As I sit here drinking my morning coffee… err….sitting with “the woman to blame” drinking our morning coffee, I began to contemplate how I got here today. You see, it’s January 3rd. I woke up this morning and looked out of the bedroom window… out to the bedroom balcony… and out over the ocean. Without getting dressed, I walked out onto the balcony and marveled at what a magnificent place I am at. It surely must be close to Kokomo.
The coffee had just finished brewing. The steel drum music was on… playing the Beatles “And I Love Her”. The sun was shining bright and the temperature was… well, let’s just say that the coffee was being served on the balcony. The steel drum music played on… “Day-O…. Daayyyy- O”
Not very many days ago I was freezing cold. What I wanted most this year for Christmas was another trip in search of Kokomo… in search of Margarittaville. But nothing was working out. I was trying to find out a way to visit the Florida Keys in conjunction with a cruise to somewhere in the Caribbean. (I’m sure Kokomo must be somewhere in that region.) But everything was booked-up, and what airline tickets were left were outrageously expensive.
I looked at it from every possible angle… tried to find something available… to any and every destination in the Caribbean. Still, nothing suitable was available. Now, you need to understand what suitable means. For me, suitable on a cruise ship is at least a mini-suite. It’s not that I’m a snob or rich or anything like that. But I figure that if I’m off in search of paradise… in search of Kokomo… it ought to feel like paradise instead of like some cramped closet down in the bowels of the ship.
After several of days of trying to find something, I gave up. It was just not to be. There was simply nothing that we could afford and would meet the time available. This was around December 20 or maybe the 21rst. I went to bed that evening kind of dejected. But I still had a tiny flicker of hope… I could ask Santa.
I moped around for the next couple of days… at least, as much as I ever mope which is not much. After all it was “Christmas time“. And “Christmas time” for me is one of the happiest times of the year (all except for the cold weather part). Then after a bit of last minute shopping I decided to get back on the internet to give one more check in case something had opened up. Hope does spring eternal.
“But what before my eyes did appear”… a perfect cruise… 5 days in early January to the Western Caribbean… departing out of Miami. And there was a mini-suite available for a little over $1K. I couldn’t believe it! But now, could I afford airline tickets?… especially at this late date. And since I wanted to spend a few days in the “Keys“, could I afford that…
Of course, by now you know the answer. Santa came through for me again. The airplane tickets fell into place. The hotel rooms fell into place… well… ok… they were too expensive, but as I sit here writing this, they were priceless.
While writing, the balcony door has been open and I can hear the beginnings of activity out on the beach… the beach just below my balcony. The steel band music on my I-Pod has been playing… and just now a steel band version of the Beach Boys Kokomo is playing. So that’s my signal to go out and start exploring. After all I’m here in search of Kokomo.