random thoughts – Day 1,664 – (Monday) – back in the real world

Welcome back to the real world.

Things are easing back into the usual at-home holiday day-off routine after the excitement of packing, traveling, and unpacking. Even the TV welcomed me back to the real-world routine (in three languages) after the pretty-much-on-schedule reboot of the cable box, which has been required roughly every three or four weeks for the past eight years. 

There was a brief respite after the box was replaced a couple years ago, but the problem is back and is so annoying. The app troubleshooter never detects a problem, and neither do the reps at Comcast, who take about 30 minutes to deliver no solution, so now I just turn it off and turn it back on all by myself and cut out the time consuming middleman.

This time of year generally includes the usual seasonal wardrobe changeover from summer to fall/winter. The holiday morning provided time for packing away the freshly laundered clothing taken on vacation with the other summer clothes pulled from the closet during the trip packing process.

For decades, my seasonal clothing storage philosophy has been “like things together.” Dresses are in one space bag, pants in another, tee shirts in another, and so on. There are always a few rogue items that are jammed into a bag with a different clothing category very late in the process, so the favorite shorts might end up with a few favorite shirts, a random swim suit, an office jacket, and a dress.

 As I was nearly finished the day’s wardrobe effort, a new idea struck. The altered concept would be to group items as outfits, such as shorts, capris, and skirts packed with coordinating tops. This way, if my imaginary life took an exciting turn with another warm-weather trip, I could toss a space bag or two into a suitcase and be on my way, spared the agony, overthinking, and gathering that came with packing for Mexico.

Everything was packed into a compression bags for the trip anyway, so this concept could really simplify things. Too bad I didn’t think of it until after the tee shirts, summer pants, skirts, and dresses were all already sorted and categorized into bags with the air sucked out. Maybe when I pack up the fall/winter stuff I’ll think of it in time.

After the wardrobe changeover work, it was back to the couch under a blanket half-watching Black Sails while reading social media feeds, news, and playing Words with Friends and other phone games. A grocery list was scratched out with butter, rice, the Tajin spice we had on pineapple at Tulum, and broccoli. At 3:15 a trip was made to Market Basket where the list of four things magically turned into a cart with 19 things. I often overachieve at Market Basket.

Had I stuck to the list, the total would have been about $12, but it came to $44 with the extras. For some reason, I can’t resist the dates when I enter the store and see them displayed near the dairy department (not on the list). There was a two-pound package of a variety of cheese ends (not on the list). My favorite flavor of the often-scarce creamy chicken brick ramen and the even rarer savory herb and garlic soup and dip mix were in stock (not on the list). I finally found where they keep the Gardein vegetarian meat substitute in this particular store location and bought the scrambled pretend meat (not on the list).

Rice and beans dinner.

Supper had a bit of a Mexican flair to it. A few minutes in the kitchen yielded rice with onions, black beans, vegetarian meat crumbles, Tajin seasoning, salsa, cheddar cheese, and a side of corn chips. It was delicious, even if I had to make it myself. 

And suddenly, it’s nearly 8:00 p.m. and tomorrow is a work day. Vacation and leisure happy time is officially over.

random thoughts – Day 1,663 – (Sunday) – crashing back into reality

DIY Breakfast.

The last day of the vacation trip was filled with travel. The first few hours at home were filled with laundry before going to bed. There was a decent night's sleep with some crazy dreams featuring cameo appearances by some of my travel friends. 

Today was needed to recover from all the activity of travel, because, despite the eight hours of sleep, I was still tired and sometimes regular life can be an exhausting letdown. Thank goodness it’s Sunday with a Monday holiday because I really need the cushion to adjust to the crash landing back into reality. 

The resort had buffets and cooked to order menu items all day and night long. The BungaLowell (my house) had six eggs, some black olives, a few slices of American cheese, and a jar of sweet relish in the fridge and not much more. Two eggs were used to make a cheese omelet. By me. I had to do it myself. Nobody poured my coffee and added the cream. The toast was underdone. The butter was too cold to spread. And nobody cleaned up the egg pan afterward. Talk about a two-bit operation.

The vacation resort had juice.

There is no fresh fruit, no muffins, and no pastries. No colorful array of juices lined up on a counter, two pitchers deep. I never even got to find out what the Palladium resort "green juice" at breakfast tastes like because I ran out of days. I almost stayed an extra couple days and now I wish I had. This new hellhole has no juice at all, except for a can of frozen lemonade concentrate bought for a summer recipe I never got around to making. 

Home life is nothing like an all-inclusive vacation. the only “all-inclusive” here is that all the chores are included in my life's responsibilities. Trash, recycling, and yard waste day are tomorrow, so the team (once again, me) better get busy because the pickups are often early. Yuck.

The grounds are a mess.

At the resort, there were countless workers swinging machetes to trim trees. Workers walked the property to pick up trash and set everything right. I could use the services of a couple of them here. At present, The BungaLowell is hosting the neighbor’s pop-up shade tent which seems to have blown over the four-foot picket fence to rest upside down in my back yard. Two of the post caps from the six-foot fence on the back property line are laying in the yard, knocked off by either the squirrels or wind. There are probably more little surprises, but I never went outside today.

Humidity makes my
hair extra fluffy. 

The staff at The BungaLowell (me) was tired and slept late today. I didn’t go to dance class, which was stupid. It would likely have helped work out the upper body soreness from the foreign vacation activities of swimming and water aerobics and the mild leg soreness from all the walking. Instead of logging the 8,000 to 17,000 steps recorded daily with vacation activity, I was a lump on the couch huddled under a blanket. At 8:25 p.m., the fitness watch showed 668 steps. Regular home life could kill me.

My laptop seems to still think it’s still in Playa del Carmen and is showing the temperature at 83 degrees. I get it laptop, I wish we were still in that weather, too, instead of swathed in fleece, sitting under a blanket with the home thermostat showing 65 degrees with the heat on and the gas bill increasing with each passing minute. 

The only part of me that is finding the dry, cool, New England air beneficial is my hair. It has dropped its slightly wild, voluminous, bushy, humidity-induced look and has returned to its mostly flatter, calmer state. It didn't help that I forgot to pack my everyday comb and brush so styling was extra challenging with just finger combing and the small pick in my travel bag.

Beyond Burger Dinner.

For dinner tonight, I had to order an a la carte delivery (at an additional cost), because apparently The BungaLowell food service staff has gone on strike. At least the "Beyond Burger Dinner" was delivered quickly and still hot. The sweet potato fries were extra tasty. The salad and more than half the fries were saved for Monday's lunch, to delay grocery shopping until the afternoon in case of another slow moving morning.

If I were leaving a review of today's accommodations, most of the categories would get zero stars. The service stinks, the food prepared onsite was mediocre, the weather is not so great, and the grounds are unattended. There is laundry drying all over the bathroom and laundry closet. The only interesting feature of the facility is the performance art entertainment provided by a sweet little cat which sometimes appears to meow and then hides. The entertainment would get five stars. The rest of the staff should be dismissed.

random thoughts – Day 1,662 – (Saturday) – home again

The travel days are probably the worst days of a vacation. There is the rushing to and then and waiting around in queues for shuttles and in the airport, and the crowds. After landing, there is the waiting for baggage, which felt especially long at Logan today. Then there was a wait for the Logan Express bus to Woburn, which wasn’t too bad, and the ride home, which was also not bad.

Today’s 14-hour travel day began at 6:00 a.m. to finish off the packing with the pajamas worn Friday night and the toiletries used this morning, and confirm the screenshots of the digital documents because wi-fi is often spotty or not always available. 

The bags were scheduled to be picked up and brought to the lobby at 7:00, followed by breakfast at the buffet restaurant off the lobby, where I finally scored some of the French toast I wanted on Friday but couldn't get to. There was time for a quick stop back at the room for a final check and to use the bathroom before checking out and boarding the shuttle to the airport to arrive the recommended three hours before the 12:40 pm flight time.

The Cancun airport is nice – clean, modern, and filled with shops and food places. The check-in and bag drop were quick, which left lots of time to leave some more money in Mexico. I’m sure this is by design.

My final financial contribution to the Cancun-area economy was the purchase of a $17 veggie burrito filled with rice, beans, roasted peppers, guacamole, salsa, corn, and hot sauce. I was already getting hungry and knew there wouldn't be much available o eat on the plane. On the walk from the food court back to the gate, the burrito felt heavy enough to qualify for a weight lifting program. It was fresh and delicious and the second breakfast/early-ish lunch was devoured at the gate. Now I’ll spend the rest of forever trying to find another one just as good and closer to home. 

My friend bought an adorable Mexican blanket coat for her dog at a shop with nothing but pet tee shirts, dresses, coats, and collars, but I was pretty sure Kiki would have no part of such garments. She got her regular, everyday treats when I arrived home.

I was cold in the airport, then cold on the plane. A friend’s fleece jacket became the lap blanket that helped me endure the flight. The airline "snack," presented as if it was a gourmet meal, was a bag of plantain chips, which are delicious but not substantial and I was glad to have had the burrito earlier. 

I felt less cold at the Logan Express lot in Woburn than on the plane, but the best part of being in my car was blasting the heater. I miss the Mexican heat and humidity, even though my hair looked like a tumbleweed most of the week.

Not so many souvenirs.

Finally home at around 8:00, after the journey by van, plane, bus, and car, there were greetings to Kiki, and the suitcase was abandoned in the kitchen, right outside the laundry closet. Kiki was very vocal, and I couldn’t tell if she was happy to see me or was delivery a lecture. My friend checked on her a couple times while I was away, so I knew her food and water had been taken care of, and new treats had been planted, but I wondered how she would be feeling.

The clothes went straight from the suitcase into the washer. Hot laundry, fresh from the dryer, was folded on the couch. The few souvenirs were liberated from the gift shop brown paper that the clerks had taped securely for packing. It seemed to be norm across shops to use generous amounts of packing paper and excessive amounts of tape.

Kiki is watching me closely.

The laundry and tchotchke unwrapping was done under the very watchful eye of Kiki. Sometimes she was observing from the dining room, sometimes from very nearby in the living room, but her gaze was constant. Maybe she was taking inventory of the few items brought back, some of which are intended as gifts.

Kiki approached for head rubs every few minutes. I dare say she may have missed me. Maybe she’ll let me pick her up, but I'm afraid to press my luck with that. 

random thoughts – Day 1,661 – (Friday) – more food, more leisure

It was another day in paradise. The sky was blue and the sun was out. There was a sort-of plan to catch the sunrise, but when the alarm went off at 6:15, I just couldn’t get up and slept for another couple hours. I guess the 17,110 steps logged during the adventure day at Tulum had caught up with me. Today was a little easier at only 11,344 steps. I barely log 4,00 on an in-office day, and about 1,200 on a home office day.

Breakfast eggs and bagel.

Breakfast was eggs, a bagel with cream cheese and salmon, three pineapple chunks and three prunes. Why prunes? I've always liked them. Why three? No idea, it just looked nice on the plate. Mexican resort bagels are nothing like New England or New York bagels. They were small, light, and delicate. Not bad, just different. I really wanted some French toast, but the line for the made-to-order omelets was blocking access. 

The critters were active today. A dozen or so croati were on the walkway to the beach. Iguanas were lounging in the sun and walking around everywhere, including the open air beach restaurant where we ate lunch.  

Flamingos.

After an afternoon at the beach where the toughest decisions were whether or not to take the rafts in the water and if another beverage was wanted when the server appeared, we went in search of the resort's resident flamingos. It was a quick walk over where they reside and we gawked at them while they stood in the water minding their own business.

Fried banana dessert.

Dinner was at the hibachi restaurant. The food was great, but I’ve never been a fan of the interactive performance art dinner. No thank you, I don’t want to sit there with my mouth open and catch the broccoli you are going to toss at me. The dessert was fried banana with ice cream and it was a tasty treat. I'm definitely a fan of dessert, especially when I'm not asked to perform stupid human tricks for it.

I wonder how long it would take for me to grow tired or bored of this lifestyle of leisure and fun. No grocery shopping or cooking. Decision-making limited to where to lounge and for how long, and where and what to eat. It was never a question, but just in case a job is available for hopping from beach to pool to restaurants, I can make myself available. Not that it is likely to happen, except in my wildest dreams.

random thoughts – Day 1,660 – (Thursday) – adventures

Another morning, another sunrise, with a new show daily. There were no clouds, and it was different than the Wednesday sunrise. The colors in the sky were more muted than Wednesday. The waves were a bit more active and the water seemed more rippley and less shimmery. It was still beautiful, just different. 

From the beach, the next stop was the breakfast buffet where there was a line of early risers waiting for the restaurant to open. There was a timetable to adhere to this morning, with a pickup scheduled at 8:30 for a trip off the resort.

At Tulum ruins.

Today’s excursion was as advertised. A large van/small bus picked us up exactly on time from the front of the hotel and whisked us off to Tulum to see Mayan ruins. As bad as Massachusetts roads are, some of the ones we’ve traversed this week are far worse. The tour guide today said we were getting the “free Mayan massage” as we bumped along official paved roads and dirt roads to our destination.

The ruins were interesting. We learned about the orientation of the buildings and how the sun shines through the openings at very specific times of the year to note planting season and harvest. The coastline and water beyond were beautiful. We were one of the first groups of the day to go through, and when we left, hot and sweaty, the line to enter extended for what the tour guide said was one kilometer. 

There was a tequila tasting in the very large souvenir/tequila shop/ meeting spot. It was sunny and hot with a most welcome breeze. By the time we got to the second part of the excursion, a swim in a cenote, we were more than ready to cool off. Before the swimming, we got to make tortillas and eat pineapple with possibly my new favorite seasoning, Tajin Classico, a blend of chili pepper and sea salt, with a touch of dehydrated lime juice. Delicious! 

The cenote water was refreshing.

At the cenote, the water felt chilly at first, then refreshing. There were minnows swimming with us in the fresh, clear water. In just a few minutes we were revived and ready for the bus ride back.

When we returned to the hotel, we headed to the pool. That’s when the showers rolled in. It was sunny and raining. We went into the pool, because why not. There was no thunder or lightning. We had dinner at the buffet and then walked around for a while.

There was a surprise at the resort – the lobby theater had been enclosed in plywood since breakfast. The evening’s show took place in the open area of the lobby, which made seeing it difficult. I watched a lot of it through the decorative partition that separated areas of the lobby.  It’s all good – I like a challenge now and then.

random thoughts – Day 1,659 – (Wednesday) – vacation life

Sunrise.

It had been part of the personal vacation plan to see the sun rise at the beach and this morning it all worked out. First, and most important, I  woke up in time. It wasn’t raining like the other morning. I pulled on some linen pants and a shirt and walked to the beach. There are a lot of people waking around at 6:30 am. At the posted time of 6:41, the clouds at the horizon were tinged in pink and gold and the water shimmered in silvery blue and golden pink. Eventually the orb of fire edged up over the water.

I was glad I had gotten out of bed and out the door. Not long after 7:00 I was settled in at a restaurant for coffee and breakfast before returning to the room to change clothes.

Part of the resort vacation thing is booking excursions off the property to stuff elsewhere, and we had one scheduled to leave at 10:00. Sometimes the side trips turn out to be a bit different that what is expected. Our little jaunt “into town” was billed as “Jewelry Factory, Free Tequila Tasting and open-air shopping.” We thought this was multiple fixed locations – visiting a factory making jewelry, some sort of tequila tasting event, and some shopping. Not quite.

The transport van picked us up on time, and about a half hour later we were let out at a souvenir shop and told the van would be back to pick us up at 1:00. The souvenir shop sold tequila and had lots of other stuff, and beyond its doors were more shops and restaurants and tour operators. We saw a bartender/waiter in town. It was his day off from the resort and he took us to his family’s shop which sells jewelry and tequila. We were given samples of it and it was really good. This was cool, but not quite the “jewelry factory” or “tequila tasting” we thought we signed up for.

French café lunch in a Mexican town.

We logged a lot of steps and bought a few souvenirs and then stopped for lunch. We ended up in the small outdoor dining area of Chez Celine: Boulangerie – Patisserie – Artisinale. French music filled the air. My three cheese sandwich featured fresh crusty bread with Boursin, brie, and gouda with salad greens, grapes, and pecans and the orange and ginger house jam. It was so delicious I have no words. 

One friend said the avocado toast was delicious, another enjoyed the coffee with three mini pastries (Crème Brulee, mouse, and lemon tart). It was an unexpected delight to be enjoying lunch at a French bakery café in Mexico. And we got a few mementos of our visit.

Back at the resort, it was back to the beach for a couple hours of floating on rafts and relaxing in lounger chairs. The fitness watched logged 13,169 steps, which is low because I didn't wear it at the beach in the afternoon. There is no doubt I could get used to this lifestyle. I need to get busy figuring out how to make it happen.

random thoughts – Day 1,658 – (Tuesday) – wild life

Friendly gang of croati.

The jungle wildlife sightings so far have been limited to capybara, the biggest rodent in the world; the white nose coati with a ringed tail like a raccoon; bats; and iguanas of various sizes. There are koi in the fish pond outside one of the restaurants, and lots of birds.

One member of our travel group saw a monkey in the tree directly outside his room, and I hope to see one before the week is done. There are stories of sightings of snakes and some gigantic spiders, but I won’t be sad if I miss seeing either of those.

This morning’s breakfast was at an open-air restaurant where we got to watch some of the local birds in action. As soon as a table was vacated by humans, the birds landed to check for portable scraps. One even made off with a packet of sugar snatched from a caddy that sat next to a coffee cup on an otherwise empty table.

The beach was breezy with bigger waves than Monday, and the water felt warmer than the breezy air. There are lots of almost clear fish with a stripe that seem to like corn flakes. It tickles when they swim past and brush my legs.

Croati scoping out the lunch buffet.

During our lunch in the open-air beach restaurant, one of the coati entertained from the thatched roof. It walked down the sloped roof to a beam and snuggled in a corner for a nap. Later, it made its way confidently across a beam, pausing directly above the spot where the hot dogs and hamburgers sat in the covered steam trays on the hot side of the buffet. The occupants of our table were transfixed, which caused other people to look at what we were looking at, and soon a bunch of us were waiting to see what would happen when someone raised the lid of one of the trays. Would the coati launch itself down for a snack? Anything seemed possible. We’d already been entertained on Monday by a carybara walking on the beach with a sandwich roll in its mouth.

The suspense was extinguished when a very official supervisor type worker with an earpiece arrived. He marched over to where the croati stood on the rafter and looked at it. It seemed they may have been previously acquainted because the critter looked at the worker and immediately scrambled up the thatched ceiling and disappeared though an opening along a beam.