin Alex and his family for lunch.
Our travels yesterday hit 5 cities, 4 legs of travel and 3 flights. We woke up in Boquete at our excellent hostel at 5:30am and took a cab at 6am to David. We got to the airport in David at 7 and then boarded our flights to Panama City at 7:45. We got off the plane in Panama city at 10am and then flew to Miami at 4pm. At the gate in Panama City, all of our bags were searched again and my "searcher" had a visibily difficult time getting through my giant hiking pack and then putting everything back carefully. After a three hour flight (without headphones, Tylor) we got to Miami and were escorted to customs where we were welcomed back to America (for 24 hours) and then searched again when we went back through security. I'm getting really tired of taking off my shoes haha.
While we were in the airport, Wayne, Tre, John D and I got dinner at this really upscale cafeteria called La Carreta. After we sat down with our food and banked ourselves in behind our mountain of bags, Tre was eating peacefully when he stared up, mused for a moment, and then nearly choked on his food. He then whispered to us, "guys... is that Alanis Morissette?" Sure enough, the Canadian rocker walked into our secluded part of the cafeteria and sat down at the table next to us. Immediately, one Wayne Dell burst out with the exuberance of an un-housebroken spaniel and wondered aloud whether he should ask her for a photo or say anything to her. Dreddy egged him on, explaining that he didn't know who Alanis Morissette was. At this point, Alanis and her man-date stared at us, turned to each other and then promptly got up and left the restaurant, apologizing to the waitress as they left. Wayne Dell literally changed Alanis' life. He compelled her to action and changed her eating location and food choice. Now how many fans can say that?
After being starstruck at the cafeteria, Wayne and I said goodbye to John as he flew off to Washington, DC (en route to San Francisco to go to a family reunion) and then soon after we bid Tre adieu as well because he got a flight to Richmond. Our flight was delayed a little and we also had to trek across the entire Miami airport to get to a new gate but we finally left Miami at 10pm. This meant that we got to JFK at 1am after taxiing on the tarmac in JFK for 20 minutes. That airport is just absurd. We got a cab that Zhanna sent for us and finally got to Long Beach at 1:40. I then stayed up till 3:15 catching up with Shalla and enjoying a clean towel for the first time in 6 days.
This morning we woke up rested and enjoyed a veritable bounty of organic food at Zhanna's and are planning to check out the beachfront boardwalk in front of her house and then going to Alex's house. I'm excited to meet his newest, youngest baby boy, Sammy, and to see his ever growing sons.
We're flying out to London at around 6pm tonight. I'm flying Aer Lingus via Shannon, Ireland. This is going to be a really cool experience, actually, because the last time that I was in Shannon was with my parents and immediate family when we emigrated from Belarus in 1993 and flew through Shannon. I'm supposed to get to London at 9am BST tomorrow and will promptly travel to Regent's College and pass out.
Wish me luck as I attempt to finish Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent on the flight... If you ever have a chance to read that book, don't take it.
Check back soon!
-Simon
Hours in Airports: 9:05... David, Panama Tocumen, Miami, JFK (15:40 Total)
Hours in Airplanes: 7:00 (16:53 Total)
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