The Wedding

Alleigh was so beautiful I was crying before the ceremony started.

Alleigh & Uncle Ricky:


The wedding took place in a tiny little chapel that must have been 150 degrees farenheit inside. Everyone lost a good 10 pounds just sitting there.



Deborah's mascara melted into her eyes and she couldn't see anything.


Justinne and Holden recovering from the religious sauna experience:




Aunt Sue & Mom cooling down:


Me, Alleigh, Ed, Mom, Dan:


The Chickletts:


Alleigh & Ed:





The Kiss:




The After Party

Elvis was in the Building

So was Elvisita

And his cousin Ricky-Elvis

Holdenista

Mi Familia

So the rest of my family got a ride down to Tulum and met us at the hotel. Alleigh was getting married the next day at an all-inclusive resort called DREAMS Tulum. For $55 we could hang out for the day - included all activities, drinks and food. We got there in the morning and hung out all day - in the ocean, in the pool bar, in the other pool...if a family member will email me photos of this I'll be happy to post them.

The missing daughter reunited with her long lost mother (drinking breakfast, of course):


Dreams:





Dan sporting the latest in Yucatan haute couture:


The Love Birds (I'm such a yenta!)


Mom was so impressed by this Mayan death-defying dance...


...that she paid one to go home with her:


Our New Dog:


Dad doing the Snorkel Dance (seriously, we can't take him anywhere)

Viva Mexico

MEHICO HAAS BEEEN VERRY VERRY GOUD TO MEE

My cousin Alleigh decided to get married in Tulum, on the Yucatan peninsula. At first, I thought it was kind of crazy to be going to Mexico in July, but it ended up being fabulous. The weather was temperate - just a little hotter and a little more humid than NYC, and the beaches were deserted. My friend Deborah, who we learned is the long lost daughter of my parents (we were switched at birth) and I flew to Cancun, rented a minivan, and drove 1.5 hours to the tropical paradise of Tulum beach.

View From Our Hotel Room:




The Great Pick Up Line
Deb and I arrived late in the afternoon and b-lined for the ocean. There was another couple lounging around that we didn't pay any attention to. After 20 minutes or so we decided to go up to the restaurant for a drink. We got a window seat. A few minutes later this guy hacks his way thru the jungle garden outside our window and says to us; "Did you see my flipflop?" Deb and I looked at each other. "We were sitting right next to you guys down by the water" he continued, "and my flipflop is missing". I looked at Deb, agast; "Did you take his flipflop?" She shook her head no. "Maybe a dog took it" I said. "Yeah, maybe" he said. He waited for more, but we honestly had no idea what happened to it, so he disappeared back into the jungle. We just couldn't figure out how he knew that we were in the restaurant, sitting in that exact spot that he had to hack his way to.

Tranquility



We arrived in Cancun around 10PM so we spent the night before heading down south.

Deborah's Mexican low carb breakfast:


And then we decided to explore a Mexican Walmart and discovered a mystery fruit:


Tried to figure out exactly what you're supposed to do with them:


We did a little souvenir shopping before we left, but we were highly suspicious of the prices. Cancun is extremely overpriced and a far cry from the economical Mexico we all know and love.


We had a day to ourselves before my family came down to meet us, so we drove a little bit into the interior of the Yucatan to the colonial town of Valladolid, where prices were supposed to be a little more reasonable. They weren't.

Lost in the Yucatan:


The church of Valladolid:




The shopping hustle - EVERYONE needs one of these for their living room:




Mayan culture is alive and well in the Yucatan.