An Afternoon At Bad Boys

We had some time to spare after we arrived in Playa del Carmen on Friday before we had to meet up with Heather again. We spent the time wisely. We walked over to Mega Commercial and stocked up on some items and then had lunch. We unwisely decided to eat at Bisquets, a chain restaurant around here. Overpriced wimpy food and waiters with more attitude than brains. Funny because the one in Cancun is great.



We piled the three of us into a cab and made our way down to the beach and Bad Boys bar, where we were to meet up with Heather and BF Mike. They were having a pig roast there in honor of the 4th of July. Bring a dish to pass and eat for free or just be lazy like us and pay 100 pesos per person to eat. After all the anticipation, we decided not to eat there. We were all still a bit full from lunch.



The event pulled a huge crowd. We sat outside at one of the tables in the sand on the beach. Nice at first but it gets to be a bit tricky after two or three buckets of beer have been consumed! We were enjoying the music and laid back atmosphere and I was lazily watching people on the beach when I heard B say, "Isn't that Mimi at the bar?" Sure enough. There was Mimi talking to some people so I knew that Jonna had to be around somewhere too. I was delighted to see them and made my way to the bar to say hello. I lost Mimi in the crowd but finally spotted her in the crowd, up by the dance floor. While saying hello to her, there was a tap on my shoulder and I turned to see Rob Kinnon sitting right next to me at the bar! I had been concentrating on Mimi and totally missed seeing him! While chatting to him, his lovely wife Michelle came over to say hello. Nice surprise! That really made me feel at home and not a stranger in Playa anymore. Back to the table only to find that the amazing Heather had arrived! Now the party could really start!



I was really impressed with her. She had been sick for the two days previously but she pulled herself together and forced herself to have fun! Here she is looking all pensive and shit in her pretty dress.







Jonna and Mimi did join us at our table. Here's Jonna showing us all the proper way to hold a teacup while Mimi is insisting that she is not responsible for Jonna's actions.*






But the surprises were not over! Also joining us at the table was Lisa! She had driven all the way from Cancun just to join in the fun! It was getting to be old home week! I like Lisa a lot. She's the type of girl that in Minnesota, once she was out of earshot, we would say "She's an interesting girl, huh!"** I swear, I laughed so much with her that my face hurt! We had a great time talking Minnesotan to each other. A little Lisa tableau:



One of the few times she stopped talking.






She decided she was under dressed and called over a necklace seller.






She negotiated a good deal and bought a really cool necklace. Here she is touching it. I politely, but firmly, declined to feel it myself.






I think she was trying to whistle the theme from The Andy Griffith Show here. You know, while Andy and Opie are walking to the ol' fishin' hole, poles over their shoulders.




Heather had made like 40 pounds of pasta salad. Nothing like enjoying your own cooking!







Ok, I am going to take some flak for what comes next. The guy in the picture below had recently returned to Playa from a long sick leave in the USA. Locals were glad to see him and almost idol worshipped him and his musical talent. Being an outsider, all I saw was a tall dork who would definitely make it onto one of my "What Were They Thinking" posts. Ok, so maybe he forgot to pack flip-flops. He was all just a little too contrived for my taste. Just saying is all.




Another very pleasant surprise was getting to meet Kathy from PauMau! She was there for an outing with her family. I have only the utmost respect for this lady. I mean she lived for months in a travel trailer with her husband and four kids! And she ain't afraid of nothin'! She did a great job of providing hurricane relief to the residents of Majahual last year and that alone earns my respect. You really need to visit her blog and go back in the archives a bit and read about it. It will break your heart and really make you appreciate what you have. I look forward to visiting her at her digs one of these days.



While visiting with Kathy and not paying much attention to anything else, we had another surprise visitor show up at the table. I love that Cousin It has finally shaved its' arms. I think the legs and armpits are a lost cause though.







We all got a laugh from the Beach Rules sign posted at the hotel next door. We all love to point out the translation mistakes. Not in a mean way though. I don't think I would swim either if I had ate up. I love that the emergency phone is dependent upon the management schedule! (sounds like Isla to me!)






And if you should lose your way along the beach, the management is certainly not responsible!






Pretty much loaded and quickly loosing our ability to concentrate on any one subject, we decided it was time to leave and find a place for dinner. So nine of us stumbled off the beach and headed out to chow down. Where we went comes next!


* I just made that up. I don't remember what the hell was going on at the time!



** Minnesota talk that can mean anything, but usually means that there is something weird going on. This was a running joke between us so no harm done!