We're Home

We made it to Cancún without incident. Took all the right turns. We wanted to fill the car up before we returned it because they charge you a premium price if they have to do it. Señor B thinks they charge double what it is at the pump but we couldn't find a gas station to save our souls. We drove around a bit but we didn't want to get too far away. There was a major traffic jam on the road going out of Cancún. We overheard someone saying there was some kind of protest. Señor B had thought about going towards Playa del Carmen to find a station but we were concerned about not being able to get back because of the jam. I told him we should just suck it up...that paying an extra charge for gas was worth not getting lost and not missing our flight. So that's what we did.

We had lunch at TGIFriday's. The meal was tasty and there was a lot of food on the plate but we had gotten so used to the low prices in Progreso that we had a bit of sticker shock when we got the bill. Add to that the fact that airport food is more expensive anyways. Our 2 cokes and hamburgers with fries came to 336 pesos or just over $27 US.

Our flight was on time and uneventful. We had to clear customs in Toronto which meant we had to claim our luggage and then re-check it. We had time to grab a quick bite and then back onto the plane. Again, our flight was on time and uneventful. No funny or can-you-believe-that stories to relate.

We arrived to our home airport shortly after 11pm. Temp was about -11C but there was a strong north wind blowing. A bitter wind that will chill you to the bone even if you haven't just arrived from the tropics.

It's a long drive home from the airport so we stayed in a hotel for the night. It was a new one for us so we drove around a bit until we found it. By the time we went to bed it was almost 2am Méxican time. We'd been up since 6am so we were beat. The room was chilly and the continental breakfast wasn't anything to write home about. When we mentioned, at check-out, that the thermostat didn't work and the room was cold (the room was only 18C this morning) we thought we'd get a break on the price but we didn't. I'm not sure that we'll stay there again. Yes, we could have mentioned it last night but it wasn't until we were in bed that we realized how chilly the room was. When you first come in out of the cold, everything seems warm. Who knows how long it would have taken a maintenance guy to come and we were so tired, we didn't feel like changing rooms at this point, so we just sucked it up.

Señor B got lost leaving the town. We normally stay in another one that's close by so he wasn't quite sure which road we needed. But, as always, he figured it out. High winds with blowing snow wasn't a very pleasant welcome back to Canada and makes driving slow and difficult. But we made it home, safe and sound shortly before 1pm.

Suitcases have been unpacked (I'm so sick of dragging those things around) and laundry is on the go. Phone calls to the kids to say we're home and to catch up on the news.

I went uptown to pick up a few groceries. Half a century of winters etches the chill in one's memory. Even though we just got home and the weather was decent when we left, the wind and cold were so familiar that it felt as though we'd been dealing with winter for a spell, instead of less than 24 hours.

Supper tonight is good old fashioned comfort food...homemade beef barley soup from a large batch I'd made a while back and froze portions. It was so nice to not have to cook after 2 very busy days. It's bubbling on the stove right now and smells divine.

Came home to some sad news. YD works with the daughter of an aquaintance of mine. This daughter and her younger sister were out driving and got hit by a drunk driver. The younger sister was killed. The funeral is tomorrow. According to YD these 2 girls don't drink, at all. Why does it always seem to be the innocent who are killed by drunk driving? Why can't it ever be the drunk driver? Not that I wish for anyone to die but the irony is so unjust and unfair. Poor little girl. Gone at 15. A family has been shattered and dumba$$ will probably only get 3 years.