Hola, from Cancun...

Hola, Seniors and Senoras!  Coming to you live from the super fancy resorts of Cancun, Mexico.  Loren and I embarked on our latest adventure to this exotic location.  Traveling among the middle aged and retired I find I am reminded somewhat of the resort location in the movie "Dirty Dancing" but with much more flair.  That isn't to say this local doesn't have it's cultural charm but the plane-ride here felt more like going to "Fantasy Island."  With the range and caliber of some of our fellow patrons I might have expected to be greeted by Mr. Roarke and Tatu upon disembarking from the shuttle.

Our flight was fairly uneventful.  The pilot was competent and the take-off was one of the smoothest I've ever had.  We were lucky enough that the people sharing our rows were willing to swap seats so Loren and I could sit together.  We were told that the gentleman had been married for 27 years and so long as we didn't mind sitting next to his wife he didn't mind.  In the end they ended up being some really nice people from Montana.  In fact at the end of the flight I happened to see their last name on their customs form.  It turns our they were distantly related to me!  How funny to fly together on the same flight as another branch of my mother's family!  I got to hear some interesting things about the Brimhall family I wasn't aware of, such as the fact that at least two of the lines have kept up the tradition of naming their daughters Lydia after Sylvanus Jr's wife Lydia De Guiteau.  Also she told me the youngest brother of this same Lydia was the De Guitteau that tried to assassinate President Garfield! The world becomes a very small place when you get going on your genealogy.

It was a little bit of culture shock braving the oncoming barrage of shuttle groups, timeshare sharks, and random vendors as we left the the airline terminal.  Thanks to the vigilant training of my seasoned mother-in-law we were able to make a run of the gamut unscathed.  It was a relief to find ourselves blissfully ensconced in the quiet, air conditioned interior of our shuttle.

From there it was a voyage through palm lined vistas and hotel resorts, I sort of felt more like I was in southern California.  We rode in a group shuttle with two couples from Wisconsin, a young woman from New York and a woman from Los Angeles, California.  It was interesting to listen to the friendly banter as we all discussed our reasons for being there and our various previous travel experiences.

Once at the Royal Sands we were introduced to our apartments. Loren and I enjoyed looking around at the various businesses interspersed on the ground floor of the resort. We ate dinner at the onsite restaurant La Viranda where we dined on psuedo american food and discussed possible activities for the coming week.  I may have convinced Loren to get a "fish pedicure" with me, one can only hope!