The End of the Tail

For two weeks, I've been blogging about my journey to LeBlanc Resort, Cancun, Mexico.  LTC and I made the trip for our 30th Wedding Anniversary and had a fabulous time chill-axing poolside, watching the water go on forever as the Infinity pool appeared to seamlessly stream into the ocean in the distance. 

Palm trees swayed in the breeze.  Black Birds cawed, flying to and fro.  Pelicans dove into the water very close to children (Ack! scaring me half to death), as did Jonathan's Living Seagulls.  Occassionally, we'd see a Heron or two fly by, for effect.

In the ocean, we saw one particular sea fish, about 2 1/2 feet long, zooming along the shoreline in search of little bitty fishies.  Speedy Gonzales was mas rapido, mio amigos!

We also saw Komodo Dragons/Chameleons sunning themselves on the lawn beneath our hotel window, jerking their heads up and down to an imaginary beat, climbing bushes to eat the fresh leaves off the top.  Once, LTC and I decided to walk around that side of the building to try and get close to them.  One particular dragon (this one had horns down his back like Godzilla) was sunning on the sidewalk.  We got about 5 feet away before he decided he'd had enough of us.  (Pirate!)

But hark, there was a creature even bigger within this shangrila... waiting... hoping we'd fall into the water as we walked out that first night onto the peer leading to the middle of the Lagoon behind LeBlanc.

Doesn't this look ominous?

Fade to darkness.  White lights illuminated the railing and gazebo.  The two of us began the walk over this rough walkway and got about 10 yards onto the peer before something caught our eye.  The object swam slowly toward us, head practically submerged, and then curved alongside the walkway to stare at us.  Its beady eye flicked to LTC and then to me and back.  Suddenly, I knew what Captain Hook must have felt in his gut before his hand was diliberately snatched.  (This must be where the term clocked came from and I didn't want a hook hand.  Muahahahaha!)

Who or what do you think appeared?  It wasn't Santa and his reindeer.  Oh no, my pretties!

It was DINOCROCK!!!!!!!!!!  (Notice his uber long teeth.  The better to eat you with, my dears!)

Have you ever had an alligator stare you down?  The minutes ticked by like hours as he eyed his prize, US, then... deciding we weren't falling or jumping in, he submerged again, swimming beneath the walkway.  All the while, the movie Dinocrock flashed before my eyes.  I knew at once, the walkway would be destroyed and I would be thrown into the water as an American sacrifice.

Thankfully, that wasn't to be.  As we moved to the other side of the railing, we viewed the alligator swimming off, slowly descending into the murky depths.  His legs were as big as my thighs (and that's saying a lot).  I guestimated Dinocrock must have been 9 ft long.  And quickly wanting to be rid of him, I asked LTC to get me the hell outta Dodge.  (Behold my lightness of foot, I say!)

Shangrila + Dinocrock = a B-rated SciFi movie with an unwilling cast.

In spite of my imagination, Cancun was a wonderful experience and a perfect way to celebrate 30 years of marriage.  LTC and I are hoping for 30 more.  The wonderful people at LeBlanc are too. 

Behold the special way the staff at LeBlanc helped make our anniversary uber special.

Couldn't have asked for a better way to be pampered nigh onto giddiness.  And so, after 3 weeks of sharing our adventures in Cancun, that, dear ones, is the end of the tail.  Quite literally.

Have you ever been eye to eye with an alligator?  Or have you imagined a character with similiar characteristics?

Tales from Cancun

LTC and I celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary last week by going to the LeBlanc Resort in Cancun, Mexico. We had a fantastic time, even though hubby got pretty sick at the beginning of the week.  (It also rained those two days too.) 

To start off our fantastic experience, we were met at the airport by a chauffeur, who produced a Lily for me and offered us drinks for our drive to the resort.  He pre-checked us in to our hotel during the drive and had a Strawberry Daiquiri waiting for me and a Coconut Milk (LeBlanc's speciality) for hubby when we arrived at the hotel.

After checking into our room and getting settled, we went down to the International Restaurant to eat lunch, since we hadn't had anything to eat since 4 a.m.  The International Restaurant cooks up anything on the grill and offers a wide variety of food, from deli to fruit to buffet and dessert.  (Oh, the desserts were to die for, folks!)



Here's the view looking straight out from our room.  You can see the lower half of Cancun farther down the shoreline.  Very picturesque!  Out the window, to the left, is all ocean view.

 And to the right, the Lagoon, where we saw an Alligator about 9 feet long!  (I have pictures and will post them next week!)

LeBlanc is a fabulous resort for couples only, usually couples celebrating a wedding, anniversary, birthday or some such event.  There were couples of all types there and I even got to chat with a really nice woman from Pennsylvania.  (We discussed the resort and the man being rescued from a potentially dangerous undertow past the sand bar!)

Alligators?  Undertow?  Water rescue?  Yes and more!  At one time, we were in the elevator with the General Manager who offered to get us anything we needed.  (We decided not to mention Montezuma.  Pirate!)

Oh, and have I mentioned the cabana boys and the happy smiles as wonderful servers delivered your heart's desire... Ahem... Strawberry Daiquiris filled with rum, please.  ;)  (Got to shout out to my newest buds, Ana, Sara, and Laura.  Also, our butler/concierge Alex and Luis.  And I couldn't forget Alan "Alan Jackson".  Yes, he did say it just like that too.  And then there were Jesus and Jesus, Armando, Angil, and Jose, so gracious to fulfill our every need.)

Did I mention there were chocolate covered strawberries involved?  And yes, the Happy 30th Anniversary sign is made of chocolate and tasted oh, so good!

I'll leave your mouth watering.  (Pirate!)

More tales to come next week.  Same time.  Same blog.

Do you have any Anniversary or celebration memories to share?

The Odyssey & The Ecstasy: Vacation Woes

I'm seeing everything in brighter colors these days, thanks to a vacation trip to Mexico and Cancun. Upon my return home, the grass appears greener, spring blooming trees more vibrant, pollin on my car... more yellow and prevalent and irritating. Such is life back in the real world, where there are no waiters to see to my needs and respond, "It's my pleasure," whenever they help me in any way. Ah! Yes.

Good times! (Why are the good times always gone?)

Returning from vacation is a mysterious and odious odyssey, one I'm not eager to engage. My brain is still fixating on trying to understand everything in Spanish. Apparently, I haven't turned off the server that helped me speak 'un poccito espaniol'. After being taken by boat or bus to various excursions, I have no patience with cars blocking my path or darting out in front of me in order to drive as slow as the sap from the Yucatan Gum Tree. I'm now forced to hurry to work and back, led by an unseen hand into the daily grind like a child tempted but denied access to the candy near the cash register. Remember those days?

What does a vacation do for you? Does it clear out cobwebs threatening to clog up creative passions?

Why does it always seem one needs a vacation from vacation? This cannot be any more confusing to me than it is now. I'm slow to move, slow to care, slow to motivate. Why? I've got tons of e-mails and mail awaiting my attention. I always find something weird going on at work after I've been gone. I still haven't unpacked my suitcase, which means I most assuredly need to do laundry. (Of course, I would have done so before now but another member of my household beat me to it, and I've been waiting my turn.)

I'm so tired, I haven't downloaded my pictures onto my computer so that I can share them with you now. Suffice it to say, "I owe you!" Believe me, the wait will be worth it. But until then, I shall regale you with a few fanciful tales.

Snorkeling has not been one of my favorite things to do, ever since my honeymoon when I tried to swim over a shallow reef while waves crashed over me and the current pulled me backward. Quite scary. Add to that the fact that every breath expelled into the snorkel tube sounded like Michael Meyers hovering behind with a sickle while coral cut my skin beneath me. Let's just say panic set in fairly quickly and I didn't make it over to the colorful fish just beyond the reef in Hanauma Bay.

How do you live down a memory like that? You don't think about it. You don't fanastize about it. You don't ever snorkel again in order to prevent the same thing from happening.

Apparently, I'm not a quiter, because I vowed to champion this thing called 'snorkel' in Cancun. I not only conquered my fear of the dreaded breath of death echoing in my ears, I got pretty good at it and can proudly say I snorkeled in an underground river and in the Caribbean, along a reef! I'm so proud of this accomplishment! There is nothing like overcoming fear, no matter what that is.

So from odyssey to ecstasy I've traveled. I went out on a small speed boat without any dramamine and didn't get sick! I used 15 grade sunscreen and didn't fry! I tried new dishes, enjoyed a romantic dinner (Surf & Turf with champagne) on the beach with my hubby, drank Strawberry Daiquiris by the pool and on the beach, enjoyed a day at the spa, traveled to Chichen Itza for the second time, visited Xcaret and took awesome pictures of Mayan warriors and ruins (to be displayed on my next blog post), enjoyed reading my Nook, road the waves like a real pirate, got my picture taken with two macaws (a black/red one on my head and a green/yellow one cradled in my arms, which chewed a whole in my sweater and hubby wouldn't stop to let me buy the picture so my sweater suffered for nothing. Big pirate "Arrrr!"), learned of my Legend Award Final, and had an awesome 7 days that I'll never want to forget!

Of course, we won't go into my attempts to get out of the water and back onto the boat. All I have to say is: If at first you don't succeed... ;)

Have you overcome any fears lately?

What tips do you have to help me recover from vacation hangover?