Back to Reality

!Hola Amigos y Amigas! We safely arrived yesterday from our vacation rendezvous in Playa Del Carmen...and back to reality! We were so elated to see the boys, my mom, Liza, Maggie and our house...but three temper tantrums later, I woefully said to Rod, "I think our vacation is over!"

Our time spent in Playa was the most disgusting display of laziness one has ever witnessed. We slept late, ate breakfast, laid out on the beach or pool, drank cocktails, took naps, ate lunch, laid out some more, drank some more, ate dinner, took a midnight stroll or gab fest on the beach, played ping pong or pool in the game room, went to bed and started it all over again the next day. We varied our meals, our clothing and bathing suits and we did go to the local markets to barter and to get massages (the best I'd ever had); otherwise, we relished every moment of degeneracy that we could muster. Rod and I discovered we were quite skilled at doing nothing and decided that we could definitely get used to our new lifestyle. Perhaps we held the winning $369 million lottery ticket we purchased before we left for vacation...our return marked the beginning of a new life where we could retire to a secluded tropical paradise...but, alas, it was not meant to be...a man in Houston (and 3 out-of-staters) claimed our prize. Hopefully, they are as skilled as we are at doing nothing.

Besides our slovenness, we laughed...and I mean we laughed a lot. It was as cleansing to my soul as the R&R. Our trip mates were my in-laws, Pat and Van, and our friends and neighbors, Allen and Mette. This unique combination of individuals, including ourselves, made for quite a humor-filled 5 days. It started when we arrived at the airport and Van and Mette were singled out as "Special Security Check". They both look very suspicious; after all, most terrorists are grumpy 68 year-old bald men and fair, petite women from Norway. They didn't fool anyone. I, however, was offered to be accompanied on my trip by one of the stellar security guards who was standing by a sign that read "No jokes, please" while poor Van and Mette were being stripped searched and put into a capsule that shot fast and loud puffs of air all over their bodies. I later learned that this was to detect any chemicals or powders that they could have been using to make a bomb. Their shoes, belts, glasses, wallets, etc...were tested for residue. I now felt extremely confident my companions were not going to hijack our plane. However, I was somewhat suspicious of "Gus" in airport security....he was still smiling at me.

Some other highlights were, of course, Van's amazing "9-lives" that he continues to tempt fate with. He tends to be accident prone, but even with a fall down the resort lobby stairs and a backward somersault out of his beach chair, he only got a sprained ankle. Which we somehow have several pictures of.

Rod decided to liven up our party by daring Allen to do embarrassing, dangerous, or ridiculous acts for a nominal fee. We dubbed Allen "Rod's Dare-Whore". I finally had to put an end to this after I realized Rod was throwing our money away so he could watch Allen jump into a waterfall and pose for pictures like a super model. I mean, enough was enough!

Awww such memories! It was the best of times....:)