Monday, Oct. 16th
Colombo and I both had a week of travel, but not together. His annual convention was in Orlando. This is the one that used to be in Napa / Monterey / San Fran. Back in the day, his master agency was smaller and their events were a red carpet, boutique-type event with all the glitz, glam, and gifts. It was a highlight trip for us every year. But recently his master agency got acquired by a bigger firm and everything changed. Now the events are big, in huge convention halls, and not so glamorous, so once I found out it was Orlando and C had employees traveling with him, I respectfully declined to go. But lucky for him, he has family down there, so on his first day there, a group of the DiSalvatores gathered for dinner with him.
That left me at home to cover all the practices- East Windsor to Hartford to East Windsor to Hartford. Somewhere in there I had to peel off to get on a Zoom call, so I stopped in a parking lot I knew was safe. I miss my friend who used to live here.
Tuesday, Oct. 17th
After I had declined Orlando, my friend, Dawn, reached out to ask if I wanted to go to Grand Cayman with her. Ummmm, yes! She was the guest motivational speaker for a president's club-type payoff trip down there, so they paid expenses for her, even though her responsibilities were for exactly 1 hour. Bright and early Tuesday, we were off! My first time to Grand Cayman!
Travel was so smooth...but a few components were helpful: TSA pre-check, first class seats, and the black-car dude holding a sign with our last names for ground transportation. The resort was one of the top 3 I've been to. Customer service was over the top and all the amenities were top-notch. The staff addressed us by name, anticipated needs, turned down our beds, and sought out any way to serve us without being annoying.
It's an easy island- 22 miles by 4 miles. 65,000 people coming from 120 countries, but English is what's spoken. Very, very safe-since they survive on tourism, drugs and crime are just somehow not problematic. It felt very similar to Aruba as far as landscape and vibes. Maybe the only difference is, there are chickens wandering everywhere. They are not pesky or problematic and surprisingly, the variety makes it interesting to see them here and there throughout the day.
Our first order of business was to walk down to the beach!
At Dawn's request, I packed Rummikub and we must've played at least 20 games over our time there.
Wednesday, Oct. 18th
The weather wasn't great, but we anticipated that, and it was fine, because Dawn isn't a beach or heat kind of girl. Every day had pockets of sun, but every day also had pockets of rain as it is their rainy season. This day, we played the part of tourists and went to check out a sea turtle excursion-type of place.
After, we were going to walk a block to a restaurant the concierge had recommended but on our way stopped in at the 'swim with dolphins' spot. It cost us nothing to stand and watch for 20 minutes- totally fascinating.
The lunch spot was right on the water- the back side of the island, which is all rocks.
Mid afternoon, I Facetimed with Colombo to wish him a Happy 27th Anniversary. I could be wrong, but if memory serves, this is the first anniversary we have spent apart.
Here's another difference between Dawn and I: I would have preferred and been totally content to not speak to another person over the course of 5 days- avoid eye contact, mind my business, no interaction. But she is not that way. She HAD to talk to everyone- loves it! Loves meeting new people, networking, connecting, small talk. So, we met Kevin & Nancy and Shawn & Lisa, who are also from Connecticut and ended up spending the evening with them having dinner and playing Setback.
Got back to the room to find these had been delivered from my love.
Thursday, Oct. 19th
Juliet was in charge of Renna for the day. She's always quick to jump in and help when we need it; eager to participate in making the house operate well. She and Ian took Renna to the orchard.
I spent the morning in the pool area while Dawn caught up on emails.
For reference, this is the "pool" bathroom.
For our anniversary, Colombo sent Dawn and me to the spa for massages.
That evening, the event she was speaking at the next morning invited us to join them for their dinner (amazing local fare!) and the comedian they were bringing in. And so, ironically, I got a bit of the taste of what Colombo's Cali conferences used to be like! Only these sales reps pedal life insurance, not telecom.
Friday, Oct. 20th
Our morning was the purpose of the trip. We sat through a couple hours of life insurance talks and awards presentations so Dawn could gain some context and get a feel for the crowd before she spoke. Then it was her turn- one hour of energy, humor, motivation. She's a great speaker and totally crushed it.
After, we decided to go down to the area where the cruise ships come in to do lunch and a little shopping. Since there were no ships, we had the area to ourselves.
Then we met up with our "new friends" again at their condo for another evening of Setback. I know, what you're thinking: sounds like a Dateline episode! It was lovely, filled with laughter, and a beautiful evening sky.
Back at home, Colombo had returned and took Renna and Rocco to the Wolfpack game with their teams.
Saturday, Oct. 21st
Our car didn't leave until 12:30, so I snuck down to the beach for a couple hours in the morning- the nicest day of the week. We had another super smooth day of travel. Customs was less than 2 minutes.
Miami at night.
I didn't get home til 12:30a. So happy to be back! It was a great trip (I would totally go back!) and just the right length of time to be away. Thankful for big kids and grandparents that jump in to fill my shoes.
Sunday, Oct. 22ndRight back at it: church, finance office, hockey, and then a wedding- church friends' daughter. It was a stunning fall day and the venue was a beautiful old farm / barn turned event space with rolling hills, stone walls, and trees bursting out in fall colors. So thrilled for Micaela and Mike.
Farm tables were set with different chairs and food was served family style. All so very charming.
Father of the Bride, Chris, gave a wonderfully meaningful and entertaining speech- he honored both the bride and groom and took the opportunity to honor and thank several family and friends specifically. We are so grateful for this group that has now done life alongside us for more than 20 years. They were our first small group and all had kids just older than ours. We love them and our traditions. We attempted a photo booth picture. Please enjoy watching us knock over the backdrop.
We rode to and from with C4 and Kelly, which was such a delight, but failed to get a picture with them. We giggled that Kelly finally got to go as a guest and not a bridesmaid! She said it was her first cocktail hour because she's usually doing pictures at that point and fretting about the speech she needs to give.
Colombo's good buddy and work peer went to Rocco's game. Rocco was blown away by the manners and behavior of the kids. Their dad has a special whistle that the two immediately respond to, the kids spoke clearly, maintained eye contact, shook hands when meeting, etc. Aram and Rachel are good people, so it doesn't surprise me that the kids are amazing.
