We had planned to depart for Mexico on Tuesday. Plan was to head down and spend the better part of the winter. Dave threw a monkey wrench in that plan at 3am on Monday when he woke Melissa up and said, "I think its my heart". Numb left hand, high blood pressure, fast heart rate, and chest pains. Sounds like it could be bad. Melissa leaps out of bed throws on some clothes and drives Dave to the ER at Overlake in Bellevue. Where she is told she cannot accompany Dave due to COVID. Long story short - Dave is fine. He did not have a heart attack. Apparently just needed his blood pressure meds adjusted. And maybe was a bit out of sorts due to having lifted some heavy stuff the day before. Whew.
Alas having finally arrived home at 8pm Monday night, he wasn't exactly keen to depart on a 7:30 am flight the next morning which would have required an 4:30am wake up alarm. So Melissa rescheduled for the first non-stop flight to Puerto Vallarta where first class was available - Saturday. That left us home for Thanksgiving. Actually kind of a nice break - we had a prime rib and all the fixin's.
Friday Melissa packed up the gear. 4 x 50 lb suitcases required regiggering and repeated reweighing to try and get each bag under 50 lbs. Ultimately at the check in counter - two bags weighted 49.5 each, and the other two were a couple of pounds over. Apparently the bathroom scale is not that reliable. But they let us check all four anyway. (We knew the plane wasn't going to be full...) Plus we had: Dave's back pack, Melissa's computer bag, a cooler, and a beach bag. Here is what we looked like having arrived in Mexico with about 300 lbs of gear.
You might wonder - what the heck would we be taking that took that much space?! Well... here's the story... with Melissa's food allergies - she was determined not be deprived in Mexico. So the beach bag is filled with corn free, wheat free tortilla chips and crackers. We took that onboard because last time Melissa checked them, they arrived in tiny bits and pieces having been crushed in the luggage. One bag was entirely filled with other food stuffs - gluten free pasta, soy free "soy sauce" (cuz - hello - fresh sushi!) , gluten free flour, and an assortment of other "must have" ingredients. Then there is the "must have" kitchen gear. Good knives, avocado cutter, citrus press, garlic press, etc. And then... well.. just couldn't do without the yogurt maker. Yeah. I know, sounds crazy right? But with a dairy allergy - coconut yogurt is a savior! And then there is Dave's favorite toys - his drone, the portable solar cell, and an assortment of electronics.
We made it safe and sound - an uneventful flight. We boarded last so we wouldn't have people passing right by us, had our N-95 masks and face shields, and brought our own lunch. Yummy chopped salad! Alongside the endless white wine in first class - and you know - wasn't half bad! The plane was half empty. Crazy given the holiday weekend. We whisked through security in Seattle and customs in Mexico. Our bags (kid you not) were first off the plane. Onto the rental car, and then, after a wipe down with Clorox bleach wipes (yes, prepacked for this purpose), we finally took off our masks and face shields and could just breathe!
Too wiped to do the grocery shopping when we arrived, we headed off to our favorite beach restaurant for dinner - Mercedes. When we arrive, all the wait staff is in masks, and they take our temperature before admitting us to the restaurant. We had to wear our masks till we reached our table. 10 feet off the beach, in the warm breeze and "aaaahhhhh" we start to relax. Order us a pair of margaritas!
Next day we chilled in the morning - chowing on the egg bites Melissa had prepped and packed in the cooler the day before - knowing we wouldn't have groceries for breakfast this morning. Then it was off to the Mega! A grocery cart and a half worth of food later... we headed back to the condo. Though not without stopping at the melon truck on the way back - selling giant cantaloupe melons for $1.50 each.
Once back at the condo, Dave hauled the groceries - taking two hand truck's worth up the elevator - while Melissa cleaned all the fruits and veggies with BacDyn (a food safe bacteria killer) before loading up the fridge. The made a batch of sangria. Then started a batch of coconut milk yogurt with the lactobacillus Melissa packed in the cooler to bring with us. And a batch of beef stock on the stove for the beef stew she plans to make tomorrow for dinner.
We also bought a second monitor. We managed to pack one with our gear. So Melissa and Dave are both ready to roll for work come first thing tomorrow.
We can quarantine here as well as in Seattle to be sure! And with this for a view:
