Giants vs. Eagles

I felt like I was reliving that miserable day at the sports bar in Cancun all over again.
Minus the warm sun and ocean outside.

Airport...

Do you really want to hear the account of my airport visit?
I was pleased to see that they moved their duty free shopping AFTER security check! And they had a HUGE liquor department. I searched high and low but did you really think I would find Goslings there? Well I was hopeful but not successful.
From there was a baggage section. WOW - all the Kipling bags!!!! I was very pleased to find that my little backpack from last year was $30 MORE in Cancun than my purchase in Charlotte. I have already justified the silly cost of the bag - but this made it even better.
And I walked around some more - watches, sunglasses, Jimmy Buffett, Christmas trees.... I took it all in. And wouldn't you know - 10 minutes before my flight started boarding - I got sick to my stomache.... aaahhhh - how nice. Hence my reference early on to the bathrooms at the airport.
I made a little wager about being "OK" on the flight... And that went without event. However I was the LAST person through customs for all international flights when we got to Charlotte.
Note for the future - stick with brushing teeth with bottled water and stay away from tall frozen drinks.... Of course most people think I had a version of the flu.

Making the most of my last day....

So the 5 days went rather quickly. At first it didn't seem like it. But with all the aches, pains, chills and naps it ended up speeding by. So I decided to make the most of it that last day. AND I was pretty sure I was feeling OK on Wednesday too... YIPPEEE!!!!
So we got up and went down to the beach. Did a little sunbathing with the Bain de Soleil orange gelee.... What a nice guilty pleasure that is. The surf, the sand, the scent of a suntan lotion shunned by the fear of skin cancer. It was nice. Plus we had a good laugh at the fact I used to use the Bain del Soleil dark tanning oil! Hello!? I am sure that will come back to haunt me.
From there we went for a swim in the pool.
And then to the breakfast buffett... I did mention my love of scrambled eggs and refried beans right. Too bad I only thought I was feeling better.
From there we went for a walk to the mall. It was an interesting melting pot of shops.... Cartier and Loius Vutton at one end. World of Tequila at the other. And in between everything from authentic Mexican pottery, vanilla, tshirts, xrated souvenirs, fine jewelry and a food court. We had a fun time walking around. And we did a little shopping.
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and hit the beach. The water was less choppy so we went in for a bit. Then back to the pool for one last dip before getting ready to head to the airport.
What a shame - too bad all the other days weren't like that.

Everybody Karaoke!

So I went back to the room to nap again on Tuesday. Andrea went shopping at the mall. And I am not too sure where Laird was.... And sometime later - OK maybe it was just an hour - I awoke to music and singing. My first thought was - wow that sure is different than the music the pool bar has been playing most of the week. Then I realised it was coming from the room next door. AND there was live singing... I had found Laird!
Laird was gearing up for karaoke. The most ironic small world aspect of karaoke... the guys that run the karaoke in Cancun are from Charlotte and they know a friend of mine. So we were all looking forward to going. And Laird was trying to determine which song to sing.
It was actually fun sitting around as he played DJ and critigued the music.
Unfortunately at the end of it all... we were all too tired to go on out.
I know I took a nap but I was still feeling nasty.
SO no karaoke this trip. Maybe next time.

Nothing says sexy like...

Disposable, purple, paper panties...
Now that caught your attention, eh?
I had forgotten this little tidbit of information when commenting about the spa visit.
They give you paper underwear for the wrap treatment.
Between that and the slop they put all over you - real attractive!

SPA DAY!!!

Well there is one way to warm up - a pampering morning at the spa.
I should have known something was up when the steam room didn't seem TOO hot to me. But that is after the fact...
The first thing we did was some detox seaweed body wrap. Now between massages, facials, and pedicures I have never done anything like this before. I have to say it was pretty amazing. Did it do anything? Who the heck knows. I just know that the hour of them layering some seaweed stuff on my skin and wrapping me in warm towels was prtty damn neat and I would do it again.
From there I did a reflexology massage. A little different that the deep tisssue massage. I can't explain the difference just beleive me there was a difference.
And from there I finally went in the steam room.
It was a nice way to spend the morning.
We went to the pool afterwards... And wouldn't you know somewhere over the course of the afternoon - the aches came back and I found myself headed back to the room to take a nap. boo hoo

Are You Ready for Some Football!!!?

Well thank goodness I was traveling or else I would have never seen the Monday night game with my non-cable cable at home. My intention was to go back to the sports bar and watch the game. I changed into my Panthers tshirt and was kind of good to go.
DAMN - wouldn't you know those chills came back.
So I watched the game in the room.
It was a good game. I would have loved to watched with others.
But staying warm was the objective.

Hung over???

I woke up feeling ~ok~ on Monday morning. I had some coffee and felt a little off. But not in a big way. Nothing a little coffee and sun couldn't handle - or so I thought...
I went down to the beach and felt a little warm - figured maybe alcohol? - not the normal feeling but maybe. So I went for a walk south down the beach towards the Ritz Carlton.... I still reflect on my last visit to a Ritz Carlton and can say - yeah not all it's cracked up to be... I ended up down the bach near some construction site and turned around. About the same as Sunday I did about a mile. The big difference this excursion (I should so put this entry in the tri blog) was that I jogged some parts of the trip..... and I must digress on this....
You know that you work a whole bunch of different muscles when walking barefoot on the beach. You add a jog in there - I learned from my friend JC - that the whole stride in the jog changes. Well let me tell you by the time I got back to my chair on the beach I couldn't agree more!!! My legs were achy. My feet were achy. I could feel all sorts of muscles in my legs.
I went to the pool to stretch out . No really - there was a little ledge and I could srecth out there in the water with little effort and much relaxation. I stayed over there for quite some time. Well until the sun moved behind the building mid-day. I found Andrea in the lap pool and decided to join her. NO - we didn't swim laps. It was just that the sun was up that way.
We hung out there until it started to cloud over. This is about the time I caught a chill that didn't leave me for a number of days...
I went back to the room, took a shower, took a nap, and ultimately worked my way out to a sunny balcony in an effort to warm up. I thought maybe I was dehydrated but I really don't know what was up...

Sunday Sunday Sunday

This was to be my "drink lots of tequila" day. I wouldn't say I achieved my goal. I tried lots of different drinks over the course of the day. But we were too busy doing nothing for it to be some stupid tequila blow out. I should be thankful - but then others say maybe I SHOULD have had more tequila....
So I hit the beach and went about a mile round trip north of the resort. The tide was in. There wasn't much beach to walk. But just the sun and sound of the ocean. HEAVEN.
I sat on the beach for a bit.
Did 4 laps in the pool - my goal was to work up to 10 by the end of the 5 days.... (this would be my last attempt at swimming laps - DAMN I was really enjoying it too)
Went to the breakfast buffett. Here is mexican cuisine I picked up in Cozumel that would make most people cringe... refried beans with some cheese melted on top with scrambled eggs. No really it is quite tasty....
Eventually worked my way back to the beach where drink hour had started. Mango margaritas. Now some may know that when it comes to mango anything I am THERE! So I tried the mango margarita - first of all it was HUGE, second of all I still prefer rum over tequila.... But it was good and festive and fun... and OH look at the time - Giants/Eagles game time...
Well that was a bust. The sports bar was just that a sports bar. And Laird made a good number of friends with other Giants fans. And we all left disappointed... boo hoo

Sun Bound

Andrea and Laird were not scheduled to arrive to Cancun until after me. So my game plan was to put on the bathing suit and go hang by the pool/ocean and find some food. I found my bright blue suit and sunscreen and proceeded to prep for some sun time. I have learned over the years that it is best to put on sunscreen before the bathing suit to avoid sunburn in those really tender spots. And then of course bring more withyou for when you get to your destination.... Ahhh - so much different than my days of Bain de Soleil dark tanning oil.
I was just done getting ready when Laird and Andrea walked in. HAH! It is always so nice meeting your friend's boyfriend for the first time while standing in a hallway in a bathing suit in December with very little tan. The little voice in my head kept saying - you just did that triathlon, I am sure you look ~ok~ in the bathing suit.
I waited for them and we all hit the resort together.... Mojito, guacamole, grouper sandwich... and some pool time.
There is an olympic length lap pool at the resort (I looked it up 50 meters each way) and I did 2 laps that first day. I did the math for that too (conversion to yards that is) but it escapes me now.

Royal Sands

When you pull up it is pretty overwhelming - the size of the place. I don't know the last time I stayed at a really big resort. The hotels in Belize were smaller. I guess the timeshare in Orlando? But even that wasn't like this - big lobby all decorated for Christmas. OK - I think Grove Park 2 years ago. But this was a whole LOT warmer.
So I checked in - took in the lobby - Christmas tree, poinsettia, wonderful view of the ocean.... And made my way to my room.
They delivered my measly bag to me. I could have taken it myself but they so didn't encourage that. And I spent some time unpacking. I do that - even on road trips for work over night. I am there, they have given me a closet, I will unpack. If only I was as diligent about hanging things up in my closet at home.

Arrival

The first thing I noticed when the plane landed in Cancun - I didn't have a good view of the approach. That kills me. But what I did notice was HSBC had its logo emblazened on all the gate ramps. It reminded me of all the BoB logos in the Bermuda airport. I thought - have they done some research somewhere that airport advertising helps business?
From there I can't say much else stood out for me.
Oh - I did like the taupe tiles in the ladies room and smoked glass for the stall doors. No seroiously I did. And you laugh now - but just you wait...
Immigration was fine. Baggage claim fine. Customs fine. Really uneventful.
I went outside and found Thomas Moore travel (I know it made me smile) to take me to the resort.
The only thing that really caught my eye on the drive out to the resort - there is a Wet N Wild waterpark in Cancun. Who woulda thunk it.

So let's start with the flight out...

Not much to say here. I do get a little travel anxiety before I fly. It has more to do with getting to the airport than the actualy flight. I suppose I have paid too much attention to that fact that more people get hurt in their car a mile from their home than on planes. I just get a litle pent up about the traffic to the airport - hey at 7am or so it is not that bad. And then the parking - although now that the 2 daily decks are open that is not as daunting... I forget which trip it was - I think it was to MS for work - I ended up in overflow parking... YEP out in the middle of no where $10 for as long as you park type deal. A but unnerving.
So I get a little anxious. Good thing as I made it down the highway a little earlier than needed and as a result missed some "emergency exams" scheduled about 5 minutes after I arrived to the airport.
Our flight was delayed. They couldn't get the gate out to the plane when it arrived to let the other passengers off.
It was the same gate as last year. This year's additions - no bagel coffee shop right near the gate but Bacardi had a grill/bar right there.
And besides being miserably stuck in an aisle seat next to an elderly couple that had no intentions of conversing with me the flight out was uneventful.

Trip recap

OK - so that same as last year I really thought I would come home and get all my thoughts of my travels down on-line. But the same as last year - traveling right around the holidays does not necessarily warrant sitting down at the computer and typing for hours. There is so much else to do when you get home.
So I will try to bring a little bit of the trip to the page....

All Packed

I was a little delayed in the packing this time around. My friends asked if it was because I wasn't excited. It's not that. I am excited. I think it is because the trip is so spontaneous for me. I know for others maybe not but for me it is pretty spontaneous. No big build up or anything. Just a great opportunity to go away presented itself and I decided to take it. So maybe that's why the packing was slow.
I also was supposed to be away for work this past week and that kind of messed with the packing and not packing. That trip ended up being cancelled.
Over the years with traveling for work I have gotten most of it down to a science. I think that's why I didn't rush into this all. SO now it is all packed.
I just need to throw on my little travel outfit and hope I don't freeze my tail off between here and the airport. Let the dog out for a bit and get him some breakfast. The girls will be by later to play with him etc. Stop at the bank and I think that's it.

Pampering

My friend and I generally go to get pedicures right after work on Wednesdays this week in preparation for the Christmas party. Sorry we may call it a holiday party but I am thinking it might not be that politically correct. This year no such luck. I thought about going to the place down the road here. But do you all remember that experience? They did such a good job at removing the nasty dead skin that I got that honking blister in Bermuda. So I think I will wait until after the trip to hit the spa. They have a chocolate pedicure that I think I will treat myself and my mom to.
So tonight - it is all up to me. I am thinking au natural... What a nice change of pace...

Resort

I almost forgot I had a link to the timeshare we are staying at. I had searched and searched the internet and found nothing. When I booked my ground transportation I realised - DUH - you ARE on the website for the resort. It looks real beautiful. I am very excited.
http://royalresorts.com/the-royal-sands.asp

Only 4 vacation days left

Or so I thought back in August when I was in NJ. I was joking with Andrea at that time that I would use my last few days to use her timeshare in Cancun this year. In passing she seemed OK with that.
Then I got sick and used a day. And she and my mom were coming to visit in October and I thought I use a day there as well. So the prospects of using the remaining two days to go to Cancun seemed silly.
HAH! Then I filled out the forms for my sick day to find out... I really had 7 days left - less 1 sick day - SIX days left for the year.
Given the craziness of things these past few months I decided that I would only use a few. And at the end of the month I could very well have left 3 days on the table. But I am OK with that. Sometimes the stress of taking a vacation and leaving the office is a bit too much.
But I promise to plan better in 2009.
So after some hemming and hawing I booked my flights for 5 days in Cancun.
And I leave in 3 days!