The Third Annual Doodle Trip!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Well, we are back and I think we would all say the trip was a rousing success.  I still don’t know quite how it happened last year, but I was assigned the job of planning this year’s trip and I have no problems admitting Jane did a better job.  I did not want to pick the location and have all the Doodlers show up at the location and give their best imitation of Jeff Probst and say, “we hate this place and we are voting you off the island!”

The poor travel agent had gotten prices, etc. for several places, including cruises, but all kept getting nixed by the group, so in the end, we took a vote and an all-inclusive trip to Mexico won.  By the time we finalized the plans, I had almost decided to start drinking and not quit until the trip, but thankfully, Todd the travel agent continued to take my calls and it all worked out. 

 

Traveling to some of these places during hurricane season can be risky, but so far we have been lucky.  This trip we did not encounter a hurricane, but ended up finding out that they aren’t kidding when they say a tropical depression produces lots of thunderstorms, high winds, and heavy rains.  Now, I don’t want to blame it on any group in particular and I hate naming names (Christine, Darby, Tracey), but I ate dinner with this group (Christine, Darby, Tracey) one night and after listening about some of their past vacations, I am pretty sure they should now be referred to as the Troublemaker Trio. 

Just in case you want to be able to identify them....this is Tracey, Darby, Christine, and Doris (ignore Doris, for now) 

Again, I am sure it was entirely coincidental and I would NEVER want to point fingers and blame an innocent group of people (Christine, Darby, Tracey) for our bad luck this time, but no weather problems on the first two trips and then they (Christine, Darby, Tracey) show up and all hell breaks loose. Just sayin’.  Luckily, it was only two rainy days and some of us still managed to get to Cancun to shop and to Xcaret.  The ones who didn’t shop stayed behind to play Mexican Train, which happens to be a dominoes game and not a game of chicken with the locals at a nearby train track.  I don’t exactly know what went on during the game, but I do know there was money involved and soap went missing in several rooms and Deanna seemed to be burping soapsuds at dinner later that night.  Something about an old fashioned way to fix a potty mouth, but again, I know nothing.  I hope Kathy was not involved, but I was gone that day, so I can’t be sure.

Deanna with her bubbles!

At one point, someone suggested the idea that the married couples renew their wedding vows with Nicky officiating and all of a sudden this idea took on a life of its own.  John kept saying he really hadn’t wanted to do it the first time and he hated to make the same mistake twice.  Bill was willing to do it only if there was no jewelry involved and the only thing he had to slip on Ronna was a pair of gift shop water shoes. Dave seemed agreeable if Jane was willing to spend their honeymoon night a couple miles up the way at the nude beach. (Not really, but it made for a fun read)  Jeff and Vicki scheduled an excursion that day that meant they wouldn’t be there for the ceremony, but Tracey and Kathy agreed to fill in for them and give the locals something to talk about, as if me yelling for John to hurry up and get up the aisle wasn’t going to be enough. Tim scheduled a bachelor party, but was willing to allow Christine and Dori to attend. 

Christine just got the news that she made the bachelor party list!

Dori (with Ronna) just found out, too!

We quickly came to realize that Tim had missed his calling and should be a wedding event planner, because he had bridesmaids assigned, wedding attire instructions for us all, and even told me to spike my hair and fix it for my big day.  I not sure if Tim wanted John to look like Tupac Shakur or was just teasing him, but he kept insisting John wear his “Let’s Dance” shirt, his hat turned backwards, and some chains around his neck. In addition, he worked on teaching him some rap dance moves, but in the end the only thing John learned was he needed a Motrin for his sore neck in order to keep up with Tim.

Best man with two of the grooms!

Throughout most of the planning, the wedding couples sat around discussing how this all started and who was responsible for thinking we wanted to renew our vows, but Jane and I know an opportunity when we see one and elected to get some jewelry out of the whole thing and ran with it up at the jewelry store.  The best thing about the whole ceremony though was, Nicky changed it up at the last minute to include everyone in a friendship renewal ceremony and did a fabulous job as our keynote speaker, with Tim adding a heartfelt “best man” speech.

 

Our week was crammed pack with adventures, Bill’s magic tricks and raffles, a couple of birthdays (Judy and Vicki), meals, plunge pools, whirlpools, spa trips, pool time, excursions, laughter, tequila, dancing, swing bars, and friendship. 

It wasn’t all fun and games, as some of us decided the Lazy River sounded like fun at Xcaret.  The first warning we ignored was the sign that said if you had some of these medical conditions, not to enter the water.  When we asked why, the guide said the water was very warm and required you to be active.  He also told us to go right, but pointed left, when we asked which side was better.  We opted to go right, only to find out later that everyone else who went the other way had the ride we had been expecting.  Our second warning that the guide may have been nipping at the old Tequila before coming to work was when we put our feet in the as described “very warm water” only to discover that meant it was so cold it was going to turn us “Fifty shades of blue.”  The next problem after you adjusted to the temperature was the river seemed initially fun. It lulled us into a false sense of security with the current moving us along right up until it didn’t anymore, when it was too far to turn back. By that time, the signs on land were reading it was a 30 minute walk back to someplace better and all of us opted to continue in the hopes that it would get better. It didn’t.  At some points, it was if we were in one of those pools that challenge you to swim against the current, which was definitely not what I was looking for when I first got in the water.  It also made me incredibly nervous because I have seen some of these people eat and I didn’t want to end up like the Donner party if we all got stuck in there indefinitely and they had to pick who had the meatiest legs and therefore had to be sacrificed for the group’s survival.

Doris seems pretty happy to be in Hell!

We also had a group of people that kept catching up with us that made it hard for us to kick and use our feet without knocking someone’s teeth out and I kept running into a couple that stopped to take pictures.  I could only imagine them showing family and friends their vacation photos and saying…oh, look; here we are in murky water taking a selfie again.  It seems to me if you have seen one of those pictures it should be enough.  Ronna took photos and videos, but kept saying she didn't know if her camera was working and Leslie had on a Go Pro, which turned out to have an audio feature as well.  I can’t even imagine what she has on that tape other than two women letting out bloodcurdling screams and yelling something in Spanish when they felt something in the water.  The only word I understood was hombre, which I knew did not mean snake, but we all stopped.  Luckily, I think Ronna thought they said there was a man ahead serving margaritas because she swam through the area they were screaming about and said the only thing in the water was seaweed.  I am also sure at some point I said I was going towards the light, even if it was heaven. Little Judy hung on to Leslie’s feet part of the way and I guess I could have played the hero and let her hang onto my bigger feet, but I think it would have sunk us both. Besides, I did hear John throw her an olive branch, so to speak, more than once and told her she could hold onto his rudder, but she kept saying she was fine and wouldn’t grab on.

Wait a minute, that isn't John's rudder...that is Sir Perky...one of the raffle prizes!

Judy also kept correcting me when I called it The Lazy River and Dave finally coined the term Tunnel of Terror, which seemed more on par with reality. In the end, we all made it out, but quickly answered in the negative when Kathy and Deanna said we should go back and do the side they did, which they loved.

 

When we first entered the park, one of the excursions was a snake massage, which showed a picture of a young woman on the beach with a large python snake on top of her. Of course, this was the one thing John wanted to do, although I think he thought the young woman was included in the massage. The funny thing is it was right after I told him I would never touch him again if he let snakes on his body that he seemed hell bent on doing it. Well, lo and behold, we found out the snake massage had been permanently cancelled and the reasons given were vague, but we assumed maybe the snakes decided one day a massage was over and went about telling the client in a less than appropriate way.  I know John was thrilled when I told him I would still be able to touch him, but his offer of his own personal snake massage daily got old real quick and I finally had to tell him, his snake did not look anything like the big one in the brochure.

Why do I keep accidentally downloading Sir Perky?

Andréa, Nicky’s sister, arrived all the way from Canada with all of her stuff in one bag, which instantly made her my packing hero.  I packed and unpacked for two weeks before the trip and still had an embarrassing amount of bags.  I think I was finally able to take out one pair of shorts for me and a couple of shirts for John, which meant we schlepped bags all through the airport and customs. Meanwhile, Andréa even had a water filtration kit in her bag and always looked great.  Nicky gets the award for traveling the farthest, all the way from Ireland, and is just the loveliest person. I honestly believe she would take a plane, train, car, bike, camel, or burro to get to our vacation spot and we all love that she is willing to endure a very long flight to be with us.  We had a lot of Texans this trip and all of them were big Texas A&M fans. They included Tracey, Darby, Christine, Doris, and Doris’s sister, Monika.  We were instructed to call Monika by her childhood nickname of Presh, which is short for Precious.  No one actually said how the name started, but after a gift exchange, I have my own ideas.  This year we decided it would be fun to all bring a $5.00 dog related gift (although we had a couple of cat gifts too) to exchange with the group. The rules allowed two steals of any gift and this is where it got ugly.  Doris stole an adorable stuffed dragon meant for Fudge and Vern right out from under their noses.  She just walked right up to me and said, “That’s so precious!  Give it to me.” I am sure Christine is going to pipe in that I originally stole it from her, but just ignore her, because this story is about Doris.  Anyways, putting two and two together, I am thinking Monika had some toy ripped out of her hands on Christmas morning by Doris as she cried out, “Precious! Now, give me that gift” and the name stuck.

She even sent me a picture of Knox gloating!

All of the Texans were new to our group, except Doris, and were a welcome addition.  I won’t tell you who doesn’t have a Doodle in that group, but I think they will tell you it didn’t matter to anyone and we still talked to them. Vicki and her husband, Jeff, were also new this year and seemed to have a great time exploring some interesting places in Mexico. We also added Bill, married to Ronna, and what a nice guy. He brought music, raffle gifts for all, and had some fun magic tricks up his sleeve that he shared with us. All of the rest of us have been on one or both of the previous trips and plan on continuing on the next one. I sure hope our newer members come back.

 

I really can’t stress enough what a generous group of people these Doodlers happen to be….generous with their friendship, encouragement, support, and gifts. We had so many gift exchanges on our trip that several people had to check luggage coming home and I filled the suitcase I was sure would be empty on the way back.  Leslie issued a moratorium and said all future gifts must be 5 ounces or less. I think this is a great idea because I had a suitcase filled with framed prints, wiener hats, Sir Perky novelty bottle stoppers, Flat Laurie magnets, and other miscellaneous things that I hoped I would not have to explain to customs. 

I was not the only one with odd hats in my bag! Ronna had a few, including a Buzzard hat she gave to Judy! This is Ronna and Kathy!

I am pretty sure I would still be there waiting to be cleared if they had opened my bag….Sir, I am with a dog Internet group and these are gag gifts. We also decided next year we are outfitting Dori with a tracking system so we can find her at all times when we go to dinner. Ronna and Bill brought us all the cutest shirts imaginable and when you see a picture of them, I guarantee you will want one.

Leslie and Judy ordered matching Tervis tumblers, but added Flat Laurie to the back.

The other gifts we received were all personal and wonderful and if you want to know more, you will just have to come on a trip.  There has to be some secrets about our trip.

 

I just want to end this very long blog by saying we were all thrilled that Tim’s health allowed him to come on this Doodle trip.  We all feel that Tim is the heart and soul of our Doodle group and he just makes it better by being there.  He can defuse any situation in 10 seconds flat with a hug.  He reminded all of us several times that this was the best day ever and how many other sons do you know that look at their mother and tell us she looks just like a movie star?  I also have to laugh every time I think of him saying to John, “truth?” when John reluctantly agreed with me that he would miss me if he didn’t see me on guy day.  It just is impossible to overlook the important things in life when Tim is around.

A Best Day Ever! Laurie, Judy, and Tim snuggling!

Well, that’s it, folks! I can’t believe after all that planning another trip is over. Until next year……….

P.S. Despite all my jokes, this is a wonderful group of people. I hope others add more pictures to this discussion. I pilfered most of these from Facebook.

P.S.S. Sadly, Flat Laurie did not make the trip, except on Ronna's shirt and the back of the Tervis tumblers.

she is somewhere in Texas....in a box....screaming for Doris to let her out :)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

As always, Laure.....fantastic blog!  It really was "the best week ever"!  We laughed pretty much non-stop for a solid week.  No voting you off the island....you did an amazing job planning this trip.  It was perfect!  Ronna, I tried to upload some videos, but I sent them from my phone to FB....and then deleted them.  I can't figure out how to move them from FB to DK.  There is one of Ronna and Leslie competing against several other people and one little child in an event that involved walking across several floating rafts in the pool without falling off....and even better they had to do a little "dance" wearing a sombrero first.  They both were amazing and had a great chance of winning....except for the little girl who had no problem walking across the floats....she only weighted 45 pounds and should have been disqualified.  R and L were clearly the "real winners".  If anyone knows how to move video from FB let me know....I think everyone would enjoy seeing this.  The "lazy river" nearly did my DH in....he has two brand new knees and hasn't been able to do much exercise for a year...so this was a bit of a stretch.  I thankfully stayed with Tim who clearly wasn't up for this kind of challenge.  Before the next trip I will be increasing Dave's life insurance.  I think my favorite part of the trip was the hours we spent in the pool at the swim-up bar....just hanging out with a great group of friends and laughing...and laughing.  This week was so special for Tim.  I'm so happy that our Doctor convinced us to do it....he will never forget it.  If ever there was a group of inclusive, loving people who are able to accept people of difference with open minds and hearts...this is it!  Now comes the hard part....waiting a whole year for our next DK vacation.  Thanks to Adina and DK for bringing us together!

[Christine & Shelby]

For the record.... Laurie did steal the cute dinosaur stuffed animal from me first (actually - she stole it from my Shelby Doodle.... how rude!)

[Doris, Knox & Flash]

Laurie, this blog is terrific and mostly factual.  I feel like you painted a bad picture of me being some kind of thief, but you and I both know that I got that toy for Knox fair and square.  Also, I really DID want to bring FL to Cancun, but walking around an airport with a 5' 12" cardboard cut-out wearing a skimpy bikini and clown shoes was a bit more than this "southern belle" could handle!  The other 3 Texans are trying to encourage me to take her out of the box that she has been in for 6 months and they just might be successful : ).   What you did get right about the trip was that it was a fabulous one and full of wonderful people.  I am so thankful to DK for allowing our paths to cross. Saying that Tim is the "heart and soul" of the trip couldn't be more true and I know he left his mark on all of us.  Thank you and Ronna for planning such a memorable trip! 

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

I don't board the boys either!  Last year DH stayed home with them and this year we had a live in pet sitter. 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

What a wonderful blog Laurie.  It sounds like such a wonderful group of people.  I too was so afraid that Tim wouldn't get to come and knew how disappointing that would be for everyone.  I also knew that they really needed to just have a little fun in their lives.  Thank you so much for sharing.  Can't wait to hear where you all are going next year.  It really is strange that the one thing that brought us all together is the one thing that keeps us from coming.  I just can't board my girls!

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

What a fantastic trip!  I am already excited about next year.   I am just happy no videos made it into Laurie's Blog!  We have truly made some everlasting friendships on these trips.  Although I am not on DK very often I can tell you that I talk/text/chat with almost every member of this travel group at least every other day.  Here are a few more pictures.

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Several comments:

1.  Me, Potty Mouth???  No f'ing way!!!  I'm innocent, I tell ya!!

2.  Vote you off the island?  No way, Jose!!  You did an extraordinary job with the planning and the entire trip was terrific.  And besides, we weren't even on an island - Cancun is located on the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.

3.  Some people just have a knack for picking the correct river!  Just sayin'

4.  The gifts were all wonderful and the people even more wonderful!!  And you're absolutely right about Tim.  So glad he was healthy enough to make the trip.  Our doodle travel adventures are made so much better by his enthusiasm and positivity!!  

5.  I'm already looking forward to our next adventure and the opportunity to get together with old friends, new friends, and (hopefully) some even newer friends.

[Leslie and Halas]

It was such a great trip!  I can't wait for next year.  I do have some videos and pics, which I'll try to upload tonight.  Although I have to go to ANOTHER birthday dinner for Judy (Does she know how to birthday or what?) tonight, so we'll see how far I get.

I realize now that we should have taken Sir Perky with us on our walk by the nude resort.  I think Flat Laurie would have enjoyed that, too.  By the way, if I never see naked people playing Bags again, it will still be too soon.  Some things you just can't unsee.

Judy and I finally got to meet Tim, but I became a little concerned when he wanted to steal Judy.  People wanted to steal her last year, too, but it's harder to say no to Tim.  I finally convinced him that she needed to come back with me, but I don't think he was too happy about it.

Special thanks to Laurie for all of her hard work and planning!

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Thank you Laurie for your wonderful blog. I laughed so much during the trip my jaw hurt and this brings it all back.  Yep, It's all true and I did change the rules regarding the ceremony. I know that certain people got a ring bought for them especially for the renewal of vowsl ceremony which never happened and for that I am truly (not) sorry :) The day spent playing Mexican Train was competitive and so much fun especially since I would probably have still been swimming up river had I gone with the others. I got to spend wonderful time with this amazing group of people and time with my sister who kept saying 'I don't deserve this' though I did persuade her to change her mantra by the end and we both vowed we would travel to the ends of the earth again next year again. I am hoping that my best man will also be there as I will have great difficulty organising anything without him! Here's to all of you fellow travellers and to all of the DKers who I have yet to meet.  Next year is already in the planning.... 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Karen, You really need to come. That would be great!!