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I Learned My Motto From My Dad in Clarksdale, Mississippi

16 Mar

During our foray into Clarksdale, Mississippi, my mom questioned where or not we should eat at the Ground Zero Blues Club. It looked a little rough around the edges, and she was not sure about it. I must admit that it looked different from what I thought it would.Clarksdale 4

However, my dad did not have such qualms. He wanted to go. Not because he thought the food would be awesome. Not because he thought we might see Morgan Freeman. As he said, it was because we could always say that we did it.

My dad has never said that he has a life’s motto, but I think that would be it. He has spent his life wanting to do as much as possible and wanting to see as much as possible. I have been lucky because he has had the means to do so and because he took me along. He also passed that motto down to me.

I can always say that I did it.

I waited a long time to get married and have a family. While my friends and acquaintances did the usual thing of settling down and making memories, I filled my life with experiences. Those experiences have included traveling to various places; listening to different kinds of music; immersing myself in art; and learning as much about the world as I possibly could.

I have differing tastes, and I am pretty sure a lot of people think I am strange because of it. There have been several posts written about the music of my iPod. Sometimes, I even think it is crazy with the variety of stuff that is on there. Some of it is well-known, and some of it is obscure. I do not even like all of it. It is there because I think it is interesting.

I feel the same thing about the world. It is a very interesting place filled with interesting people and interesting things. Something can be learned from all of it. Driving to Clarksdale, my dad and I were just as interested in the crop dusting planes and the fields they were spraying as we were the destination ahead. It is flat land and seemingly endless, but there is a lot interesting about it. The history. The people. The cemeteries we passed.

It was a new road for me, and I was glad that I drove it because I can always say that I did it.

That is why I saw Dave Brubeck perform. I wanted to always say that I saw him play “Take Five“.

That is why I drank wine at the Inglenook Vineyards. I wanted to always say that I was there.Honeymoon 016

That is why I saw Ray Price in concert. I wanted to always say that I heard him sing “For the Good Times“.

That is why I went to Clarksdale, Mississippi. I wanted to always say that I was there.

That is why I saw Luciano Pavarotti and AC/DC in the same venue during the same week. I wanted to always say that I saw both shows.

That is why I went into the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. I wanted to always say that I walked in.

Throughout most of my life people have considered my tastes a little strange. I like music that you cannot find on the radio. I like to travel to places that many people would not even consider. The same can be said for my choice in books, movies and other forms of entertainment. I like those things for the experiences because life should be filled with experiences.

I am not trying to make myself out to be some kind of great thinker who has figured out the secret meaning of life. I am trying to say that I learned something in Clarksdale that had nothing to do with its history.

I never realized what my motto was until my dad spoke it out loud. He stated it perfectly.

I can always say that I did it.

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I Went Down to the Crossroad

15 Mar

I just returned from an excursion to Tunica, Mississippi with my parents. I gambled and lost. I ate a lot of food. I did not find any prostitutes. However, the highlight of the trip was a drive south on Highway 61 to Clarksdale, Mississippi, a town that I have been wanting to visit for a long time.

I only knew a couple of things about Clarksdale. It is one of the places that claims to be home to the crossroad where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil in return for being a great Blues guitarist. The junction of Highway 61 and Highway 49 is marked by a sign commemorating the spot.Clarksdale 5

As I got out to take a picture, I wondered if this was the real crossroad. Then, I wondered why I was wondering about a place that claims to be the location of an event that is more myth than fact.

No matter what happened at what crossroad, Clarksdale has built itself as the center of the Blues universe because of that legend. It hosts music festivals and is home to our next destination, the Delta Blues Museum.Clarksdale 1

This is a cool museum with all kinds of interesting artifacts. It is also where I learned that there is more to the town’s legacy than a legend at a highway crossing. It is the birthplace of Sam Cooke, John Lee Hooker and Ike Turner, who is famous for being the abusive husband of Tina Turner. Before that, he was known as the piano player on “Rocket 88“, which is considered by many to be the first Rock n’ Roll recording.

People who lived in Clarksdale include the aforementioned Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and W.C. Handy.

At the museum, I picked up a town map that marked all of the historic locations. That is when I found out that a couple of other famous people lived in Clarksdale.

Charlie Conerly, a hometown hero, was quarterback for the New York Giants throughout the 1950s. However, the biggest surprise was discovering that Tennessee Williams lived there as a child when his grandfather was assigned to a local parish.

The town is not that large, and it did not take long to find the historic markers. We started with the marker for W.C. Handy, known as “Father of the Blues.” The museum claims that is more to good marketing than actual influence.Clarksdale 2

Next, we drove across downtown to the Tennessee Williams Park, which sits around the corner from his grandfather’s church.Clarksdale 3

This is where I learned that Williams got some of his characters from people he knew in Clarksdale. Down the street sits the Cutrer Mansion, the home of Blanche Cutrer and her husband. It seems to me that there is a character in one of his plays named Blanche.

After taking a drive past the palatial homes in this neighborhood, we went back across town to the other thing I knew about Clarksdale. It is home to Ground Zero Blues Club, owned by Morgan Freeman.Clarksdale 4

Here are my parents in front of the Ground Zero sign.Clarksdale 6

The club served lunch during the day, but we were disappointed. It was not that great. However, the waitress did a good job. My mom asked a lot of questions about Morgan Freeman, and I am sure that they were questions that the waitress has heard many times. He lives in Mississippi when he is not filming and comes by quite often. In fact, he has an apartment upstairs. He is humble but, as the waitress described, “smells like money.” I reckon that was her way of saying that he tries to hide his success, but everyone knows he is rich and famous.

We finished our meal and drove past the famous crossroad on our way out of town. However, that is when I started thinking about the place we had just seen and how it may have looked back in the old days. I started by wondering how the crossroad looked back then. If Robert Johnson made his way to this place, then was it a dirt crossing in the middle of cotton fields like I have always imagined? Or, was it a group of shacks on the outskirts of town where people lived and survived?

Whatever it looked like, I imagine that it was completely different from the neighborhood Tennessee Williams and Blanche Cutrer lived in. That was the home of the landed gentry who owned the cotton fields surrounding the town and the businesses within the town.

Clarksdale’s downtown, which can be walked across easily, is an interesting place. Although the buildings are now old and worn, they are signs that Clarksdale was once a thriving place. The buildings are multi-storied and must have been grand in their day. There are facades of banks and other lucrative businesses. There is no doubt that this was once a place of money.

However, that money flowed to one side of town. The other side of town, literally the other side of the tracks, was where those who left the fields of sharecropping to make their way, congregated and lived. This is where the Blues could be heard, and small African-American owned businesses could be found.

The two sides of town were within walking distance but were worlds apart. Downtown must have been the intersection. I could see people like Brick, Maggie the Cat and Big Daddy walking the streets and talking about “those people” when they saw them across the street. In the real world, “those people” were Sam Cooke, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Robert Johnson.

I wonder what the landed gentry would think about the modern version of their town. While their houses remain, they are not why people travel to Clarksdale. People come to Clarksdale because of the music that was made on the other side of the tracks. People come to Clarksdale because of the music that was inspired by the conditions that people on the other side of the tracks found themselves in. People come to Clarksdale to celebrate their accomplishments and not the accomplishments of the ones who thought they would be remembered.

By the way, the richest man in town is an African-American who “smells like money.”

As we drove out of town, I wondered what the landed gentry would think about that.

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There Is Not Much Quite Like

27 Feb

While walking on the treadmill, I started thinking about how lucky I have been. That luck has come in numerous ways, but I was specifically thinking about travel. My mind went to some of the great places I have visited and the great sights I have seen.

There is not much quite like…

drinking wine in the chateau of Inglenook Vineyards.Honeymoon 016

catching the sun set over the buttes of Monument Valley.West 2010 232

hearing the water break on the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.

leaving an offering at the grave of Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood, South Dakota.

watching the Potomac River flow behind George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon.

feeling the power of water rushing over Niagara Falls.

zip-lining through the trees of north Georgia.

climbing the mesa at Ghost Ranch and looking the landscape often painted by Georgia O’Keefe.SONY DSC

sitting on the porch of the Old Faithful Lodge and watching buffalo roam through the geysers.

lying in the grass of Jackson Square and eating a beignet from Cafe Du Monde.

floating down the Rhine River and looking at the castle ruins passing by.

staring at the presidential faces of Mount Rushmore.

playing Blackjack at a Las Vegas table and watching the chips come and go.

touring Graceland and seeing The Outlaw Josey Wales playing in the TV Room.

hanging out on a beach in Cancun and watching my stepdaughter play volleyball.Cancun - Volleyball

strolling through the Vatican and trying to get a glimpse of the pope.

reading a book by a pool in Costa Rica.

climbing a waterfall in Jamaica.

being mesmerized by the killer whales and bald eagles in Glacier Bay.

dancing to “Me and Mrs. Jones” in a nightclub in Chicago.

standing in silence at the bombing memorial in Oklahoma City.SONY DSC

trying to see the tops of the Giant Sequoia in California.

driving through Hereford, Texas and passing thousands of head of cattle.

betting on Jai Alai in Florida.

lounging on the couch and watching television with my wife.

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Picture This – Little Bighorn

24 Feb

Montana 2012 and Other Stuff 126

On June 25, 1876, George Custer and part of the 7th Cavalry charged into a Sioux encampment on the banks of the Little Bighorn River. The events that followed would become one of the most famous battles and most famous defeats in American history.

Many people in this part of the country can go to a Civil War battlefield and know the details of what happened there. I can do that at Little Bighorn. I first visited the battlefield in Montana when I was a kid and have been back several times. However, it was not the event that first gained my attention. It was the white markers scattered around the landscape.

At some point after the battle, marble markers were placed where soldiers had fallen. Some of them are not accurate, and they have since caused controversy. Native Americans have wondered where the markers for their fallen have been. In recent years, a few markers have been placed for killed warriors.

This post is not about the inaccuracies or the controversy. It is about the effect. For me, the markers make the battle seem like it happened a few days ago. I can scan the battlefield and see where people fell. I can see where some made a stand and others died alone. I can look at the markers and see the battle in my mind. I can listen to the wind and hear the sounds of the fight.

Civil War battlefields do not provide the same effect for me. I can study a battle and know the troop movements, but the land looks like a peaceful field. At Little Bighorn, the individual markers remind me that blood was shed on the expanse.

A few years ago, I went to the battlefield with my dad, my brother and my nephews. We stood on Last Stand Hill, where Custer’s body was discovered, and my nephew filmed me talking about the battle. I looked over the landscape and pointed to where everything happened. I provided accounts from warriors and military records. It was a thrill to be able to do that on site.

When I finished, I turned around to find a busload of people listening to me. Apparently, I had drawn a crowd. I answered a lot of questions, but I really wanted to tell them to look at the markers. They are why I have read so much about the battle. They are the genesis for why I studied the American West. For me, they are what makes Little Bighorn a spiritual place.

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Listeria – Cattle Towns, Mining Camps and Other Assorted Outposts

14 Feb

True West magazine came out with their list of the “Top 10 True Western Towns of the Year”, and I had to see what they came up with. As it turns out, other lists were included – “True West Towns to Know” and “True West Towns to Watch”. A quick counting brought the total number of towns mentioned to 30.

I decided to weed that list down to those that I have visited. I have no idea what criteria the people at True West used to compile the list, but here is a little information about the places that I know about.

1. Dodge City, Kansas is, in my opinion, the most famous of all the cattle towns. It was the epicenter of a huge industry and the home of real life lawman Wyatt Earp and fictional lawman Matt Dillon. Dodge City is still a player in the cattle industry, but I do not see it as a tourist mecca. Obviously, any lover of the Old West must go there, but they will be disappointed with the fake western town that sits on the main drag. However, the trolley tour is cool.

Inside a fake saloon on a fake streetfront.

Inside a fake saloon on a fake streetfront.

2. Durango, Colorado is a cool western town that has held on to its past. Historic buildings, such as the Strater Hotel, line the streets. The famous train from Durango to Silverton starts its journey at one end of town. There are restaurants, bars and a bookstore with all of the great western historians.

A couple of cars on the Durango and Silverton Line

A couple of cars on the Durango and Silverton Line

8. Lincoln, New Mexico is a state monument that looks almost like it did when Billy the Kid was roaming around. There are all kinds of buildings and museums, but the best is the old building from which he made his famous jailbreak. Billy the Kid is the most famous of those who participated in the Lincoln County War, but I find myself more interested in John Chisum and some of the others.

9. Tombstone, Arizona which its economic peak during the 1880s and had its growth stunted when the minerals ran out. That circumstance makes it still have that feel of a frontier town. Of course, that could also be because they ripped up the concrete sidewalks and put down wooden ones. The OK Corral is cool. The Birdcage Theater is cool. However, the coolest thing is talking to Ben Traywick, the town historian.

If this building could talk, then it would have some real stories to tell.

If this building could talk, then it would have some real stories to tell.

10. Lewiston, Idaho is a place that I have never been. However, I must mention it because the Cumberland University baseball team has won two national championships in Lewiston. It is a western town, but it is also a baseball mecca.

There is half of the Top 10, but some interesting towns are on the other lists, as well.

Prescott, Arizona is listed as one of the “True West Towns to Know” and, on the surface, looks like any other regular old town. However, a walk around its square gives you an idea of what it used to be like. The square is huge and is bustling with activity, as people venture into the historic buildings.

This statue stands in front of the county courthouse.

This statue stands in front of the county courthouse.

“True West Towns to Watch” lists several places that I have visited.

Juneau, Alaska is the state capital and can only be entered by plane or boat. It is a small place that has a frontier and isolated quality. One of my great memories of Alaska is having a drink with my brother in one of Juneau’s saloons.

Cody, Wyoming is another good western town. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is one of my favorite places to visit. A few years ago they had a traveling exhibit in Nashville, and I was able to take my students.

Checotah, Oklahoma sits on Interstate 40, and, frankly, I have never been in the downtown area. We have only stopped a few times for gas. Most people probably know it as the hometown of Carrie Underwood.

Custer, South Dakota is one of the less famous mining camps in the Black Hills and is overshadowed by Deadwood and Sturgis. However, it is a good place to stop and look around. Also, it is named in honor of George Armstrong Custer, the man who led the gold-finding expedition into the Black Hills.

Bisbee, Arizona sits several miles down the road from Tombstone and is a place that I like better. Its economic boom lasted into the 20th Century, which means it has a more modern look than other mining camps. It also has a great mining museum operated by the Smithsonian Institute.

Those are the places listed by True West that I have visited. It would be interesting to read if any of you have been to these places. What are your thoughts and stories? What other towns have you visited that you think may be or should be on the lists?

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Cancun – Descending Into the Polar Vortex

17 Jan

While in Cancun, we kept hearing about the Polar Vortex, this huge weather system that was bringing frigid temperatures into Tennessee and everywhere else. First, I wondered where the term Polar Vortex come from? Do meteorologists sit around and come up with sinister sounding names for weather systems. In the old days, I thought it was an Arctic Blast. Second, we knew that at some point we were going to have to go home, and that meant going from the 80 degree average of Cancun to something completely different.

We woke up bright and early on the day of our leaving and prepared to make the trip to the airport. We dressed as we had dressed each day because we did not take any coats. My wife said that we wouldn’t need coats in Cancun. Unfortunately, we would need them in Tennessee. Luckily, I packed a pair of long pants to wear.

We took the ride to the airport and got dropped off into chaos. There was a huge crowd of people trying to check in. It was made up of people like us who were scheduled to leave that day, but it was also made up of people who were supposed to leave earlier and were trapped by cancelled flights. We talked to some people from Boston who had been trying to get home for a couple of days. This Polar Vortex thing was so powerful that it cancelled flights in Mexico.

We must have hit the sweet spot because our flight was on time. That gave us a chance to study the airport. There was basically a duty-free mall. There was a Johnny Rocket’s. There was also some dude dressed up like the Mask. Put together, it was kind of surreal.

We flew out of Cancun and made it to Charlotte. There we had to go through the hassle that is customs. Apparently, the United States does not trust the capabilities of other nations. We had to get our bags and have them rescanned. Once that was done, we made our way into the terminal. It was chaos all over again. Flights were cancelled. People were huddled in corners. Those who were coming in on delayed flights were barely missing their connections.

Once again, we were lucky. Our flight to Nashville was only 30 minutes late. However, the way people were dressed gave us an idea of what was happening outside. Heavy coats and hats were the norm. In fact, we stood out with our short-sleeved shirts.

The flight to Nashville was a little rough, and my window seat offered a glimpse of what we were descending into. As we got closer to the ground, the area just looked cold. Hardly any cars were out. The sides of the roads were white with ice. I can’t describe what cold looks like, but I know it when I see it.

Walking through the terminal, our summer clothes were looking really strange. However, we planned ahead. The guy picking us up brought heavy coats for us to put on. Despite those coats, walking outside took our breath away. The last time we were outside it was 80 degrees. Suddenly, we were hitting air that was 6 degrees. As we walked to the car, I tried to keep warm by thinking of this.Cancun - Poolside

And this.Cancun - Volleyball

And this.Cancun 216

Despite the temperature, we were glad to be home. One thing we all agree on is that it is good to travel, but it is also good to return home. It was also good that my mom had made up a big pot of soup.

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Cancun – Dispelling My Ignorance

15 Jan

When my wife came up with the idea for this vacation, she had a certain vision in her mind. It was a vision of lying by the pool with the sunshine overhead. On our last full day in Cancun, this vision was fulfilled.Cancun - Poolside

We had a prime spot by the pool and basked in the sun as a waitress brought drinks to us. We read magazines and listened to music. My stepdaughter played volleyball in the water and on the beach. It was a day that vacations are made of.

After the day by the pool, we went back to the room to rest and get ready for dinner. We got cleaned up and went the steakhouse that we had visited on the first night. The place where they called me Ricardo. We had a good meal with a few drinks. Overall, it was a relaxing experience.

It was also one of the first times I have ever done anything like that. I try to learn something new as often as I can, and I learned something in Cancun. I learned the difference between a vacation and a trip.

When I was growing up, my family went on trips. We packed up the car and drove across the country. Along the way, we didn’t do much relaxing. We stayed in roadside hotels, and, each morning, we hopped in the car to drive. My dad used to refer to a late start as “burning daylight.” We saw all kinds of sights, and I am lucky enough to have visited each of the 50 states.

I wouldn’t trade those trips and those experiences for anything. However, I have missed out on the experience of a vacation. I can count on one hand the times I have gone to a beach town and stayed in one spot. That’s one of the reasons I enjoyed this vacation. It was a new experience, and I am all about new experiences.

It was interesting to see what people do on a vacation, and everyone at the resort seemed to do the same thing. They played by the pool during the day. They went to the room and dressed up. Then, they went out to dinner. There were probably a few variations to that theme, but they weren’t noticeable.

I am not sure where I am headed with this stream of thought, but there are a few things that I know. I am glad that we went on this vacation, and I hope there are more in our future. I am also glad that I have experienced road trips because there are a lot of interesting things out there to see.

I used to look down on vacations as a waste of time because I was ignorant to what they are really about. They are about getting away from the daily grind and recharging your personal battery. That is not a waste.

I am sure other people have thought that avoiding the beach to go on road trips is just as wasteful. They are just as ignorant as I was. Trips take you to different parts of the world and help you understand what the world is all about.

Ultimately, there is room in life for both. Vacations and trips can coexist. Some time can be spent relaxing, and some time can be spent exploring. Both can be fulfilling and fun. We just have to open our minds and realize it. That’s what I learned in Cancun.

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Cancun – Dolphins Like It Rough

13 Jan

It was raining when we woke up, and it continued to rain for most of the day. On top of that, the wind was gusting. The combination of wind and rain is not what you want to have at a beach resort. Two things entered my mind. First, I wondered how we were going to fill our time. Second, the guy that ran us from our pool chairs can have the ones he wants. The pool was deserted.

My stepdaughter had no trouble finding something to do. She went to the teen lounge and beat all of the guys at pool – the billiard kind. I hope they take that lesson with them through the rest of their lives. Never underestimate women.

My wife and I had to take care of a few things. We had booked a dolphin swim and wanted to postpone it for a day. I went to the booking office and asked if that was possible. The agent said that the session would not be cancelled. If lightning was in the air, then they would postpone it. However, it would never be cancelled. I couldn’t believe it. We had checked the ocean, and it was crazy. When I brought up the fact that it looked bad out there, the agent replied:

“Dolphins like it rough.”

You can’t argue with that.

We did a few other things before the scheduled dolphin excursion. By this time, my stepdaughter decided that she liked beating the guys better than getting in cold water. I decided anything was better than getting in cold water. That meant that my wife was the only one taking the plunge. We got to the waiting area and looked upon the ocean.Cancun 230

Yep, we were going out on that pier. Before the long walk, I took a picture of the brave soul who was going in.Cancun - Dolphins

I was supposed to play the role of photographer and got a few shots before I was told that photography was not allowed. Apparently, they had photos of the experience on sale in the gift shop. The idea of sneaking a few more pictures went away as my bodyguard hovered around. He looked like he had just stepped down from that Mayan pyramid with somebody’s heart in his hand.

I was going to put on this post the few shots I was able to get, but my wife threatened to do the heart ripping out trick if I did that. I thought they looked good. She thought otherwise.

She swam with the dolphins. We bought pictures. Then, we walked back to the room. That’s when she made the statement that she was the daredevil in the family. I pondered that for a second and thought, “Wait a minute. That’s not true.”

There was a zip-lining excursion that I seem to recall. My stepdaughter and I were flying through the trees while my wife had a hard time. I have climbed up the sides of mesas and have been known to climb a waterfall or two. The fact that I am not keen on water where I can’t see the bottom doesn’t mean anything. My stepdaughter and I may not be Evel Knievel’s, but we’re not wimps, either.

Anyway, we hurried back to the room because we had tickets to a show called Cirque Dreams Holidaze. They put Cirque in their name for a reason. It’s not the Las Vegas one, but it was still pretty cool. There were acrobats, jugglers, balancing acts, roller skating pairs. It was a great show. Of course, we had second row seats because we were second level VIP’s.

Oh, there’s one other thing. If you watch the video that I linked, then you will see a guy dressed like a soldiers with a blue hat. The next day, my wife saw him at the pool wearing a Speedo. I think it was the highlight of her trip.

After the show, we had dinner at the Asian-themed restaurant. Everyone said that it was the best one at the resort, and there was a long wait every night. On this night, we made it in, and it turned out to be pretty good. I never thought I would eat sushi in Mexico, but that’s exactly what we did.

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Cancun – The Mayans Could Never Have Predicted This

11 Jan

I guess you could say that this day was for me. While traveling, I like to see things that are interesting, and, on this day, we would see Chichen Itza, the Mayan ruins that have been named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. A while back, I wrote a post about the Wonders that I have seen. Now, this one has been added to the list.Cancun 216

Now that I have looked back on that post, I realize that, last year, my wife and I added another Wonder to the list.

The adventure started out with a little drama. I knew that visiting the ruins was not high on my family’s list of things to do and offered to go by myself. However, my wife said that being that close meant that they should see it. When we told my stepdaughter, she went into a catatonic state while playing Rummy in the lobby. She absolutely did not want to go. She had learned about the Mayans in school and knew that they performed human sacrifices.

If that didn’t freak her out enough, then her teacher talked about her visit to some Mayan ruins. Apparently, her bus had to get on two wheels to keep from falling off a cliff. I don’t know where she went because the interstate we took was pretty smooth.

On Friday morning, we waited for the bus. I was excited, and my stepdaughter was sleepy. I am not sure how my wife felt, but I knew it wasn’t a good feeling when the bus pulled up to get us.Cancun - Bus

I am sure that we all thought the same thing. There was no way we were going to ride all day on that. Luckily, that was just the transportation to get us to the real transportation. Our other bus was nicer. It had bathrooms. They served breakfast. Plus, we had some interesting entertainment. I sat in front of a lady who spilled orange juice all over herself, and I saw behind a man who was, we think, spending his vacation with a male escort.

The trip wasn’t bad. I read a magazine about Pink Floyd and scanned the landscape as it went by. Before long, our guide was telling us all about the mysteries of Chichen Itza. The pyramid was the seat of power; a calendar; and a clock. He talked about the structure and the function of its parts. We walked around it and took pictures as he talked.

That’s when the unexpected happened. I was wearing my Cumberland University Cross Country t-shirt. A man walked up and asked if that was the Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. I said that it was and introduced myself. It turned out that he lived in Lebanon, too. We chatted for a few minutes, and he went back to his group. However, he came back to tell me that my teenaged nephew had taken his daughter on a date. Apparently, my nephew’s reputation with the opposite sex has gone international.

I think the guide was stunned by those events because he started talking about how aliens may have helped the Mayans. Here we go with the idea that those who were here before Europeans were not smart enough to do this themselves. They must have had help. Ridiculousness.

Anyway, we saw other interesting structures. There was the Temple of the Warriors where the sacrificing of humans took place.Cancun 218

There was the Skull Rack.Cancun 219

There was the Great Ball Court. The guide said that it was the site of theater and games, but no one knows for sure what those consisted of. It is known that this is the largest Mayan Ball Court ever discovered. Only the best performed here.Cancun 221

After spending several hours in historic nirvana, we headed to Valladolid, a Spanish colonial town that was founded in 1543. Along the way, we passed through several towns that were, to my eyes, the definition of poverty. This was what you don’t see at the resorts. Cinderblock houses with no doors. Burned out buildings. Stray dogs on the side of the road. People on the side of the road selling their wares. It looked as if the passing tourists were the only economy, and the tourists rarely stopped.

Valladolid was a bigger town, and every bus stopped there. We disembarked at the plaza, which looked a lot like the plazas I have seen before in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Sonoma. Without a doubt, the Spanish took the same building plan wherever they went.Cancun 226

Did I mention that it was raining? Anyway, we walked a few blocks to what they called an authentic Mexican restaurant. It wasn’t authentic. It was a buffet that included french fries. It was a decently decorated restaurant, and I found this just past the bathrooms.Cancun 225

After the meal, we walked to a farmacias, but they didn’t have what we were looking for. That’s fine because they say laughter is the best medicine, and what happened next was super funny.

The last stop of the tour was a sinkhole. That’s right. A sinkhole. They said that the Mayans used it for something, but I think they just needed another tourist attraction.Cancun 228

Like everywhere else, there were people around the sinkhole selling their wares. As we walked out, this little girl with big brown eyes walked up to show us what she had. Barefooted. Been in the rain all day. In a sweet voice, my wife said, “No, no. No bueno.”

I thought for a second and said, “What did you say?”

“I said, ‘No, thank you.”

“You didn’t say that. You said that her stuff was no good. You told that little girl that she had bad stuff.”

My wife was mortified. She hadn’t tried to use Spanish the entire trip. Then, she said that. I couldn’t help but laugh. My stepdaughter tried to get her to go back and apologize, but she didn’t know how to say that. Instead, my wife said, “We just need to get on the bus.”

Somewhere in Mexico, there is a little girl traumatized because a lady told her that her stuff wasn’t any good.

After a long ride home, we ended the day with chocolate filled crepes. It was the best thing we had tasted in a while.

It was an awesome day.

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Cancun – It’s Irrelevant

9 Jan

Our second day in paradise didn’t start out very well. Apparently, being a second level VIP meant that we had to go through an orientation. In reality, that meant that they wanted to spend some time trying to sell a resort membership. We knew that going in and thought that we could handle it for a while. We couldn’t. I knew we were in trouble when the guy said that he has never sold anything. People always want to buy.

We thought it would be easier if we got to the point. We were not interested in becoming members and nothing he could say would change our minds. That didn’t stop him. He was trained to go through the steps, and he was determined to do it. It was back and forth the entire time. We said that we were not interested, and he would plow ahead. No matter what we said, he would come back with, “It’s irrelevant.” Over and over.

“It’s irrelevant.”

“It’s irrelevant.”

“It’s irrelevant.”

Before my wife choked him, we got away and on with the rest of the day. Later, I saw a sign at the pool and thought, “Why would they put that sign up? It’s irrelevant.”Cancun - Pool

We survived the ordeal and made it back to the room to wake up my stepdaughter. She and my wife went to the pool, and I met them a few minutes later. After getting some food and getting comfortable in our lounge chairs, some guy came up and said they were his chairs. He had gotten up bright and early to claim them.

Now, I’m not an expert in pool etiquette, but it is hard to imagine that you can claim a chair 5 or 6 hours before showing up to use it. After a while, your claim becomes irrelevant. I could be wrong.

We moved to the other side of the pool, and everything turned out fine. We were close to the beach bar for VIP’s, both first level and second level. We were also close to a bunch of people with different accents and different tattoos. I try to learn something everywhere I go, and I learned that the south does not have a monopoly on rednecks. They come from all over the United States.

We also heard an accent that I didn’t anticipate – Australian. There were people from Australia all over the place. Neither my wife nor I could figure out why they were in Cancun. It is summer in Australia, a nation known for its beaches. Yet, they traveled halfway around the globe to visit a beach that can’t be as good as their own. I am sure they had a good time. We just thought it was strange. Hopefully, a few Australian readers can enlighten me.

My wife and I were pondering the mysteries of visitors to Cancun, but my stepdaughter wanted to play beach volleyball. Not the 6 on 6 kind. The 2 on 2 kind that they play in the Olympics. She and I went undefeated. That’s right. Karch Kiraly and the rest of those guys have nothing on me.

There are no pictures to prove my beach volleyball prowess, but my wife took a picture of her daughter while I was recovering just out of the camera’s view.Cancun - Volleyball

While I basked in the glory of victory and checked to make sure I didn’t pull anything, I also watched the people around us. There was a serious game of volleyball going on next door. There was a young senorita trying to do yoga in front of us. There were waitresses and other workers going back and forth.

I have been to a couple of resorts similar to this one. Jamaica. Costa Rica. Now, Mexico. I always wonder what the workers think about us. What do they think about us spending the money to travel? What do they think about the food and drinks that we throw away? What do they think about our conspicuous consumption?

I don’t know the answers to those questions, but that’s some of the stuff that goes through my mind. The guy we met with might say, “It’s irrelevant.” Personally, I don’t think that’s true.

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