Well, I am heading into my last week of traveling and visiting family in the US. This past week, I spent a few days with my daughter, and we checked out a few local dining and coffee places that Kramer from Seinfeld would probably call “kitchy.”
The first was Spaddy’s Coffee, an interesting place with a pretty good business. It’s basically a coffeehouse built in a customized trailer situated between two buildings, with a cool outdoor seating area with tables and umbrellas. It’s your typical neighborhood spot, with plenty of regulars walking over to grab a coffee, hang out, and probably solve a few of the world’s problems before lunch.
Great Coffee at Spaddys
Another stop was The Salty Donut. They have pretty good breakfast sandwiches, but the real selling point is their homemade gourmet-style donuts, where it should be a crime to have just one. They also have pretty good coffee, which is important when you’re considering a second donut and need to convince yourself it’s all part of breakfast.
Great Donuts at the saltydonut
https://www.saltydonut.com/locations/seminole-heights
We also ordered sandwiches for dinner from a place called Cousin Vinny’s, like the movie. These weren’t your average sandwiches. They were full meals, and I had a breaded chicken cutlet on some excellent homemade bread, topped with marinara sauce. It was outstanding. Sometimes you don’t need a fancy restaurant. You need good food and enough room to finish it.
Great Sandwiches at CousinVinnys
https://www.cousinvinnystampa.com
After that, I moved back in with my son and daughter-in-law to spend more time with them and the grandkids. They’re a very active pair, ages four and two. We did manage to find some time for just my son and me to have a good breakfast at my favorite spot, First Watch. The pancakes are great, and it’s nice to have a little time together without the usual toddler activity level going on around us.
Then it was back to keeping the kids occupied, taking them to school for half the day, chasing them around, cleaning them up, feeding them, and eventually collapsing on the couch. It’s exhausting at times, but it’s also a lot of fun. Those little guys have more energy than I remember having at any age, and watching them grow up is one of those things you know you’ll miss when I’m back in Brazil.
This starts my last week after four weeks in the US. It’s been fun, tiring at times, and relaxing at others. I’ve enjoyed seeing family, visiting familiar places, and spending time with people I don’t get to see nearly as often as I’d like.
At the same time, I’m looking forward to getting back home in Brazil and returning to my own way of life. That’s the strange part about having a life and family spread across two countries. You never quite escape missing somebody. When I’m in the US, I miss my wife and son in Brazil. When I leave the US, I miss my kids and grandkids here. There’s no perfect answer, and I suppose that’s a good problem to have. It means people in both places make them feel at home.
I already know my next trip will probably be in six to eight months. We’ve also agreed that I need to change how I travel. I’ll get an international roaming plan for my phone, rent a car, and spend some of my time in hotels. It should make things easier on everybody, including me.
As much as I appreciate staying with family, there’s only so much an old guy can take sleeping on an air mattress or borrowing a grandson’s bed. I may be retired, but apparently that doesn’t mean I’ve retired from sleeping arrangements designed for people half my size.
Everyone has their own work and daily routines, so I have a lot of downtime while they’re busy. Having a car will give me more freedom to get out, explore, visit places, and do things on my own schedule rather than waiting for someone to be available.
All in all, it’s been a good time. I’ll leave with plenty of memories, a few extra pounds from all the good food, and the usual mixed feelings that come with saying goodbye.
I’m ready to get back to my wife and son in Brazil, my home, and my life in Rio. But I’ll be counting the months until I can see my American family again.
I guess that’s the price of having two places to call home. You get twice the reasons to be grateful, but you also get twice the people to miss.
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