Dr. Arce asked if he could take a picture of the two of us together and I said yes. He wanted me to smile with my new teeth but I was so frozen I couldn't do it. Also, I didn't wear any makeup to the appointment because, what with his hands all over my face plus the water spraying me etc, I thought I'd wait until later in the day. Then he asked if he could put before and after pictures that he took of my teeth up on his FaceBook page. I said he could. Then I asked if I could 'friend' him and he said he'd like that. It took me a while to find him on there but once I did I saw the photo of me and I look HIDEOUS. So I put one up on his FB page that I took of me with a proper smile. It's the same one I have as my FB profile pic at the moment.
Dr. Roberto Arce - isn't he handsome?
The teeth have to settle in a bit yet. It will take a week or so for the gums to settle in around them. Until then, eating is difficult. First of all, the teeth are part one of two steps that need to be done and so, until I come back and get the lower teeth all done, they aren't going to fit together well with my lower teeth. Secondly, whenever I bite down on something with even a little resistance, the new teeth feel like they push up into the gums a bit, and feel 'tighter'. I asked Dr. Arce about this and he said I need to just eat soft food and soup for a week or so and it should be better after that, but I will always have to be careful.
I was all done and out of Mexico by 12:30 and at the airport by 1:30 which meant I had a lot of time to wait for my flight out of Yuma to LAX, but that was okay by me. I prefer that to madly rushing, worrying that I might miss the flight. I tried to read but ended up falling asleep for a bit - I still had Xanax in my system from the morning and it really makes me tired.
I took another two of them once I was on the flight to Washington DC, which left at 10:20pm. It was a four and a half hour flight but I slept like a log through most of it (and I paid for an upgrade to get a window seat with 5" more leg room and was it EVER worth it). When I woke up and heard that we were starting our descent, I honestly felt like it had been about 30 minutes since we had taken off.
The weather was miserable in DC, raining sideways. I was glad to get on the plane to St. Thomas and hear from the pilot that it was 83 degrees there; everyone else seemed happy as well because a huge cheer went up from most of the passengers.
Landing in St. Thomas was fabulous - so humid and hot. And it smelled just like I remember the Caribbean smelling. Those of us taking a ferry to Tortola were told to wait together in one area and then we were all directed to pile into a 15 passenger van driven by a jovial Caribbean woman. When I asked how much we owed her, she asked how many suitcases I had. I guess they charge by the case. I only had one so I paid $10.
The ferry was in when we got there but they weren't boarding yet. Rather, they were piling loads of cargo on it. People who had gone shopping on St.Thomas for the day I guess. From the looks of it, quite a bit was for bars and restaurants. There were some large personal items as well and then , of course, lots of luggage. Once all the cargo was loaded, then we were allowed on. The boat was very big inside, not unlike a SeaBus. The water was pretty rough in spots so we really bounced along the waves; which I happen to love.
It was about a 50 minute run to Tortola and as we pulled into the harbour I could see Pussers, where Shonah, Amy and I had drinks and conch fritters two years ago. I could see the little blue huts where locals sell island wares to the tourists. And once I was through customs and walked down the street to my hotel, the same road side stand selling freshly squeezed juice was there. I was so overwhelmed with being back, I got kinda teary. I am so so excited to be here.
One thing though, I seem to have the most incredible timing when it comes to planning holidays - first it was the dentist conflicting with Easter. Now it's tomorrow, when I need to go into the stores to get stuff to take to Anegada with me that I couldn't pack (such as shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, bug spray, hair spray, etc.) it seems most everyone will be closed in celebration of Will and Kate's wedding.
How do I manage that? I mean, I don't even try.
I just got back from having some chicken roti at Pussers, washed down with a Painkiller. It was delicious. I sat there looking about, hardly able to believe that I am back. New smile; in the BVI's....
Happy Birthday to ME!
