short story #1:
Cooper and I left our fantastic condo in the Puerto Vallarta romantic zone for our next stage of the vacation: the all-inclusive in Nuevo Vallarta.  The drive cost a good $20 and we had to wait 2 hours for check-in time, but once we got our little corner we headed for the pool and lunch. The lunch buffet consisted of what Cooper deemed “worse than school cafeteria food”…nachos with really bad nacho cheese, boiled hot dogs, chicken wings, mystery meats, etc. Yes, we ate what we could and tried to put on a smile, but we were both thinking…this is terrible!! We took a walk on the beach which was nice, but because the beaches in Puerto Vallarta are on the pacific side they are not the crystal clear green waters like we have experienced in the past in other areas. We went back to our room after our walk to let the bricks in our stomach settle. Unfortunately, Cooper’s stomach (which was on the mend) only got worse. After lots of down time (and many trips to the loo for the boy), it was time for dinner. Again, the choices were steam table delights…a sight which made Cooper even more nauseous.  I then ate my corn rice, corn pasta, and corn soup by myself while sipping on sangria and horchata (I am addicted to horchata!). I watched part of the “International Show” which wasn’t worth my time, then went back to check on the boyfriend. Poor Cooper was again in the loo.  We went to bed to the sounds of the dischotech outside our door, a woman in the next room coughing all night, and the never ending sounds of people in the halls which were amplified beyond any measure. We awoke to the ringing of a wakeup call at 8:00am which we had not requested. Yup, we didn’t get any sleep. We attempted the breakfast buffet, but it was just more steam table food which was barely palatable. We then decided…this isn’t worth it. We can’t stay here for three more nights and survive. We went to the internet cafe and talked to some college guys from Texas who had been at the all inclusive since Wednesday and said the food doesn’t get any better. So, we looked up new hotels. We did end up convincing the manager to let us leave early and be reimbursed for the remaining stay, but it took a good 2 hours and long, expensive, hard to hear calls on Cooper’s cell phone to make it happen. We left and got a place at the Sheraton which is like heaven compared to the hell we were in the night before. Perhaps I am now spoiled, but I also know that I can’t spend $116 a night for crap food and no sleep. Oh wow…that was a lot of venting.
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short story #2:
Today I cried in the pool. Yup, I cried in the pool. I cried because the hotel was offering salsa lessons and although Cooper and I really want to learn to salsa, I didn’t have the courage to go. Cooper was excited about the idea, but I just couldn’t build up the inner salsa self in me to go. So I cried. The crying ended in laugher between the two of us because how many times does anyone 1.) cry in a pool or 2.) cry in a pool because they don’t want to take salsa lessons?  Cooper and I concluded that we are going to get a dvd first so we can practice on our own before attempting a class. Man, I am such a dork.Â