Abdication

After much pain and further trauma to my credit card, I hereby relinquish my Mexican crown.  For those of you who have read my blog for awhile, you'll know what I'm talking about.

It all started with a baguette at Bally Hoo in November 2011.  What I thought was sand in my BLT turned out to be the back of my front crown.  Tooth number 9 to be exact.  The panic ensued.  What to do when your crown falls apart on the second day of your month long trip to Mexico?  Who ya gonna call?

A local friend made a phone call to his dentist and a few hours later I was on the ferry to Cancun.  It was a leap of faith/trust, and I had a bad feeling in the chair that first day that it might turn out badly.  But the choice was to hop a plane back to the U.S. and end our vacation when it had just started?  No way.  I decided to take the risk.  How bad could it be?  Worst case scenario -- I'd have the crown redone at home and my dental insurance would pay.

Oh what a silly decision.  A root canal in February 2012 helped for awhile, but the pain started creeping back six months later.  Two days before our November trip to Isla Mujeres, dental work on adjacent teeth set it off once again!  I'd just seen x-rays of the crown at my recent checkup and the dentist said it looked sound, so I decided to smear Orajel on the damn thing and carry on to Mexico.  And if at all possible, I needed to make it to calendar year 2013 since my dental benefits were exhausted for 2012.

Long story short, after multiple trips to my dentist, endodontist, and periodontist in January/February, the decision was made to do a dental implant.  I won't go into the technical details, but as my dentist said, it was definitely a crappy crown.  The worst case scenario repair ended up being WAY more expensive than I ever envisioned -- about 10 times the cost of the Mexican crown.

I was scheduled for next Monday, March 11th, for the procedure and definitely dreading it.  My memories from childhood of tooth extractions were definitely not pleasant, and I'd also heard painful tales from friends of their experience with the implant procedure.  Imagine a big screw being drilled into your jaw!  I was also unnerved because the original periodontist I'd consulted with had no openings until late March and I wanted some breathing room before my next trip out of the country, so his partner was going to perform the procedure.

Monday afternoon after we'd stuffed ourselves on the $5 hamburger special at the local sports bar, I noticed the answering machine blinking when we walked in the door. (I really need to change the ringer on my cell to the fire alarm ringtone so I don't miss those important calls!)  The periodontist I'd wanted to do the procedure had a last minute cancellation if I could get there in a half hour.  I decided to just say yes and get the nightmare over.

Thirty minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot and checked in at the reception desk.  The procedure, including pulling the offending tooth and placing the implant in my jaw, took a little more than 30 minutes.  It was so much less of an ordeal than the original crown prep or even the subsequent root canal.  I can't say the tooth extraction was my dream date, but there was no real pain involved.  I was out the door in less than 45 minutes with the temporary prosthetic (called a flipper) in place. 

I'll admit to taking two of the prescribed Vicodin's the first night.  Why suffer?  And I'm now adapting to the new normal -- those weird sharp exposed edges of teeth next to the gap in the front of my mouth.  When I'm out in public or eating, I wear the annoying prosthetic.  Hopefully, I'll also adapt to the feel of that and learn to talk without the lisp and whistle.  In four to six months after the bone grows around the implant, a permanent crown will take the place of Flipper. 

A few friends have requested a photo of my toothless self posted on the internet.  I decline.  Somehow a middle-aged woman sans front tooth doesn't look nearly as adorable as your 6-year old.  But maybe there is a real Santa Claus and he'll pay for the implant crown for Christmas?

Anyway, that whole Mexican crown thing just didn't work out!  I hereby abdicate.  : )

Here's an updated profile courtesy of one of my blog readers.  Enjoy.

The Salt That Binds

It is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea--whether it is to sail or to watch it--we are going back from whence we came.

 - John F. Kennedy

 

 

Tropical Xanax

It's tropical Xanax -- beach scenes from Akumal!  Happy Monday!

Random Friday Isla Pics

The Captain of his own fate.

One man's trash, another man's treasure!  (Would it fit in the overhead compartment?)

On the lam?

Mermaid Barbie!

Taxi!  I swear I'm going to try this next time I'm on the island.

Here's something random to put on your list of Isla must do's.  Have you ever purchased dessert from the lady who sells her cakes and flan on Juarez?  Sometimes in the evening, she sets the glass case up on top a table in front of her house.  We discovered her back in 2006 when we were staying on the airport strip and would walk in and out of town at night on Juarez.  Her house sits north of La Lomita towards the bottom of the hill as the street drops into El Centro.  I hadn't noticed her in a few trips, but friends bought their dessert there in November after we'd all eaten dinner at Victor's Cafe Havana.

Akumal Meanderings

While I'm thinking about Akumal and all the fun we had there, I decided to use some photos to jog my memory and tell a few stories.

One difference between Akumal and Isla Mujeres seems to be the animal situation.  I can only remember seeing one or two wandering dogs during our entire stay in Akumal.  The piles of dog doo were noticeably absent, so I'm guessing it's the norm for people to keep their pets on leash and pick up litter.

Several mornings, we saw this man driving a cart exercising this German shepherd.  Maybe someone should tie me to a cart!

Many Akumal residents obviously love dogs and cats . . . 

Others -- not so much.  Hope the perros y gatos can read.

Don't try to rein in these free rangers.  They wander where they want.  They don't need no stinkin' rules!

Large estates like the one above line the road along Half Moon Bay.  The road's very dark walking to and from town at night, but most properties have security guards on duty day and night.  We always felt very safe despite the dark road.

I did notice this guy lurking in the play yard by the local library.  He seemed an odd choice for the playground since he looks like Stranger Danger, but it appears he's some sort of billboard for reading.  Leer mas?

We did carry flashlights on our walks to town at night.  This is reason number one!  They were digging a trench alongside the road during our visit.

Rental bikes in Akumal are less than half the cost per day compared to Isla Mujeres, and the roads have much less traffic.  It's a great place to get around on bikes.  Just be sure to check the handlebars to make sure they're tightened lest you're pitched off the bike onto the hard asphalt.  I think I've already mentioned my fall from grace/public embarrassment about 20 times on this blog since November.  

Here's a strange story I'd almost forgotten until I saw this canoe.  We ate at this restaurant one night -- Cueva del Pescador.  It's located in the same general area of the village as Turtle Bay Bakery.  We sat down at a table in a quiet uncovered area in front of the restaurant, but decided to move to a table on the side porch when the sprinkles started.  That's when it got interesting.  A loud argumentative guy at the table next to us kept picking up a chair and swinging it at his waiter. Since the waiter had to get past the gatekeeper with the flying chair, service was a little slow.  I'll admit to being worried that we were going to take a chair upside the head before we could scarf down our fish entrees, but the restaurant staff seemed unconcerned.  The fish was very good, but we kept one eye on the drunk while we ate.  I'd definitely recommend the restaurant, but try and get a seat out in the garden area away from customers hurling chairs.  : )

I'll end this post with a pop quiz for my fellow travelers to Mexico.  What day of the week was this sunset photo taken?  (Sunday's in Mexico are the day when all the locals hang at the beach.)  I love it that everyone's there to enjoy the last light of a spectacular November day.

La Buena Vida -- A Sampling

Recently a friend asked for info about our Akumal trip and I remembered I never finished what I started!  I've been sidetracked by Christmas and life since our trip to Isla Mujeres and Akumal in November.

The good life!  It was muy buena, especially when we took a short walk down Half Moon Bay road to eat at La Buena Vida, the neighborhood oceanfront palapa bar.  I will admit to eating here at least five times in six days.  We hit a rough patch in weather and health while we were in Akumal and this place was tasty and very convenient! 

The burgers and fries were wonderful!

Mango chicken empanadas from the appetizer menu.

Craig's always the life of the party!

Burrito Santa Fe

Enchiladas with red mole.

The bar.

Craig enjoying a beachfront cerveza under the palapa.

Tasty fish tacos and the huge plate of nachos!

Seriously, everything we sampled from their menu was wonderful, including the salads and baby back ribs not pictured here.

If you're in Akumal, check out the good life on Half Moon Bay!

Arizona Snow Day!

Yesterday, we got snow in places in Arizona where we don't normally see it.  Traffic slowed down on 101 in Scottsdale when the white stuff started covering the freeway.  Today, we went in search of snow and here's what we found!  Crazy!

A dusting of snow on the roadside cacti.

 

Have a seat on the patio!

 

Dust the snow off that beach towel for the polar bear swim!

 

Snow covered roofs and mountains in the distance.

 

And my favorite pic of the day!  Some roofers decided to take advantage of the snow day.

Same Time Last Year

On Valentine's Day as I was headed to a periodontist (we're still trying to solve the problem created by the Mexican crown), I asked Craig if he knew where we were same time last year.  We were on a flight headed to Belize!

I'm busy with a friend this week, but thought I'd post a rerun from that February 2012 trip.  It's rainy and cold here today, so I'm loving remembering the sun and warmth in this slideshow!

Isla From On High

A view of the cemetery from above.

Rainy day on Hidalgo.

Hidalgo by night.

Rainy day on Playa Norte.

Zoom of a sunset wedding.

Sunrise over El Centro.

The end of a beach day.

Cloudy and Shabby Chic'd

Ugh.  It's a cloudy day.  When it's cold (in the 50's) and grey here in Arizona, I switch into slug mode.  I have zero desire when the sun's not out to take the daily walk or bike ride. 

When we first moved to Arizona, friends back home warned me we weren't going to like it!  They told stories about acquaintances who'd moved to the Valley of the Sun and gone crazy from the endless days of looking at the big bright orb.  Those people had chucked in the dream after a year and run back to Seattle with tails between their legs.

Seriously?  It only takes one cloudy day now to depress me.  I don't think I could ever move back to the gloomy Northwest!  Yes, it's hotter than hell here in the summer, but that's the price you pay for a warm sunny winter.

Earlier in the week when the sun was shining I busied myself  repainting an old antique table for the den and creating another seaglass lamp to top it   I took a few photos of my handiwork and thought I'd post them today.

I bought a cheap cork-topped jar at Hobby Lobby and filled it with some eroded conchs and big chunks of green, brown, and black seaglass from the shores of Isla Mujeres.

Add a light kit from Walmart and a burlap shade from Target and it's a lamp!

Then I found a can of black satin paint in the garage and shabby chic'ed an old oak table with it.

And now, I'm going to sink back into this cloudy gloomy afternoon on the sofa and read my new book -- The Weird Sisters.