last night at the casino, i turned the match coupons into a whopping 50 cents at the blackjack table. then i turned the 50 cents into 1.50 at the slot machines. even with the little extra winnings, i felt like luck was on our side. we were heading back to nyc the next day, Sunday, and it didn’t cost a pretty penny either! we have decided that Panama doesn’t like us. as we were making our way to the airport, the sun broke through the clouds. so, the only time we saw sun was when we were leaving.

the drive to the airport goes through downtown, past the skyscrapers, across an ocean bridge, and through the countryside. the entire trip takes about 35 minutes. i was half expecting a flat tire, a impassable road, or something to cause us to stay in panama city. when we arrived at the airport, the ticket agent, after reviewing the flights, said there was a problem. my stomach dropped. oh crappo. however, it was quickly resolved, and it pertained to an issue with the seats on our connecting flight.

the entrance to our gate was lined by tables with plastic gloves on them. course john made an offhanded remark about things getting interesting, but the reality was he always gets stopped by the security. we don’t know what it is, but this white boy never, ever gets stopped. even in the dallas/ft. worth airport when i was going through security, everyone ahead of me was pulled aside. when i went through the security gate, i stared at the security guard as he stared back until he said, “what?” “what?” i replied and then he said “go on through mr. james wren. have a nice flight” and slapped me on the back. i just had to smile. inwardly of course.

so, no problems flying to the dallas/ft. worth area. we watched wall-e. upon arrival, there was no one around in the international terminal. once we made it to the domestic side, it was busy but not too busy. there were six or seven flights headed to LGA and we were in the middle of the pack. after finishing lunch at TGIF, i went to see if we could move up to an earlier flight. that’s when i saw the weather map and the huge green, yellow and red covering the entire eastern seaboard. about the same time is when i heard the ticket agent say to the person in front of me about delays. our flight had been moved an hour up, and we could not get on an earlier flight. everything was full.

ok. an hour isn’t so bad. our current layover is 3 hours, which went by fairly quickly. i had movies and family guy on panda, a starbucks for coffee, a bar for drinks and plenty of people watching to be had. then the flight was delayed another hour. the next hour went by and they started boarding. almost when we were going to pass through the gate is when the departure time went from 6:30 to 7:45. everyone halted and you could almost see the question marks above everyone’s heads including mine. the agents were wondering, hmm, half the plane is full and the other half is out here. instead of telling everyone to deplane, they strongly suggested we board the plane.

as we were sitting down, the little baby across the aisle starts crying. bonus! the total layover at DFW was almost 8 hours, which definitely beats the waiting we had in the regional panama city airport. however, since we had more options of what to do and just being in the states, it went by quicker. now, we have a crying baby and about 1.5 hours on the tarmac. can it get any worse. apparently not. the flight was fine. john and i watched forgetting sarah marshall on the laptop and boston legal.

we arrived in NYC around 12:30 AM. John’s friend, Brian, met us at the airport and accompanied us back to Diane’s place where she had warmed up the lasgna and garlic bread she had waiting for us when we returned. isn’t Diane the best? she also had beer and wine. it felt great being back in NYC.

Panama was a disappointment, but I will return again to visit the islands. I’m sure it is amazing and beautiful just like the photographs so I will give it another chance. But the next time will be in the middle of the dry season, which i have learned is January.

The trip felt like the amazing race as we were trying to find hotels and things to do. Being with John during the stress and depression proved to myself and our friendship that we work well together and can weather any storm. So even though it was a disappointment, the trip was an adventure and I learned more about my friendship with John and about how i handle difficult situations than I ever would have if I laid on an island the entire time. so, there is the silver lining even though all we wanted was sun and beach. oh well, we are already planning a quick trip in january to a warm, sunny place to compensate for this trip.