The following are the reasons I didn’t return
your calls this year . . .
Febrero y Marzo were spent in Mexico at la
Isla Mujeres and Tulum. 37 sleeps Joga retreat with familia and friends
and friends and new friends.
What blizzard? There was a blizzard?
Overheard on Playa Norte: “I had to fly from
Newark to San Francisco to Cancun to get here."
The summer of 2015 was full of Rexhame Beach
fire dinners, swimming pool parties including our yearly Fourth of July party,
Federal Hill dinner trips to Providence, Paw Sox in Pawtucket, 3rd of July
fireworks at McCoy. Yup. Road trips to Adams Massachusetts -- we found Cole
Porter’s old house in Williamstown. His wife loved it and wanted to be buried
there. He buried her in Indiana. At least it wasn’t Wisconsin. Cajun/Zydeco
dancing at Johnny D’s in Somerville and Pawtucket at the German Club, boxing
matches, and dinners out, mostly at El Sarape and Hola. Where’s the axe? Paw
tucket. Miss Beam, 7th grade geography, Junior High, Commercial Street. Dad went
there when it was the high school. He was the captain of the football team. I
have a photo of him making a shoestring tackle at Drury at Noel Field in North
Adams. We lost.
In July it was a family trip to Connecticut
-- Hartford, Mystic, Groton sub base, Ocean Beach, and the Pequot Museum . . .
and over to Hope Street in Providence via the state capitol for dinner.
No, it wasn’t all on the same day. Mystic Pizza. Yah, we went. The movie
was filmed in 1988. But you are not getting any older. We watched it recently
and it really holds up. So does Karate Kid. Top Gun. Did someone say Top Gun?
August we drove to Brant Lake (family) New
York via Cooperstown (Fenimore Museum). I take it that James Fenimore
Cooper wrote books. There is a baseball thing there also. And we took in the
Painted Pony Rodeo at Lake Luzerne. We drove through Amish country on Sunday
and there were many families out in their horses and buggies. My Mom & Dad
took me to the very first rodeo when I was eight. They have REAL cowboys and cowgirls
from Colorado and Texas and Pennsylvania.
Labor Day was the Rhythm & Roots Festival
in Ninigret Rhode Island (friends, friends, friends
and friends) and dance, dance, dancing. 93 sets of musica. Awe some. Los
Lobos and Mr. Steve Riley & David Greely, thank you. Ninigret was a
sachem to the Narragansett and Niantic Indians of Connecticut and RI in the
1600s.
This early fall will be Yarmouth
(friends) Falmouth (friends). The Stroll Farm in NY (friends & friends).
Martha Vineyard (friends), Stow Massachusetts with 49 year old Navy
friends. I wish I was 49 again. 1966 actually.
October/Novembre - Cartagena, Bogota and
Medellin (friends that we made on the Portugal river trip live in Medellin).
January - Costa Rica for the 4th time
(friends). Volcanoes, butterflies, hummingbirds, strawberries, Libetas
Tropical Beer, earthquakes, rice and beans, howler monkeys and rain. The HOTTEST
place we have EVER been: Quepos.
Locals would ask, “Where are you traveling
to?”
“Quepos,” we would say.
Every single time they would reply, “It’s HOT
in Quepos!”
Febrero/Marza 2016 : Mexico - Tulum,
Isla Mujeres (Joga retreat) -- friends, friends, Mexican friends & familia.
Puerto Morelos. Some jogies from Marnie’s Retreat -- lo siento, it is full -- are
traveling on to Isla Holbox (hole bush) on the Gulf of Mexico. The Mexican
people call Yoga “Joga.” Jessica is “Yes ica.” David is “Da beed.” Roberto is
NOT Bob. The village you go to catch the ferry to Holbox is called Chiquila.
Glen Campbell played guitar on the famous 1958 hit. Huelyn Duval hollers out,
"CHIQUILA" at the end of the song.
Seinfeld "Flarida, Jerry, Flarida”
is next. South Beach in Miami; Key West again. 70 years old and I finally, at
Brant Lake, read “The Sun Also Rises.” I loved it. Especially the bullfighting
parts, and Paris of course. Sandy didn’t like it. Marathon (friends),
Mrs. Mac’s Diner in Key Largo, Sanibel Island (friends), Marco Island
(friends). The people of Key Largo changed the town’s name to Key Largo -- from the movie
with Humphrey Bogart -- to draw in tourists. It worked. The
African Queen boat is there from that movie with Katherine Hepburn. It wasn’t
filmed there. “The loons, Norman, the loons!” Sorry I just slipped into the
Golden Pond movie. Many loons on the lake this year. Beautiful sound, aye?
April 2016 - Anguilla (family) friends and
friends Yoga retreat It is a British Territory in the Caribbean.
They fly the Union Jack. There is rum there. Pusser’s Rum. I will enjoy mine
with Mexican Coca Cola. One day we will cross the sound to Merigot. It is
the French side of Saint Maarten. We were just there. Thirty one years ago.
 |
| Grand Canyon |
July 2016 (family) - Flagstaff, Grand
Canyon, Bright Angel Trail, Four Corners, Canyon De Chelly, Monument Valley,
Winslow to stand on the corner, La Posada (hotel), the Hopi Mesas, Painted
Desert, Meteor Crater, Oak Creek Canyon, and fly home.
 |
| Monument Valley |
Many trips are not totally booked yet.
Isla 2017 -- that will make it 29 years straight, almost. Italy
again (Verona area this time), Sicily, Peru, Cuba, Thailand (I hope not).
Channel 2 PBS the other night showed people enjoying the opera in Verona
in a two thousand year old totally filled Roman amphitheater. WOW! Romeo &
Juliet … you bet. Also western Spain. We did from Barthalona to Madrid,
Salamanca, Toledo, Zaragosa, Cuenca, to Valencia, and we need to see the
rest of it.
 |
| Barcelona |
 |
| Zaragoza |
 |
| Cuenca |
77 is the average age people live to in the
USA, and even in Cuba. So like the Toyota commercials say, “You'd better hurry!”
Wasn’t I just 60?
If you would join us, I wouldn’t have to
return your telephone call or -- god forbid -- your &@#$% texts. If
you need to talk to me, call me on October 3rd. It is the only day that I have
open. Call between 2 and 4, por favor. I know three people who will. You
know you will.
Saludos,
Señor y Señora Roberto Francisco Tocino
P.S. Growing up in Adams, Sandy
and I never dreamed we would be this lucky to travel this much and to see what
we have seen.
