Countdown to Quito – Bucket Lists

With only three weeks remaining before our departure, Justin and I began working on our United States bucket lists. Not surprisingly, a good portion of these items were food-related. Justin’s requests included: a juicy cheeseburger, pizza from a “mom and pop” place, Mexican food, a Pat’s Steaks cheesesteak, and one final meal at his favorite restaurant – Cajun Café on the Bayou down in Pinellas Park. My last food request was simply: a Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich, and ice dream from Chic-Fil-A. Other must-haves on our bucket lists: attend a Phillies game (Justin), have a pampered, bougie day at a luxurious pool (both of us), one more visit to Miami (me,) make a few more trips to the beach (both of us).

We smashed a bunch of these things into one plush, fabulous week. We started by driving down to Tampa for an indulgent lunch at Cajun Café. Justin ordered the catfish po’boy with fried okra, and I had fried green tomatoes, and the shrimp creole with French bread. We washed this down with a few Founders Centennial IPAs and for dessert: the whisky bread pudding – always a nonnegotiable. (Cajun Café – check!) 

Once we had reached the traditional “uncomfortably full” status that comes with any trip to Cajun Café, we drove over to St. Pete Beach and checked in at the historic Don Cesar hotel. Dubbed “the pink palace,” the Don Cesar sits on powdery white sand, surrounded by wispy palm trees that swish in the wind and overlooks the warm blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

 Our afternoon was spent alternating between lounging at the pool and drinking Ketel One and sodas from the tiki bar (posh pool day – check!) and basking on the sand and floating in the ocean (beach day – check!)

Once we were done with the west coast we headed down to south Florida for one last visit (Miami – check!) And wouldn’t you know, it happened to be Miami Spa Month. Happy Day! Meagan booked us an Asian fusion couples massage at the Setai on South Beach. Justin has never had the pleasure of having a professional massage and I told him he was in for a treat. However we were  both equally surprised when we were introduced to our male masseurs. Let’s just say it’s a little hard to fully unplug and enjoy your own massage when you’re listening to the one going on right next to your head. Of further distraction were the frequent, throaty ujjayi breaths coming from Justin’s masseuse. I found the whole situation so silly I was muffling my giggles in the face pad for the first 40 minutes of the experience. Then, when we had flipped to our fronts and had our tummies rubbed (our tummies!) I nearly lost it. Later, when the four of us had reconvened for some cocktails, I asked Justin what he thought of his first massage. “It was okay” he said. “Parts of it were…weird. Did any of you guys get your face cupped for like, a solid two minutes?” With wide eyes we all shook our heads that, no, none of us had the side of our face cupped in the hand of the masseuse for any extended period of time. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to talk Justin into getting another massage, but I was impressed by his sense of humor and was relieved he was such a good sport about it – heavy breathing, face cupping and all.

In our last week we were honored with a farewell party hosted by the renowned Meg and Chappetta. They set up a pasta bar and Kevin made all the delicious sauces – alfredo, vodka, and marinara by scratch. Yum! We brought Howie with us (of course) and he got to sample the meatballs. For dessert, Meg made homemade key lime and strawberry gelato (what CAN’T that girl make?!), and we enjoyed a few boisterous rounds of Cards Against Humanity and an animated tournament of Heads Up. (PUDDING POPS!!!!!) And my most favorite thing, that little special touch that Chappetta is always so good at – she decorated the entire house with photos from our last 3 years as friends and as teachers at Freedom Middle School. Title I nights, AR Recognition ice cream socials, teacher paintball outings, field trips, all documented for us in photos. We got to take the photos home with us and I was so happy to have such a sweet souvenir to take with us on our travels. Justin and I were the last to leave. It was 1:30 am!! Do you know how late that is in teacher time?! It’s virtually unheard of. It was sad to have to say goodbye but we both left feeling so loved and so grateful to have such generous, loving friends. 

Our next few days involved a lot of packing, unpacking, weighing suitcases, repacking and reweighing suitcases – a dance I named the Suitcase Shuffle. After days of suitcase shuffling, we were able to get all of our things packed into our allotment of two check bags each, each weighing it at about 46 pounds – just four pounds short of the maximum weight allowed. Once again, I’d like to give a shot out to Space Bags for allowing us to shrink piles of clothes, towels, and pillows into neat little bricks. Seriously, Space Bags are amazing. 

And this brings us up to now, the time I’m writing this entry, the eve of our departure. Justin and I enjoyed a lovely meal with my mom at Bonefish. Then we came home and weighed our suitcases just one more time, just to be sure. Justin gave Howie some extra belly rubs and a rawhide chew and spent the rest of the night watching Shark Week. Those two are really going to miss each other. And then, after all the bags were packed, and all the final preparations had been attended to, we were able to relax on the couch with a little Shark Week and a bottle of Cotes du Rhone. Not a bad way to spend your last night at home, eh?

We'll check in when we get to Quito and get internet again.