Well, first things first to all you Babes and Beaus out there: Happy 2018!!! We officially made it through another year y’all! For me, 2017 was a good year. It was a rollercoaster year that’s for sure. I had many ups and many downs, both in my life and LITERALLY. This was my third year as a flight attendant, and if I am truly honest I can’t even count the number of times I have been on an airplane. It all seems very glamorous and exciting from the outside looking in, I know that. Many times though it is not… many times it can be quite the opposite. But… there are moments that I love. Moments so incredible that they erase all the unglamorous, all the long hours, all the sleepless nights.
I have had several of those moments this year, and one of them was right before New Years. I got called for a three-day trip with a 16 hour Cancun layover. I could lie and tell you I was excited, but I was really not. You are probably sitting there thinking I am insane right now so let me explain. If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that I am a reserve flight attendant, which means I fill in when people call out sick or for whatever reason can’t show up for work. And you can imagine with cold season and all of the holidays in and around December, I worked the max amount of hours. If I was not sleeping, I was pretty much flying. I had just worked over Christmas, and I got the phone call that I was going to be flying over New Years and I was annoyed. Understatement of 2017. Until… our Airbus landed in Cancun, Mexico.
I have been to Mexico many times but I have never stepped foot off the plane. We have many turns out of Charlotte to Mexico, which means you fly in and you fly your tushy right back out again an hour later. Those are high time island turns, so they are good trips for $MOOLAH$, but Oh my Lord getting off the plane is so much better. But let me tell you if you ever fly into Mexico be prepared for Mexico customs and immigration – it is no joke. We finally got through customs, and the hour van ride to our hotel (it was Saturday night – and Saturday night in Cancun is LIT – so is traffic), and we pulled up to one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever been in: The Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach. My crew rolled our rollerboards into that swank hotel looking all haggard and worn after our 13 hour duty day and luxury literally hit us in the face. The whole place smelled like flowers. I wanted to cry it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. And the photo-taking commenced.
These photos really truly do not do the room justice. It was so nice! I will have to admit though that the very best part was the double doors that opened up to the Caribbean Sea. I think I am part mermaid because I love the water. It is so relaxing to listen to the waves pounding against the shore. They just pound away all of your troubles until you are cool as a cucumber. I slept with the doors wide open that night, and before you gasp in horror I was on the 9th floor, and I triple checked the “climb-ability” of the surrounding rooms.
I am surprised I slept at all because I was so wound up by the time I got to my hotel room, I was jumping around and squealing like a school girl. The waves and the cool, seemingly million-thread-count sheets finally lulled me to sleep and I woke up and realized that it wasn’t a dream – I was in paradise. And then I found the breakfast buffet. And then I was really in paradise.
My good friend Shelley was part of my crew for the trip and we met downstairs for breakfast and HOLY BUFFET. I wish that I would have taken photos of this spread y’all because it was probably up there with the best breakfast buffets I have ever had. You name it they had it. I chose mostly Mexican breakfast items because heck… when in Mexico… EAT LIKE A TRUE MEXICAN. That should totally be a rule because everything I ate was great. I am pretty sure that salmon swam up and filleted itself onto my plate it was that fresh. Shelley and I got up to go get more and our waiter was like “Check?” We were like, “Plate?” He apparently had never heard of “Breakfast Dessert” before, but he showed us his favorites: A make your own waffle bar, bread pudding, and this amazing fruit mousse that blew my mind.
We spent the day walking the beach and laying out in the sunshine. The Grand Fiesta is now officially my favorite hotel because they understand that all a girl wants is a hot pink towel and some sand. It was such a relaxing day, we literally did nothing except lay in the sun and watch the man-kinis walk by. If that’s not a good way to bid the year a farewell I don’t know what is. After a few hours of lazy bliss, we had to get ready for work. With full bellies, pink cheeks and happy hearts, we flew back to sub-zero temperatures to usher in the New Year. And that folks is just one of those fleeting memories that make this job worth it. It’s not always fun, it doesn’t always make me happy, but every once in a while I get to see a tiny glimpse of this great big world and I realize that it is worth it.
Thank you all for reading, and for following along with me and this crazy year of ups and downs. I hope that you embrace this new year with open arms and everything that it has to bring. So here’s to 2018. Here’s to new memories and new adventures. Here’s to the highs and here’s to the lows. And here’s to you and here’s to me! Happy NEW YEAR! Viva tu Vida!
