Long Travel Day

We started at 4 a.m. with snow steadily falling. Our first destination was Chicago O’hare Airport.  Driving conditions were not ideal with temperatures staying right at the freezing mark. Precipitation moved from snow to rain to freezing rain.

Long lines through security and getting singled out for a full pat down search added to my stress levels. As it turned out, our flight was delayed anyway so we had plenty of time. The five hour flight was smooth and relaxing. I finished “Neon Rain”, a James Lee Burke novel about a New Orleans cop. There are a bunch in the series, and I will be reading more. It’s gritty, challenging and fun.

We landed in Aruba with sunny skies and 83 degrees. Our Airbnb is small and modest, but we don’t plan on spending much time in the room. Tonight we ate at Pincho’s, the restaurant on the pier in the photo below. Julia had tasty grouper, and I had six huge grilled shrimp. Tonight we’re winding down with a five year old bottle of Cuban sipping rum, which we purchased at the duty free store. Life is good.

Aruba is just 17 miles off the coast of Venezuela and is technically part of South America. It has Dutch origins, but the population seems to be a true melting pot.