I need a vacation from my vacation

As you may recall, last week was quite eventful for the Siegels.

We went to Tulum, Mexico, home of ancient Mayan ruins and gerry-rigged ATM machines that do not dispense cash but do swipe all your financial information for use by the Mexican mafia at a later date.

My friend Jeff Gelberg often says, "the best part about camping is coming home and enjoying the fact that you're no longer camping."

I think a similar corollary exists for Mexico.

"The best part about a week in Mexico, is 51 other weeks of the year not being in Mexico -- where the toilets flush, where US legal tender comes spurting from a machine, and where every ice cube need not pass a 100 point inspection."

This is why I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.

One day, we tried to rent Mopeds in Cozumel.

The learning curve for driving a Moped turned out to be quite steep. As steep as the median embankment that my wife and daughter launched themselves from while accelerating from a stop light.

It all happened in slow motion.

Abby and I were seated on one moped and waiting patiently for Debbie and Rachel to catch up. Instead, they caught air, and like a junior Evil Knievel hopped the curb, left the Earth's bounds of gravity for a split second, before smashing into an apathetic palm tree.

The whole sordid affair included lost tempers (though I remained surprisingly cool), a lot of tears, and the unlawful exchange of $200 USD from my wallet to the sweaty, greedy palms of the Rental Moped/Policia Cartel.

Later that day, we rented a jeep and drove to the southern part of Cozumel, where we found turquoise waters, white powder beaches and buckets of ice cold cervecas. It was there, after some deep breathing exercises, that we laughed.

Recounting how I had just been clipped for two C-notes, I remarked…

"Well I guess we can scratch that off the Siegel Bucket List."

That's when my oldest daughter chimed in.

"Dad, that's not how it works. A Bucket List is a bunch of cool things you want to do, not a bunch of bad things that happen to you." 

Crazy kids and their unfiltered optimism.