In previous episodes, our hero was seen battling the horrors of air travel and participating in a wedding of epic proportions.  And now for the thrilling conclusion…

With the happy newlyweds heading off to parts unknown for their honeymoon, we settled down for a relaxing week at our beach house.  The house was amazing, with plenty of room for the Sweeney clan.  It was great being so close to the beach and the wedding site.  While it seems odd to have a pool so close to the beach, it was actually very nice.  It was much easier for the kids to be in the pool than down in the ocean, or perhaps it was just easier to watch the kids in the pool. Continue reading Take Me Back To Panama, Part 3 →

And now the part of the story where things start to go well for our protagonist: The Wedding!  In the previous episode, we navigated the horrors of traveling sick and experienced the wonders of Miami Airport efficiency.

On Saturday evening, we had the wedding rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner.  The dinner was held before the rehearsal at the beach house my parents had rented.  Lovely grilled chicken and as much real sugarcane Coca-Cola as one could ingest.  The bridal party was a little late arriving and the rehearsal didn’t start until really late.  Elaine fell asleep on the lap of the maid of honor during the rehearsal, but she got to practice her role as flower girl before she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore.

Continue reading Take Me Back To Panama, Part 2 →

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m ready to go back on vacation.  Nothing like going from 90° F and sitting on the beach to 0° F and shoveling ice/snow.  It was an amazing time, with a gorgeous wedding, crazy reception, and many days of relaxing on the beach.  However, even this vacation started off on the wrong foot…

It all started on Wednesday night (the 16th), the day before we were to leave.  We were finishing packing and setting our alarm clock to wake us up at 2:30 AM (our flight was scheduled to leave at 6 AM), when I noticed that my throat was starting to hurt.  Not a good sign, especially when I woke up at 2 AM with a fever of 102° and a very difficult time swallowing.  Of course, there was no way I was going to miss our flight or try to wait a few days.  With the wedding on Sunday the 20th, there was no time for delays.  So I toughed it out, loaded up on ibuprofen, and filled up the taxi with all our gear. Continue reading Take Me Back To Panama, Part 1 →