Friday, February 25th

Today we drove to the Mayan ruins at Coba. It was really reasonable to get in. Only $51 pesos - equal to about $4.50US. We rented rickshaw drivers to drive us from place to place. There was still some walking, but not much. Each couple had their own “rickshaw”. Very interesting.

After the exhausting (LOL) time at the Ruins, we had to stop for a drink and appetizer. I have never been a fan of guacamole. However, the guac down here has been amazing. And I’m hooked.

Dinner at “The Camel” in Tulum. It is a wildly popular place. I insisted that Gary and Patti try the Shrimp Ceviche. It is a combination of chopped onions, tomato, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper, and loads of shrimp. It makes a yummy appetizer. It’s also available with fish, squid, octopus, or a mix of all of them. That would definitely be asking too much of me! LOL



We ended up the evening at the restaurant in Paamul. Patti and Gary loved the crab races (me, too). Pete won the money on 2 of the 6 races and Patti won a dinner certificate for $150 pesos off at the Pub restaurant . Do you Karaoke? We have Karaoke here in Paamul after the crab races. I am the worst singer in the world. So it’s no karaoke for me. Listened to a few numbers, then headed back to the Palapa for a rousing game of 99.

Thursday, February 24th

A little bit of a party time on 5th Avenue in Playa. We ended up at Senor Frogs. I think it’s my last time there. The food was okay, but just okay. And definitely overpriced. When there are so many other places (hundreds) that are so much better, why bother? Sorry, Senor Frogs. We loved you 20 years ago!

Wednesday, February 23rd

It’s so much fun to have friends to “play with”. A little time in the sun - not long enough to burn. We had a trip to Puerto Aventuras to see the dolphins and sea lions.

We stopped at a place where they were making tortillas and they handed us each one hot off the “press”. Yummyyyyyyyyy! I loved the experience, too.

Tuesday, February 22nd

Headed for the airport this morning to pick Patti and Gary up for their 8 day Mexico adventure with us. I hit a huge pothole…huge just before the turnoff to the airport. Dang. Pete and I both said we’d be lucky if we didn’t get a flat tire. Guess we weren’t lucky because we DID get a flat. A nice Mexican guy stopped and changed our tire. The tire was shredded. The spare was a little flat, but barely driveable.

Gary and Patti’s plane was about 2 hours late because all of the flights were delayed from Chicago. Patti has pictures of them de-iceing the plane twice.

We decided to just go back to the car rental and have them fill the spare tire and give them the shredded tire to replace. Instead, they gave us a new car. A very nice one - a Dodge Attitude. Seems like it’s something I should have - a Dodge Attitude. It’s a really nice car, but it’s an automatic and I miss the 5-speed. Brings out the Anne-dretti in me. LOL..

It’s so nice to have friends come to visit. Isn’t it fun to share the things you like with friends?

Saturday, February 19th

Thinking about my Mom today on her birthday. She was a wonderful lady. I miss her very much. Sometimes I just wish I could pick up the phone and call her. Hello? Heaven? Could you put my Mom on the phone? She’s probably in the kitchen baking bread or maybe she’s in the Sewing Room making wings for the angels.

Friday, Febuary 18th

Even though I wanted to go out on the beach, I never seem to get any reading done, so I took a “reading break” and sat on the couch and read my book. I almost finished it in bed, but just couldn’t stay awake. I must’ve looked funny with this light around my neck. But it works great. Great for walks, too.
http://www.mylight.com/huglight-4-led-p-219.html?zenid=27823dc07292abf6b1c48f74efa6bc2c


We went to Manne’s Beer Garden for dinner and it was goooooooodddddddd. The Beer Garden had tables with wooden benches for seats (no backs). For added comfort (?), there were Mexican serapes on the benches. Pete was not thrilled with the scorpion climbing on the wall. LOL. But we’ll go back. The food was well worth it. We shared an order of the special - Pork roasted on a spit, sauerkraut (ew), German potatoes, and a side order of spaetzle.

Thursday, February 17th

Don’t you just hate it when something doesn’t work?
Last night I set up my new Singer Pixie Plus mini sewing machine. I purchased it on sale months ago. So last night I finally opened the box and read the directions and started to wind the bobbin. So it’s like I’m revving a car in neutral. The bobbin isn’t spinning even though the motor is running. Crap. So I wind the bobbin by hand. What a pain. And then I put the bobbin in and threaded it and voila…nothing. Double Crap. So now I have a worthless piece of plastic that I will not be able to get a refund on nor will the manufacturer warranty it because it’s past the 90 day. I hate to just toss it cause it’s brand new, but I can’t see a point in dragging it back to the states. Grrr.

And now I can’t sew stuff down here unless I buy a sewing machine. Having something shipped down here would probably be expensive (if it even got here).

Speaking of getting here, one of the residents just received his Christmas card (mailed November 8th) today. And we thought the USPS was slow!

Some flowers from my walk

Disclaimer: Topless girl on our beach

A few animals on our road

Monday, February 14th

Happy Valentine’s Day
Up early for a flight to Cancun. Woo!
Went through the full body scan at O’Hare. Sorry to all of you who hate it. I love it. I have had to go through pat downs and wandings for years because of my artificial knees. Now, I just stand with my hands on my head for a few seconds and I’m good to go. Yea!

We got a different car at the rental company this time. So long beater. Hello VW. Even the neighbors said we were classing up the neighborhood. Yuck. Yuck.

Pete (he calls himself my nagrivator since he navigates and aggravates at the same time) guided me through Cancun to Costco, where we spent a small fortune. Then we found room in the car for more stuff.

Neighbors invited us to go out to dinner and we realized we had only eaten a donut and ½ of a fun sized candy bar all day and it was after 6pm. Kenny and Annie rode with us and took us to their favorite restaurant. Oh my gosh, the steak was awesome. On the way home, we came the closest we have ever been to a fatal accident that we have ever been in.

Front seat - Pete in passenger seat and me driving.
Back seat - Kenny and Annie
We are driving 80 km/hr (limit is between 80 and 100 at this point).
I am in the left lane (southbound) and am coming up to a bus in the right lane. (I will be turning left in about 2 miles)
I see a car very very very rapidly approaching me from the rear. The guy is absolutely flying. Before I can even think about whether to slow down and pull over, he overtakes me and pulls around me to the right and as he attempts to go in front of me, he loses control and goes sideways across my lane no more than 2 feet in front of my car. Honestly, this is really no exaggeration. I brake and he continues across the raised median, then spins around in the northbound lanes going northbound.
It all happened so fast that I only had time to react. None of us know how in the world we missed hitting him broadside. There is no doubt in all of our minds that he would have died that night and we probably would have as well.
I thank my Dad for teaching me how to be a really good driver (even though I do tend to speed).
Kenny and Annie thanked me for saving their lives. I definitely have their respect for my driving ability and calm demeanor in a crisis.
I thank God and I also know we are four of the luckiest people in the world.
None of the 4 of us know how we managed to get out of this one alive.
Scary.

We had to go another 2 miles to turn around to get to our street. You have to go a mile past our entrance, then turn around and go back a mile. We’re sure the guy in the car was okay. His car? Don’t know. In Mexico, if you are involved in an accident, usually both drivers are taken to jail while the police sort out who was at fault. So, we just continued on our way home and we won’t report this one to the police. I will drive down the road tomorrow and see if there are car parts and/or a car on the side of the road.

Everyone is safe, though maybe a bit shaken.

Saturday, February 5th

BACK TO CHICAGO FOR AWHILE.

Thursday, February 3rd

Pete’s birthday is today. He got lots of wishes via email, face book, and phone. Our day started with a shopping trip to town. Since we had expected to fly out yesterday, we had eaten almost everything in the fridge. No bread, no fruit, nothing for breakfast or lunch. We realized that we were not so intimidated by shopping anymore and that it’s become much easier - not easy yet - but easier.

The afternoon was spent on the beach. Oh how blessed we are. Just the perfect amount of warmth without being hot. You really have to watch the amount of sun you get though. You can burn so very easily.

When we were shopping, we picked out a cake at the Chedraui Supermercado. Neighbors came over to share a piece of cake to celebrate Pete’s birthday. The cake was so awesome. It was a tres leches cake. So light. It would certainly mess with our weight if we got it very often. Maybe we’ll have to just buy one piece and share it on the rare occasion.

Wednesday, February 2nd

We were supposed to fly to Chicago today. I rescheduled our flight to Chicago and finally our flight was canceled. Wow! What a storm. Glad I didn’t have to go back to blizzard conditions and icy temperatures.

You know how sometimes your tummy feels raw on the inside? That’s how I felt today. Neighbors brought over some COCO (Coconut) Yoplait yogurt. It was so very yummy and it made my tummy feel better. I wonder if it was the food from the night before or just the stress from wondering if we were going to have our flight canceled or not.

Tuesday, February 1st

We were woken up (or is it awaken) this morning by our resident Dove. 6:20am. I’m telling you he was who who whooing and then he got faster and faster like he was really really excited. When Pete and I finally got up, he stopped. I guess he’s our Mexican rooster, waking us up at the crack of dawn. Pete may have to get a sling shot if he keeps it up. We tuned in to WGN and watched the hype for THE blizzard of 2011.

Today was a planned day of relaxation. A few jobs in the morning, then some relaxation. I washed sheets, then hung them on the line. When is the last time you hung sheets on the line? I wonder how they will smell when we go to bed.

Funniest thing happened. I got a phone call on my home phone that really made me chuckle. It was a recorded message from Jim Blanche, Superintendent of Lombard District 44 schools letting me know that there would be no school tomorrow. What a hoot. Guess he hasn’t gotten the word that I retired. And that I’m in Mexico.

We drove to Tulum for a dinner with friends. About a half hour drive on a very nice, divided highway. Pete had a great lobster dinner and I had a wonderful filet. Yummy! It was so nice to sit outside and eat. That’s one of my favorite things to do. The end to the evening was holding an 8 week old black and white pit bull puppy. He just snuggled and loved and licked me. He was just adorable. I do miss the kitties lots!

We’re scheduled to fly in to Chicago tomorrow - only I would schedule a visit back to Chicago on the day of the biggest blizzard in 40 years. So far, our flight hasn’t been canceled. Just hope we don’t get diverted to some crummy place.

:Pictures coming soon, I promise.