DeToxic Avenger.

The Final Day was spent outdoors, either in the ocean or on the patio. No walking. No delightful Persian guy. We did spend an hour and a half with Kathi Angeli, a wonderful older woman whose business card reads, “Transpersonal Counseling: Regression, Self Mastery, Energy Balancing, Transformational Programs.” Alright. I can buy that. She was great to listen to. Another one of those people you just want to hang out with and drink herbal tea, Teechino or Protein Broth with. Otherwise, it was all outside. No exercise. None. Nada. Nunca.

I did help Mercedes with her water aerobics classes. I walked along in the ocean with everyone and provided helpful suggestions. The same with the pool aerobics; I don’t know how she could have done it without me, really.

You see, I have this lower backache.

I woke up with it on Thursday and the only rest I get from it is when I’m asleep or in the hot tub. It was the hottest hot tub ever. I think the reason the hot tub provided relief was that all my nerves were screaming, “Hot. Hot. Hot. Hothothothothothot.” That was some hot tub.

Early evening we went for a dip in the ocean with Diana. Diana is an 88 year old woman from Ottowa. She told me of an exercise class in the ocean in which the trainer lead "five old ladies" in a walk across the shoreline and suddenly the trainer beat a path to the shore. The women were left standing there wondering what was happening. Finally, one of the five went ashore and asked the trainer what she wanted them to do. Were they still having class? Should they join her on the beach? It turned out she felt something in the water she thought was a shark. "Well, why didn't you tell us?" Well, can't you see I'm still upset? I'm shaking! If that's going to be your attitude, I'm going home! Diana said that the trainer wasn't there the next year when she returned.

Later that evening, Sam's old Bar Mitzvah friend, Howie, picked us up for his usual Saturday night dinner with his friends. The car was packed with us. We were going to a deli in the area. In a mall that's impossible to get to the first time from the highway. In a part of the strip mall that was numbered counterintuitively. It turns out, the deli had gone out of business. Little wonder. We opted for Olive Garden. I had the whole wheat pasta alternative withe marinara sauce. It worked.

For dessert I had a Percoset that one of the friends slipped me for my backache. It wasn't organic; but it wasn't animal-based as far as I could tell.

When I checked out this morning, our bill was a couple of hundred dollars more than it originally was. That wasn't bad. The room was worth it. What a view.

Sam swam; I packed. The plane departed on time. We're home.

What did I take from this. I relaxed some. Not enough. Four nights is not enough. That aside, I heard some great stories from people I may not think twice about if I met them in the street last week. I'm clarifying my taste for "soulful" hotels where the people and the philosophy and, I think, love sustain them.

And also, I remember the gratitude with which I accepted each meal. Each dinner course. Dessert. We were served fresh fruit and vegetables, mostly raw and cut, for breakfast and lunch. Dinner included a hot entree prepared from these ingredients. Dessert was not always offered. So, by the time each meal was made available to us, we greeted it with pleasure and thanks. When a soup was added to the meal, it was a delight. And if something sweet was offered at the end of dinner, it was the best birthday party ever. It's a gift to give thanks for a meal and mean it. To be really thankful and express it in the company of friends is a gift. And that's what we did on our summer vacation.