Cancun 09 Adventure #7

As I wrote the last time, the power was off and we were contemplating what to do. Apparently they have significant back up generation capacity here. The power was indeed off in the rooms, but all the computers (where they take your money) and the grocery store were still operational. Also the elevators still had power. Oh yea, and the sound system at the welcome meeting and then later party worked just fine. We attended the welcome meeting and found out all the stuff about the resort. Royal Resorts has some of the highest rated time-shares in Cancun, but they are really in love with themselves. They think they are better than the best thing since sliced bread. All I know so far is they have the meanest mosquitoes.

We later went to the Welcome Party out on the deck by the pool. Since the power was off, they added a special treat to the normal welcome party refreshments. Instead of just beer and soft drinks, they added rum and Coke to the offerings. What a busy bar that was, made us forget about the power being off. I tipped the bartender nicely early on, so he took care of Miss Vickie and I. We elected to let the younger folks handle the limbo, water balloon tossing, balloon stomping, and various other semi athletic events. With the free libations flowing and a crowd of easily 100-125, the Welcome Party really took off. They were selling food, and that was going pretty well. Jerry won a free hamburger combo plate, but since he wasn’t here Vickie and I ate it for him. Sadly it looks like Jerry and Brenda aren’t going to make it back here. We really miss them. Brenda’s sister is back at the nursing home and resting comfortably. With the help of her friend Francis, a sitter, and Brenda someone is with June around the clock.

After the welcome party, we hung out in the pool for the afternoon, and enjoyed meeting a diverse group of folks during happy hour at the pool bar. We retreated to the Villa prior to the dreaded bloodsuckers arrival. We contemplated what to do for dinner and decided a pizza from the in-house carry out would suffice and possibly a nice bottle of Shiraz from the grocery store. Vickie volunteered to cover up with insect repellent, and go for the grub. In hindsight I realized we should have let the room delivery folks handle it all. Vickie returned with bites all over her face and back and arms. She is quite allergic to the vampire saliva, and had bumps all over. We ate our meal, and watched some often entertaining Mexican television. Southpark in Spanish is a hoot, and the Mexican commercials are amazingly over the top compared to the US. Soon it was read a little and hit the sack.

Monday turned out to be a pretty day with a nice breeze going, and the bloodsuckers back to their lairs for the day. Early morning our maid arrived. She’s young, looks real good bending over cleaning our out door hot tub, and makes really cool towel flowers and animals as well as fancy toilet paper and tissue foldings. She also keeps our room organized and spotless. Oh yes, she speaks between 0 and 1% English. I have decided that I want her to come home to America, live with us, and work for us full time. Haven’t discussed this with Vickie quite yet but I’m sure she’ll agree. I now plan to be at my computer (which is beside the sliding glass door to the deck) when the hot tub cleaning takes place each day.

Mid morning I decided to get my gear and do some snorkeling in the ocean. We hauled everything down to the beach and I geared up. I even managed to get my fins on with about waist deep water. No one could tell me exactly where to go, it was all pretty much “oh yes Senior, out there”. So I just worked my way out and eventually found they do have an off shore reef here. The water was pretty rough, and if I turned my head to the left too far, the waves would break over my snorkel. Had to keep clearing that. The reef here has a lot of fish, and if I’d have had tongs and a bag we could have had Sea Urchins for dinner---there were hundreds of them. Interestingly though, this reef does not appear very healthy. Rather than having bright colors and bright colored fish, it is sort of a monotone sepia. In fact most of the fish have adapted to blend in with the brownish background. I’m hoping that the development and pollution are not poisoning the reef, but it appears so. Vickie found pool colored chips of ceramic impersonating sea shells on the beach. When you consider the proximity to so much construction, Cozumel, and the bazillion tourists the cruise ships bring there every year, they are probably factors. I’m going to try again a little further south down the beach, I’ve seen folks going in down there.

Yesterday afternoon was pretty much a repeat of the day before—chatting at the pool bar, swimming, sunning. However, I decided I would make a run to the in-house store and find something to make for dinner. We headed there prior to bloodsucker arrival and picked up some fixings for what has now become Mosquito Siege Casserole, along with another nice bottle of wine. Vickie was quite impressed as I presented hors d'oeuvres of spicy refritos, and then made a casserole out of canned chicken, frozen Mexican mixed vegetables, double crema queso blanco, cooked bow tie pasta, milk, salt and pepper, and topped it with 2 pieces of crumbled dry toast. After baking for 30 minutes or so, it turned out to be sort of a light fresh chicken pot pie with no crust. Necessity was certainly the mother of invention.

Tuesday we had our “Taco Party” so they could try and sell us something. Unlike the Taco party at the Club International, the food here was somewhat lackluster, and did not agree with me too well. We sat after the food and talked to our Concierge, Lucas, at some length. We pretty much told him they had blown any chance of selling us anything: 1. because everything Royal sells is finite in duration (you can’t leave it to the family) and 2. because the guys who did the presentation to us last week were idiots. After the party, we did the usual hang around the pool happy hour stuff and retreated to the room for leftovers and “Dancing With the Stars”.

Wednesday overnight it rained, and the morning was clear and cooler. We decided to brave the restaurant for breakfast. Good news, the mosquitoes pretty much left us alone and the food was great. After breakfast I got a notion that I wanted to see Playa del Carmen, so we caught the shuttle bus from the hotel. While we were there it poured rain, and we spent some time standing under an awning just watching the rain. After the rain with water lying in the streets, the humidity went to 400% and it was first cousin to sitting in a steam room. We walked around for a while enjoying the hawkers at the various shops. One of my favorite ones was “come in and see what we have just for the hell of it” to which I replied---Halibut, oh I love fish especially Halibut. That really got me the crazy gringo stare. After looking at some of the stores, it was pretty obvious they only sold clothes for young skinny folks, jewelry, or really stupid T-shirts, nothing much in between. Finally when I couldn’t hike any more, we camped at a corner bistro, and had some nice cold Dos Equis XX, and watched the sights. Low season here in tourist land brings out more of the locals and Europeans. A much more interesting crowd, except for the obviously American woman in black jeans and long sleeves when it was like a sauna on the streets. With the sweat running off us like a fountain, even under a ceiling fan, we decided even the street entertainment was not that good, and caught a cab back to The Haciendas. The cab driver commented on the way home, “I have a 2 year old and one on the way in November. My baby company is now closed”

Probably a little snorkeling on tap for this afternoon if the water isn’t too rough.
more later,
wes

Cancun 09 Adventure #6

Well here it is Sunday morning, and we are well landed at the Royal Haciendas in Playa del Carmen. You can see Cozumel off the coast, and see the cruise ships lit up at night. We had a pretty uneventful check out at the Club International yesterday, and our transportation arrived courteously on time. We had a nice visit with Edgar from USA Transfers as he carried us the 45 minutes or so to our new resort. He was very forthcoming about how things were here with the US occupancy down quite a bit. He said that he had only worked 3 days last week, and was working even less in the week ahead. He said this time of the year is always low season, but this year with the confluence of the US economy, the swine flu and hurricane season, things were really slow. We asked him about his view on the swine flu issue, and he said here on the coast---no problem. He did say, however, he has a brother in the medical profession in Mexico City, and it is “very bad—scary”.

We arrived at Royal Haciendas and proceeded through the check in process. Since we were well ahead of the majority of folks (who arrive on the planes from the US from noon on) we breezed right through. We hiked to our assigned room, and it was beautiful. Had a nice view of the ocean, and the empty pool, with a board wall around it. (closed for major repairs) We looked at the map and located the other pool, which was a significant hike away. We decided, given my locomotion issues, we might try and see if they had a room on the other side of the world where the operational pool was located. Turned out between the mgmt. and our Concierge they were able to relocate us to a great unit very near the pool and beach. We stowed our luggage, and headed for the pool.

The remaining pool is quite large, and has a swim up pool bar. It is also of the “infinity” design so the water appears to flow over the edge into the ocean. The view from the pool bar is fine enough to warrant sitting there all day, which is what we did for the rest of the afternoon. The guys working behind the pool bar really love their jobs, and bonded with Vickie from Virginia soon after we landed. They had great music going, and happy hour started at 3:00 with the ringing of a big bell many times. As more and more guests checked in and got to the pool, a great time was had by all. Around 5:30 we decided we’d look up some dinner since we had only snacked since breakfast. Little did we know how lucky that decision turned out to be.

We went up to our room, cleaned up, and headed to La Palapa del Sol, which is the main and currently only restaurant here. It is a semi outdoor restaurant with a giant thatched roof. The special of the evening was a Caribbean Buffet including everything for about $24 US. We were both very hungry so decided to go for it. The layout of food was incredible. They had several different kinds of hot mussel preparations, cold seafood with shrimp, scallops, orange chicken, spicy fish, beef kabobs, and more mussels with pasta. Also there was a taco/fajita station with pick your own meat combo that a guy grills for you. On the salad side, they had marvelous stuffed avocados, all manner of salad fixings, pickled spicy radish and hicima, crispy pea pods, apple and chicken salad, etc etc. On the other end of the buffet they had hand cut French fries, quesadillas, fried bananas, fried cheese sticks, and a giant pot of the best seafood soup I have tasted in a long time. We began a slow and relaxed serious attack on some of the best food we have had in Mexico. The service was attentive, a pretty good band started up, and it was a pleasant evening. We had just about gotten to dessert when Vickie slapped a mosquito on her cheek, which seemed odd since we never had a bug problem up in Cancun except possibly late the last night. I told her it was her imagination until she continued to swat, and I began having things flying around my face. Vickie excused herself and went up to the room for some OFF we brought along. I continued to eat and brush things from in front of my face. She got back and even with insect repellent on was getting bothered by the bugs. Finally she swatted one off my face, and we examined it. It was a coal black mosquito. I looked around the restaurant and upon closer observation, everyone in the place was batting, scratching, and swatting. The band was trying to play, swat, and sing. We grabbed some delectable desert, ate it quickly and settled our check. On the way out, I looked at the line waiting to be seated, and wondered what the outcome of their dinner would be.

After we got back to the room, and escaped the hungry swarm, there was a phone message blinking in our room. It took a couple tries to decipher the high tech electronic phone system, but we finally got the message. “Oh Senior, we’d just like to tell you the electricity will be off all day tomorrow starting at 7 am, thank-you-very-much”. (you can’t make this stuff up) So Vickie and I commiserated a little, and then planned our survival attack. We walked rapidly to the grocery store, (with the hungry horde hard on our heels) and got a big bag of ice, insect repellent, mixer, something for breakfast, lunch, and liquor. A quick walk back to the villa (something like a walking blood drive) and we were all set. I turned all the thermostats in the villa (3 of them) down to “hang meat” to store up some coolness for tomorrow, and programmed my mental alarm clock to wake up prior to 7 am so I could make coffee. We settled in for the night as I made faces out the window at the “black vampire devils”.

I woke up early, made the coffee, and transferred it into our thermos when the power went off promptly at 7:22 am. (that’s 7 am Mexican time). I kept the heavy drapes tightly closed to keep out the heat and we relaxed until 9 am and our “Welcome Meeting”. We went to the meeting to get the free coffee and pastry they offered. The Mexican pastry is freshly hand made and to die for. On the way I didn’t see any more of the little black creeps from last night. I’m sure they are back over in the swamp just waiting for dusk and another bunch of unsuspecting diners. We have a “Welcome Party” which involves free food, soda, and beer, at the beach at noon. I have all my snorkel gear in the mesh bag ready to take to the water this afternoon. The room is staying relatively cool with my attention to energy storage/conservation, and the back up generator runs the elevators so we are in pretty good shape.
more later,
wes

Cancun 09 Adventure #5

Well now it’s Friday and we are preparing to move to the other Villa tomorrow. They stuck a bill in our door this morning; to be sure we wouldn’t wait around and pay them tomorrow. These places, it’s all about the money. They are sort of like cruise ships on dry land. They have to have the staff here to keep the place open, so they make sure they try and squeeze every dollar out of you they can. The Internet connection is still broken this morning everywhere except the lobby. Vickie is sleeping; I’ve been reading a book and enjoying the tropical weather. Got some delicious fresh baked pastries from the little store downstairs to go with some good Mexican coffee.

Yesterday Vickie and I decided to treat ourselves to the breakfast at the beach. The Mexicans really know how to do breakfast right. I had forgotten how well eggs, tortillas and beans go together. And then there is the fruit. We had 4 or 5 different kinds of melon cut up and it was all to die for. After breakfast, we changed and lay under a palapa on the beach watching the world go by. It is amazing watching the same boats go in and out of the harbor every day. You have to wonder how the boat crews do it. Same trip every day---different tourists. Vickie found out about some interesting silvery fish that seem to be in the water all around us, and we spent some time watching them. Then later I had a marvelous fresh fish sandwich at the pool bar for lunch, and then we continued our lazy day by the pool.

As the day drew to a close, we noticed that tonight’s theme at the restaurant was a cook out. They had set up grills and serving tables in one corner of the beach. We thought that might be interesting, so headed up to the room to clean up and prepare. We got treated to a beautiful sunset. It had turned cloudy for the first time since we’d been here, and when the sunset over the curve of Cancun, the sky was full of brilliant colors.

We went down to dinner and were pleasantly surprised. They had moved many of the restaurant tables right down on the beach beside the lapping water. We got a table right on the water overlooking the bay. The entertainment this evening was karaoke but done by one of the members of the band from the previous evening. He didn’t have a lot to say, but sort of did this Mexican mumbling monologue between the songs. He did sing pretty well however, and many of the patrons got up to sing a few. Most were mercifully talented. It was a very nice evening.

Had and interesting visit this morning from some long term Cancun visitors. The lady said they had been owners here for 20 some years. They are owners at the Royal Mayan. They are planning on moving into our unit tomorrow and were wondering about the view. One of the ladies said they had been here during hurricane Wilma. They were at the Royal Mayan on the 10th floor in a lock off (for time share owners). For others, a lock off is a small portion of a time-share villa you can lock off and rent out separately. Very much like a motel room. She said the hotel had been evacuated, but they failed to let the folks know in the lock offs. They were huddled on the floor behind the inner bed when the storm hit. The room flooded from water that was driven under the sliding glass door. All around them they could hear glass breaking, but their window continued to hold. When the storm abated they had no electricity, no water and no food. Finally she decided to venture out and ran into a security guard. He asked what she was doing there and she told him about not being evacuated. They were cleaning out the grocery store, so he gave her a bag of food, and said to wait. Soon the hotel set up to feed them, but that was all the service they got. They had to line up to be fed, and carry water from the pool to flush their conveniences. This went on for the rest of the week until they finally opened the airport. Then they would go to the airport and had to take a number to try to get on a plane for home. They finally got out on Friday. Quite an interesting story. She also told us the beach in Cancun used to be big wide and sandy. Now in many places it is nothing but rocks and surf.

Wrap up: After the visit from the nice ladies, we spent a lazy afternoon at the pool. After the pool we cleaned up and had dinner again at the resort restaurant. Vickie had some immense coconut breaded shrimp, and I had some wonderfully broiled Grouper. The fish here has been tremendous. During dinner we had some interesting entertainment. A young boy arrived on the beach and began fishing with a seine net. The resort guards went to plaid (high) alert, but it was funny cause in Mexico all beaches are public so they couldn’t do anything to him. He continued fishing (catching fish) and taunted the guards. We never knew the whole story, but I (as usual) made up the rest of the story. I theorized that down the beach one of the restaurants was running low on the “catch of the day” so they called one of the ubiquitous prep boys and said “Juan---go fishing”, but do it up in front of the Internationale so no one sees you.

Tomorrow morning we move to the Royal Haciendas.
more later,
wes

Cancun 09 Adventure #4

I woke up this morning and felt fine, just very hungry. I ate a light breakfast, and then about 11:00, we headed down to our “taco party” as we had planned the day before. The food was quite good, the drinks were free, and other than reconfirming our appointment to go to the Royal Sands @ 1:45 nothing much happened. Well fed, we wandered back to the pool, and hung around till time for the transport.

We showed up at our appointed time out front, and as is want to happen in Mexico, everyone was late. We finally rounded up Beto, our driver, and a van for the trip to the Royal Sands. When we got there we began the time-honored ritual of “The Time Share” A young lady sat us down and had us fill out pages of meaningless paperwork. Then she passed us along to a personable young man for our indoctrination and tour. On the way in I noticed that their “scoreboard” on the wall was showing mostly zeros, with one block having a 2 (probably their sales for the month). Our indoctrinator sat us down in front of a flat screen and proceeded to tell us all about the “Royal Way and History”. Then he played us a very glossy video showing all about the Royal Resorts. Any questions, no, well it was time for the tour. He hiked us all over the Royal Sands (supposedly their biggest and best resort in the Cancun hotel area), showing us this and that and finally to a villa to see the lovely ocean view. (of course only 20% of the villas have this view, and they are more expensive) Then it was back to the boiler room to meet “his manager”.

Anyone who has been through a time-share presentation knows how it goes from here, but this one had a Mexican twist. (Don’t you just love how they all learn to write upside down? I can barely write legibly right side up, so I greatly admire this talent.) First surprise was they were selling the Royal Haciendas down in Playa del Carmen, not the place we had toured. Second surprise was “they were way behind due to the poor economy” and had not sold out as soon as they had planned. He asked if we were interested, and we made noncommittal noises. He said good, and went off to get his “most current inventory”. He came back and showed us a list that ranged from about $37,000 for a week to well over $100,000 for a week, depending on the time of year. We said we weren’t interested. Then He asked us how we liked the place we were staying. We said just fine, in fact better than the Sands we had just toured. He said let me see what I can do and off he went again to “check inventory”.

He returned and said he had exactly what we wanted, a week at the very place we were staying, just 2 rooms down from our current location. But then he let something slip. In his urgency to sell us something, he used an illustration of the owners at the Royal Mayan (another of their resorts) and how they were pretty much hosed cause their ownership years were ending. Turns out Royal only sells you the condo for 35 to 45 years, and then they need to resell it to make more money. So the way I see it is they kick you out give you your original purchase price refurbish the place, and resell it. Pretty cool racket. Of course you get your original “investment” back, but say you paid $7000 for your week 30 years ago, now to rebuy, it costs $47,000. And oh yea you have been paying $800 maintenance fee every year. What a racket.

Then he really took us for fools. He offered us the condo we were staying in at the other place for $21,600 for a week every other year. For the math challenged, this was almost as much as the every year at the brand new nicer place. We told him we weren’t interested. I had reached my attention span, so I got up to leave. He told me I had to sit back down so we could conclude our business and get us our free stuff. So I did just for the entertainment value. He goes away, we all swear a vow to no more time share presentations, and here comes mister big gun. (with the real butch crew cut) He offers us a rental week at the place we are currently staying for $697 for the next year. I tell him, Interval International already beat you by $203 on that price. He gets frustrated and signs our papers so we can get our free stuff. I walk away. The girls go off to do their facial, Jerry and I find a bar, and notice that the whole place is pretty empty.

Later we hook up with the girls, and decide we just want to go back to our own villa and enjoy the evening. We round up some change, and hop one of the every 2-minute Cancun buses back to our own property. Have to insert an interesting quote here. While I was waiting out front and we were preparing to catch the bus, I picked up a brochure off the bell captain desk. It was about driving in Cancun Called the Royal Resorts Road Safety pamphlet. Here are a couple excerpts: 1. Speed Bumps “When you travel through residential areas of Cancun and villages……….look out for speed bumps or sleeping policemen at the entrance and exit to the communities and in front of schools. (you can’t make this stuff up) 2. Helping our visitors Article 152. The municipal government has implemented a courtesy driving offense ticket which will be used exclusively for tourists who break minor city traffic laws…………….There is no charge whatsoever, and the courtesy ticket may be issued twice to the same car and/or driver but will not be used in cases of serious breaches of local traffic regulations and acts of dangerous driving. (unless you are really stupid, you get 2 get out of jail free cards driving in Cancun) Bet the local money machine really hated when they introduced this policy.

Back to our villa….We swim a while, then plan to get cleaned up and go to the Mexican Fiesta they are having at the restaurant tonight. Unfortunately while we were hanging at the pool Brenda finds out she has to urgently call home. Turns out Brenda’s sister June, who has cancer, has taken a turn for the worse. Bren and Jerry need to go home. Jerry makes the arrangements, and we decide to head for the fiesta in June’s honor. We eat great food, drink a bunch of toasts to June, dance, sing and in general have a real fiesta.

Later Brenda and I had a great conversation sitting on the balcony overlooking the resort. Since I had just lost my dad last July to cancer, we shared feelings about what it’s like and the pain and suffering. I believe it was cathartic for both of us. They went home the next morning, and currently June is comfortable, but very weak. We will be looking for more news this morning.
more later,
wes

Cancun 09 Adventure #3

Well yesterday was sort of a lazy day. After we got moving around, the maid came and made everything beautiful again. The girls were planning to go shopping, and I was planning on playing water volleyball at 11:00 am. I got all my stuff together, suntanned up, and headed down to the pool. Well when I got there, I asked a official looking Royal guy about the volleyball, and he said “no volleyball at 11, taco party at 11. First we eat and drink beer then we play volleyball” Except it wasn’t “my day” for the taco party, we are supposed to come at 11 on Tuesday. In case you have not figured it out, the “Taco Parties” are the prelude to the spiel for the time-share tour. Tomorrow, we are going to our “Taco Party” and listen to the little 45 minute spiel for free transportation over to the Royal Sands, a lunch, and refund of the money we paid for our transportation back to the airport later in the trip. None of us has any use for any more time-shares, so we will politely listen so Beto our concierge can get his checkmark in his box. He has been very helpful and we want to help him out. (what a bunch of suckers we are) And, oh yea, never did get to play volleyball.

The girls headed off to take the bus into Cancan for shopping. The bus costs 7.5 pesos which is about 57 cents. Jerry and I moseyed to the pool and staked out a good shady spot for some lazy reading and chick watching. Unbeknownst to us, but knownst to others, Monday must have been the time share tour day at Club Internationale, all we got to watch was a parade of geriatric obese folks in ridiculous clothes wander up and down the pool walkways. We were often amused by some folk’s choice of all black, including black pants, for hiking around in the 90 plus weather and blazing sun.

While we were hanging at the pool, I happened to look up and once again saw Mexican OHSA at work. On the 6 story building beside us, I saw two guys walk up to the edge, throw ropes over the side, and then with buckets tied to their belts, begin rappelling down the outside of the building washing windows. Needless to say it was quite entertaining.

As we passed the lazy afternoon, reading, girl watching, swimming, and drinking way too much adult beverages we slipped quietly into the Mexican mind set where time passage seems to slow and clocks become unnecessary. It was a marvelous afternoon.

After the girls returned from shopping, they joined us at the pool for a late afternoon soak, they regaled us with stories from shopping. The shopping had taken place at 28 Market in Cancun where the locals had sent them. Based on their stories, the bartering was good and sharp due to the low number of shoppers. In one place they were plied with tequila shots as they were looking for t-shirts. But the best story was when Brenda was trying to buy salt and pepper shakers. (she and Jerry collect salt and pepper shakers from their adventures) Brenda was looking at a set of s & p and the lady would not budge from her price. (which Brenda thought was too high) Brenda continued to offer less and the woman tried in broken English to explain that these were quality pieces and would hold up to wear. Brenda persisted that she didn’t care about ware she just displayed them, and finally the exasperated storekeeper said well then I guess you want to see the s_itty ones. Brenda said YES show me the s_itty ones. She did and Brenda found exactly what she wanted. She still had to barter the price down, but got what she wanted. They will forever be her s_itty salt and peppershakers.

Later we adjourned to the room and fed ourselves from our previously procured supplies. Wes was a whipped puppy, and soon crashed for the evening. From our balcony Vickie watched the pirate ship duo festooned in lights, which go out every night, and stage a mock battle. She gave me a blow by blow as they turned off their lights (one red one green) and snuck up on each other for a kill shot from their cannon. Later they returned to port with the music blasting and all on board partying. However I’ve yet to see much of a crowd on either ship. In fact, the occupancy here where we are staying seems to be in the 40% range.
more later,
wes

Cancun 09 Adventure #2

Note the picture. When we arrived in Cancun we noticed and admired the giant Mexican flag waving over all. Today we noticed it was at what appeared half-mast. We started asking---who died---we figured some Mexican diplomat or someone famous had died. Or perhaps they just found out Elvis was dead. Turned out when we finally found out what had happened, the answer was “The crank had broken”, only in Mexico. Hopefully they’ll have the crank fixed by Tuesday night for Mexican Independence Day. (just for the record, looked out the door and the crank is fixed today Monday)

We started this morning lazily getting up, as we desired, and having nice breakfast from our ordered supplies. I went “native” by having a some tortillas briefly cooked on the stove burner, then filled with a slice of cheese and Oscar Meyer turkey ham. “I put the whole pile back on the stove burner for a minute and then ate it with some great salsa we got from the grocery supply store.

Our personal concierge Beto called us and noted we hadn’t made it to the 8:30 am “orientation”. I chuckled and told him we didn’t usually get up that early when traveling. He asked if he could come up and give us our “presentation”. I said OK but told Jerry if he was here more than 10 minutes Vickie would pretend she was sick. Turned out he was a great guy and we had a good time talking about the cool things to do here. He hooked us up with some free stuff, and gave us lots of local directions and hints. He told us a great joke that we found out all the Concierges use: The girls had asked him how to get to the local Wally Mart. In the process of telling them he added “Do you know the difference between a Wal-Mart in Mexico and a Wal-Mart in the US? No, well in Mexico all the employees are legal residents. Boom-Sha.

At noon we went down for the welcome party on the beach, and had fun participating in some craziness. (slamming beers might have been involved) We later adjourned down the beach to a great palapa on the water. The afternoon was spent in and out of the water with the nice waiters bringing us liquid refreshment from the beach bar. My favorite was the Mucho Grande Banana Monkey. We had a really big time hanging out in the Caribbean Sea as Jerry replaced his missing hair with reddish green seaweed. Somehow in his blue granny sunglasses and red seaweed hair he looked like David Caruso on CSI Miami.

Brendito ordered us a plate of Nachos Grande to quell our mid afternoon hunger. It came as a large plate topped with Pico de Gallo, guacamole, shredded meat, cheese, and very tasty jalapeños. They seem to have two types of jalapeños here. One type is fruity and tasty with a little heat. The other type, which we had last night at dinner, is very fiery. Speaking of dinner last night, after getting pretty rowdy at the pool bar, we went back to the room for showers to get rid of the day’s worth of sand and suntan lotion. We then headed back down to the resort restaurant to enjoy Taco Night. This consisted of a very interesting buffet and small Mexican themed salad bar. The food was tasty, not too spicy,(except the fiery jalapeños) and indigestion was had by all.

During dinner we met and were entertained (not) by this white blonde frizzy haired lady who seemed to know everything there was to know about everything. I stopped talking to her when at one point she said her father was a rocket scientist. Tomorrow I’m going to get her a job talking to terminal insomniacs at the mental hospital.

For Monday, we plan to make use of the free sailboats they offer here. Also the girls are headed to downtown Cancun via the 7.5 peso bus (57 cents at the current exchange rate) to purchase exactly the right “Mexican dress” to wear to the Tuesday night Independence Day fiesta. Of course they asked this really hot, fiery little Mexican girl who works here what she was going to wear and she told them “jeans and a cowgirl hat” Go figure.
More later,
wes

Cancun 09 Adventure #1

Well here it is Sunday morning, and after some fairly easy travel yesterday, we’re in the tropics. We left home yesterday morning around 7:30 and breezed through a largely deserted security station at the Greensboro airport. We arrived at our gate and boarded an on time Delta connector for Atlanta. The flight was operated by ASA and used one of those Embraer CJ something or other “regional jets” I love (not) the silly things. I had a big time demonstrating to the flight attendant (much to Vickie’s chagrin) how I could balance my self by thrusting my head solidly against the ceiling of the plane. Then I adjourned to my cute little mini seat for the thankfully brief ride to Atlanta.

Arriving in Atlanta, I took advantage of my ability to request a wheelchair, which turned out to be fortuitous. We landed in some remote section of the Atlanta airport where we had to descend the built in stairs of the plane. We ended up on the tarmac surrounded by what appeared to be 30 or 40 of the “cute little” regional jets. The attendant meeting me loaded me in a golf cart, then transferred me to the terminal. Once in the terminal, a very nice lady pushed me, with Vickie hiking along, all the while regaling us with stories of the celebrities she had escorted through the airport. Among them former president Jimmy Carter who she said she happened to get separated from his Secret Service guys and caused a big flap. She also told us about how they are having a big problem because they have been hiring 18-20 year olds to do the wheelchair pushing, and they don’t last too long. According to her (probably in her early 50’s) the “young folks” don’t like the work cause it’s “too hard, and gives them foot and back pain from all the walking and pushing”. And then she said they “demanded tips” and surprise surprise didn’t get them. Her approach was tips are appreciated to supplement my income. Was a very informative wheelchair ride.

We reached the gate and it was boarding time—no time for anything but a bathroom break. Demonstrating once again it’s pretty important to keep some stuff to eat in your drag along bag. We squeezed ourselves into a somewhat ancient MD 88, and pushed back on time. The flight to Cancun was a very reasonable 2 hr 10 minutes, but somewhat bumpy due to weather. The landing had a lot of those “oh I wish he’d quit doing that it feels like an amusement park ride” kinds of moments. However we safely touched down, and the Cancun airport was amazingly efficient for a Saturday. Possibly because I noticed on the plane that it wasn’t very full, in fact 1st class was empty except for a newly wed couple they had upgraded. We picked the perfect weekend to travel---recession, hurricane season, school has started, day after anniversary of 9/11----got that going for us.

We arrived at our resort after a 20 minute van ride. The company I had prearranged the transportation with, USA Transfers, was right on the spot and very courteous. The Royal guy promptly unloaded our luggage and we headed inside to check in. As usual in Mexico, they always seem to find a way to make something simple seem complex. After I figured out we really didn’t have to listen to the little guy’s “spiel” in very broken English, we got in line. Check in proceeded at it’s normal Mexican (somewhat sleepy) pace. Jerry and I noted while watching check in that OSHA has not made it to Mexico. The little lady behind the counter had to look at a computer screen 2 feet to her right, use a mouse propped on top of a shelf, and then type on a keyboard to her left about chest height.

We were very pleasantly surprised when we reached our Villa. I had spent several sessions with the purveyors of this fine establishment off and on since around April, trying to upgrade our Villa from a 2 bedroom 1 bath to a 2 bedroom 2 bath. I never had much success, until out of the blue a few weeks before we were scheduled to go, I received Email advertising exactly the accommodations I had been trying to arrange as a “get away” from Interval International. I jumped on the phone and after some spirited negotiation scored the unit we wanted. When we arrived I was very happy I had persisted---the view is one of the best in the place, and is very convenient to the elevator.

After we arrived yesterday and got settled---Have to mention how well the food service worked here---we ordered start up food for our villa on line from home, and when we arrived yesterday the refrigerator was stocked, and everything else was arranged nicely on the counter. So after we were settled, we changed and adjourned to the beach under a palapa for happy hour and the setting sun. Soon after that we relocated to the restaurant for dinner. Brenda ordered what was listed as a snack plate and it came on a huge platter brimming with all manner of Mexican treats. Jerry ordered fried shrimp that came with very large shrimp in a highly flavorful crispy batter. Vickie ordered the special of the day, which was prime rib that was quite impressive. I ordered Caribbean fish that was extremely tasty. All the main dishes came with very fresh steamed mixed vegetables and quite flavorful rice. For a resort, we expected the prices to be high, but the whole meal ended up less than $40 U.S. per couple including tip. Oh and I failed to mention, our table was about 30 feet from the waves lapping on the beach under the stars.

After dinner we slipped into the inviting pool, and spent a relaxing hour unwinding from the day of travel. Soon everyone was yawning and we retreated to our villa for an attack on the various sleeping appliances.
more later,
wes

Fourth of July 09 Beach Trip #6 The End

Friday, the sun woke us up to a bright and beautiful morning. Everyone was really ready to head for the beach cause this was our “last day”. You always have that day when you realize you have to go home tomorrow. How is it that a week at the beach seems to take forever to plan and get here and then is gone in a flash?

Everyone, including yours truly, rounded up all their stuff, and prepared to head for the beach. From every floor of the house came the sounds of greasing and spraying. I was heading down the stairs when I heard that unmistakable sound that is sort of a cross between a squirt and a splop. I rounded the corner to see my son and son in law dispensing large blobs of the dreaded white goo on themselves. Soon everyone was sufficiently SPFed, and we loaded all the beach gear in the back of the truck. The family walked down to the beach access, and I hauled the load of gear in the truck to my accustomed handicap parking space. This day we were early enough I didn’t even have to use the handicap space. I got a prime spot right beside the beach stairs. Everyone gathered up their load of “gear” and soon we were all installed in “a spot” on the beach. I was safely landed under my industrial strength umbrella, and had done a special rig that allowed the breeze to blow through the screen windows in my umbrella. (this is really a slick umbrella) I settled down with my book and some shade, my friends and family, and all was well with the universe.

We enjoyed the morning on the beach, and as lunchtime approached, we decided to adjourn to the house and then the boat. We reversed the process of beach landing, and hauled all the “gear” back to the house. We had a good lunch of tasty leftovers and some new veggie additions, and planned our afternoon. While we were eating lunch we got some good news: Vickie and I have been on the waiting list for the “dry stack” at Carolina Marina in North Carolina at Belews Lake. For those who don’t know a dry stack is a big building where they store your boat on big shelves and put it in the water when you want it. Well they had called and left a message on my cell phone that our slot had opened up. This was really cool since we were #20 on the waiting list this spring when we first asked them about getting in. It is a very nice facility, and the lake is pretty close to our house.

Vickie and Marian decided to go shopping. This left us with the perfect number for an afternoon of water sports. (thanks to Miss Vickie, but as she said, she could go boating anytime and thanks to Marian, she really didn’t want to go because of back pain) Tom, the boys and I headed out to launch the boat, and we told the girls we’d pick them up at the dock.

Well that was the plan, but when we got to the boat ramp, it seemed everyone in the general vicinity had the same idea. There was no place to park the truck and trailer. Well, I thought about it, and so I just dumped Wes IV, Tom, and Jon off with the boat, and told them I’d meet them at the dock. I took the truck back to the house, parked it, and joined the girls to meet them at the dock. All went pretty well, and soon we were out on the water. We headed upstream to the area where we had been the other day. Our intention was to let some of the folks ski. When we got up to where I thought we might pull someone, Jon got suited up and jumped overboard, turned out the water was waist deep, and he ended up standing in the ooze. We worked at trying to pull him, but the wind and current combined with the bumper-to-bumper boat traffic made it nearly impossible. We gave up on that, and put out the tube. Jon rode that and then Aylea. It was sort of like riding in the ocean however with all the boat wakes.

Finally I made an executive decision, and said let’s head downstream to the other end of the island and see if it is any calmer. Turned out it was much better. The swinging bridge at Sunset Beach only opens once per hour, so far fewer boats come that direction. We were able to get everyone a chance to tube, and we even anchored and swam a little. Even Tom got on the tube. I might not have mentioned it, but Tom is the Chief of Police in York County PA. I told the kids, “too bad I know him, this is just what I always wanted to do---drag a cop through the salt water at high speed on the end of a rope”. I told Tom later and we had a good chuckle over it.

While we were swimming, the bridge opened unexpectedly. We heard a great huge horn, and through came a barge, pushed by a tugboat, carrying a huge bridge girder. He proceeded upstream, and the little boats just had to get out of his way. It was surprising to see such a huge boat, but then I remembered that the Inter Costal Waterway is there for much more than recreation. It is a vital waterway for commerce on the East Coast. I could imagine what it must be like for that tug boat skipper threading his way up the channel with a bazillion rookie ICW boaters like me to contend with. Need to mention what a joy Greta was during this boating afternoon. She rode the boat, went in the water, watched mommie and daddy tubing, and generally had a big time. Very amazing behavior for a 2 year old.

As the afternoon came to a close all had recreated their fill, and we headed back to the dock. Tom and the boys dropped me and the girls off at the dock, and I went to fetch the trailer. I got the trailer and headed for the boat ramp. When I got there we had a giant traffic jam at the boat ramp. One lady couldn’t back up her trailer-this was quite comical to watch, as she almost backed it over the side of the ramp. Since it was only a jet-ski trailer, it ended up with a guy simply picking the trailer up to get it oriented properly as she backed it up. Then one guy’s boat was broken down and blocking the first launch, then while successfully avoiding a collision with the side of the boat launch, my son accidentally changed launches at the last minute, meaning that our boat was in the wrong slot for loading, and the guy in that slot was trying to back down to launch and couldn’t figure out what to do. My son didn't want to tempt fate and risk a mishap on his (otherwise uneventful) second time driving my new boat by moving it to the other launch, and the guy trying to launch didn't want to move to let us unload and get out of the way.

We were all sitting there in our trucks kind of looking at each other and I saw Tom talking with the guy that seemed to have terminal indecision. Low and behold everything started moving and all of a sudden, we all got straightened out. I found out later Tom had just “explained” to the guy he’d either have to move or sit there forever, despite his protests about losing his place in line. I should note that Tom is a very easy-going, friendly guy, but in his position as a career police officer, he has gotten good at this sort of very persuasive "explaining" that gets the desired result without making everyone angry. We certainly appreciated him putting on his "chief" hat for a moment to sort everything out with a minimal amount of drama. We got the boat loaded and headed back to the house. Of course on the way back the tube blew out of the back of the boat on the road. Tom and Jon jumped in another vehicle and went back for it.

Everyone turned to, and we thoroughly scrubbed down the boat to get all the salt water and sand off it. Meanwhile the ladies managed to put together a great dinner from all the stuff left in the refrigerator, and we sat down to a great communal meal reliving all the great moments of the day, and sharing good times. A great end to a great week.

Soon after dinner, everyone once again turned to and we began packing, cleaning, and preparing for the exit on Saturday. All hands were on deck, and when everyone finally turned in for the night, we were the requisite number of hours away from departure in the morning.

Just to finish up, everyone got loaded up Saturday morning, and the leaving was uneventful. For us the traffic was relatively ok, no back ups but I-40 was pretty frantic.
Wes IV reported “we didn't really run into bad traffic until we hit 95 when 64, 295 and 95 all merge together above Richmond, where, just for good measure, it goes from 4 lanes to 3. The combined beach traffic made for a longish ride home. Very few dead stops, but a lot of time where you'd be motoring along at 65 and then all of the sudden it'd slow down to 30, then go back up to 65 or 70. As far as I can tell there were no accidents, and the root cause seemed to be that the VA State Police were doing an "admirable" job enforcing the speed limit, but what it was actually doing was causing a chain-reaction backup due to a combination of rubbernecking on flashy lights and standard "oh crap it's a cop (slam on the brakes)" halfway across VA. I counted no fewer than 6 traffic stops along that stretch. What should have taken us 6 hrs took closer to 7 with only one 30 min stop for lunch. Because we stopped fairly early on in the trip (about 11), that ended up being a nearly 5 hour nonstop stretch of driving for Tom and I - we were amazed that no one needed to stop, but VERY ready to be out of the car when we finally hit home.”

We had an unusual event while riding on I-40. This big lighted sign over the roadway said “SILVER ALERT CALL 511” So we dutifully called 511 and got to listen to 9 traffic messages none of which had any particular bearing on anything that had to do with anything. Still haven’t figured out what the “SILVER ALERT” was supposed to be. Perhaps it was an Al-Qaeda secret alert for terrorists. The forty bazillion people traveling I-40 all calling 511 at the same time allowed them to slip a message through the cell overload. Or maybe the cell companies paid North Carolina to do it to waste minutes. But anyhow everyone got home safe, and we are vowing to do it again.
More later,
Wes

Fourth of July 09 Beach Trip #5

Thursday morning dawned sort of cloudy and rainy looking. The forecast was iffy so we didn’t plan anything too involved. Some of the folks went to the beach after the sun did come out. But a little while later I looked up from my keyboard and it was pouring down rain with rain lashing against the sliding glass doors in the kitchen. I had used the morning and on into the afternoon as it turned out, to catch up on my writing and manage posting some photos to the web. Miss Vickie disappeared early in the morning to the beach, and never returned even through the rainstorm. She spent the day in pursuit of sharks’ teeth. She was rewarded for her day of labor with some prize finds.

Miss Vickie reported her day on the beach was interesting. There were not a lot of people on the beach because of the poor weather, but the folks who were there wanted to know what she was looking for. She became the “shark’s tooth guru” teaching everyone what to look for and helping them.

Thursday night we were having Ragu Bolognese ala Wes III. Yours truly had started around 11:00 AM (assisted by daughter Aylea) to prepare my well-tested pasta recipe. I even brought my Lodge cast iron Dutch oven all the way there since I feel it is a necessity. (if you are driving—flying is a different story) Aylea and I chopped, sautéed, browned, deglazed, crushed, simmered and stirred. I had even brought San Marzano tomatoes from my stock at home. When all was properly combined it went into a 225º convection oven for the rest of the afternoon.

I retired to the kitchen table, with a view of the beach and waves rolling in, to capture some of the events of the week. Folks came and went, shopping, eating, beaching, playing guitar hero, just regular daily stuff for a sort of off and on rainy day at the beach. It was a nice day of respite in some ways. You can’t ask for a better “writers perch” than overlooking the ocean, with a happy family surrounding you, and dinner from your own hands slowly simmering in the oven.

Sometime during the day, my son discovered the house we were renting had a hidden elevator. He was looking at the breaker box (like nosy engineers often do) and noticed a breaker labeled elevator. Once he did it was obvious there was a locked door, all in alignment, on each floor. On their own they appeared to be just locked “owners closets” but when taken as a whole they spelled elevator. Me being a half cripple, it was a little disappointing that the owners of this particular house chose to let me struggle up and down four flights of stairs all the time when I could have ridden. Just a word to the wary, if you rent a 3 or 4 floor beach house with kitchen and gathering area on the top floor, be sure to ask if it comes with an elevator and if that elevator is only for the privileged.

As everyone started gathering for dinner, I made some Yoder’s cole slaw and got some Barilla Plus pasta ready to boil. I am partial to Barilla Plus spaghetti with my Bolognese and what’s even better is it is good for you. Tom and Marain had made the trip to Myrtle Beach for the day and called to see if we needed anything. I ordered up some crusty chewy bread to go with dinner and everything came together nicely.

The food must have been ok cause it got snarffled up with just a few leftovers. Anyone who would like the recipe let me know. It’s somewhat laborious to make, but rewarding in the finish. While I was finishing up dinner Miss Vickie returned from the beach and cooked up a massive tray of her famous peach Jello shots. These went into the refrigerator for later appreciation.

After dinner, we got out the Rummy Cube game. It is one of the few games I can really play. (I’ve just never taken the time to learn a lot of the others, sorry kids) We had a bunch of spirited players, and half way through Miss Vickie passed around the tray of her special libations. We played and talked and sparred until everyone succumbed to the call of the bed. The whole day was wonderful.
More later,
Wes

Fourth of July 09 Beach Trip #4

Wednesday morning dawned bright and pretty. Everyone was chomping to get to the beach. Carrie and Creston especially wanted to get in some beach time cause they had to go home today. Everybody scurried around and hauled all “the gear” to the beach. I decided to disconnect the truck from the boat and use it to haul my stuff (and my butt) down to the beach access. I used my handicap parking privileges to secure a spot near the beach access.

The beach on this particular day was nearly perfect. The wind was low, temp was in the middle 80’s, and the water was warm. I sat under my mother of all umbrellas and watched the world go by. Intermittently I got up and spent some time in the ocean. I really love to swim in the ocean when I get a chance. Miss Vickie spent her time searching the beach for anything collectable. Mostly she is currently interested in sharks teeth and sea glass. She has a big time and the patience of Job searching for both.

Sitting on a well populated beach during the 4th of July week caused me to wax analytical about all manner of things. The first thing that came to mind was how wonderful all these folks can still afford a vacation with their families even with the economic troubles we currently face. An then gazing at the ocean and remembering the MRAP vehicle we saw on a trailer at the Rest Stop on the way down got me thinking about all the kids who are over seas and at home keeping our way of life safe. My kids were here with me at the beach---I am a fortunate man. An then there is the thought that even with adversity—life is good if you take your fun where can find it.

Carrie and Creston packed up had lunch and headed up the road. They had to drive back to the DC area so Carrie could go back to work tomorrow. Vickie and I agreed with each other how fortunate we were to be happily retired and free to live life on a slightly different plane. We enjoyed the beach till mid afternoon, and then made a run to the local stores for some supplies.

This is a good time to mention a really cool service we found on this trip. Anyone who has ever been to Ocean Isle Beach in the distant past knows you used to have to travel all the way to Shallotte to go to the grocery store. Then years later they built a new Food Loin down the road toward Sunset Beach. That and the local small IGA were the only food supply sources available. Also anyone who has ever been to this or any beach for that matter knows how it is always a mob scene the first couple days at the grocery store as everyone tries to stock their larder for the week. While planning for this trip, I got an Email from Lowes Foods (whom I have a green points card with) telling me about a new service called Lowes Foods To Go, an on line shopping service. I sent a note to my daughter in law, Emily, about it thinking it might be useful for our beach trip because they had a store nearby. She embraced it quickly, and soon we were preparing an online shopping list for the beach.

It turned out that this service is beyond cool. I even put in my green points number so we could take advantage of the specials. How it works is that you prepare an online shopping list, complete with prices, sale prices, and quantities. You then pay a one-time charge of $5.95, which allows you unlimited on line shopping at that store for a week. You then transfer your shopping list to a shopping cart, and put in your credit card number, selecting a pick up date and time, and place the order. At your appointed time, you show up at the Lowes Foods, and pull into one of their special Lowes Foods To Go lanes, push a call button, and the person asks for your name. Then they politely say they’ll be right out with your order. They proceed to bring out everything you bought, load it in the car, and refuse to be tipped. (read they are not allowed) This is shopping like we always thought it might be in the future. We have used the service several times subsequently all week with similar favorable results. I can only imagine how useful this type of service would be for a busy mother who works and tries to keep up a family household. Emily said she is going to try to find a similar service near her home in Manassas. I can only imagine the young kids running around the store being shoppers for the to goers.

On the way back from the store, we picked up a nice big watermelon at a roadside stand. The kids fixed Chicken Marsala with Portobello mushrooms and risotto for dinner. My son used the couple quarts of hand made chicken stock from my previous days endeavors in the risotto. We topped it all with fresh cold watermelon for a great feed.
More later,
Wes

Fourth of July 09 Beach Trip #3

Tuesday morning arrived bright and sunny. The weather report promised only the possibility of scattered and or isolated storms, so we decided to take the boat and venture out to our deserted wild beach. Our current rental property is on the ocean side with a great view of the ocean from the lovely kitchen/living area on the top floor. It is also in close proximity to the houses that are situated on the canal system at OIB that was devised to create more waterfront property. Since we were planning to ferry some folks out to the remote beach, and we had 6 lifejackets for 10 folks (Greta had a dedicated midget lifejacket) we looked around at the closest canal to us to see if there might be a dock we could utilize to facilitate the transfer (the boat ramp dock is not quick walking distance from our house). We found a vacant lot just down the street complete with dock. The nice lady next door said the owner (a builder) would certainly not care if we utilized the dock so we were all set.

We loaded up everything in the boat and with the first wave of folks, headed for the remote beach. We easily beached the boat and headed back for the balance of the crew. Cell phones came in quite handy for this endeavor. We turned one canal too early, so I got some additional practice in “advanced low-speed jet boat maneuvers” in order to turn around and head back to the correct canal to meet our waiting party. With everyone transferred to the beach, we picked a smaller crew and decided to try some water skiing. We spent some time trying to get folks up on the skis, and only once managed to suck the ski rope into the boat impeller. Needless to say yours truly was a little embarrassed by that particular event, but the operation of a jet boat does have somewhat of a learning curve. The convenient clean out port allowed us to quickly untangle the rope and we continued. Mostly what we found out was it is pretty much difficult to ski on the ICW during July 4th week---the boat traffic is pretty busy. Next time out we are going to try going up the Shallotte River a ways and see if that’s not a little better.

We spent a nice afternoon hanging out on the remote beach—looking for shells, swimming, sun bathing, and just generally having a big time. Finally the weather started threatening a little so I suggested we probably ought to start the return trip. As it turned out, about the time we got to the dock, it was pouring down rain. But then we were all wet already and wearing swimming suits, so other than being a little cool it wasn’t a big deal. We off loaded most of the gear, and then headed back to the boat ramp. We had one couple we wanted to let try some tubing if we could (Creston and Cary, Emily’s sister and her husband) since they had to leave Wednesday. We hooked up the tube rope and they got on it in the water. We took off pulling them and they were having a big time. We managed to use a sharp turn to slingshot them enough that they actually were moving faster than the boat for a short period of time. Fun with angular velocity! After a while it started to rain a little, then it started to rain a lot. We got them back in the boat and headed again for the dock. We got most everyone off loaded (in the downpour) then the boys and I headed for the ramp to get the boat landed. It was really crazy driving the boat through the pouring rain.

We got the boat trailered OK and headed back to the house. The plan for that evening was to go to a restaurant to celebrate the various anniversaries/birthdays/whatever that had happened in the last couple months. (just another way of saying both sets of grandparents took everyone out for dinner) We went to Captain Nance’s in Calabash. What trip to the beach in this part of the country would be complete without a trip to Calabash? A wonderful time was had by all, and appetites were well sated with all manner of fried crustaceans. (I remarked that this particular restaurant had a Lipitor dispenser in the bathroom instead of a condom dispenser). I seem to remember ice cream somewhere on the way home as well, all in all a wonderful day at the beach. I was dead tired when we got home and crashed for a while with a book on my chest.
More later,
Wes

Fourth of July 09 Beach Trip #2

Sunday at the Ocean Isle Beach: everyone headed for the beach. I am somewhat of a beach aphobic. I really like it I just don’t like the sun and sand and wind and suntan goo. I used to like Ocean Isle’s beach OK cause we’d put up a gazebo on the beach we could leave up all week, and it was great to sit under. But a couple of years ago, the Ocean Isle folks got the idea that the gazebos were interfering with the breeding habits of the sea turtles. Now I’m as environmentally friendly as the next guy, but I was a little put off by the whole “no gazebos” thing (as were some other folks I know who quit coming to Ocean Isle because of it). In my sometimes-cynical view of life, I figured it was probably cause the local government wanted to either run or franchise some kind of beach umbrella rental business, and needed a monopoly. My daughter knew of my beach issues, so compromised by getting me the mother of all beach umbrellas for Father’s Day.

With the whole family happily “down at the beach” I hung around doing some kitchen snack prep work like peeling and cutting up 5# of carrots, making dip, marinating meat, etc. (subconsciously anything to avoid the beach). Finally I decided to brave it, and greased up to make the journey. Just as I got to our spot on the beach and landed in my chair under my new umbrella, it started to rain. I apologized to everyone for bringing the rain, and we packed up for the return to the house.

Dinner that evening was fajitas both of the beef and chicken variety. Previously on Saturday night we had baby back ribs and rotisserie chicken that had been started at home then finished upon arrival. Also great corn on the cob hand imported from the farmlands of York PA by Em’s mom and dad. Both nights’ chicken carcasses made their way to a large pot and were cooked down with various condiments to become stock for later usage. Everyone has been pitching in with the kitchen duties, and it is sort of a “fun for all”. As with most big family gatherings, after dinner each night we settled down for a nice quiet session of Guitar Hero World Tour on the Playstation at 125 db. Life is good.

Monday morning, Miss Vickie disappeared to her favorite beach pass time of wandering, and I got some of the young folks together, and said, “let’s go see about getting the boat in the water.” It ended up being Jon, Aylea, Wes IV, Greta, and me as captain. This was Greta’s first boat ride, and so we made sure that she was properly outfitted with her lifejacket, sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses. We rounded up everything and headed for the free boat ramp that lives under the Ocean Isle Beach high-level bridge. It’s a real steep ramp, and puts you right into the Inter Costal Waterway. We got the boat launched uneventfully, and headed down the ICW to see what we could see. Heading South (which is actually West because of this islands peculiar orientation) we came to the famous Sunset Beach swinging bridge (as in swings open), which is soon to be replaced with a high level bridge, much to everyone’s aesthetic chagrin. The posted schedule said the bridge only opened on the hour, and being it was 10:30 we elected to head the other direction.

Heading North (which again here is actually East) we passed our launch point, and then on to the mouth of the Shallotte River. We looked around there, and continued up Waterway till we reached the harbor and high level bridge to Holden beach. Along the way we passed the opening between Holden Beach and Ocean Isle Beach where you could make a turn and head out to the Atlantic Ocean. Also in that general area we found a great stretch of beach where we could bring folks with the boat and hang out. Greta was a natural at the boat riding, and had a great time. She comes by her love of motorized conveyances honest, as my family has the gene that causes us to have some amount of gasoline in our veins, starting with my mother, then me (which you already know), and carrying through to both of my kids (and apparently my granddaughter). We returned to our launch point, and successfully trailered the boat for the return to the house, planning a future trip to our beach find. We discovered at home that we gave the boat its first contact with the dock, due to some telltale yellow plastic stuck in a couple of the screws on the bumper strip of the boat. Oh well, it wouldn’t be my boat if it was completely pristine.

That night we had a modified clambake (fresh shrimp, some of the most buttery clams I have ever had) along with crab cakes and some more of the wonderful York corn. This evening we settled down for some lively board games and conversation.
More later,
Wes

Fourth of July 09 Beach Trip #1

It all started a few months ago when my son called and said they had rented a house at the beach for July 4th week. He wasn’t sure exactly who was going to be there, but it would be a group. We ended up with Wes IV (my son) his wife Emily, granddaughter Greta, Aylea (my daughter) and her husband Jon, Carrie (Emily’s sister) and her husband Creston, Tom and Marian (Emily’s parents) and Miss Vickie and I. I said we’d love to go and mentioned that I might want to bring my (old) boat, but that I wasn’t sure cause the whole boat thing was somewhat up in the air at that point. Well now it is 4th of July week and we are happily at the beach with family, good weather, new boat, and new truck to pull it with. The in-between is quite a story.

To start with, I had some trepidation (actually a deep seated phobia) of going anywhere on a holiday week. But since the kids were willing to do it, I said what the heck. Then I read how less people were traveling this year etc. etc. so I started worrying less about it. Also, I figured all the accommodations at the beach would be slammed, and I have an additional phobia about crowds. It all turned out to be useless worry because now that we’re here it is and was no worse than any trip to the beach we’ve ever made. The crowds are definitely manageable, and the traffic getting here was pretty much a non-event.

Also in the planning stages I still had my 78 Checkmate boat and our 03 Tahoe to pull it with. In the ensuing months the Checkmate went to a good home and was replaced with a new Yamaha SX230. That happened the last week of April, and then the rains started. We bought the new boat and it rained almost every day for about 6 weeks. So we pretty much had a “yard yacht” brand new that had never been in the water. Meanwhile the beach trip was fast approaching. We had intended to take the boat on our last trip to Hilton Head, but that just didn’t seem to work out either. Then in the meantime, we determined the Tahoe was working way too hard pulling the new boat, so it went to the Chevy dealer and came back as a big red pickup with the max towing package. So all was well for a trip to the beach. I hoped.

Jon and Aylea (my daughter and son in law) came from Pittsburgh and made our house their interim stop over. On Friday before the trip, a lot of “plans came together” and our new bed rug and toneau cover were installed on the pickup. Since we didn’t really have to be at Ocean Isle till 4pm or so, we had time Saturday morning to load the truck and boat. We ended up with pretty much everything we owned that had anything to do with the beach loaded in both the truck and boat. Since it is a crew cab as well, Jon and Aylea rode with us. The queen mary pulled out of the driveway with four people, their luggage for a beach trip, plenty of water toys, 5 or 6 cases of liquid refreshment, and towing the boat. I was apprehensive how this was all going to go.

Soon however, I got the feel of driving “the rig”. We pulled out on the Ridgeway by pass and it wasn’t long till I had the cruise control set on 70. Vickie had a white-knuckle death grip on her grab handle. (which she had off and on all the way to the beach especially on the Durham Freeway) One thing is certain, for all its faults, GM still knows how to build a honkin’ big 4 wheel drive truck that will tote your stuff in comfort and safety. After a while and some driving adjustments, I was ready to pull “the rig” anywhere in the US.

We arrived at Ocean Isle pretty close to our scheduled time with the only delay being a slight backtrack in Wilmington when we thought we might run out of gas. Ooops. Did I mention that the truck fuel computer is off by about 5%? I looked at the fuel range vs. the miles left to go and decided we better get gas while we could. Rt. 17 south of Wilmington is pretty much nothing till you get to the beach turnoffs. Our truck being a crew cab short bed has only a 26 gallon fuel tank. The longer bed trucks are available with a 36 gallon tank that I wish ours had. Pulling the boat with everything we own and running 70-75 mph a lot of the time yields mileage in the 10-11 range. One time I was in the fast lane passing a Honda Prius, and I looked down (down is the operative word here) scoffing, “heck buddy, I’m using 4 times as much gas as you are”. As he looked up cowering and hoping I didn’t run over him. J I wanted to break out in a chorus of “I’m proud to be an American”.

We got close to the beach house we were planning to stay in, and called the kids. They were already there, and told us to come on in---they left us a good parking space. Turned out the parking space IS good, but involves stopping traffic on the main road to allow me to back the boat under the deck with about 2 feet to spare on either side. With the help of my son and son in law, however, we got the boat safely landed an all our “stuff” hauled in and stowed. I was glad to be here, but now have considerably more confidence traveling with “our rig”. We’re all looking forward to a great week of beaching, boating and fun.
More later,
Wes

Hilton Head Day Four

Wednesday ended up being another quite day. I caught up on my writing, and Brenda worked on her jewelry. The radio announced that Wednesday was “Root Canal Appreciation Day” No one was too excited about that. Jerry and Vickie took turns napping in the morning. I did some prep work in the kitchen, planning sliders for lunch and steak for dinner. Once again we had intentions of going to the beach, but just about the time of day when it got warm enough for the beach, the afternoon rains came. So Vickie and I took off for the store to pick up a few things, and books and resting were the pastime of choice at the condo. Once again it poured rain for at least an hour. It was a little dry when we got here, but not now.

While we were sitting on the back deck, we saw a Red Tailed Hawk fly in and land in one of the trees close to the condo. Vickie went out and was able to get numerous pictures of the bird as it posed for her. Then while we were sitting there watching the one bird, its mate flew past with one of our local squirrels in its clutches. I’ll never forget the look on the squirrels face as he flew past dangling from the hawk talons. Sort of like---oh krap, guess I’m going to be on the lunch menu today for the hawk chicks.

One day this week the girls had a girley kind of day and put on long artificial nails and fixed their hair. Now all week Vickie is learning how to do stuff with long nails again. Another cool thing, we discovered an interesting new snack food at the Fresh Market. It is okra that has been deep fried quickly with no batter (like potato chips) in canola oil and then dusted with sea salt. It makes you think it is good for you because it is bright green. Somehow even though it’s fried because the color is green it seems healthy.

Later we decided to avail ourselves of the Club House activity opportunities, however when we got there we found the normally deserted building had been occupied by two other residents and the pool table was taken. The ping-pong table was available but there were only 2 paddles, and the only ball had a dent in it making it flat on one side. Jerry and Brenda tried ping-pong, but the square ball made for some rather strange bounces. Vickie and I attempted to play a game of plain old-fashioned checkers. So once again we headed back to the condo, but now since it was late and the rain had given up, we took Jerry’s Bocce Ball set out onto the 4th fairway, and had several spirited games of Bocce.

As it started to get late, we headed in and started dinner. Jerry and I walked over to the provided outdoor gas grills. These grills just happen to be on the shore of the Turtle/Alligator pond. What could possibly go wrong with the combination of impending darkness, alcohol, raw meat, and alligators. Well we survived and it was interesting watching the critters watch us cook. One particularly aggressive turtle chased me around I guess thinking I was going to feed him. We assumed that quite often these denizens get the odd piece of meat from the grillers. Even though the sign warns it is a $1000 fine to feed or molest the alligators, turtles are not specifically mentioned. At one point I counted 14 turtles and an alligator watching us cook.

We had a lovely meal of rib eye steak fixed to our special traveling recipe. When we travel I always carry my Rachel Wray Santoku knife and Lawry’s Garlic Salt Coarse Ground With Parsley. We buy a small bottle of olive oil, and Jerry usually brings gallon storage bags. We rub the steaks well with the oil, some pepper, and Lawry’s. Then put them in the refrigerator for at least a day, sometimes two or three. (we have used this recipe in numerous countries and states) We paired the steak up with some great corn nuked in the husk (Vickie’s special recipe) salad, and some very nice Shiraz Jerry scored at the Piggy Wiggly. For desert we had a great meringue topped key lime pie from the Fresh Market. Would have been a $150 dinner for four here in Hilton Head, but we eliminated the middleman and did it for about $40.

Once again we had a great evening playing many spirited games of dominoes until it was time for bed. Another very relaxing great day was in the books.
More later,
Wes

Hilton Head Day Three The Bike Wreck

Hello, more musings about nothing particular and everything in general.

Tuesday morning we all lazed about getting our individual breakfast choices, checking Email, perusing through the news on line, showering, watching bad golfers, and in general just living a relaxed resort kind of life. Brenda had started working on a bazillion piece jigsaw puzzle. Jerry and Vickie were helping and or kibitzing. Got me wondering who actually started calling them jigsaw puzzles? Did some guy paste a picture on a board and then cut it up with a jigsaw in little pieces for his kids to put together one rainy day? Sometimes you just have to think about these kinds of things. It is very nice to travel with our long term traveling companions. Over time we have learned to accommodate each other’s idiosyncrasies, and we can relax together with minimal stress.

Later as we all finished preparation, we loaded in Jerry’s Explorer and set out to explore (pardon the pun) the island. Jerry and Brenda have started a business distributing Kazuri Beads. While on their safari to Kenya they visited the Kazuri bead factory in Nairobi. Here they saw the process where Kazuri beads are hand made by the local residents. When they returned they decided to get involved in distributing the rare and unusual beads in the U.S.A year or so later they have a web site www.kakarjewelry.com and are attending bead shows regularly. That is actually how we came to be at Hilton Head this week. They had a local bead shop to visit along with a bead show this coming weekend in Charleston. I had to chuckle at the name of the bead shop, “Hemp Seed and High Tide Beads”. Even more entertainment was had as we actually visited the shop. Jerry and Brenda went into the shop to conduct their business, while Vickie and I wandered the little strip mall containing the shop. Jerry later reported the owners looked the part of creative artists.

First on the list of interesting stuff was a bunch of Yuppie women discussing their bead purchases on a bench outside the bead shop. Allow me to digress a minute about my use of the term Yuppie. Yuppie is not a derogatory term for me, but more a descriptive term. And to me the root term Yuppie has many sub types however most are unnamed. Let me say that I also consider myself the antithesis for some Yuppies. In my opinion they perceive my eccentricity as a threat to their very formal and organized rich peoples lives. I just find the whole mess entertaining and food for my ever-wondering mind. End of digression, oh and let me record it here: I just promised Vickie if she could get me a hotel room with a window overlooking a good view of Fremont Street, with my laptop, Internet connection, pocket tape recorder, and a good supply of liquor, I’d go with her back to Las Vegas. (I notoriously hate Las Vegas since among my many vices gambling IS NOT and the place bores me quickly)

Back to the strip mall: the ladies discussing their bead purchases gave the appearance of being rich and bored. In addition they looked suspiciously at me as I made notes on my pocket recorder and observed life. I moved on down the mall to “The Island Gold Works” looking in the windows at many beautiful items on display. I got to the door, and there was this sign with a new approach to business (for me). The sign said “Open, Please press buzzer and wait for assistance”. I didn’t figure they wanted to talk to me so I moved on down the mall. Soon I was standing in front of “The Encore Consignment Store”. I looked inside, and it was a Yuppie consignment store, which looked to me like a fancy women’s store. Vickie made a circuit through the store and reported it was stocked with all types of high end “stuff” there on consignment. From looking at some shoes displayed out front, according to Vickie, you could buy “used” $250 shoes for $45. Interesting concept, would be a shopping bonanza for folks who weren’t from here. Also in the strip mall was a cool looking bar---not open darn it. And on the end was a real tearoom with little old ladies drinking tea, reading books, and chatting quietly. Beside the tearoom was a Cat Clinic, and the “Dr. Is (was) In”. Everywhere at this mall Yuppiedom was in evidence especially in the parking lot. There was a preponderance of Mercedes, Exotic SUV’s and other high end transportation. While Jerry and Brenda finished their business, Vickie and I landed on a bench and perused the proffered free literature proclaiming the attractions of Hilton Head. Interesting reading. Vickie found a residence that was now down to $845,000 from it’s 2006 appraisal of $1.6 million. I read an interesting article by a guy who retired from “The War on Drugs” and was now a “Security Consultant” to a security company servicing the residents of Hilton Head. (think he was a high end security system salesman) I also read about this cool solar device that is supposed to be able to heat water even on cloudy days. Article says it is especially good for heating hot tubs and touted possible Federal Tax credits. I tore out the page and intend to investigate upon returning home.

We left the Yuppie strip mall and headed to Sea Pines Plantation. Sea Pines is the original development on Hilton Head Island. It was started and planned by Charles Fraser, who is buried under the Liberty Oak overlooking the harbor. His theory was build the attractions first I.E. the marinas, the golf courses, the swimming pools, and beach accesses, then plan the community around them gently preserving and working with the natural vegetation. The result is a beautiful blend of houses, condos, recreation, shopping, ponds, trees, alligators, birds, and bike trails. It was so successful Charles’s overarching plan of having restrictive development covenants attached to land became the standard of the resort industry. His tenants were used in the development of several other SC developments including Kiowa Island. He was a truly great man.

We had a great lunch at one of the restaurants overlooking the harbor at Harbor Village. The food was great, I had a cup of (very good) Crab Bisque, and a Cuban Sandwich, Brenda had a Chicken Panini, Jerry had a Blackened Tuna Wrap, and Vickie had a Pulled Pork Sandwich. All came with Sea Pines Chips, which were great kettle cooked potato chips. We also ordered the special drink of the day a Bahama Mama. We figured the special ought to be special. We weren’t disappointed---the drink was especially ordinary and the price was especially ridiculous. All in all lunch reminded us we were in Hilton Head by being ridiculously over priced.

After lunch I wanted to tour the harbor and look at the boats. I stopped, just out of curiosity, at the fuel dock. The fuel pump had the most recent sales still recorded on it. The first one was “Off Road Low Sulfur Non Highway Diesel” $2.369 per gallon, last sale 395 gallons for $937.24. On the gasoline side $3.119 per gallon last sale 40 gallons for $127.24. It’s obvious the gasoline still contains “Road Taxes” which is pretty ridiculous for a boat. In VA there is some mechanism for recovering the “Road Tax” paid on boat gas. We have not explored it yet, but with the new boat holding 51 gallons of gas, we probably will.

After visiting the fuel dock, Vickie and I continued our tour of the harbor. We saw some beautiful boats, and wondered what the dockage must be to stay in this particular (very special) harbor. I say very special because the 18th green just across the harbor is featured in the PGA Verizon Heritage at the Harbor Town Golf Links. The boats (yachts) did not disappoint either. I made myself a note to look up Lazzara Yachts because that was the name on a very beautiful yacht we saw moored there. (which I did, and they are incredible)

After viewing all the sights at Sea Pines, we returned home via the Fresh Market and Piggly Wiggly to obtain sustenance for the balance of the week. After we got back and unloaded all our stuff, everyone settled down to do whatever, and Miss Vickie took her bike back to the beach to look for shells. I took the opportunity to explore a little, and found the “Club House” that is associated with our group of units. It has a nice pool table, ping-pong table, beautiful work out room, and a shelf of books and games. Amongst the games I found a box of very nice 9 spot dominoes, and we have passed the last two evenings with spirited dominoes tournaments. (don’t want to jinx things, but yours truly has won the last two nights)

After exploring the clubhouse, I went and soaked my lower legs in the hot tub at the pool for about 20 minutes. While soaking I watched the turtles and alligators in the pond next to the pool. Then I headed back to the condo. I hadn’t been back too long when Miss Vickie came in quite distressed. Seems as though she had lost control of her bike on the bike path, and rode down an embankment wedging herself between two trees and under the bike. She had to be rescued by 2 ladies. Good news is she didn’t break anything, mostly cuts and bruises, and no alligators or snakes got to her. Bad part is the unmerciful abuse she has had to endure from all of us. We took good care of her, and got her soaking in a warm whirlpool bath, and gave her some Tylenol for her pain. Cut on her finger required bandaging, and she had to get some dirt and blood out of her swimsuit cover up. Jerry wanted her to go back, lie down in the weeds and recreate the wreck so we could take a picture for the blog. (Vickie didn’t think so) By Wednesday she was doing better, but has not been back on the bike again yet.
More later,
Wes

Hilton Head Day Two

Well we got here Sunday afternoon, and now it is Wednesday morning. We have not done a lot of structured things, but have enjoyed our time greatly. This will probably be a Sienfieldesque blog, a show about nothing.

Monday morning, no one got moving too early, and those who did, indulged in nothing more than a good book or relaxing breakfast watching the golfers tee off on #4. (which is quite the entertaining pastime) Vickie and I took the complimentary bicycles that came with the condo, and rode down to the beach. Actually twice cause the first time we couldn’t find it, and had to come back for directions. After directions, the second time we made it to the beach and to our surprise found very nice facilities and a pretty beach. They had chairs and umbrellas for rent ($30 for an umbrella and 2 chairs for 1st day and $18 a day after that, payable in advance). The water was cool but not frigid I thought even warmer than Outer Banks in June.

After scoping out the facilities Vickie and I headed back to the condo to report. We checked in with our friends, and after some research found we could hit the main pool bar for a hot dog for lunch. Vickie and I rode the bikes back, and Jerry and Brenda walked, opting for the exercise. We soon were parked at a pretty much deserted pool and pool bar. We ordered (from the very unpersonable bar lady) some of the proffered tropical specialties, to go with some dogs and burgers. In a little while our lackluster food arrived, essentially plain but with a basket containing little plastic packets of condiments. We built some quasi-palatable creations, and washed them down with reasonably good drinks. The whole thing introduced us to the Hilton Head motto: If it isn’t overpriced, then you’re not in Hilton Head. Apparently in this area of the country, the economic downturn is not being considered. (although the occupancy looks to be about 30% but that may be because it is still May)

After our mediocre but at least properly overpriced lunch, we retired to the condo intending to hit the pool. But Mother Nature had pretty much decided that was not to be. The skies began to blacken, while we watched and listened to a thunderstorm roll in. (like we hadn’t had enough rain last week in Martinsville) Checking the weather on the Internet, we found we were in the path of a severe thunderstorm warning. We opened the bar or should I say reopened the bar, and settled down to watch the fun.

Golfers are a curious breed; they just will not admit that it is really going to storm until it is raining so hard they can’t see the ball. And then what is this whole thing of holding a metal rod in your hand on a flat grass field while it is lightening? Seems like a death wish to me, but then this is Hilton Head, and I’m sure they don’t refund those overpriced greens/cart fees once you have paid them.

We watched the golfing ramp down as the rain ramped up. The rain continued to RAMP UP. Pretty soon it was raining literally in sheets. We could look out across the golf course and see sheets of rain moving down the fairway. Then the golf course began to look like a pond, and after a while the whole fairway was under water. I reminded my compatriots that this was a swamp until they decided to fill it in and build stuff on it. We had a couple funny events happen during the storm. It was raining so hard Jerry and I could not resist standing out on the front porch and watching. The lightening/thunder was loud, but by time differential not all that close. All of a sudden the lightening struck something close by and issued forth one of those giant SNAP sounds that scare the poop out of you. Everyone in the condo screamed, and Jerry and I bumped into each other getting in the front door. We had a good laugh about it. It was even raining so hard at one point; I put on my new prescription snorkeling mask just to try it out. After we were back inside from the lightening scare, we were watching the waterfall coming off our upper roof, when we noticed a drink cup Brenda had left out on the patio table. She had had water in it on the way back from lunch, and had left it empty on the table. Well now the cup was full to within 1 inch of the top with rainwater, all in about 30-40 minutes. After the storm abated, Vickie took her bike back down to the beach since it was low tide to look for shells. When she returned we decided to go with a rerun of last nights dinner and polished off the second half of Jerry’s lasagna from the previous night.

Our condo comes equipped with many games, puzzles, and movies. One very cool entertainment feature of the condo is the step on the stairs to the second floor that at the quietest unexpected times sounds amazingly like flatulence when trend upon. This has been the source of untold verbal sparring and laughter. Of course this is from the same crew (missing Jimmy and Judy) that almost laughed themselves silly in a cabin at the North Rim of The Grand Canyon on the last night of the season when Miss Brenda produced a secretly packed whoopee cushion. This same Miss Brenda conned us into a game of Trivial Pursuit for the evening. Only problem was this particular Trivial Pursuit box contained a game based solely on the 80’s. Due to some marital discord and/or relationship issues (for most of us) the 80’s were better forgotten, and that is about what we all did. Therefore trivial questions based solely on events from the 80’s were daunting for us, to say the least. Trivial Pursuit turned into Trivial Pursuit of a Coma. Finally we all conceded and allowed Brenda to win (since she was whipping our butts anyhow). As we carried over our Trivial comas everyone drifted off to the beds with the lure of another relaxing nights sleep.
More later,
Wes