Day: 10 August 2005

Early Flight

by

With a noon check out, and a 7PM flight Jay and I had no idea what we were going to do. We both were tired of the pool, so we decided to call Continental and see if we could fly standby on an earlier flight. Our luck held out and there was a noon flight and a 1:30 flight. We got to the airport with plenty of time for the early flight and there were plenty of seats. I am now sitting in an exit row seat (with the row all to myself). We left almost on time, and I should be home by like 6-7PM. Much better than the after midnight on the original flight.

I needed vacation, but when you are ready to go, there is no need to wait around for 6 extra hours. Now I can get a few hours of unwinding at home before I goto bed and then work on Thursday.

Continental gets some points (not many) for not charging for standby. Some airlines do that now. They lose points for the tight seats. I am not fat nor tall, and I and not comfortable in the seats. Even the exit row doesn’t even give you more legroom. You used to have huge amounts of legroom on the exit row. Minor complaints I know. I am just thankful for a direct flight.

Off The Grid Vacation

by

I actually made it the entire vacation without doing any work! I only used my computer twice. Once when we got to the hotel (and I was waiting for our room to be ready) and once to pull up flight information. No DVD’s, no email, no work. I am almost addicted to email but it does feel nice to go “off the grid” for a while.

I did exactly what I said I would do, nothing. Except for the scuba on Saturday I sat around the hotel, the pool, ocean, etc and did nothing productive. It was almost boring, but I enjoyed every minute of it. My mobile phone didn’t work due to some fluke registration problem. I could see the local wireless network but my phone wouldn’t register with it. It wasn’t worth it for me to call the carrier and T-Mobile (for a fee most likely) and figure out the issue. So I got an unexpected reprieve from stupid people calling my mobile. For $20 a day for wireless internet I decided that my vacation needed less internet and more sun tan lotion. I actually needed more lotion than I used, since I got a bit burned in some places.

Jay and John (mostly John) thought I was lazy or a party popper when I didn’t want to go anywhere, but I gave everyone fare warning what I planned on getting out of this vacation, and I got it. When Jay took his 2 1/2 hour (each way) van ride to the Mayan ruins I slept in, had a massage and relaxed with a book. I felt great. I wanted to see the ruins but not in 100 degree heat and 5 hours of travel. To me the massage was a better use of my money.

We went out of the hotel for dinner twice. once to a decent seafood restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. I had a massive crab cake, and not much else since I wasn’t hungry. We saw a crocodile while we sat eating dinner out on the deck. it was awesome. We also saw the sunset on the Cancun lagoon. that was also very cool. The other night out we went to Jimmy Buffet’s Margeritaville. It was cool. I didn’t realize they actually have good food.

The other nights we hung out by the hotel. Spent some time in the lounge / bar. We drank, played cards, smoked cigars, and had an all around good time.

I had only like 2 1/2 days of sun. That was plenty for me. I got burned on parts of my legs, feet, and scalp. How do you put lotion on your head if you have hair? The worst is mainly over, so I am not too upset, except for the slight burn line I have right near my hairline. It is starting to peel so it will go away soon. This is why I don’t sun so much. you always miss a spot with the lotion, and when you do it hurts. The lying in the pool was cool though. they had parts of the pool that were only a few inches deep so you can lie in them and cover allot of your body with water and sun. you stayed cool, and still got a tan. it was great. The ocean water and the pool water was so warm it was almost like a bath. You could stay in it almost all day. Pruning was the only factor that limited your stay in the pool. The pool-side bar allowed you to drink while hanging out. Always a favorite of mine.

So to sum it up, my first true vacation in 2+ years was a success. I didn’t think of work, or do anything technical all week. A win for me! Now I need to plan on the next vacation. And to respond to everyone who asks (jay and john for 2) why I travel to other countries and don’t go very far from the hotel, I have one statement to make. Anyone in NY can goto the Jersey shore, or Maine, or any other easter state. Even if I don’t do very much on a tropical island, I am somewhere I have never been, and away from many of the annoying people in NY. By just going to Mexico you get people with a different attitude. Everyone outside of big cities in the US are so much more laid back. For vacation I need that, even if I don’t travel and see the local sites. And lets face it, all the local sites in the hotel zone in Cancun are American chain restaurants. There was McDonalds, Outback, Chillis, Pat Obrian’s, etc. It was like I was at a US strip mall. I didn’t mind, but to get true local culture you had to travel like Jay did, and I wasn’t going to do that. So I enjoyed my perfectly tranquil sheltered vacation.