It is hard to rise early on this trip. The time difference and the travel seem to weigh on me. Maybe it does every time. But going back three hours is hard. It was 8-ish when I rose and soon found the shower and got dressed. This IHG does not offer in-room coffee makers, making getting dressed the first step to getting coffee. I required substance with time changes!
Kirt (who I called Kevin and was corrected: “After two years, you still get it wrong”) runs breakfast during the weekdays and welcomed me back with a smile. It is the same industrial breakfast, but there was a banana left, which I quickly grabbed. I was running late, and I also had the last yogurt. Kirt closed up the breakfast while I wrote the blog.
Next, I drove over to Deborah’s house, and we were happy to just hang out and be together. We hadn’t seen each other since July, and it felt good to just be together. The dogs, Zelda and Trixie, were excited to see me, and Zelda insisted I pull on her toy. Trixie wanted petting.
Deborah and I (often done separately, with varying levels of success) planned our trip to New Orleans together, a business trip for Deborah and me plus-one; it will overlap my birthday on the 16th of April. On the way to New Orleans, I will fly overnight and then board the direct flight to NOLA, sitting next to Deborah (yay!). The convention hotel, Marriott, is on Canal Street, on the line between the Quarter and the Warehouse District, but close to the river. This is keeping up my every six-month in-the-Quarter lifestyle.
Deborah and I watched her son, Liam, anchor the Channel 12 afternoon news on Friday. Liam was up at 2-ish to make it to the studio, prep, and all that for the news. Deborah was recording it on an Apple device that failed, and for the online repeat, she got the recording.
We headed to Rochester Brunch House and had a late-ish lunch. I had the corned beef hash and Deborah the sweet potato bowl. The food was wonderful, and the coffee excellent and plentiful, and it was a joy to just be together.
We returned home, and Liam was home (soon to nap) and was getting some food (not sure whether it was lunch, breakfast, or dinner for him after missing the morning). We then spent the rest of the day together just hanging out. Not much to share other than we were happy to not be doing anything but being together. It was a good day.
Deborah wore her new Blake Blue topaz earrings (they match her eyes), and they were her birthday present.
It is hard to tell a story of just laughing and being together. But it felt like time froze, and even rolled back for us. We were younger and happier, and in my memory, we were the only people in the frame, in focus. We were together, and the world left us alone for the day.
Deborah returned home after we had an average dinner next door to the hotel. I went to bed early because I couldn’t stay awake. Of course, I woke at 3 and could not sleep, then woke again at 4 and 5. It is a travel/hotel thing. Then I slept and slept late.
Thanks for reading.
