tedwords

"The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

One of the things that I have missed most since the start of the pandemic is the ability to travel.

Oh, last year, Corb and I did have some away time, but it was basically all New England based: Provincetown, New Hampshire, Maine, Eastern Mass. They were great trips, don't get me wrong, but what we really love, more than anything in the world, are our annual excursions to the Caribbean. Every February, right after auditions for whatever play I was working on that year were held, we would go away for a week or so, and then come back, refreshed and ready to take on the world (or at least, auditions).

In 2020, we had returned from a trip to the Caribbean, just about a month before the word shut down. I remember it vividly, because there were some truly gorgeous excursions (I actually liked CoCo Cay, there was a rain shower and we ran frantically for cover and it was all rather sweet), but also, because so many people were catching colds on the boat. I am sure it wasn't Covid, just a nasty flu, but I was left with a horrible cough that lingered for months.

That year I was directing Mamma Mia, and after it was set to go up, we were scheduled to travel to Greece. Instead, we learned all the music, we went out the last night to a bar to celebrate, a friend made a joking comment about "this is the way the world ends" and the week after, the show was placed on hiatis and the cruise was cancelled.

Two years later, we just received word that the show has been officially cancelled after being postponed forever, just about a month ago. But on the positive side, the Greece trip has been rescheduled to July and we were able to find time to get away to the Caribbean for two long weeks starting...well, today.

I have been DREAMING of this moment for so long, and it wasn't easy to bring about. The cruise was originally scheduled for March, but due to work obligations, I had to move it into April. And then last week, as my work began to ask everyone to come back into the office rather than work at home, Covid outbreaks started to pop up again, and I came dangerously close to being impacted. I worked three days in offices last week--two days in Boston, one in Rhode Island, and on Friday, my boss received notification that she had been in contact at work for someone who tested positive for COVID. That contact had been on a Wednesday in Boston, so I missed that close contact by just one day. Sure enough, come Monday, she tested positive for COVID, too, and her vacation, which was scheduled to start the same day as mine, had to be pushed back.

But I haven't been impacted (and she seems to be recovering), so this morning, at the ungodly hour of three in the morning, we left Eldredge and took a flight down to Fort Lauderdale. Our ship sets sail on Friday, and before it does, we still have all sorts of COVID precautions to take, which I am very grateful they are taking. For example, this afternoon, we had to schedule a test at a local pharmacy. The nearest appointment we could find was 40 minutes away, but at least we had a lovely Uber driver from Venezuela who kept us in good spirits with stories about her family and her travels.

I know we will be COVID free, but paranoid as I am, there is still this lingering doubt that something will go awry. I think I have waited for this for too long, I can't quite believe it's here again.

I will say, the place at Fort Lauderdale is nice, but has more of a beachy feel compared to the swankier places in Miami that we are used to staying. Our trips would always start at the Fountainbleau and then move to The Palms after the cruise was over. This place, called Plunge, is right by the beach, which is nice, but it has more of a down home feel. The vibe is definitely a bit older, more sedate. Our Uber driver says she really likes that about Fort Lauderdale, but she just had to endure spring break in Miami.

Anyway, we have a few days here and then we head off on our cruise. This time around we will be visiting Haiti, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Antigua, and St. Kitts in ten days, so it should be plenty relaxing. Both Corb and I are exhausted from the early morning so have spent most of the time after the COVID test collapsed in our hotel room, but I am looking forward now to getting out and exploring.

Expect more of these sorts of posts throughout the next few weeks...one of the other benefits of travel: it's fun to find time to write about it.