VACATION 2014: Barbados and the Grenadines

Accra Beach, Barbados

No matter how well I am prepared or how early I get up on a travel day, it seems that I am always barely making it to the airport on time. Thursday morning the stars aligned and all went well. I had a 7:00 AM flight. There was little traffic on the road when I left the house at 5:15. The transfer bus pulled into the satellite parking area right behind me so there was no waiting for the bus in the dark. There were no long lines to check luggage and the security check point was fully staffed. Smooth sailing.
I realized on the way to the airport that I forgot to pack sunglasses, but that was the only packing tragedy that came to mind and it was quickly remedied in the Miami airport. Although I had no intention of adding to the sunglasses collection on this trip, a week in the Caribbean without eye protection would be tortuous for both my vision and crow's feet. Plus, in all honesty, sunglasses are part of my public mask. Sure, they help to protect my eyes from damaging UV rays, but also I feel safer behind them. They let me watch without being seen, they hide my subtle reactions, and they look pretty cool.

James on the beach

In Miami I grabbed an empanada in addition to a new pair of classic Ray-Bans, then headed to the gate where I ran into friends from previous voyages. It was like arriving at your high school reunion and seeing only people you like. While waiting for my boarding group to be called, I started chatting with James, who I had briefly met during our Greek Island cruise. He, too was a single traveler. Perhaps the next few days in Barbados would be more exciting than just sitting on the beach getting sunburned???

Despite the fact that our fancy friends in first class drank all the liquor and ate all the food before the refreshment trolley got to the cheap seats, it was an uneventful, but beautiful trip.This is one of the few times when sitting by the window actually paid off, particularly as we were flying over chains of uninhabited islands surrounded by sandbars and reefs. Besides a few problems completing our customs forms, we made it to our buses and to the hotel without event and in time for a few hours on the beach before dinner.





James and a few of the other early arrivals (Brian, Marty, and Alex) proved to be great fun. Food, cocktails, laughs, and some twerking by James made for a great first day of vacation.