Cozumel April 26th, 2009 – Day 9

Well, today is technically the travel day, and isn’t really part of the vacation other than it is the day we get home.  Haylie woke up at 6 this morning, and while it was nice for me since I hadn’t done any packing the night before and I knew it was going to be tough to get all that crap back into the suitcase.  However, I also knew it would mean a horrifically LONG day for Haylie.  We weren’t due to arrive in Raleigh until just after midnight and her nap times would fall into odd points in the journey.  Well, if breakfast was any indication, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

I arranged for a one hour late checkout.  That was just so that we could give Haylie as much window to sleep as she might want.  Of course, she followed up a grumpy morning with a 45 minute nap which only served to make her grumpier.  It did allow me to have three quick beers and a dirty monkey though as well, which served to take some of the edge off.  I felt a bit of guilt as we left.  Last year, I made a point to go around and tip all those service people that were really nice to us.  This year, none of that going on.  For the most part, they have the ownership position to blame.  I was far more critical as a member of the resort than I was as just a guest.  I didn’t really find anyone did an exemplary job that merited special compensation.  The room was superficially clean, the towels and sheets had stains no matter what we did to ask.  The drink service that kept our refrigerator stocked required us to call every day for no good reason other than what I believe to be some quota system they adhere to even though it is part of the all-inclusive.  The bar tenders weren’t overly friendly, weren’t generous in their pours and didn’t offer lime for the beer or tequila without asking.  There was one gentleman in the dining hall that I would have tipped, but he worked the dinner service and there was no way I’d be able to assure he got money I left before his shift started.  Oh well, their loss.

At checkout I learned that they had not put our MAS points number on our account.  Grrrr!  That means we didn’t get credit for the 1000 plus dollars we spent on the all-inclusive and the dinner.  I was really exasperated about that, because they then said I was supposed to give them the MAS card before I checked out.  Nothing said that, and since I’d made the booking through their service, I had mistakenly assumed they’d do the work to put my number onto my account then.  In the end, a woman in the member services center said she’d take care of it, but I somehow doubt it will happen and I’ll wind up having to call and try to argue about getting it added.  I just wanted those points because I am assuming for next year’s vacation to Italy, I’m going to need as many points as I can store away.  The Urban resorts are more expensive per night and my options aren’t likely going to cover enough of the costs.  Hard to say really.

We got to the airport with a little under 2 hours before we took off.  It turned out that somehow, I’d managed to pack more into my own case, or the humidity had made my stuff weigh more, but I was over weight by 4 lbs.  Fortunately, as an American Gold member, they overlooked it and since the three bags were under the sum total, it was a wash anyway.  It just allowed me to not have to scramble to move stuff from one case to another.

Getting through security required one minor fit from Haylie, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been so I wasn’t worried.  I just need Colleen to relax a little bit.  She’s stressed, and today was her day to break down.  She pointed out we could have broken down at the same time, so I was glad it was a different day, but this was a tough day for her to really get in the dumps.

We had a bit of time to kill in the terminal and we appeased Haylie with a variety of games, and snacks.  It turns out we shouldn’t actually give her chips at her age due to a choking hazard, but the pieces were small enough and she didn’t seem to have any issues with getting them down and she really enjoys eating “big people food.”  We weren’t given the option to board first, they skipped right by families with small children, but we’re priority access and business class so other than some really rude people that needed to run on two people faster than we were we got in and settled pretty quickly.  One minor concern was the valet check of the stroller.  I wasn’t sure how that would work as we had to clear customs in Dallas, but I knew we needed that stroller for the Dallas terminal or the second leg of the trip was going to be horrific.  For the most part, Haylie did reasonably well on the flight.  A couple of screams, but nothing constant and she did manage about 30 minutes of nap at one point.  The change in pressure in her ears woke her up though and she was a bit fussy because she woke up a bit disoriented.

The Dallas airport and customs clearance was uneventful.  We got annoyed because a couple ran to pass us to get into the customs line and then only had to slow us down because they weren’t ready to clear.  I hate that kind of attitude.  We’re more experienced travelers and I had all our documents at the ready.  I also dislike the premise that exiting a secure area for customs clearance then mandates we go through a new security screening.  We’ve been through one for the origin airport, we never left a secure area from that time through customs, why do we have to clear again?  And, to gripe more, at what point can I leave my shoes on?  Seriously, is anyone really concerned that I’ve got bombs in my shoes?  I hate that as well.  Sorry, enough TSA nonsense.  I am still unconvinced they’re keeping me any safer in the air.  I saw an agent confiscating a crochet hook because it was “a needle!”

A much longer stretch in the Dallas airport than I’d hoped.  Seriously longer.  I had wanted to get onto the 6:45 flight, but it was oversold and they wouldn’t even put us on standby.  They said our flight was already oversold as well.  I almost wish I’d convinced Colleen to stay the night at one of the two Hyatt Hotels at the airport, but she definitely said she wanted to get home.  We tried giving Haylie some McDonald’s, and I only managed to almost choke her on French Fries.  Sometimes I feel like I’m just one wrong move away from something very bad happening.  A lot has happened to her “on my watch” already.

We got onto the flight and while she cried a bunch at the start, Colleen told me the trick was to hold her more tightly and not let her fight off sleep.  She finally did fall asleep.  At the cost of Colleen getting dinner on the flight of course, but in the end I guess that was a small price to pay.  At one point, she woke up and was disoriented and scared.  I took her and calmed her down, I’m pretty good at that overnight, and she fell back asleep in my arms.  We might have been able to get Colleen dinner, but Colleen wanted sleep anyway.  It was well after 11 Eastern.  The rest of the flight was uneventful, save a moment where we realized the Mexico diapers weren’t quite as good as the US counterparts.  Haylie woke up as we started to land and she soaked through her diaper and onto my leg.  Now, she’s peed on me before, so this wasn’t bad other than I now had a wet spot in my crotch!! ROFL

Got home and she went to bed fairly easily.  I was glad to be safe and sound at home.  This was an interesting experience to say the least.  She’s growing up before my very eyes and the changes are amazing.  I love my family and even though this was a saga I wouldn’t want to repeat as it happened, I don’t think I’d change it for the world.

Cheers!