In the morning, I drove to Whitewater to drop Justin off at school. The long access ramp to his dorm was not plowed or shoveled, and I had no way to get him in the building. I ran down the street and chased down a university employee who found two shovels. I started at one end, and he started at the other. Justin shivered in the cold, but we did get him in the building.
In the afternoon, Julia and I loaded up the car with our suitcases, along with Allie who needed to be dropped off at her school. We drove to Milwaukee, dropped off Allie at her apartment, and then drove to Chicago. We had found a stay, park and fly deal at the O’Hare Hyatt, which allowed us to stay overnight and park for less than the price of two weeks parking at the airport’s economy parking lot. We ate at the hotel bar, while watching the gusts of wind blow snow around in circles.
Early the next morning, we took the hotel shuttle to the airport and headed for the gate.
Despite the horrible weather and the understaffed TSA employees working without pay, we made it through security and were at the gate less than an hour after taking the hotel elevator down to the front door. I would definitely recommend the O’hare’s Hyatt Regency’s park, stay and ride offer for up to two weeks free parking in the enclosed parking structure.
Our United non-stop flight left on time, and we were in Belize City by early afternoon. From there, we boarded a small plane for San Pedro, an island about fifteen minutes by air. It was the smallest plane that I’ve flown in for awhile. I sat close enough to the pilot that I could have tapped him on the right shoulder. The woman sitting next to the pilot was another passenger. There was no co-pilot.
Our friends Brent and Michele own a condo on San Pedro that we were invited to visit about fifteen years ago. When we saw them in Alaska last summer, I asked if the invite was still good. “Of course,” they replied. We texted that we had arrived early, but Brent didn’t get the message until about an hour later. We passed the time by drinking the national beer, Belikin which is amazingly not too bad, even for a beer snob like me. The brewery was started by a German who faithfully followed the requirements for German beer: malted barley, hops, water, and yeast. No additions of rice or corn. Belikin offers a regular lager, light beer, stout, and holiday beer.
Julia says one of those beers is for me, but I’m not sure about that. There are worse ways to wait for a ride. Brent arrived by golf cart, the main way to get around the island. On the way to the condo, we stopped to support the local grocery store by getting more Belikin for the thirty minute ride to the property, which had lovely views of the Caribbean Sea. This was a brewed journey worth the wait and effort.
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