Day 5
We were finally getting into vacation mode and relaxing and
enjoying ourselves. It was time for my wife to have some real fun. It would be
a day of shopping. Our port today was Cozumel. We were a little worried because
the night before we heard from our dinner guest that were military,
that to be careful if you wander from the port it is kind of a dangerous
place. Just great, my mother and I have an ongoing joke that she is worried
that I would be kid napped by Mexicans one day. Why I don’t know, but I would
never hear the end of it if it ever came true. In fact if it did, I would ask
for them not to pay for the ransom so I would not have to hear the, “I told you
so”, from my mother.
So we go off the boat very excited to see things we normally
would not see back home. To our surprise when you get off the boat in order to
get into Cozumel, you have to walk through a liquor store first. Plus it was a
gift shop, but it was basically the same type of store you would see at a mall.
So we pushed our way through and finally made it to Cozumel. It was a very neat set up. Little stores all
over the place, and I was on a mission.
The day before when we were at Cayman Islands, my head was
hot and sweaty because the hat I brought along was a thick material. It’s not a
pretty thing to see a bald man sweat and constantly having to wipe his head off
so the beads of salty moisture do not roll into the eyes. So I was looking for
a new hat, bald men must wear hats in the sun or they end up walking around
looking like they have a tomato for a head. My wife was with me hoping I would
just pick out a normal, lighter weight ball cap. But I had something different
in mind. How often does a person get to shop on foreign land? I wanted what the
natives would normally wear. A straw cowboy hat, you would think this would be
easy to find since this was local apparel. But they were not a lot to choose
from. They were either way too expensive, I could buy the same thing at the
same price at the local store down the street from my home. Or, they never
looked right. I would either look like the social reject from Mayberry or one
those people in the funny photos that you e-mail to all your friends. Normally
I would not care, but I was walking around with my wife and I did not want to
be an embarrassment to her. I know too late for that.
Then I glanced in this little gift store and there it was, a
straw hat with a bandana wrapped around it. It looked perfect, and the price.
$4.00! I was so happy. I wore that hat proudly like I had just won a prize. It
was perfect; light weight and little gaps that let the wind blow through. Plus,
it had a nice rim that kept shade on me. My wife was so pleased that I was happy
and didn’t have to hear me complain for the rest of the trip on how hot I was. She
was a little embarrassed by the hat, because it did stand out in the crowd. But
I got my validation later on in the day when some guy taps me on the
shoulder. I turned around and he points at his head and says, “You inspired me.”
It was kind of a Jerry Maguire moment when he says “You complete me.” He was
wearing the same hat. That’s right I’m a trend setter.
So after we got done shopping we decided we might explore a
little outside the port area. We stepped out of the gated area; looked to the
left, looked to right, looked at each other and decided we were both chicken.
It did not look like the glamorous scenery that you see on TV and movies. We
remember what our military friends said to us the night before and decided to
just go back to the ship and relax.
Later that evening we caught a comedy show. It was ok. I
think it was Bill Cosby that said that if you have to cuss to be funny, then
you are not funny and you are lazy. I never understood why the F-bomb is a
funny word and how it worked its way into our language. Oh well, we had a fun
day and I got a hat that I can’t wait till this summer to wear around. Check
out what we ate that day at www.gabbin-bout-grub.blogspot.com