America

We have just returned from a 6-day jaunt to Tampa, FL. That's the big cheat. After considering which other island to visit in honor of Grey's 40th and deciding that only Cuba would do for any real difference, and realizing that it's very illegal for Americans to travel to Cuba, we decided to go visit the extended Thornberry clan (Grey's brothers, mother, niece, nephew and sister-in-law) in Florida.

All in all, we didn't have a bad time. Our trip mostly consisted of eating. Steak was a priority for me, and I consumed a variety of cuts including fillet, ribeye, and Delmonico. Grey's family has an affinity for the faster foods in life so we also had pizza from Dominos and Pizza Hut (alas, no Franny's in Tampa), and burgers from FiveGuys (way better than any of the more junky outlets at least), Dairy Queen (for real), oh and Chillis at Miami airport, both ways. We are detoxing big time for this indulgence.

I also got to go to Target, where pushing that big old red shopping cart was therapy for me. I didn't buy that much, but man I cruised up and down every last single aisle, marveling at the abundance of well, things for sale - little Halloween things and early Christmas things, and Thanksgiving turkey things. Helen couldn't believe how much candy there was and that she could try out all the toys without fear of reprimand (Trini shop clerks don't like the children to touch the toys on display, and you know we touch every single toy until they tell us to stop. but, none of that in Target).
Grey I think was in kind of shock for most of the trip. There's the whole turning 40 deal (which he's actually pretty thrilled by), and just that Tampa exists and it's where he spent a chunk of his life and now he's in Trindad for a spell, and it just sure does seem like New York is fast claiming its dominance as the place where we belong.

Helen had the best time. Her two uncles doted on her and she loved her Uncle Riley's house on the river and the fact that she was guaranteed to see snakes and frogs and alligators in his backyard, and turtles and fish in the front. He has ponds and water features and his house is on the Hillsborough river and from his dock one can find a kind of tranquility I have yet to find in Trinidad. Uncle Riley also has several collections: about a thousand turtle shells, minerals some of which glow florescent under black lights, chilli peppers real, plastic and of other you'd never suspect materials, and something else I forget but I'm sure Helen can remind me, maybe the alligator-shaped letter openers? How many of one thing does one have to have before it's a collection?

We had a good time, but it's good to be home again. Tonight we're having fresh fish and a green salad.

Love from all of we.