making every moment count!

"If I keel over at work drag my body to The Beach!"

As this story draws closer to the end, I find myself wanting to delay the inevitable. As goofy as it sounds, I have so enjoyed retelling, thus reliving, this larger than life adventure. Since this BLOG was first initiated, we have quite a following. Apparently, some Group Therapy enthusiasts from Russia, Germany, Mexico and of course, the U.S. have joined our little tale via the world wide web  .  .  .  too funny indeed! Please consider posting a comment below. I know I speak for the girls when I say, we would absolutely LOVE to hear from you, wherever you are reading from  .  .  .  

So, here we are, our last afternoon is winding down. And all we have planned this evening is to join the weekly BBQ at one of the other resort pools. Our favorite waiter Roberto, from day 2, talked us into buying tickets. All you can eat and drink from whatever they were serving. As you may remember, we had taken it easy all day long, knowing that we didn't want our last day to be a blur. We told our story to a few more folks by the pool (adult only pool) and learned that another couple had also booked their tickets to San Jose California instead of San Jose del Cabo. (Aha, not the only one after all!) After indulging in one more Happy Hour by this pool, we decided it was time to gather all of our gear and head back to room 2053 to get dressed up one last time. Charlotte bought a new dress at one of the resort boutiques, I (Carrie) bought new earrings and Samantha brought a new dress from home that she hadn't worn out yet. We would pack a little, get "dolled up" and head to the party.  But not before we sat for one last time on our veranda to soak up this magnificent view. 

Signature shoes: Charlotte, Carrie & Samantha respectively 

Still sunburn from day 2, we took our time getting ready. Regretfully, we realized that there were several events or "planned happenings" that we hadn't taken advantage of since our arrival. For the first time, we were wishing we had that day back that we forfeited due to the rookie travel agent mistake. (If you are new to the BLOG, you must go back to the beginning to fully understand and appreciate where we are right now.) There were nightly events we had missed, happy hours we had not known about (I know that sounds ridiculous; us, miss out on an alcohol opportunity  .  .  .  last DISCLAIMER pause), areas within the resort we hadn't seen. As we were getting ready to call for transportation to the BBQ we decided this would not be our last trip to the beautiful Pueblo Bonita, Sunset Beach Resort. With that, we resigned ourselves to enjoy this last night in paradise!

Transportation, Pueblo Bonita~Sunset Beach style

This would be our last evening ride around the resort. Oh, and I almost forgot, dear sweet Anne decided to stay back at the room and pack so we would have less to do when we returned. What a lifesaver! Later, she would actually join us in the hot tub one last time. But that will be another post  .  .  .

Captured earlier in the day .  .  .  could be a postcard!

To be continued  .  .  .

day 4 . . . almost the end

Good morning Mimosas ~ HOTD!

Thankfully Anne had the good judgement to be the designated grownup last night. We woke up, on this last day of our adventure, with more than cobwebs between our ears  .  .  .   I don't know what hurt worse, our scorched skin, our pride knowing that anyone who saw us today, and for days to come, would quietly say to themselves, "those poor stupid girls forgot to put sunscreen on  .  .  .  poor, poor stupid girls" OR our completely dehydrated bodies (now how did that happen again?). Seriously, this was a tough morning. We deserved every shred of consequence we were waking up to and OMG, what were we thinking? One might hope that hangovers after 50 would actually be easier to tolerate. (Although, as I'm typing that sentence I'm thinking to myself, don't be a moron, everything started falling apart at 45, why would a hangover be easier after 50 . . . RIDICULOUS!) 

In utter  s l o w  m o t i o n,  we stood up, walked around, not saying anything at all, just taking stock of what was likely facing us the rest of this last day in paradise: MISERY! Then, before depression took over, we collectively noticed Anne's Good morning Mimosas ~ HOTD, spread out on the veranda table. WOW, this might just work .  .  .  it had worked the first morning in Cabo, although we didn't have shame and 3rd degree burns to contend with that morning  .  .  .  it was as if we were telepathically communicating with each other because I truly can't remember any real conversation. We popped the cork and commenced, once again, in the hair of the dog hangover cure. (I'm feeling another DISCLAIMER urge) 

Magically, or because we willed it to be so, we gradually began to come to life. Cobwebs melted, shame sort of dissipated, but the heat radiating from every inch of skin that had been exposed to the sun yesterday seemed to increase by the minute. There was no escaping this effect. The mimosas helped to ease the pain and soften all areas of discomfort, physical and emotional. We were determined that this final day would be great! Mind over matter, right?

Festive Anne

There would be very little sun exposure today! Great, we are at a tropical resort, it's our last day and we can't get in the sun  .  .  .  payback is hell, especially when you are paying yourself back for being dumb. Once we were greased up with sunscreen, complimented by our cover-ups and giant floppy hats, we went in search of a pool with big umbrellas. As luck or determination would have it, we found such a pool - the adults only pool. That's right, NO CHILDREN ALLOWED. (This resort is very family-friendly, which we obviously support, but today, peace, quiet and shade were our top priorities.)

On the way to the adults only pool . . .

Anne stayed behind once again. Apparently we kept her up late last night  .  .  .  oops! Look how cute she looks on her little Mexican towel.

"Peace and quiet at last!"

Once we arrived at the adults only pool, we found the perfect giant umbrella that covered all three of us at once. Of course, we looked like human sardines, huddled together, siting side-by-side on lounges that were so close they looked to be connected. Samantha in the middle, Charlotte and I flanking each side - I sure wish we had a picture to share. I can only imagine what the other pool guests were thinking, besides that "poor, poor, stupid girls" thought we were sure they were thinking.  NO SUN TODAY!!!!

Cabana at the adults only pool

We wanted to sit under one of these cabanas until we found out they weren't free. That's how we ended up like sardines. Truthfully, as you might conclude, we didn't care  .  .  .  we were just happy to find shade. After about an hour, we were ready for a beer. (Come on, it was our last day!) We were certainly pacing ourselves today, as no one was willing to match yesterday's alcohol consumption. But a beer sure sounded good at that moment. So Samantha, ever ready, pulled out her trusty huggers. We had used them throughout the week, but for some reason today, they took on a whole new meaning. They even managed to be part of a photo opp. (In her real life, Samantha works for a DME [durable medical equipment company] and these huggers are great for advertising back home. So here's to their international debut!)

Thanks to Medical Home Care! (shameless plug)

We spent the better part of this day relaxing out of the sun, people watching, reading the books we brought but hadn't managed to read much, and just being peaceful. We weren't in a hurry to do anything and actually wanted to slow this last day down! We took advantage of this pool's happy hour, missing our buddy Roberto. All-in-all it was rather uneventful compared to the other three days. Nostalgia settled on our little group and it was sometime that afternoon that we came up with the idea to tell this story somehow. It had actually taken on a life of it's own as the days had passed. The first time we told it we were prompted by the question from a total stranger, looking for lounge chairs by the sky infinity pool, "so when did you all get here?" Why then did we feel the need to delve into the ridiculous details surrounding our delay? I guess because the anxiety had turned to comedy and from that point forward, it didn't take much for us to tell the tale. Sometimes we didn't need a prompt, we just got on stage and acted out each incident as they had occurred.  We made so many people happy, laughing out loud and then many of them blessing our hearts, as we do in the south. And we encouraged each audience to pass the story along, embellishing if they must  .  .  .  who knows, maybe we are already part of some Urban Legend in Mexico  .  .  .  maybe in some twisted version, we actually did spend the night in Mexican jail, or maybe we are still there, waiting to be released. I suppose the lesson is this, we three friends made the absolute most of a potentially devastating situation; the epitome of "the glass half full" philosophy! That's who we are and what Group Therapy is all about. We stumbled upon lemons, made lemonade, then spiked with vodka  .  .  .


To be continued  .  .  .

living life large

This is the life we were meant to live . . .

Don't get me wrong, we love our lives, but this picture says it all! Hopefully, you the reader, haven't just stumbled upon this BLOG and have NO idea what is going on. If that is the case, please STOP reading and go back to the beginning. You will thank me later!

Where was I, oh yes, living life large, and indeed we were. This morning was the beginning of our third day. So far, we have enjoyed the sky infinity pool (legally and illegally), downtown Cabo, and now we were venturing out to yet another pool, the lower infinity pool. But first, we, or actually I should say, I,  had a little problem that was becoming a painful nuisance. 

The following discussion is not suitable for 
children or men, so skip down to the next paragraph, please  .  .  .

Whether you are 50 or 25, many women live with changes in their bowel movements when they travel or deviate from their day-to-day routine. I have been cursed with such a fate since I can remember. I don't let it get the best of me; I try to always be prepared! Why then was I NOT prepared on this trip? It's a mystery .  .  .  What isn't a mystery is how my lifelong friends bailed me out yet again. We did wake up early this morning, but I was beginning to feel like I had swallowed a bowling ball and it had decided to take up residence somewhere between my stomach and, well, let's just say the end of the lane! To say I was miserable was an understatement. The almost poetic irony here is that most people that travel to Mexico worry about the opposite problem. So when my two best lifelong friends went in search for something to relieve my congestion, the pharmacist looked bewildered. (I'm trying to be delicate which is hard when the topic is poop or the lack thereof) He had many over-the-counter remedies to stop what I was in urgent need of starting. He had one remedy available, so out of sheer desperation, they bought it. (in real life, Charlotte is a nurse, so I was in good hands)  It was called Agiolax. The instructions were in Spanish and unlike all medicine purchased from a pharmacy in the United States, there was no expiration date, and we certainly couldn't tell if the ingredients were listed because every word was in Spanish. The pharmacist instructed them on the proper dosage (was he really a pharmacist?) and we all decided that the risk outweighed the potential for relief. It was to be mixed with liquid, any liquid, so they prepared my gritty cocktail and I choked it down. Yuck! There was no guarantee and if it worked, it could take hours  .  .  .  so we did what strong, group therapy women do, we packed our incidental bag, put our bathing suits on and found the closest lounges we could to the public facility at the lower infinity pool.

Como esta Agiolax? Comforting!

Back to our story .  .  .  Day three would end up being the day we left moderation in the room. Honestly, I don't think the outcome was choreographed, but we did manage to do everything in excess. I was able to forget about my misery once I knew the cure was in sight. Plus, Samantha and Charlotte kept me laughing for hours. There is absolutely no way I can put into words all the fun we had, plus we had many adult beverages throughout the day so my memory is a little fuzzy in spots. We accomplished several things: got plenty of sun, ate by the pool, took lots of fun pictures (especially the one of us together with our matching towels), made some new friends, were very entertaining, bonded with Roberto, took advantage of another "Happy Hour", reunited with the security guard from the sky infinity pool and I even found some relief. Take a look at our day in pictures:

Lower infinity pool

Our view at the pool

Anne sharing Carrie's towel

Charlotte relaxing

The girls hanging out on the float

Anne's turn

First round of margaritas - Anne is splurging!

Where's Charlotte and Anne?

Our favorite waiter Roberto

Swim-up bar that we never had to swim to
thanks to Roberto!

Yep, Ephram the security guard, and he's smiling!

Serious, back on duty Ephram

All good things must come to an end . . .

What a day! Reuniting with Ephram was HUGE! We found out that he thought we were pretty funny and posed no threat to security. We also hadn't been placed on a resort watch list, as we had feared. We enjoyed this infinity pool's happy hour a little too much, but thanks to Roberto, we could actually walk back to room 2053. (Instead of bringing us the standard 2 for 1 drinks during happy hour, he encouraged us to order 2 drinks which meant we would only get 4 at a time, not 6. That way each of us had a drink, even Anne. She decided early on that she would be the designated grownup so we ended up sharing her drink.) It was also a good thing Roberto suggested we eat lunch  .  .  .  too bad he didn't suggest reapplying our sunscreen. By the pictures, you can see that we spent a lot of time hanging on to the raft Charlotte bought in town. Our sunscreen was waterproof, but not all-day-in-the-water proof! It was official, we were now those people that we had snickered at (at the same time feeling sorry for) who had stupidly not kept up with sunscreen application. We were fried! Once we realized the splotchy, reddish-purple, burned tint to our skin, we decided it was medicinally necessary to keep the buzz we were feeling. (REMEMBER THE DISCLAIMER PLEASE) 

Why is it that skin doesn't burn uniformly  .  .  .  perhaps to draw attention to your stupidity so the deep feelings of regret and shame will possibly prevent further stupidity during future sun opportunities  .  .  .  anyway, we made it back to our room safely and did keep the buzz going for a little while. We were in bed very early, as Charlotte and I feel asleep during the movie we were watching. The pain set in sometime during the middle of the night; we awoke the next morning to the profound realization that we were all going to peel!

Group Therapy 2011, Cabo

To be continued  .  .  .

3rd night in Cabo

Still in character, we returned to the resort, loaded down with our gifts, treasures for ourselves, and a satisfaction that only comes after making it to the BIG 50! We, the three amigas, waltzed rather clumsily into the lobby, as if we were hoping to disguise who we were to keep the "paparazzi" at bay (in character, pretending to not be who we were, in character)  .  .  .  too funny right? You will be happy to know that we managed to keep our identities a secret, warding off any embarrassing photographs, except this one, snapped by Charlotte .  .  .

what's so funny? keep reading . . .

Anyway .  .  .  the next stop was our friendly resort deli, where you may remember from our arrival story, we found the wonderfully authentic salsa and guacamole. This divine addition to our resort experience had worked out so nicely for us. It was time to restock our fridge and grab a couple bottles of wine. Remember, this was still day two, and we soon realized that we must not be the only resort guests buying wine, as the earlier stock had dwindled dramatically. (at least that was what we told ourselves, knowing that we had probably put a substantial dent in their stash all by ourselves .  .  .  too embarrassing to discuss further, so let's just let this be our little secret, shall we?)

Not much to choose from . . . only helps to broaden 
our knowledge base!

Please forgive this interruption in our storyline  .  .  .  Why is it that most women and certainly ALL moms, think they can carry ten-times their weight and never ask for assistance? Like a tiny ant carrying a giant crumb back to the anthill. I used to joke that "moms" were more like pack mules, carrying more than they physically should be able to. Any idea where I'm going with this? 


So here we are, already loaded down with packages, our cameras, the incidental bag, the chair-hammock, and now we are adding groceries, including wine? (that would be plural) What were we thinking? Once again, we weren't. And also once again, we got "tickled" (as only someone in our generation or older would say) as Samantha practically drops everything she is carrying to rescue her bathing suit top from falling around her ankles. One of the straps had popped, releasing at least one side and throwing both off balance. In order not to have a wardrobe malfunction, Samantha did what any of us would do, saved her dignity at any cost!  She managed to keep her top on while gingerly lowering, not dropping, all that she was carrying. We all fell out laughing and one of us didn't make it back to the room in time. (let's just say Charlotte wasn't the only one to wet her pants in this story; hey maybe we should add that to the list of criteria for membership: "must have wet your pants in public at least once" .  .  .  we will definitely have to put that one to a vote, but I'll be happy to push that one through now that I can add that to my list of personal embarrassments or accomplishments, depending on ones point of view.)

Unbelievably, we made it back to room 2053 with nothing broken or missing. Since we had been out for most of the day, we had quite a bit to relive for Anne. Of course we spread out all of our purchases for her to see, and went into great detail about how we ended up with so many treasures. Remember, she stayed behind where it was peaceful and quiet. After a complete rundown of our excursion, we got cleaned up and dressed for dinner. This evening, Anne would join us as we planned to dine at one of the resort restaurants. None of us said a word, but I think we were each thinking, "how can we top last night at Sunset Da Mona Lisa?" It was certainly worth a try!

A little too bumpy for Anne . . . on our way down to the restaurant 

Too many choices  .  .  .  we finally settled on the somewhat casual outdoor restaurant below the lobby bar. We wandered around until we found a table and soon learned that it was "Happy Hour" which meant that ALL drinks were 2 for the price of 1! Apparently, each bar, restaurant, or pool, within the resort, had their own scheduled happy hour time each day. During that hour or so, ALL drinks were 2 for 1. AND WE WERE JUST FINDING THIS OUT!!! Unbelievable! We ordered and soon, 6 glasses of wine were ceremoniously placed in the middle of this small round table. Samantha and I chose white, Charlotte went with red. Samantha and I were very disappointed in our choice and tried to think what our namesakes would do  .  .  .  without hesitation or lingering guilt, we asked that the wine be sent back. As a result of this request, we soon learned what, or rather who, a "sommelier" is. (According to Wikipedia: a sommelier is a wine steward who is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching. Who knew?) 


Our sommelier's name was Fabio. Fabio came to our table after our waiter tried to defend the honor of the glasses in front of us (at least that is how he acted when we sheepishly said there was something wrong with the wine .  .  .  our namesakes would not have been proud of our mild manner. It wasn't that we didn't like this kind of wine, it tasted like vinegar, which is what happens to a white wine after it has come to the end of its lifespan. Even I know that! Our waiter, rather indignantly, took our white glasses of wine and left. Had we just insulted him by telling him the wine was BAD? Maybe we had violated Mexican culture somehow?) Finally, Fabio entered the picture. It had taken them more than 15 minutes to come to the same conclusion we had, the wine was BAD. He apologized profusely and offered up a premium chardonnay to replace those first ordered. We made peace with our waiter, thanked Fabio and started to enjoy our libations. Charlotte, in the meantime, had waited for us to resolve the issue before drinking her glass(s).  Anne said, "this calls for a picture!"

Now that's more like it!

All in all, this day was just as fabulous as the day before. Our trip was half over and for that we were a little sad. We took it easy the rest of the night, taking the second glass we were served back to the room and enjoying our nightly hot tub ritual. Tomorrow was another day; and what we didn't know then was that tomorrow we would forget all about what Carrie's Dad had texted her Day one, upon our arrival  .  .  .  "Glad you're there, have fun, be safe, everything in moderation!" .  .  .  at least the part about everything in moderation!  .  .  .


To be continued .  .  .

A few more photos begging to be shared:

Constant reminder that our eyes are as old as we are

Missing Anne!

Missing Anne!

Missing Anne!

 Anne waiting on our table

Years and years of wax buildup 

Everything's better in twos

group therapy, the club . . .

I'm taking another pause from our story, long enough to post about a very unique woman I met today, in my real life. Her name is Penny, she is 85, and has more energy AND life experience than I do and was absolutely enchanting. I'm not going to share the details of this encounter now (they are worth the wait, trust me) but it did lead me to finally post what we in the group therapy community have been kicking around for a few weeks . . . Membership beyond the founders . . . Yes, that might include you. We are exclusive, because we have in fact earned the right to be exclusive, but not snobs, necessarily. Remember, you must be within 12 months of turning 50, at least, and a few other criteria listed to the left. After meeting Penny today, I had an epiphany . . . Her stories will die with her if they aren't told and documented, to be shared and treasured! In this world of instant gratification, I suggest we turn this little group into a movement (don't worry, I'm not suggesting a cult, I'm Episcopal for goodness sake and we don't do cults) or an entity that helps to keep track of ALL that is too funny about life and the way we all choose to live it! So, if you are interested, keep following and look for the way to join in the coming weeks. Who knows what we could all accomplish if we put our collective heads together to ngage-the-humor and record what is   too funny .  .  .  sounds like fun to me!

To be continued . . . I promise

precious details, too funny to skip!

Sadly, I realize that I left off a few important details from the last post. I was in a hurry to publish, and let's face it, I haven't had a lot feedback about our story and wasn't feeling too funny. So I did what I try never to do and certainly preach against, I cut corners and wrote what I thought the audience (whoever that is) might want to read. Well, now I'm going to fill in some of the details, funny or not . . .

Picture us for just a moment . . . three grown women (in mid-life) walking around the streets of Cabo San Lucas in our bathing suits. Granted, we wore coverups that were plenty stylish, but please, do you think we would walk around downtown anywhere in our bathing suits? Let me answer that: NO. And yet, there we were, walking around like we WERE our namesakes, in our bathing suits, pretending we looked like they WOULD in their bathing suits. Now that is too funny!

Our shopping spree was equally humorous! We poured over all the items in the first two or three outdoor booths, trying to decide on THE piece of pottery that was the most unique, or which trinket was the most authentic. Too funny that all the items we were considering were probably made somewhere else, certainly not Mexico! We finally did find one shop that had walls and a door and air conditioning. This store owner did seem to have more unique items, or we were just tired of looking and "willed" it to be so. Nevertheless, we bought several of her pieces and decided they were ALL authentic Mexican art.

The best purchase, besides the adopted wooden animals with the bobbing heads, was the hammock Charlotte bought for her daughter. It was a chair hammock so it wasn't as huge as a regular hammock. But it was substantial and she did share her seat with it on our return flight! In summary, we each bought t-shirts, pottery, shot glasses, and the aforementioned hammock, with little or no thought about how we would get any of it home. Trust me, that story will become a post of its own.

Head bobbing adopted animals? This poor little fellow only has three legs. We had to prop him up against the ashtray, that we had no use for, in order for him to hang with the other animals. Charlotte soon took over his care while I chose two others who were looking at me longingly. Samantha was in charge of the rest. Before we finished our beautiful adult beverages, Samantha was visited by yet another young man, this one more desperate than the last two, to sell more animals for adoption. Who could resist? Not Samantha! We sipped our drinks and tried to look like we owned one of the yachts behind us in the harbor. I think I can speak for all of us when I say this was one of the best afternoons of the entire trip, even if we were in our bathing suits . . .

Soon, it was time to say goodbye to our pretend yacht, our little corner of heaven at the marina, and Eddie, who Samantha and Charlotte wanted to bring home for me (Carrie).  As we gathered up the animals and all our packages, we said goodbye to downtown Cabo. With one last sip and a final toast, we slowly made our way to the sidewalk in front of our oasis. Eddie was sad to see us leave (we were entertaining and great tippers!) bringing a hand to his heart he uttered, in broken English, "my heart with you." And that was it . . . we turned to leave and didn't look back . . .

In character, Carrie never looks back!

To be continued . . .

use your imagination . . .

Downtown Cabo

Once we left The Office we went in search of touristy trinkets, locally made pottery, art or jewelry.  What we discovered was block after block of street vendors, with the same inventory as the next. T-shirts, pottery, shot glasses, you name it, they had it. The only problem for us was that there wasn't anything unique about any of the outdoor shops we visited. They were all packed with the same pre-fab "stuff" as their neighbor displayed. We ended up succumbing to the realization that we weren't going to find unique, so perhaps it was time for Cabo Wabo!

One of many street shops

and another . . .

Get the picture?

Last one . . .

Yes, we actually bought some of these items . . . what were we going to do? We wanted to bring home a little piece of Mexico, but we probably ended up with items made in China with the sticker removed! We'll never know . . . now to CABO WABO . . . What is Cabo Wabo?

Sammy Hagar, legendary performer from the 1980's, opened a cantina in 1990 in Cabo San Lucas. Shortly thereafter, he went in search of a premier tequila to serve in his establishment. After an exhaustive and disappointing search, he decided to partner with a family that had been in the tequila business for more than 80 years and create his own brand . . . Cabo Wabo Tequila. As a result, The Waborita was born, and I had to try it. Charlotte and Samantha passed.

Cabo Wabo badge of courage - the Waborita

In all honesty, Cabo Wabo was just a dark, touristy bar with loud music and too many people. We never saw Sammy, but we can say we were there.  I wonder what we would have thought of Cabo Wabo 25 years ago . . . that's easy, we would have loved it! (Getting old sucks!)

See ya next time Sammy!

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering in search of ATMs, buying little wooden animals from street children, sipping grownup cocktails at the marina with our new friend Eddie and making our way back to Pueblo Bonita, Sunset Beach, our home away from home. And of course, we were loaded down with Mexican souvenirs o'plenty! Looking back at that day now brings a huge smile . . . we were three DIVAS, walking around a foreign coastal community, calling each other Samantha, Charlotte and Carrie, without a care in the world! We made the most of this little excursion, laughing till we cried, getting lost then found, taking in all forms of humanity and returning safely to the resort. It was FABULOUS! 

Samantha keeping two young entrepreneurs in business

Marina Bar was calling out to us . . .

Us with our wares

Little wooden animals Samantha adopted

Yep, another child has found Samantha for more adoptions

Finally . . . now we really look the part . . .

Paradise!

Eddie

Anne, holding down the veranda . . .

Another wonderful day was coming to an end . . . we returned to find Anne relaxing on the veranda, waiting on us for Happy Hour. We didn't want to disappoint her so we fixed chips and dip and rested before dressing for dinner (that sounds pretty important, "dressing for dinner") enjoying the view and one more little adult beverage. (REMEMBER THE DISCLAIMER PLEASE)

Happy Hour with Anne

To be continued . . .