So I'll just sit right here and have another beer in Mexico

I just talked with a friend in Texas who had planned to travel to Mexico to attend another friend's wedding. Um, she didn't quite make it there. Let's just say, passports are important! She couldn't get on the plane, her boyfriend insisted on also not getting on the plane, but since HE had an UPDATED passport, she convinced him to go without her. Poor baby!

She said she really wanted him to go. She wanted one of them to be there for their friend's wedding. And, she said she felt good knowing that he, at least, was able to sit on a beach, sipping a cold Corona.

I told her she was full of.....
I think you know what.   ;-)

Her sad experience at the airport reminded me of a similar thing that happened to none other than me!

Years ago, I had finally saved enough to take my two kids to Cancun for a week at a gorgeous all-inclusive resort. Being a single mom, that was the only damned way I could get a vacation myself! One child was just entering high school, and the other was in middle-school. They were super excited about this trip, let me tell ya! And I was super excited to get there and lay claim on a chaise lounge chair by the swim-up bar, located in one of the 6 resort pools! Yeehaw Momma!

Back then, kids didn't need passports to get into Mexico, just their birth certificates. My passport had expired, but one of the local yokels here assured me that I'd be fine with just my driver's license and birth certificate. Shame on me for trusting someone who doesn't really seem to travel much.

Since Maudie lives in a very pretty little mountain town with no big airport, we had to drive the 2 1/2 hours from our home to the airport in Baltimore. We were excited. We were happy. We had a VERY early morning flight, so we got to the airport the night before, and stayed at a nice airport hotel. It was great.

But here's where the story turns into a drama!!!!!

Similar to my friend's airport nightmare, when I arrived to check in our luggage and get our boarding passes, they wouldn't let me on the plane! And I have to say, when they told me this, for just a second or two, I waited for them to laugh and say, "Ha Ha. Fooled you! Have a nice trip." But they never smiled. Dammit!

 Obviously the know-it-all who had told me it was fine to just show them my birth certificate didn't quite KNOW IT ALL.

 There was no way I couldn't get on that stinking plane. I could see the kids' eyes begin to fill with tears. And, I felt like I was about to have a heart attack! I was in a very real panic! My 8-hour deodorant was in danger of only lasting 30 minutes!

The airport folks felt sorry for me, so they kept giving me some helpful suggestions, such as, "You can drive home, get your other documentation, and catch a later flight." Good God, our all-inclusive room was waiting for us NOW! My poolside chair was waiting for me NOW! All that cold Corona was waiting for me NOW!

Finally, one of the nice airport ladies (And they really were nice. They were just doing their jobs. Hey, I guess I COULD have been a terrorist. Yep, traveling with two teen aged kids who were about to cry/kill me...you can choose one of those options....and who was sweating like a pig and about to faint. Yep, I'm sure terrorists try that ploy to get on planes all the time). Um, where was I? Oh yeah...one of the nice airport ladies told me that if I had my voter's registration card with me, that would get me on the plane to Mexico.

Now who in the world knows where they keep their voter's registration card anyway? I knew I had one, somewhere, at some point in life, but if someone would've told me I was going to be thrown into a fiery pit unless I produced that stinking card, I'd be a crispy critter. I looked at the nice lady and just wanted to break into a fit of laughter. Crazy, wild laughter that would've sounded like I needed a straight-jacket and some medication!
But... just like a drowning person, reaching for anything that floats, I began to dig around in my wallet and in my checkbook (and why I even had my checkbook with me for this trip is something I can't explain).

 Finally, I grabbed a tiny stack of unknown crap that was tucked behind the check register thingy in my checkbook. It consisted of an old unused band-aid, an ancient stick of Double-mint gum...and MY FREAKING VOTER'S REGISTRATION CARD!

So...
We got on the plane and headed to Cancun!
Now. That COULD be the end of the story. HOWEVER......

once we got there, many more, funny and strange things happened to us throughout the week. But that's for another blog post sometime. Stay tuned!
;-)