Gretchen posted on November 17, 2013
Margie and Sam came to visit, because in her words, "it'd been two months!" It was Sam's first time back in almost two years though. They came bearing gifts, including clothes and shoes (natch), a little folding chair, and a ramp with toy cars. They stayed ten days, most of which were rainy. One of the days we went to Playa del Carmen, walked around on 5th Avenue, checked out the professional-style sand sculptures (if there is such a thing), ate at Piola and had mojitos at La Bodeguita del Medio. By sheer coincidence Adam's old boss Bert, from TDW in Tulsa, was in town on vacation, and she, her husband, and another couple that was traveling with them, came in for a dinner of Argentinean empanadas (why not).
Luckily for us, when Margie and Sam left they took the rain with them, because two days later was my co-worker's outdoor wedding, which was beautiful and well-attended by Melia people. Of course the bride was fresh as a flower while Adam and I were sweating like pigs. And that was after the sun had gone down.
In other goings-on, Adam's and my third wedding anniversary was November 11, and we had a nice dinner out while Isaac was watched over by the abuelos. Adam also got a swim-with-the-sharks experience, which he is doing as I'm writing this. I apparently brushed a mystery plant, which attacked my legs with something like poison ivy on steroids (poison ivy does not grow in the Yucatan BTW), which is only just now clearing up after more than three weeks. I saw three different doctors, none of whom knew what it was, but each one gave me more pills, potions, lotions, and powders, and failing that, spells and Mayan herbal medicine cures, of which I was becoming somewhat familiar from reading online about anything that could help. Call me if you ever get poison ivy, I've got some tricks now. Finally, I got put on a "task force" to open our new hotel in the Bahamas, which is a takeover from an existing brand, and am being sent to Nassau for two weeks. I guess there are worse places to go for work, although I am pretty bummed about missing Thanksgiving at home.