No More Club Meds

I am cautiously getting ready for some fun in the sun at Club Med in Cancun. I have to admit that I have been a bit wary of taking advantage of my 7 day all-inclusive Club Med credit. Most travellers, even the adventure seeker ones who would never willingly go to Club Med, would be embracing a 7-day all inclusive free vacation and wondering why somebody would have travel cold feet. I have to say that this vacation comes with some baggage. That is the hurricane kind. We got the credit after having our vacation rudely interrupted last year at Club Med Turks and Ciaos by hurricanes. That’s right not just one but three hurricanes. Hurricane Hanna, Ike and I believe the last one which we may have dodged was Hurricane Josephine. The hurricanes trampled through our much sought after all inclusive beach vacation like terrible 2 year old brats.

We had the pleasure of meeting Hurricane Hanna at her infancy. She arrived the same night as us to the resort and wasn’t too bad the first night. We danced in the outdoor disco with Hanna rocking in the background and I thought well hurricanes are not so bad it’s like having natural strobe lights with the lightening in the background. This is because growing up mostly in Cali, I never knew hurricanes are initially storms than turn into hurricanes. So Hanna came back the second night in her true nature as a hurricane and crashed our party. She didn’t even give us a chance to get 3 of the essential vacation D’s (drinks or dancing). That night she howled through the complex like a betrayed woman out for vengeance breaking windows, roof tiles basically anything she could wrap herself around. Hanna was angry she made a huge mess of the resort which resulted in the closing of all activities. We started referring to the resort as Club Med Turks & Chaos. The scuba diving license that I almost lost my hearing for in my training dives was of no use on this trip. Neither were the 2 new bikinis I was planning to tan in. My photos from the trip consist of documentations of wreckage instead of me on the beach with my new bikini. For the rest of the week my activities were limited to taking an exercise classes or drinking at the open bar. I learned quickly that it was best not to combine the two. I came back from Turks and Chaos tanless but more in shape and a borderline alcoholic. I also benefited from trip credit that I will be using in a week at Club Med Cancun. Hopefully it will not be another Club Meds as I hear its close to hurricane season.

A hidden gem - Barnett Vineyards

Saturday we celebrated my friend's b'ette with some wine tasting at Barnett Vineyards. This vineyard was really hard to get to. It's hidden in Napa, on a huge hill. At some point we were on a windy road and I really didn't think the limo would make it up the hill but it was worth the long narrow drive because the vineyard is amazing. It is really breathtaking.

My Favorite Sign at the Anti-Prop 8 Rally

 Yesterday, there was a protest in downtown San Francisco against Prop 8. The California Supreme Court failed to protect gay couples' fundamental right to marry when it upheld Proposition 8 and people went out to protest the decision. I saw a lot of great signs like this one. I wanted to carry one of my own stating, "I can't even decide for myself who to marry, let alone be able to choose for someone else." Why do people think they have the right to make such decisions for anybody else?

Lucky Strike II

Got lucky again in Vegas! Sunday night one of the club promoters at our hotel asked if we like to go to LAX. He had free passes for us that got us in with out waiting in line, and best of all Wyclef was performing that night. We were so close to him on the stage that if I was a crazy fan I could have thrown myself on him with one jump. I thought about it for a second but decided that it wasn't worth the pain. The performance was great except for the guy behind us who took it as an opportunity to get some free thrills. At first I tried to ignore it because I think it's rude to pick on sick people. I suspected he was suffering from Short Man Syndrome. After awhile I had to let him know that it wasn't cool to be an asshole. He then proceeded to keep telling me how everyone at the concert hated me. This when I realized that he definitely had SMS and the best thing I could do is tell the bouncer about him. After the 200lb bouncer warned him, he learned to keep his distance. Overall, I considered a lucky nite. I think I should by a Lotto ticket for lucky strike III.

Lucky Strike

Vegas baby! I get the airport Friday morning and I am stopped by the great wall of people looping around the airport waiting to check into their flights. Again I question why I would take the 6:45am flight. The ticket was bit cheaper but overall expensive. It seemed like a good idea to get in early and get more bang for the buck. As I am in line the news camera starts filming the couple in front of me. The 6am news audience will be astonished to see lines at the airport during Memorial weekend. I am wondering why they don't just use the footage from last year and save some money. I mean we are in a recession after all.

By the time I make it to the gate, I am definitely getting annoyed at myself for booking such an early flight to save fifty bucks. That's until I get lucky! The gate attendant asks for volunteers who would give up their seats for a later flight. In exchange for the seat we can get flight credit. CHA CHING$ I mean, I have nothing to do 8am in Vegas. I can't even check into the hotel. My friend who I am traveling with is not coming until later. I am all excited about volunteering because it's a good thing and I get my ticket credited. Did I already say Cha Ching$$. I am embarrassed to say how much I paid for the ticket. Not because I don't want the one person reading this posting to judge me for paying too much but I am worried that the Persian Embassy will revoke my passport for taking such a bad deal. After all bargaining should be in my blood. But everyone knows how Vegas is my weak spot. Thank goodness I am lucky today!