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06-04-2008, 01:36 PM
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June 2008 TR
June 2008 Trip Report
Predeparture and Arrival 6/3/08 After a short, but tiring, drive to Atlanta we arrived at the Courtyard hotel at around 5:00 pm. They had gone up on their Park-n-Fly rates by about $50 since last year, so we stalled and even went and checked out the Fairfield next door before going ahead and coughing up $149 for the night, including parking. It’s still a good deal because they’re the only hotel that doesn’t charge a per day parking fee. We hoisted our luggage inside the hotel and headed out to get some supplies for the night. The Atlanta airport is in a “not-so-nice” part of Atlanta so, over the years, we’ve found that we don’t really like going out, especially at night, other than to get some supplies. We headed to a nearby Kroger and bought some snacks, Maruchan soups, and, of course, some beer. We zipped back to the hotel, drank a few beers, relaxed, and then headed to the hotel pool with the kids. After an hour or so of swimming and relaxing in the Jacuzzi with the kids I headed back to the room ready to crash. My wife got on the laptop and chatted in MSN with her Dad in Cancun. He was ready to pick us up at the airport the next morning and they were making final arrangements for our pickup. Playing in the pool at The Courtyard hotel in Atlanta-the water felt so good after the 4-hour drive to Atlanta  Day 2-Tuesday, June 2: Atlanta Airport-Cancun Tuesday morning, we woke up around 5:00 am to get ready to go to the airport. We caught the airport shuttle at around 6:00 am and we were there in just a few minutes. Although our flight wasn’t until 9:40, past experiences have taught us it’s always better to get there early and not be rushed. Check-in at the Delta gate was a breeze since it was so early- there was hardly any line at all. We had some soggy sandwiches that we had bought at Kroger the night before for breakfast so, after checking in, we sat down at a Food Court and tried to eat them. The lettuce had gotten so soggy overnight they were idedible. So much for breakfast!. Oh well, Aeroméxico serves a little snack, I thought. So, no problem. When we got to the gate- big disappointment: although we had bought our tickets from Aeromexico they had switched our flight to Delta. So that meant no snack and no free drinks. That sucks! We ended up being a couple hours too early for our flight so we found a little corner area behind the gate and I crashed on the carpet while the kids watched “Transformers” on the laptop. It was a long, long, 2 ½ hour wait for boarding. Carlos, 15 and Celeste, 8-Cancun here we come!  Although I was a little disappointed to be flying on a Delta plane, instead of Aeroméxico, the flight was smooth with very little turbulence. I had been reading about tropical storms in the area so I was a little nervous about having a rough flight. I bought a 6-dollar Belgian beer from the flight attendant and, when we finally began to descend, tried to peek out the window from my aisle seat. I got a great view of the turquoise water and the shoreline before it dissipated into the clouds. Finally, we landed, on time, in Cancun at around 11:00 am local time. We breezed through immigration in about 10 minutes. Baggage claims and customs were another story. About ½ hour for each one; so, we ended up almost an hour behind schedule for meeting my father-in-law, Jose, for our pickup time. Fortunately, he was right there when we walked out of the terminal with our luggage in tow. Jose is a retired professor and just recently bought a full-size Chevy van for his new “colectivo” service he’s starting so we had first-class transportation waiting for us. All aboard- arriving at the Cancun airport  Our driver, my father-in-law, Jose-Vamonos!  Carlos  We went to meet up with a few more of my wife’s relatives and headed to a little place called Marimar for a much-needed lunch. They had 100 pesos buckets of beer that included appetizers. We ordered a couple of buckets and starting munching down on some caldo de pescado, empanadas de cazón, and ceviche. Everything was excellent and I started to relax a little bit from the early morning departure and the stress of the flight. Lunch at Marimar, my wife's cousin Alex playing around with the gator  Lunch at Marimar in Cancun: Buckets of Sol and botanas  Ceviche de caracol- conch ceviche  Empanadas de cazon- baby shark empanadas  Gorditas de frijol  More botanas  After lunch, we headed by to the Cancun hotel zone to hit the beach for a while. The water was beautiful and turquoise-blue, but it was a little rough and the temperature was a little cold, at first anyway. We played in the waves for an hour or so and soaked up some good rays. Then, we headed back to Jose’s house for a little nap. Fun on the beach in Cancun, my daughter with her aunt  We called it early night because we were all tired from the sun and the early morning travelling we had done. Today we're planning a trip to Crococun, maybe Isla Mujeres.  Ready for bed, it's the end of a long Day 1  Last edited by Dan-0; 06-24-2008 at 07:51 PM.     
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06-04-2008, 02:52 PM
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Wow! You are on the ball, Dan-O! You are making me hungry, btw.
 Sorry 'bout the $6 beer. That hurts. 
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06-04-2008, 03:02 PM
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Sunbaby- I'm from the U.S. and my wife's from "the Roo". We live near Huntsville, Alabama.
Erica- yeah, I hate paying $6 for a beer, what a ripoff. But, I gotta have my brew when I fly, even at 9:30 in the morning. That's what I was looking forward to flying Aeromexico this year. But, Aeromexico and Delta "code switch" and when you book with one you can always end up on the other.
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06-04-2008, 04:46 PM
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In January they charged $5CDN per drink on Westjet but I imagine soon the price will go higher. We call them our "Let the vacation begin" drinks. Great report--keep it coming. Nora
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06-04-2008, 05:07 PM
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06-04-2008, 05:31 PM
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1 oz vodka salt celery salt pepper 1 dash Worcestershire sauce 1 dash Tabasco® sauce clamato juice Rim tall glass with celery salt, fill with ice and ingredients. Garnish with a celery stick, straw, and lime.
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 "If a friend runs a bar and the nightclub down the road fecks them over, calls their character into question and tries to harm their business...... ......you don't go to that nightclub and give them your business, you drink at another bar and don't step foot over their threshold." anon
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06-04-2008, 05:32 PM
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Great report Dan.... looking forward to more!
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"If a friend runs a bar and the nightclub down the road fecks them over, calls their character into question and tries to harm their business...... ......you don't go to that nightclub and give them your business, you drink at another bar and don't step foot over their threshold." anon
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06-04-2008, 06:59 PM
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I live for TRs....can't wait to read and see more!!!
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06-04-2008, 07:10 PM
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Great start Dan...looking forward to reading more!!!
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M&M Blog  March 2008 Trip Report "Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico"...K. Chesney
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06-04-2008, 08:21 PM
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Quote:
Mixology 101 Nick
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06-04-2008, 11:31 PM
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Food looks yummy...
Love the photos! Can't wait for more!
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When life seems hard, hold on...a vacation is never too far away 
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06-05-2008, 01:27 AM
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Dan-0
Great start brother more please!!!!!!!!!! crazy eddie
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 Crazy Eddie and the Boss Angie!!!!The Playa Bums Ride Again Easter 20091.crazy eddie and angie 2.Tony and Sally 3.Taco run Rich and Jackie 4. Snow blind dave and jill 5.rubie and rich 6.. Kingsfans Annette and Derek maybe so far? Who else? that is 10 Playa bums so far.
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