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Published: July 10th 2019
"Learn to Hit Curve Balls; Life Rarely Pitches Straight". ~ Sweet Jaysus, truer words have never been spoken. Hello all - thought it time we check in via the old blog to let you know how we are doing & what we've been up to. Many of you were concerned about us leaving on our trip given our recent loss.
As many of you know by now, Allan lost his cherished sister Shannon (& only sibling) on June 19th, completely out of the blue & without warning. She left behind her husband Craig, and three children Alex (16), and twins Kassie & Matthew (13). I won't delve into too much here given how painful & shocking all of this is, so I'll try to keep this blog as light as I can but talk about it sharking us to our core. We are beat from the feet up...
Words have always come to me rather easy & writing has always been a wonderful outlet for me. Words to me are healing; words are my friends & have allowed me to journal our trips to Mexico via these blogs, so I can share these precious memories with our girls.
Many words have been written to me in cards, letters & emails over a lifetime that I cherish.
Words are powerful. Words can be uplifting; and words weave a tapestry of one's life. And there have been times when I have prayed for my words to not
'fail me now'. At least three of those times were when I was entrusted to write the obituaries for my Dad (2017), my brother Bill (2010) and now Shannon's obituary & eulogy. I am not a regular 'prayer' person, but I spent a few nights asking the big guy for guidance on writing Shannon's obit, but more so, her eulogy. It's not an easy thing to do; to sum up the life of someone you love dearly and give them the final send-off they deserve. And it's another challenge to stand in the front of a congregation & read their eulogy & not lose your composure. My knees were shaking so bad when reading it, but come hell or high water I was going to sing Shannon's praises, character and personality traits from the highest mountaintop. I hope I did her the justice she so deserved. I was so honored to be
able to do so. There are really no words though that can ease the pain, & the sorrow we feel at this time. We are living with a new reality.
To Mom & Dad (Ray & Pat), Craig and kids, you are all on our mind and in our hearts. We will be there for you in any way we can. We look forward to planning another family visit soon with all of you. Until then our girls will be flying out to see you soon. (The trip pre-arranged by their aunt Shannon. But despite their grief, they're going to go in her honor.)
SHOULD WE STAY OR SHOULD WE GO... Some time ago Al & I had booked to leave for the Riviera Maya on my birthday, July 4th. Our usual trek back to our second home. We flew home from Calgary on June 30 from Shannon's funeral, to catch the tail end of our daughter Rory on her prom day. She graduated from grade 12. How bittersweet. We were exhausted from the loss, from the travel, from every damn thing. Then to get home with minutes to spare to see her off to her prom.
Our faces were awash in tears; trying to smile through our tears & be in the moment for her, to celebrate this milestone in her young life. To say she looked stunning would be a vast understatement. She is Shannon's god-daughter so it was extremely moving and personal for us. OMG she was a vision, & I like to think her godmother was so very proud. Special thanks to someone special, our friend Zully, who was able to create a masterpiece with her beautiful hair just as she envisioned. And extra special thanks to Marth, for always being there, in good times and in bad. The sign of a true friendship & we couldn't do without ya. And to Mom, our 3 daughters Lara, Rory & Ava, & my sister Cindy, many thanks for being our A-team.
Then a few days later it was Canada Day, and up and attem we were to move my my Mom & sister to their new beautiful home. It was a tiring day, but we felt helpful & useful which is important when you are in a state of shock. Then after unpacking & re-packing from our travel to Calgary, then 2 short
days later we found ourselves on a plane to Mexico. On my birthday. In first class. Whoa Nellie. For those of you that know the 40% off Queen, (aka me), you are asking when did I hit the jackpot, or lose my mind for dishing out first class coin? Neither event occurred.
Some time ago when looking at flights, the only flight to get to Cancun early in the day was on my b/day. And econo was way more expensive that Premium. What the hell? Frankly I thought the airline was playing a big old fat joke on me. So I chose the Premium one way to Cancun. No brainer here. Then when I picked our return flight, it was very reduced & we also had a companion flight thanks to our WJ credit card. In the end we paid a pretty cheap rate for flying first class like the celebrities we wish we were & pretended to be on that flight.
I told Al to dress up; let's look like we belong here & that it's no big deal for us to fly first class all the time. In the end I was taking pics of our
menu, our meal, our drinks, our seats like a kid in a candy shop. We clearly did NOT look like we belonged here! Oh well, we should get points for being enthusiastic travelers right?!
Despite our heavy hearts, & pondering if we should cancel the trip, we felt it was best to keep our plans. Nothing would be solved by staying home in a state of grief. I know this journey so very well after losing my brother Bill at almost the same age as Shannon, and the same way (heart attack.) Given I work for a company with luxury vacation condos & rentals, I had some work I could do while away, so we made the decision to forge ahead. I will say flying first class on my birthday was a pretty darn good present at a time of sadness. Before our loss, I was giddy with excitement, telling friends & family about us flying first class. I think I even told a few strangers at the grocery store! We were in the first row; and we got the royal treatment.
Our suitcases were labelled PRIORITY so that they are moved off first. (I tell you this
for a reason.) I'd like to tell you that we didn't have a 'drink drink' at 7 am on our flight, but I'd be lying. We had a mimosa (some bubbly with orange juice for you teetotalers) to clink our glasses.
Then on our flight to Cancun, there was a warm breakfast. And it was pretty damn good I will say. Al had pancakes with a raspberry/blueberry compote with a maple fraiche whipped cream, with a side of berries, a yogurt and then a mini chocolate croissant. I had a spinach aged cheddar omelette with roasted potatoes & a side of turkey sausages. Then later came a small snack box with a mini dark chocolate bar, cashews & caramel popcorn and a minuscule bag of mints. All delish.
Once off the plane, customs/immigration was busy but it went smoothly. But what happened next was bizarre, frustrating & exhausting. We get to the baggage carousel & nothing. No bags were coming - just dead silence. The carousel next to us would sound; then a bag or two would come out. Now we are hundreds of travelers wondering WTH is going on. After maybe half an hour of standing there,
our baggage carousel beeps, and starts moving. Again, a few bags come out then nothing. Why are they toying with us? It was the strangest thing.
This went on forever; no place to sit, no one to ask what's going on, kids screaming & crying, adults pacing, swearing & on their cell phones, kicking things, (& that was just me).
Meanwhile now our driver is there to get us at 12:10 PM & now it's 1:15 PM. No free internet either in the Cancun Airport to let our driver know. So finally this rep. for West Jet walks by and I'm on him like white on rice. So I ask him what in the heck is going on here? What's the hold up with our bags? Are they bringing each suitcase off the flight & walking it to the carousel? He sees one suitcase on the carousel & looks at me like I'm this big idiot because CLEARLY LADY THERE ARE BAGS ON THE BELT. Thank you Captain Obvious, without your help I'd be lost. While he had WestJet attire on, I'm sure he stole it from a closet and was just walking around trying to be some big
shot.(Insert eye rolling here.)
By now we've been waiting over an hour for our bags with no explanation on what the issue is. Finally Al's PRIORITY labelled bag comes out. Great now where in the name of Pete is my PRIORITY bag? Finally, about as long as it took to build the pyramids, most people got their bags except little old me. Mine was the 2nd last to come out. AHHHHHHHH. Now we've been there for 1.5 hours waiting for my bag (so much for the PRIORITY YELLOW TAG). Those free drinks on the plane were wonderful at the time, but now they were catching up with us, in all the wrong ways. It's like somebody took a big pin to my birthday balloon. Poooooft.
Frankly I was ready to leave my damn bag behind and head to Walmart and buy a GD bathing suit and call it a day.
So now we are tired, frustrated and majorly delayed as we boot it to the exit. Not so fast; this little harmless security lady asks me whether we have tobacco, money over 10,000 etc.. I replied in Spanish that we didn't. Next thing you know we've been
taken aside to have our baggage searched. O.M.G. I suppose we looked like we had something to hide due to our sweating, & disheveled look. That birthday margarita that we were looking forward to was a distant memory & my mouth was so dry I couldn't spit if I was required to do so as part of a test.
This agent was very unfriendly and not the sharpest tool in the shed with some of her questions. As she was about to search Al's stuff, I mentioned that I travel to the area for work. She asked what kind of work, to which I replied luxury vacation rentals. And I need to be at work asap. Her tone changed & she packs us up & tells us we can go. Our driver nearly had nearly passed out from standing there for 2 hours. He then quickly pulls up with van with a cooler of water and beer. Praise be to god...
Once we arrived at the condo, we threw open our doors to the ocean, sat on our balcony and swigged from a Tequila bottle. (OK a little dramatic, I had a gin & T, and Al a
cold beer.) And thanks to my little blister (sister heh heh) Cindy, and the staff of our fave restaurant, she arranged a lovely birthday dinner with our table decorated with balloons, flowers, a Happy Birthday Sign and a Welcome Home Sally sign on our table. It was so welcomed after so much stress. Thank you Cindy; what a sweetheart you are.
SINCE THEN... As many of you know I've been taking a bigger role in the company I work for, which is out of Denver, CO, and offers luxury oceanfront condos & villas in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. I went from writing blogs, to marketing & advertising, to now handling reservations, & working with booking sites like Expedia, Booking.com etc. So in order to keep being the Superhosts we are, the day after our arrival I find out that the living room a/c of one of our rentals had gone on the fritz & we had a family arriving on Sat. I had actually handled their reservation so I had a vested interest in ensuring their stay went smoothly. HA! Smooth it was not.
Their luxury penthouse has 3 bedrooms & all have individual a/c which gave
me hope that we could keep them cool until the l/room a/c was fixed. So the management company (I am not fond of them), had put an email through to the owner to approve a new a/c, but I knew there was no way that the a/c would be installed by the weekend. So I send off an email to the manager (I'll call her Patty, although I had a few choice names for her that can't be repeated in a family bog if you catch my drift). about her making sure that the condo was ready for Sat. & that all the a/c's in all the rooms are set to 16C & fans are running so the condo is at its best. So didn't hear anything back from 'Patty" on Fri.
After many emails to no avail, I got permission to enter the condo the day of the guests arrival to find it hotter than Hades, and hadn't been cleaned for an arrival. Keep in mind the daily temp was about 43C with the humidex. I kept wondering why is Patty is not answering? Was she put in the Witness Protection Program? Climbing Mt. Everest without a cell
signal? Woo hoo Patty, where the hell are you?
Anyhow, I was fit to be tied that I'm doing the manager's job. Because I knew about this snafu, I decided to buy fresh flowers, made them up a nice fruit basket, & stocked their fridge with fresh guacamole & salsa as a welcome gift. A very warm (no pun intended) greeting. Finally I asked my fave manager from our other condos (and my friend Edith) to actually call Patty to talk to her about this critical situation. Keep in mind these two management companies don't like each other. She informs Patty that I'd been emailing her, and that guests are arriving in the afternoon and the condo needs to be cleaned & it's a death trap with the heat. Meanwhile Al & I have the a/c s running full blast, curtains closed to keep the sun out, & all fans running. We figured it would be somewhat comfortable by evening; fingers crossed.
Patty responds to this call by saying that she didn't have them booked for arriving on Sat. but on Sunday & that's why it wasn't ready. Immediately I panic and get back to my laptop to
see if I've got the date wrong. I didn't - I had them booked to arrive that day with Jaime picking them up at the airport.
What followed was a flurry of unpleasant emails from the crappy management company to me stating that I should not have involved the other manager in this reservation (I only involved her because the elusive Patty wasn't answering her emails.) And further they state that they have worked with Tonya my boss for many years & that they'd never had this type of situation before, and blah blah blah. And in the future ALL I had to do was to email them, and they'd respond to my requests etc. Email them? I emailed Patty so many times that as soon as I hit 'compose' it filled in Patty's email. I thought by then I'd go ballistic. Email them? (OK I know I just said that.) I had sent 20 bloody emails from Thurs. evening to Sat. morning. I sent enough emails to probably be arrested & charged for stalking them! So now I'm angrier than a wet hen. And insulted that I'm doing their job, and they are doing NOTHING but giving me
grief. The owner had not responded to give her go ahead yet about replacing the a/c so I had nothing to tell our guests. about when the air conditioning will be repaired. All our condos were booked , so there was nowhere to put these lovely guests. ACK. Nice start to our holiday as well. NOT. Thankfully my boss Tonya had my back & promptly gave Patty and the management company an earful.
So, after doing some digging on my part, I found that it was a booking error on my part. (Aww tartar sauce). The guests originally booked this reservation back in March, and they were to arrive on July 7th. However, a few days later, the guests moved their reservation up to July 6th. Yep, no problem. I accommodated them. I was in the learning curve stage with reservations, & I guess I forgot to send the management company the new arrival date. 😞 So I had to eat some humble pie folks & I did not like the taste. Luckily most of their staff and I have a good relationship except this manager who has no work ethic. Since I came here on the heels of
losing Shannon, a major airport fiasco, & now had to deal with this issue, I was ready to kick somebody, & Patty looked like the perfect candidate. I calmed my urge down though. I can't guarantee anything if I meet her in a dark alley though. (Oh that feels better to vent!) Even Al was very upset with the way things were handled by them. Was I angry? Damn right. And no I don't need Anger Management classes; I just need to stop dealing with stupid people.
Despite my error & owning up to it, I averted a major crisis with our guests. I managed to get that condo cooled down, & maids in to polish it from head to toe. The guests were thrilled with the goodies I had left. However, by evening they were asking when the a/c was going to be fixed. Guess who took off for the night, never greeted the guests, and left me to explain everything? If you guessed Patty, you pass Go & collect $200.
These managers are paid to manage these condos, & we are only the booking agents. However I've been receiving excellent reviews on our booking sites, so
while life was giving me limes, I made a fantastic batch of margaritas with them. Bottom line the owner of said condo is expected to move her business to my pal Edith due to this fiasco. (Take that Patty Cakes.)
The management company (Patty & her band of merrymakers) then left for the weekend, didn't bother to touch base with their guests, and left me to field the guest's questions. It was very stressful. We refunded them their entire nightly rate (no small amount) until the a/c was fixed. Another condo became available so I offered them the opportunity to move, but by then the condo was a bit more comfortable & they liked this penthouse, so they stayed put. I worked out a reduced nightly rate for them that we could all live with. Said management company is sporadic with checking in with them still, so I've been doing so. Am I resting up you ask? Not so much.
Then, yesterday Al & I did a photo shoot at another penthouse down the beach that was in need of new photos. Al has great camera equipment & is a pretty darn good photographer. I like to stage
the condos, & between us we've had some very successful photo shoots. (We are in high demand, so if you need us, please call our agent which is little old me 😉
Anyhow man it was so HOT. How hot was it you ask? (Here we go again with the hot jokes)... It was so hot I saw a bird dipping his worm in ice tea. (Badda bing, badda boom.)
We bought flowers to stage the condo, and I brought along table cloths, wine, beer, food to set the scene. There were some snafus, including me stepping off a slope & wrenching my back along the way.
So we get to this very nice penthouse, but the a/c was off as no guests were staying there. (This damn lack of a/c will be the end of me.) We had just hauled down the beach 2 bouquets of bleeping flowers with vases, beer bottles, wine bottles (not for us, for the shoot!), tablecloths, fruit for a platter diplay etc etc. so we were fried. And it takes quite a bit of time to get it staged, with me setting the tables, & Al setting up his camera equipment.
Then we have to move everything around, and had to go up and down the stairs to the roof. Now to get from the main balcony to the roof we had to go up this spiral staircase which is a bit daunting when carrying items. While the design is cool, even Evil Knievel would avoid this staircase at all costs. (Imagine having a few drinks up on the roof and then navigating this winding staircase after? Hmmm, maybe I should ask that manager Patty to join me for a drink up on the roof... Oops watch your step Patty (not 😉 (Just joking folks. Well joking a bit... 😉
The rooftop plunge pool was looookin' really fine by 3PM. We were there 3 hours and got most of it done. Praise be to god to get back to the a/c in our condo. Actually sitting out on our balcony over the ocean affords us quite a nice breeze.
Meanwhile, due to that mis-step, I injured my back, and then Al's hip was flaring up from taking so many angled pics. Let's just say we stayed quiet that night. This life as a "stager/photographer" might just be our undoing.
But the owners will be really pleased with the pics so it was well worth it.
THE DAY TO DAY GRIND HERE... As many of you may have read in the news, there is a sargassum phenomenon (akin to seaweed) which has dramatically hit coasts from everywhere from Texas to Florida to all parts of the Caribbean including here. It's a delicate operation to remove this unsightly brown algae seaweed without wrecking the beaches and the marine life within the sargassum. And if you know the Riviera Maya at all, it's known for its pristine soft sand beaches and turquoise waters. We see that they have bought two big machines that churn up & collect the sargassum making it easier to rake up from the shores. If left to sit on the beaches, it sets off a terrible odor like rotten eggs.
They have hired scores of people to remove it each day and the big trucks take it away. It's really hurt tourism here. However, since we got here they have a real handle on it and people are in the ocean, and while it's not ideal, most tourists are enjoying their stay, although it's quiet
for almost mid July & the summer is mid-season and is typically very busy. We'll see how and if it improves.
ANIMAL HIJINKS After being in Disney World in June with the kids, there had been warnings about a rabies outbreak around Epcot. Warnings not to feed any wildlife and especially feral cats and dogs who tested for rabies. I always tend to put a safe distance between myself & wildlife frankly, and I especially watch out for those Kamikaze squirrels that try to sit at your outdoor table in Disney and snatch your dang food right off your plate. I HATE those squirrels. They are everywhere in Disney World including often stuck in the backs of baby strollers in Magic Kingdom where they dive bomb for those Goldfish crackers that toddlers live on.
Anyhow, moving on from Disney World, Al & I went to this beautiful upscale restaurant 2 nights ago. Light Italian music playing, candles on our table, sounds of waterfalls, set in a lovely courtyard, and only one other table seated nearby. So peaceful as we ate our 1salad & sipped our wine. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a cat
coming our way. This restaurant is attached to a small boutique hotel with a pool so I figure it's the house cat. However, as I finally turned to see it, I see it's a huge raccoon, & he's looking at me with love in his eyes. OMG, my feet come off the ground and I let this yelp out. The waiter, an older man, races over, grabs a bread stick, throws it to him and yells, "Now go home Ricardo"! What? Huh? You've named him? So the raccoon saunters offer with this bread stick in his mouth like a fine cigar. So I turned to Ismael the waiter and highly suggested not to feed him! Of course he's going to come back. Who wouldn't? I'd show up at Happy Hour too if you start throwing me food. It's like free takeout from the finest restaurant. It was really hard to concentrate on my chicken in a mushroom sauce with sweet potato puree after that fiasco. I pictured Ricardo the Racoon might come back dressed in black tie & tails looking for dessert. Now this comes on the heels of us having a drink at Carboncitos the other night, & we
hear this noise, & look over to 5th avenue, and see a big spider monkey running down 5th avenue being chased by tourists with their cell phones out. Shut the front door - what is going on around here with the animals in a a rather metropolitan seaside town? Clearly we are drinking too much or not enough! Maybe the stress of everything is finally getting to Al & I.
WEDNESDAY A.M. (Miercoles in Spanish!) So as mentioned it's a beautiful sunny morning here. Hot, with big white cotton candy clouds floating by. The sun is rippling off the azure sea, and best of all, the Mexican Army (what we call the huge pelicans) are flying right by our balcony. I love seeing them. The big frigate birds are circling, then dive bombing the water for fish. A plane just flew over after dropping a parachuter. Life is flowing by like a colorful movie, set to the soundtrack of the Latin lounge music coming from the upscale bar to the right of us.
So grateful to wake to such a morning & to be afforded the gift of another day. A day of fresh beginnings & one
that is full of hope. That despite grief, & pain, that maybe, just maybe there are good things ahead for all of our family. And I know there is... That our guardian angels (specifically Bill, Shannon & my Dad) have a front row seat to all of this, & can be our cheerleaders on this journey ahead of us. I pray that their souls are at peace, & that ours can find healing as well. And that somehow their presence & energy will allow us to heal too. While here we also celebrated our 22 year anniversary. (Actual wedding anniversary is only 11 years now so we'll keep the hard earned 22 years as our major milestone. 😉 It's the little things that are so very vital. The little things allow big things to happen.
Al you are a rock, much like Craig, Shannon's husband who has to move on as a single parent, dealing with shock & grief. What a legacy you have given to Shannon for both of you to show your inner strength to shine under such trying circumstances.
And much love to all of our family & friends reading this & your own journey.
Your love, support, friendship is a gift that we all cherish.
"Life itself is a privilege. But to live life to the fullest is, well, a choice. ~ Hugs to all,
Sal, & Al (Please note: no spell check, no baggage check, no welfare check, no pay check, no check of anything at all. Read at your own peril. My 'assistant' who usually checks for spelling & grammar is busy drinking a cerveza & lying on a lounger. Lordy it's hard to get good help these days... Drop us a line & make us feel your presence!
xoxoxo
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Zully
non-member comment
Amazing recollection and beautiful words, Sal.
One thing is for sure, You have great memory and beauty in words. You are simply amazing as wife, mom, daughter, friend. Thank you. xoxox