Vacation – Cuba
Two posts in one week that is a little bit of a record, but Friday’s post has been written for a week and just sitting in the cue to be released like usual, Friday morning at 6 am. However, I was sitting here on my couch, Oatmeal mask drying on my old face, looking at my calendar. I realized it was one day until we leave for vacation and I. am. so. excited. It’s been a while since I’ve traveled for just fun, no cats to herd, no five-year-olds to make happy seeing their favorite superhero, no bus full of 20 something actors to make sure they all felt comfortable, safe, and loved. It was going to be just me and my husband and my parents, getting on a plane to Cuba.
There are so many things that I’m excited about for this vacation. I am excited that I’ve finally reached “Favorite Sibling” status, (beating out my baby brother) by taking our father to his homeland. I am excited to have some one-on-one time with my mom without a million grandkids yanking at her shirt begging for her attention. I am excited to see a country that until recently seemed so mysterious. I am excited about some warm weather and sandals. But the single thing I am MOST excited for is cell service costs $3.00 a minute. This means my husband will not be walking around with his earbuds in talking non-stop on his phone, I will have 100% of his attention, and that is what I am MOST excited about! Don’t get me wrong, the tour of the cigar factory, Hemingway’s house, and all the fantastic food, yes I’m looking forward to all that, but I would trade all of that in a heartbeat to see my husband stop working for four days.
This trip will be interesting in a lot of ways. I haven’t vacationed with my parents since that trip way back in 1984 when me and my four siblings, my grandmother and two boyfriends, piled into our VW bus and drove from Albany, New York to Portland, Oregon. We camped in National Parks, fought as siblings do, one boyfriend went home in the middle of the trip because I think he and my sister broke up and we all made memories of a lifetime. Thankfully there will be no VW bus on this trip, no tents and no battling the bats to use the bathroom (yes that happened in some National Park in the middle of the country), there will be a five-star hotel, classic cars, good food and lots of rum.
We are only going for four days, but those days will be filled with ALL the things. A few highlights are a private rum tasting, followed by private salsa dancing lessons. When I saw the itinerary and saw those two things paired together, I couldn’t help but laugh, right out loud. If you know me, you know I have ZERO sense of rhythm, and I’m sure the rum will NOT help that situation. It should prove for some pretty specatular photos, however. We will see the Hemingway Estate, which I am so excited to see and then dinner at a restaurant where you can go into the kitchen and help the chef prepare your dinner.
When I asked my four siblings what they wanted me to bring back for them, things ranged from, our hearing (because of the strangeness going on at the US embassy), to a lifesize Toblerone from the duty-free shop at the airport, a rum and coke, and, of course, cigars. Oh, and one sister was afraid that I would somehow lose our parents, she wanted to be sure I brought them back. Now my mother is 74 years old and my father is 7 years younger than her, I’m not EXACTLY sure how one loses two old people, but for some reason, she was worried enough that she had to actually type “Our parents” when I asked everyone what they wanted (this was also the same sister who wanted to make sure we brought back our hearing, so…..) Truth is, my parents will probably run circles around me and my husband.
I promise a blog post all about this crazy vacation with my parents when I come back, but until then you will find me soaking up all the sun, drinking all the rum, and basking in all the attention from my husband.