Getting out the door
We finally made it out of Delray Beach, and it was a real whirlwind getting out the door. Chelsea and I have closed Compass Rose and we have started a new company called Traveling Roses. We spent that last day before leaving running around opening and closing bank accounts, making bank deposits, and getting last minute supplies. We did make it up to a Wal-Mart super store and got some wonderful flip-flops (those public showers can get pretty yucky) and we stocked up on instant oatmeal and the Thai noodle bowls.
Great neighbor
Our neighbor Ivar Rohats has a moving company and Alex has worked for him for over 6 years now (since Alex was 14 yrs old!) Ivar has always been really gracious in helping us out when we need help, and this was no exception. He was gracious enough to lend us his van, and Alex dropped us off at Canoe Outfitters on Tuesday, up at the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter, in the midst of blistering heat.
Canoe Outfitters
We were so exhausted by the heat and lack of sleep that we just hung out with Eric at Canoe Outfitters for the afternoon. When he closed down at the end of the day, he dropped us off at the Fairfield Inn (a Marriott hotel). Eric gets our hero of the day for sure, because he had arranged for us to get an employee rate and then gave us the cash to cover the first night. We thought we had died and gone to heaven! We had soft beds, indoor private plumbing, and air conditioning!
We arranged to stay another night, because we wanted very, very much to go kayaking one last time. For those of you who don’t know, we have been kayaking every Thursday or Friday at the Loxahatchee River for almost 4 years now. We have only missed if we were out of town, or had some really urgent event that caused us to miss. Eric Bailey owns Canoe Outfitters where we rent our kayaks, and Mike has been there for 10 years. Needless to say, we have become great admirers of theirs, and we’ve had a friendship that has built up over the years. And the Loxahatchee has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Going there is a guaranteed stress-reducer. It doesn’t matter how stressed we are when we start our weekly paddle, we are absolutely going to come back feeling infinitely better. We’ll post some of our favorite photos of the river so you can see for yourself.
If you are in the area ever, do yourself a really big favor and spend a few hours canoeing or kayaking on the Loxahatchee. Tell Eric we said hi to him!
“Final” goodbye to Alex
Since we had stayed another night, Alex came up to spend the afternoon and evening with us, on a rare day off work. He had done a few more errands for us that were pretty critical, and brought the things up to us, along with a special treat (a DVD he knew we would love to watch). We had a wonderful time together and a great meal. It’s not really sinking in yet that we won’t see him for a long time. He is such an awesome guy! We are going to miss him like mad. He is the one who always manages to crack a joke even when things are really grim, and he’s incredibly full of life. We consider ourselves extremely lucky to have him in our lives!!
A catch-up day
We set our alarms on Thursday night to get up really early (5:30 a.m.) and head out on the road, but we didn’t get to bed until almost midnight (still solving things). When that alarm went off in the pitch black, I actually got up and washed my face and got my clothes together, but I knew I couldn’t do it. Chelsea hadn’t even moved in the bed! I called the front desk and asked if they had room again for that night, and if we could have the same incredible rate. The night clerk said yes (I could hear the smile in her voice), so I told her I was going back to sleep! And we did – we slept for another four hours!
We had a truly wonderful day – so relaxing and restful! We spent nearly all day working on the new website project, as we had our laptop as well as the hotel computer in the lobby, so we had double the efficiency. The work we are doing at this stage is extremely detailed, and can get very tedious, so getting it done under great circumstances is just the best. We made huge progress, and we are now ready for the next stage.
A great general manager
We thoroughly enjoyed staying at the Fairfield Inn. We found the atmosphere to be very pleasant and the staff were all very efficient and personable, which is a great combination. We got to know Tyler Burlingame at the front desk (he goes kayaking at Canoe Outfitters, so you know he’s good!), and then Jesse Phillips, the general manager came out to talk to us. He’s the one who gave us the great rates to begin with, so naturally he was high on our favorites list, and then he qualified for our hero of the day by contacting a Holiday Inn up in Port St. Lucie and getting us the same kind of deal! He and Tyler did a bit of research finding out what was where, and then Jesse went to the effort of calling his contact at the other hotel and making sure to follow up until it was confirmed. Now that’s my kind of guy! Check out our photo gallery to see Jesse.
Signing off from Port St Lucie, FL…
Rosemary & Chelsea