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
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