Home Coming
03 April 2009 | Santa Monica
Hello Friends,
Mary Lee's Guardian Angels were up early and at their posts when we woke up. Checking our email before we left, we got confirmations from both crewmembers that they had finalized their plans to join the Merry Lee on her way back to LA in May. We then got a confirmation that Karen still an available room for us in Santa Monica.
As we left our floating home numerous friends on the dock gave us hugs and kisses and promised to watch over the Merry Lee.
While Lewis tended the luggage, ML went out looking for transportation to the airport. It only took her a few minutes to find the oldest cabbie in La Paz. The Guardian Angels managed to help us avoid 3 major accidents while the driver commented in Spanish that people don't drive like they used to.
Shaken but still in one piece we arrived at the La Paz airport only 3 hours early (go figure). Checking in went very smoothly (we were the first and only ones in line for the only flight leaving for the next 6 hours). The flight left 20 minutes early and we were treated to a bird's eye view of places that we had just sailed.
Arriving early, we were one of the few people at immigration and customs and sailed through the process in record time. While we traversed the airport we greeted everyone with Hola's and Buenos Dias'es.
Now was going to be the real test to see if the Angels had brought their "A" game. We took a cab to Parking Lot F where our cars had been left for 6 months. A little over confidently we waved the cab good-bye and wondered if our cars would start. Lewis pulled out his trusty pliers, hooked up battery cables to the terminals and the courtesy light turned on, good sign. We put the key in the ignition, said a little prayer, turned the key and Voila, lift off. Sometimes the sweetest sound is that of your engine starting. We were prepared with battery cables to start the car with the older battery but it started right up also.
Mary Lee was a whole person again because she now had a working cell phone (we have activated our old ones with the same numbers). She used up most of our monthly minutes calling family and friends. We went out for Chinese food and ML now knew she was back in Los Angeles. We did not even mind paying the extra 1% sales tax (well maybe Lewis did).
Turns out that "Home" really is not a place with 4 walls. It is a universe of friends and family and nice people who care about you.
Happy Tales to you until we Blog again,
Mary Lee and Lewis and the Angels