A Tribute -The Sequel

 Back in March I wrote a post about a blanket I was crocheting using yarn from my late great aunt Nora. You can refresh your memory here. I want to post pictures of the completed projects before the year ends. 

This is the first one, using Nora's green yarn... 

And the 2nd blanket using Nora's peach yarn... 

I had enough yarn left to make a matching baby hat. 

So the last of great aunt Nora's yarn is cleared out of my stash [Rest in Peace, Nora] and these blankets are ready to find a new home. They look different than what Nora was working on, but I'm satisfied with them.  

BEFORE

AFTER

I get told over & over that I should keep track of how many items I make in a year, but I never have. To me, it's about giving my hands something to do on trips and cold winter evenings, not about bragging rights. If I had to guess I'd estimate I've done 6 blankets this year. I can't even guess how many hats I've done. Dozens.  Not too shabby for a side hustle. [Does it count as a side hustle if you don't get paid for it?] Hobby. Not too shabby for a hobby. 

   

30 Years & A Cancun Trip

My better half and I have reached the milestone of being married for 30 years -as of last week. Crazy, isn't it? We've been together longer than we were single. How he has managed to put up with me this long is a mystery. 

30 years ago we honeymooned in Cancun Mexico. At the time, when the infamous time share salesman had us cornered, he asked how often we think we might return to Cancun. We said maybe every 5 years. Well, guess what?! Here we are, 30 years later... and we never went back to Cancun! Until this year. COVID or no COVID, we decided to celebrate our anniversary this year by returning to Mexico. 

No, we didn't go back to the same hotel we had honeymooned at. It was the best we could afford at the time, but if 30 years of wear & tear is showing on us, how much more would it be evident in a hotel? 

Our original thought was that an all-inclusive resort was not our best option. At our age we can't eat as much as we used to, and we had no intentions of consuming the adult beverages for which Cancun is known. I shopped & shopped for a European plan, but to our amazement, all-inclusive was just as cheap or cheaper. It just didn't make sense to go with a European package. All inclusive it was. We booked a deluxe oceanview room at GR Solaris. I was happy to find a cheap reasonable shuttle service from the airport to the resort. We were all set. 

November 16 -our anniversary- on the plane, ready to fly south...

   I love travel that includes passports & immigration forms!

"I'd rather have a passport full of stamps than a house full of stuff."

It was 30-something degrees when we got on the plane, and 80* when we got off. We got through customs easy-peasy and found our shuttle van without too much trouble. It started to sprinkle on our way to the hotel, and by the time we arrived it was raining. It rained the rest of the day, highly unusual for Cancun.   

Front of the hotel 

Hotel Lobby & Check-in Desk

We got designer bracelets to wear. hehe 

 Our 4th floor room 

View from our balcony

I love us, even if we're really bad at selfies...

"Life is an adventure best traveled together."

We were "starving" by the time we arrived so we popped into The Deli and ordered sandwiches. 

The menu board said it came with a side of some kind of fries. We didn't know what it was, but it turned out to be potato chips dumped out of a big yellow bag. Ok, we're good with that. 😀 

Made fresh to order. Ever notice how good food is when you're extra hungry?

𝅘𝅥𝅯♪ Yeah, we fancy like Applebees on a date night...

From the self-serve cooler full of desserts... we snapped up chocolate cake. It was less chocolate-y than it looks, more jello-ish. (Turns out the chefs at this resort were big on using unflavored gelatin in practically all the desserts.) Just a tad disappointing.  

Ahh, but this view! I just can't get over it! Gorgeous!! It was extremely windy though. The ocean was so rough that it was illegal to go in it, and during the night the sound of the wind woke us. Wouldn't it be just the kind of drama we attract to have had a hurricane hit during our vacation?!  LOL 

Good morning, Cancun! Still raining. 

Did we pay all this money only to get rained out?? Umm, I think we paid for sunshine...

We went to Cafe Solaris for breakfast. It was awesome! We remembered the made-to-order omelettes and were looking forward to that again. 

I took a stab at the green juice being kiwi, but it was actually cucumber... 😄😛

Count in 3 windows from the right, then down 4 windows from the top- that was our room. 

By noon the rain blew over and the sun was trying to come out. But the red flag was still flying by the beach. 

Vacation goal #1- relax & soak up the sun. Goal #2 -finish the book I've been working on for 2 months. We hung out at the Quiet [Adults Only] Pool every day. Not gonna lie- I'm not mad about this view.  

Margarita pizza from Le Cinque Terre 

What's not to love about pizza made to order, pool-side, in a stone oven?!

And that cup on the right is a virgin pina colada. I had one every single day. 

We just can't get over Cancun's turquoise water! 

Have I mentioned the gorgeous blue, blue water yet? 

Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times. -Asian Proverb

We went to the Cafe for dinner that evening

It was Burger Boutique Night

Vacation Goal #3- don't gain weight. But then there's dessert... 

Good morning, Cancun, Day 3! 

Breakfast at the cafe again. They always had a Mexican buffet available, but we're actually not big fans of Mexican cuisine. 

 Parfait Bar - they had the BEST mango yogurt there!

80* & sunny. More pool time. More pizza for lunch. I could get used to this!

When something good happens, travel to celebrate. 

When something bad happens, travel to forget. 

If nothing happens, travel to make something happen! 

Dinner at the Cafe 

They had the most darling individual salads on the bar that evening.

So many desserts, so little time! 

Good morning, Cancun, Day 4. Coffee & devotions on the balcony.

Best weather yet! Feeling so blessed to be here.

♪♪ Cover me in sunshine, shower me with good times...

Have I mentioned the color blue yet? I did? 

These are cell phone shots, no filters. I promise, the water really is that blue. And the sky.

 If we hadn't gone parasailing already in Florida, we probably would've gone in Cancun. 

Let me give you a little tip if you are ever so blessed to go to Cancun. The universal sign that a beach/pool chair is reserved is if it has a towel on it. (I read that in a list of Cancun tips before we went.) To the tourist couple at GR Solaris last week, you STOLE "our" chairs! Dumping our towels on the ground and dragging our chairs into the shade was rude. Just saying.  

Every morning we heard these birds in the palm trees but we couldn't spot them. We were guessing parrots. Let's just say we're not good birders! We discovered it was actually the Mexican grackle. Of course it was. 

That evening we had reservations for Marco Polo, another restaurant at the resort. (There were 7 in all.) This was a semi-formal one. With napkins folded into peacocks...  

My seafood salad in a tostado shell 

Richard's Caribbean salad (top) and fried plantain appetizer. Honest, the menu said plantain chips. Plural. Does that look like chips to you? Me neither. We only ordered 1, expecting to get a plate full to share. 😂🤷 #lostintranslation 

A pina colada just tastes better in a glass 👍

Richard's entree - "Jamaican Chicken Style. Leg & thigh chicken baked marinated in white adobo, white wine and honey, bathed in jamaica flower sauce, served with mash sweet potatos and steamed vegetables" 

My entree- "Grill Mahi-Mahi. Fish fillet grilled, with peanut sauce, served on a bed of fried rice with vegetables and mashed banana." 

And for dessert, the waiter brings you one of each. 👌 In the background is a chocolate wafer topped with a pear shaped gelatin something-or-other. Meh. In the foreground is a slice of pineapple cake, also gelatin-ous. Meh. The center plate is a chocolate truffle topped with a tiny white chocolate 'plate' of fruit. The truffle was perfecto! [chef kiss]

"Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer." 

Not pictured: us getting a x-long Q-tip shoved up our nostril by a doctor. He swabbed us the day before our departure. But it really wasn't that bad and thankfully we tested negative.   

Why did I wait till the last day to order a strawberry daiquiri?! 

When we got to the airport, right away a national commandeered our luggage and told us to follow him. We contemplated protesting, but he was off before we had time to blink- he zipped through the congestion and did the self-check-in for us lickety split. We tipped him a buck for getting us in the very l-o-n-g line a couple minutes sooner. Can you believe he had the nerve to mutter "only a dollar?" before he walked away? If I were able to think faster on my feet I totally would've said "Excuse me, sir, I'll take my dollar back. Since you don't seem to appreciate it." We never asked for his help and he didn't do anything for us that we couldn't have done ourselves. I find it slightly annoying that in Mexico everyone wants a tip. Next time we'll know enough to tell the person who grabs our luggage "no tip-o".

This is Mr & Mrs Miller waiting in the excessively long line at the airport to get our documents checked. The COVID protocol had changed just days before our trip so we had extra documentation to clear. It was a bit chaotic, but we passed with flying colors. They decided to let 'Merica have us back.   

We were in the process of boarding when they pulled everyone back off the plane and told us to have a seat, that there was going to be a 20 minute delay. 20 minutes stretched into 90 minutes. We had a direct flight, so we weren't missing a connection. Hey, I'd rather wait until the plane is safe than end up in the ocean. We chatted with the other passengers and found several that lived near us or know people who do. But we all cheered when the gate agent finally announced we are going to re-start boarding. Turned out a flight computer had crashed on the way down and it took awhile to jump through all the proper hoops to get it fixed & back in service. Paperwork schmakerwork. (Southwest has since given us a voucher for our inconvenience. Where can I fly next?) 😁 

That would be me finished my book before we left Cancun International. 

Relax? Check. Get a tan? Check Finish book? Check Don't gain weight? Check.

Successful anniversary getaway! 

Good bye, Cancun! It's been REAL! 

Hello, USA! 

Random pics: 

I loved some of the English translations at the resort...

Housekeeping did something a little extra to our room every day, which was fun... 

Resort Staff were always busy cleaning. From trimming the palm trees (below) to cleaning the pool to sanitizing the common areas...  And everyone wore a mask. No COVID worries. 

The resort had beds full of pothos and snake plants 😍 #plantgoals

We could've had a massage by the ocean...  Dreamy!

We had a wonderful time. Sure hope we don't wait another 30 years to go again!

We can't help comparing this trip vs. 30 years ago. 

    *Then we were young, energetic, and naive. Still getting to know each other, putting our best foot forward. No clue what all life was going to throw at us. Now we're mature, relaxed, and wiser. We've seen the worst in each other and are still committed for the long haul. Young love was fun, but I like comfortable-together love. 

    *Then we went on tours to the Mayan ruins, hailed taxis & the bus to downtown and bargained for souvenirs. Now we stayed at the resort the entire time and just chillaxed. Both were fun. 

    *Then we didn't have cell phones or wifi. No one did. A 15 min call back to the states to let our family know we had arrived safely costs $60! Now we FaceTimed with our grandkids and sent lots of pictures & texts to our families -for free. 

    *Then we didn't know Richard was allergic to shellfish. Now we know. 

    *Then we had a film camera and were more selective of how many pictures we took. We couldn't see what we had till we got the film developed. No one took selfies; it wasn't even a thing. Now we didn't even take a camera; we just used our cell phone cameras. We took a "pile" of pictures. We have the luxury of seeing right away if a shot turned out or if we want to retake it. 

    *Then the exchange rate for dollars - pesos was 2950. Now its 2147.     

    *Then the men on the beach were clad more scantily than the women. Think G string. 😝 Now that trend has completely reversed. But on the other hand, we saw more gay couples. 30 years ago that was kept in the closet. 

    *Then getting on a plane and flying somewhere wasn't something either of us had done very often. I wouldn't have dreamed of flying anywhere all by myself. I depended on Richard, following his lead. Now we've flown often enough that it's not a big deal anymore. I've actually flown more often than Richard in the last couple years and know my way around our local airport better than he does. I'm a lot more adventurous now. I laugh when I look back and remember refusing to ride on a jet ski for my 'request load' day off at Hillcrest! 

    *Then Richard was working for $8/hr. Now that's not even minimum wage! We own our own business for 25 years and can afford vacations better.   

    *Then we were both slim & trim. We didn't have any grey hair. Now we're both 20 or so 😏 pounds heavier, and watching calories. We both are going grey -but at least we're not bald. 

    *Then we were in awe of the blue water and white sand. Now we're still in awe.