Love My Sistah Roadtrip - Honkin' Down the I-95

Honkin'  with the Truckers on the I-95

Amazingly the 9 hour drive went by in a flash. Thanks to an ipod docking station my sister and I now know pretty much all the words to Justin Bieber's "Baby", Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory" and LMAFO' "I'm sexy and I know it." We also finally figured out why all the truckers were honking at us.  Seems the girls were giving them a signal to honk their horns along the I-95 and most were more than happy to oblige.

Travel Tip #1

Embrace the Bieb! Having the girls sing along and dance to music is far more preferable than listening to bickering and fighting.


Norwalk, Connecticut


We spent a lovely, peaceful time in Norwalk, Connecticut, the town of a million vet clinics, dog parks, puppy spas. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. An, idylic little community.

We visited Jacqueline's vet clinic and met an eagle that Jacqueline had done surgery on for a broken wing. Afterwards Jacqueline showed us the x-rays.of the eagle. Unfortuantely our visit was cut short because a "hit by car" was coming in so Jacqueline had to get prepped for the dog. After trying to get into the beach area and being told it would cost us $20.00 by a very grumpy man guarding the gated beach we went to turn around and leave but a workman's backhoe was blocking the turnaround. We had to drive into the beach area to find a place to turn around and were yelled at and chased by the guy. My sister, Claudia and I found this hilarious but Caillie was a little afraid we would be arrested and hauled off to jail but she finally came around  and found the humor in this scene.

Hanging out with Jacqueline and their place in Norwalk

Jacqueline showing the girls the x-ray of the eagle

Take these broken wings and fly

Love My Sistah Road Trip

 Just a quick note: I am using a stupid annoying netbook to do this blog so excuse any issues. will fix it later and thanks for visiting.

Passports - check. Notarized Permission to Travel Letter - check. Ipods charged - check. Gravol - check. Puke buckets - check. Yup...we are good to go.

It's time to get out the duster and brush the cobwebs off this blog.  There is another adventure on the horizon! We're heading to New York and we've dubbed this trip the "Love My Sistah"road trip. How much we respectfully love our 'sistahs' after the road trip remains to be seen but one thing is certain, adventures will be had and laughter will abound and hopefully tears will be minimal to non existent. And that goes for the kids too!

The Cast of Characters

This is moi and my lovely 'sistah' Zorka. I love my sister. She is the only person that actually believes I can navigate and has given me the job of navigator for this road trip. My husband laughed...he laughed very hard and very long.  My sister and I call each other by our childhood nicknames. To me she will always be Minnie just like to her I will always be Pinky.  Pinky and Minnie travel together like a well oiled machine just like any family that was blessed with the art of travel. A few years ago we took a 'sistah' trip to Costa Rica where we laughed and giggled for two weeks straight...but I digress. That's a story for another time.

These are my granddaughters, the tweens, Caillie and Claudia. Typical of tween sisters they tend to eat each other at every opportunity. There is bitching and sniping and tattle tailing...you get the picture.  Oh and they don't dress like this in real life.They were just costumed up for Halloween but a more appropriate picture does not exist.

The Plan

Hop in the car and drive approximately 9 hours to Norwalk, Connecticut singing happy songs all the way. Hang out in Norwalk with Luc and Jacqueline and then take the train to New York City, tweens and luggage in hand. Hop onc the Subway to Brooklyn, tweens and luggage in hand...hopefully, check into hotel and then.... well stay tuned.

From the Hammock - Final Thoughts and Reflections on Isla

Well we're now home and back to reality and I have a few reflections to share.

Reflection #1

Playing mermaids is not as much fun when you don’t have your little sister to play with. Mr. Granny pants was just not into it. I did, however, love how agile and graceful  I could be in the water and yes…I did pretend to be a mermaid.

Reflection #2

Tourists can be idiots. I don’t know how many times I saw creepy tourist ladies reaching out and touching little local Mayan children, stroking them as though they were some kind of exotic creature. The poor kids were frozen in terror and their parents were too polite and meek to tell the old yellow teethed dragon ladies to back off. 

Reflection #3

There is never, ever a right time to wear a banana hammock…ever. But definitely do not wear a banana hammock if:

• Your banana is past its expiration date 
• When looking down you cannot see your banana
• The elastic in your hammock has lost its elasticity and your banana is in danger of escaping

Reflection #4

Watching a spectacular sunset never gets boring

In a Nutshell:

This has, by far, been one of the most relaxing vacations ever. The majority of the time we had our hotel completely to ourselves. We actually got annoyed when people had the nerve to show up. Luckily they were only there for a day or two and we would then have our private villa to ourselves. I even did something very naughty. 

I swam naked in the pool one night. I haven’t done that in a very long time. I loved how my boobies floated ever so nicely. They haven’t been that perky in a very long time.

Oh...And I could very easily live in a house that exploded out of a crayola box....preferably a hot pink house with lime green walls and a purple ceiling. 

From the Hammock - DayWhatever

Hola! I know I have been lazy with daily updates but to tell you the truth there really isn’t all that much to say. Island life is very slow and relaxing and we are becoming quite good at it. We have absolutely no urge or desire to do anything other than swim, eat, and play in the ocean. I think it is something we really both needed.

We did attend the cultural festival one night but it certainly wasn’t what we expected. It is funny how Latin cultures can be so very different. In Cuba, the minute music is heard, people are up and dancing…young, old and everything in between. Here, chairs were set up in front of the stage and everyone sat just listening, not even any chair dancing. Eddy Santiago, salsa singer extraordinaire was a no show, having cancelled so a Columbian salsa singer/band took his place. Let’s just say we didn’t stick around after the first song and discreetly slipped away. We did, however, find ourselves at a little bar down the road that had a small band that played amazing techno jazz. This was definitely our grown-up night and we stayed out until 11:30 pm, sipping Havana Club and just enjoying the music. We were definitely the old farts there.

We’ve had our golf cart for a couple of days now and enjoy just toodling around the island. We visited the turtogranja (turtle farm) today and saw lots and lots of turtles. We had our own personal guide, a little toothless man, who took us all around. He kept picking up turtles and sticking them in my hands. He was very sweet and very enthusiastic. There was one pen with these poor turtles who were born with deformed shells so just live there in their little sanctuary pond. We also say baby rays and a baby shark and some seahorses which were kind of cool as I had never seen them before.

Well I am off for a dip in the pool so I leave you with some pictures of our toodling around Isla and the Tortugranja. Adios amigos y familia!

Albino Turtle

Crayon House







Not all homes are pretty in pink

our cab drivers would always make the sign of the cross when driving past this



From the Hammock - Day 6

We have now moved rooms and are one step closer to the sea and the pool with a new view. Mostly we have the place to ourselves and feel almost intruded upon when other people show up. A couple came wandering in from the main road, in search of a pirate’s cave they were told was on the rugged beach below us. Who knew?  Yesterday we spent a few hours on the beach then picked up a couple of Cuban sandwiches from a place I had read about called Qubano’s. While waiting for our sandwiches, we chatted with a young couple that had just arrived. Being seasoned Isla-ers after six whole days here we happily shared our  island wisdom. Back at our hotel we dug into our sandwiches and they were everything everyone said they would be –yummy!

We went to bed ridiculously early last night. The intention was just to nap and then get up but I could not drag myself out of my comfortable spot. Of course, I was up at a crazy early time as a result. I will need to force myself to stay awake until at least 9:00 so I am not awake and raring to go at 4:00 am.

During one of our walks around Isla we came upon a cemetery. What a striking contrast it is to our cemeteries back home where the only color you may see is the odd faded bouquet of flowers left by a grey gravestone.  This cemetery, in typical Mexican fashion, was a kaleidoscope of colors. As one friend put it when I showed her a picture, “I want to play there;” that pretty much captured it for me.  The grave markers varied from being small and simple to being over-the-top ornate. All of the graves were above ground and it was very crowded. Making my way around, I was careful where I stepped as I did not want to be disrespectful.  Each of the graves was very personally tended to, many with fresh coats of paint. The graves had gifts left for the deceased, personal items and even the odd bottle of something or other. I’m not quite sure how to describe the feeling you get here but one thing it is not, is sad.  Even though we did not see anyone else when we were there, you just knew that the cemetery was visited often.

November 2^nd is Day of the Dead or All Souls Day and on this day burial plots are decorated and special foods are prepared and taken to the departed, along with various alcoholic beverages. This would explain the empty glasses I saw at many of the plots.

I have always balked at the thought of being buried in the ground and having family and friends feel obligated to visit me. The Mexicans have the right idea. Good food and booze in a happy little community is the way to do it.

From the Hammock - Day 5

We didn’t do too much yesterday. It was pretty overcast and there were a couple of downpours so we stuck close to home. Mr. Granny Pants cooked us a delicious Sunday morning breakfast and then the rest of the day was spent reading and lounging and just enjoying our surroundings.

I find myself in rhythm with the island now and a typical day begins with waiting for the sun to rise, coffee, blogging and then breakfast, served on our patio by our lovely hostess. Then we just wait for the day to unfold as it is meant to.  I love having no plans or agenda.  We also have a resident iguana. I have named him Pepe. He used to hide as soon as we came out onto the balcony but he has now realized we mean no harm and even poses for me when I whip out my camera. He is a very handsome and macho iguana and I usually leave him any left over food we may have from breakfast.

 We ventured out about three o’clock and headed down to El Varadero, a small restaurant on the lagoon. It is known for its Cuban food. Mr. Granny Pants had the Chicken Fricassee and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Later we headed over to the Soggy Peso, a place popular with the ex-pats.  We wanted to walk along the road by the lagoon but an encounter with a massive Rottweiler changed our plans. As he stepped out into our path, we stopped and wondered if we should just keep moving forward. A man stepped out from his house and gestured that we should turn around. He made some motion with his hands which I interpreted as “the dog will eat you” so we played it safe and veered back to the main road. The Soggy Peso was packed. This had to be the busiest place in Isla Mujeres; filled with North Americans enjoying the Sunday special of ribs which they had run out of by the time we got there.  We had a couple of margaritas and then headed into town. It was now my turn to eat so we stopped at Rolandi’s, a restaurant I had read about. We sat out on the street and watched the parade of people and I devoured a yummy rib eye steak.  Then it was time to head back to La Joya where we watched an episode of something or other on the netbook and went to sleep. We are usually in bed between 8 and 9 and up around 5. We are not big party animals and really just enjoy getting the most out of the days. We enjoy nothing more than going out for dinner and then coming back to our little hotel to enjoy a couple of drinks on our balcony, with only the sound of the ocean.

Okay. Off to enjoy the day. Here are a few random pictures of this and that.

Our room

The view from our bed

Our Bathroom

El Varadero, Cuban Lagoon Restaurant

High tech security.

Who needs barbwire when you have embedded glass?

Day 4 Continued....

I love everything about Mexico, the people, the food, the climate but what I love most about Mexico is its explosion of color. Everything is just bursting with vibrant and rich colors. Mexicans love color and I love Mexicans for loving color. How can you not fall in love with a culture that paints their houses hot pink, magenta, turquoise, lime green or all of them combined.

It was an idyllic day yesterday. The sun was shining and the water was crystal clear; just heaven. We have been doing a lot of walking and exploring. Our calves are killing us! We are at the very south end of the island and it is pretty hilly so we are definitely getting a work-out.

We ventured into town yesterday morning and had breakfast on the pier at Bally Hoo’s. Breakfast was delicious and the view made it that much better. After checking out our map we decided to scope out some future restaurants and while we wandered around town I snapped pictures of all the pretty colored houses and shops.

We are becoming more mindful of our budget and yesterday we just made tuna wraps for dinner and hung out at our hotel. We spent a bit of time down by the pool and I really loved it down there. There are two rooms that open up right onto the pool which overlooks the ocean. You feel like you have your own private villa down there. We need to move rooms on Tuesday so we are going to see if we can get moved down there. And now onto the pictures. I am only posting a few pictures at a time as it is a slow and painful process because the internet connection is so slow.  I hope you enjoy Isla Mujeres In Technicolor.