Vacation Time!

Just goes to show that you cannot trust the ole weatherman.  The call was for 80% chance of rain all day.  I think we got sprinkled on about 2 pm.  Mostly sunny. So, we go to bed early again last night.  Why?  Because we are still catching up from all the travel.  The alcohol probably has little to do with it.  And by early, I mean like 9:30-ish pm.  Well after half-time of the SNF game. I rolled out at 9am.  Most of the clan was already slathered and heading out the door.  I followed suit and was in my chair by the pool at 9:30 am.  We stayed there until lunch.  We came to the room, got dry clothes, and then ate lunch next door at the Char-Hut. Back to the room for putting on our second swimsuit (you know, the one that is dry) - and that folks, is why you take two swimsuits with you on vacation.  You're always putting on a dry one that way.  The boys, we head for the ocean.  It's very mild today, like 3' waves (...

Some of the group was up about 7:30 this morning.  I slept until 8:30 which was still only about 12 hours.  That was enough for my back.  The damn bed is a rock.  And everyone else has the same report - beds are hard. We headed for the main section at the end of the long pool in Phase 1 today.  Alex, Lorra, and Adam went to the Char-Hut for breakfast.  I snoozed some more in the chair.  I did get in the ocean this morning prior to napping. We ate lunch in the Char-Hut as the rain came down.  It had been threatening all morning, but finally hit about Noon.  It was done the same time we were done eating.  We walked back to the room to reapply sunscreen.  Then we hit the sun deck over on Phase 2.  Spent the entire afternoon there. Adam, Alex, and I hit the ocean.  The waves were fantastic today - at least 12' if not 15' tall - from the ocean floor to peak, or about 6' over our heads - maybe those are called 6' waves?.  G...

Saturday, 28 NOV was a travel day.  We stayed up all night, because we left for the airport at 0300.  Upon arrival, we were given the chance to upgrade to First Class for $85 total, for the two of us.  This was a no brainer.  The luggage cost was $60, but it was free if you were flying 1st Class.  Our options were (1) pay $60 and fly coach or (2) pay $85 and fly first class.  The difference is $25!  Upgrade, here we come.  Kathy and Alex enjoyed First Class as well. We flew to Charlotte and had 1 hour to wait before catching the next flight to Cancun.  I slept the entire time - both flights.  Didn't make use of the free drinks in 1st class even.  Just snoozed.  Face masks were required - everywhere. We landed in Cancun about Noon.  We walked through Immigration with zero issues - Sandy had completed our forms on-line before leaving.  Piece of cake.  By the time we hit the restrooms our luggage had arrived.  ...

And just like that, our week in Cancun has come to a close.  We did leave an hour early for the airport just to be safe.  I would consider the airport "busy" but not overly so for a Saturday during Spring Break.  We saw lots of masks, rubber gloves, and hand sanitizer. Our flight was on-time for departure and early into Indy.  No issues. We ordered dinner from the Pizza King on the way home and have already unpacked, started laundry (and by we, I mean my wife here), and are sorting through the mail. We had a great week of weather.  84 for the high and 77 for the low.  Nice breeze all week to keep us from over-heating.  And just a few spots of peeling skin (mainly my bald forehead - which is large enough to be called a Five-head). As things stand right now, we are following the rest of the nation and sequestering ourselves here at the Ranch.  Sandy hopes to finally get some sleep as she now has the option of hitting the couch if I snore too...

So we went out to dinner at Casa Rolandi - an Italian joint right across the street on the lagoon side of the road.  Sandy was hoping to enjoy her ox tail ravioli, but alas, that has been taken off the menu.  She had the cheese stuffed ravioli in a veal & truffle sauce.  I had the stuffed crab black ravioli.  And we each had a soup to start the meal.  Not very crowded in there at all.  Hmmm. On the way over and on the way back, we talked with two different couples who were both leaving tomorrow to go back to the US.  Neither of them had concerns about getting back home.  One couple from LA and the other from Oklahoma.  We're feeling like we have more than a good chance to make it home yet tomorrow. As dinner was completed, we sat and watched the sun go down.  Yep, we had a pretty darn good week!  We return in November with Kathy & Alex for another week.  Looking forward to that already. The sun starting its de...

Well, it has been six full days since I have worn socks.  Underwear sure, but not socks or shoes.  It's been all shorts, swimsuits, my flippy-floppies, and usually an orange PF t-shirt.  Then, we get back from lunch today and what is happening?  The US & Mexico have decided to close the border for all but essential travel and trade.  Awesome (my perspective).  Meltdown (my wife's perspective).  I mean, there are millions of other places that are worse to be stuck in than Cancun, MX.   And I am here with my bride.  Winning! We checked the internet for news and logged into Delta to confirm that we will be on the flight tomorrow morning.  Fortunately, Delta let us check in, which means that the flight must still be a Go, right?  Only one way to find out - show up at the airport and try to catch a plane home. The only problem with staying for an extended period is medicine.  I only brought enough of my pills to get m...

Well more of the same, with just a few subtle changes.  If you've read the previous posts, then you know exactly what we did today.  Sandy did finish a book, so that's one apiece so far. The change?  The staff has always been pleasant and cleanliness has been superb.  Today, however, things went up a notch or two.  We can smell the anti-bacterial cleaning solutions.  And the buffet has changed.  Things are now individually plated.  No more touching the spoons / serving yourself.  The resort has gotten busy with ensuring everyone's health / safety relative to this corona-virus.  We would estimate that the crowds are down a bit, but not much for Spring Break time.  They are definitely a younger crowd than December.  But still, plenty of people around. We did see an outfit today that would be considered obscene by everyone else who saw it - not judging - just saying that if you saw it (which cannot be unseen).  First of...