Cancun 2009

Well, we ended up going to Cancun. We've had the trip planned since August, I believe. But, when everything started to unfold with Grandpa, I really wasn't feeling up to going. After the funeral, my heart still wasn't in it. I knew Grandpa would have wanted me to go, but I just didn't want to be away. It sounds so incredibly silly, but I already thought heaven was far enough away from Iowa, so it must be bazillion miles away from Cancun, making me further away from Grandpa than I already was. I know- it's irrational thinking. But, then I realized that it was more not wanting to be away from all the pictures I have of him, or the furniture that's in our house that he made, or not being able to just call my sister or my cousins if I wanted to talk about him. And, I felt like I had been away enough - every weekend since the first weekend in January going back to visit Grandpa, so this just seemed like more time away that I didn't need.


In the end, we went and once we made the decision, I tried to be positive about it and not waste what could be a fun trip to Cancun! And, it was a great time! It was still very hard being away, and I still had my moments of sadness, but Joe and Allison, our friends, provided great times, great laughter, and great relief when I needed it the most.

So, in an effort for you to get to know who all went on the trip a little bit better, I'm providing you with the "Things We Learned About Each Other" while travelling together. Here goes!


Things we learned about my husband

• He takes laying out in the sun very seriously - figuring in the direction of the chairs, the speed of the wind, and the distance from the pool bar before carefully selecting our seats.
• He makes the biggest omelets in Cancun.
• He is willing to dive into the ocean to find a Nikon lense cap to save $10
• He is easily annoyed by large groups of people. *
  

* Large: Any group of 4 or more people.

This is me and what the others said they learned about me!

• She loses things very easily which directly conflicts with her OCD complex.
• She hates cats, and cat fingers.*
• She feels sorry for overweight people and Chris Brown (even if he does beat his girlfriend).
• She likes to stimulate conversation with thought-provoking questions.
• She hates the past and the History Channel. (Allison: Holly, this book isn't about THE past, it's about HER past, you'll like it! Holly: I don't like anyone's past, Allison, and I also hate the History Channel.)

*Otherwise known as Chicken Fingers in Mexico.

As for Allison, here's what we learned:

• She has a foot fettish and must be wearing her sandals at all times.
• She does not like water slides - or peer pressure.
• If there is an elephant in the room, Allison will surely identify it.
• Customer Service is very important to Allison- even in buffets.
• She is not a fan of public displays of affection, and only does it to appease her husband.

As Allison said, "I bet you learned a lot about my husband on this trip. I have a feeling you know where I'm coming from now." And, yes, we did. Here's what we learned:

• He has severe OCD and to quote him, "Oh, I embrace it- you can't fight something like that."
• Right in line with OCD is his need to "check" everything not once, not twice, but three times....the garage door before leaving for Cancun, the safe in the room, the tickets...check and double-check!
• It takes him 1.5 hours to get ready no matter what he tells you.
• He loves him some bacon. A lot.
• His favorite adjective is "phenomenal."
• If you find him browsing in the women's sunglasses department, he is not looking for a pair for Allison. He's looking for himself. Enough said.
• He loves PDA like he loves his OCD.

I bet you're wondering who this is. No, they did NOT go on the trip with us. But, yes, they WANTED to be on the trip with us. They were from Wisconsin. He's a chiropractor, she works in the golf business I believe. I was being nice and friendly with them, until they went on this tangent about how they know Denise Richards' grandma or something like that.

Then, they left their chairs and the Wallaces were suspicious that they were swingers. Or, at the very least, he was staring at us underneath his sunglasses. I blew off their comments- I never saw any staring. Then, when Joe and I were in our hotel room, he says this to me: "Yeah, he was kind of creepy, he was staring at you guys the whole time. I would have left but we had good chairs and I didn't want to lose them." See what I mean about him taking his sunbathing seriously? Translation: "Creepy Guy Checking You Out but Sun Was More Important So No Biggie, k?" Got it. They stalked us the rest of the trip- sought us out at night, found us during the day, wanted to know where we were going, what we were doing....weird. Of course, I'm the one taking the picture of them....so maybe WE were stalking THEM.

Here's a few more group photos of the trip!

I'll add more photos and more stuff from the trip in my next few posts! I crossed two things off my Bucket List on this trip so lots more to come!