Sunday Drive- taking time to explore

Another benefit of the Compound was being with family. We all were able to spend some amazing time together with my parents and Olive got to get to know each of them outside of the FaceTime screen that was necessary due to the restrictions set by a global pandemic the last few years. The year before we had missed my dad’s 70th birthday celebration in Oregon due to Olive being quarantined the afternoon before our flight. Though we had seen them here and there, it had been limited since Olive was born. Now, Olive KNOWS Pa and Nana and she has learned how to wield a wrench better than most due to spending time with Pa (and Walt) and gone on long horseback rides with her Nana and made crafts and forced her to be the patient far too many times while playing doctor.

Having a convenient and willing resource for childcare was a new feeling for us too. We had date days and nights far more frequently and we also planned a 10 day trip to Belize for salt water fly fishing. This was either a delayed honeymoon or an early 10 year anniversary gift but either way we recognized that we may not have another opportunity to have our dogs and child be able to be cared for without cost. We were nervous about leaving Olive for that long but our worries were soon dismissed as my sister came down with her two boys a few days before and the parents became chopped liver compared to playing with cousins.

Unfortunately, there was a snag to our plan. My parents hosted a Super Bowl party a few days before we were set to leave and my dad started to feel off that night. In the morning, he had a fever and felt tired. I initially thought he had over-served himself but just to be cautious, I encouraged him to take a COVID test. Yep. It was positive. He felt horrible and did the best he could to quarantine himself but one by one, we all fell ill. Besides Harper-immune system of steel evidently 😜.

So the debate rang on, do we go still and recover in our own private villa in Belize and practice impeccable masking and sanitizing, or do we recover in a camper with the dogs and Netflix. Olive was not sick at the time so we decided to go as this felt like an opportunity that we may not have again. In retrospect, due to the slow fishing and tough conditions, we probably should have rescheduled, but hindsight is 20/20. Regardless, we left early that AM, masked up and took the incredibly long journey to Belize.

It was a great trip, with God forbid I say it, maybe too much fishing?? It was windy and sometimes hard to see the fish and it wasn’t nearly as relaxing to wake up to be fishing by 6 but overall it was a neat experience to have together and we were truly blessed to have been able to experience it. We learned a lot about what we want on our next trip which will include not being encouraged/required to eat dinner with the other guests nightly. I get what they are trying to do, but I am ok with not talking to Boomers from Texas who complain about not catching enough fish because “in the Bahamas I caught 50 bonefish a day!”.

The hardest part was seeing all of the trash built up on the shores from the ocean in these beautiful tropical areas and the incredible amount of sargassum algae that would wash up on shore. Due to human dumping and activity, the amount of sargassum in the ocean had exploded and they were concerned about a blob that is nearly 5000 MILES WIDE heading to Florida shores (yet another reason FL is not our jam). The smell of it when they would bring the dump truck to try and clean up the shore would make you cough and sting your eyes due to how acrid the odor was. Each day when we would go out on the boat, workers would be using pitchforks to try and clear the sargassum and would still be doing it at the end of the day with only slight progress made. By the next day, the sea would have washed in far more than what was cleared away the day before, leaving the workers attempt nearly moot. The job must have felt like Sisyphus trying to roll the boulder up the hill.

Although it was vacation and we were pampered in every way, it is impossible to escape the reality of our world. All that one can do is to enjoy and be grateful for the present, be mindful of our use of resources and show kindness to others. And don’t drink the water in Belize. Walt unfortunately was the recipient of another virus after ordering a pina colada and the blender was washed out but the water was not drained beforehand. I decided on straight rum and a beer so fortunately I avoided the same fate. Walt spent the last day watching Rocky in the villa lose to the restroom while I lounged at the pool. This was a memory that he probably wished didn’t follow him home but after about 5 days and a trip to the urgent care for some antibiotics, Walt was recovered and 10 lbs lighter.