Cinderella Knew......It's All in How the Shoe Fits

As much as I don’t want to, I’m getting used to this new way of life. It’s becoming less and less foreign and more and more familiar. It’s kind of like putting on a new pair of shoes. At first they’re tight and kind of painful to wear. But as time goes on and you wear them a little more, they’re less uncomfortable. At some point you ease in to them without a second thought.

And with that familiarity comes a new confidence. The confidence to make my own decisions and do what feels right for ME.

I went down to Rocky Point on Thursday morning and purposely didn’t divulge to many people that I was traveling alone. My plan was to meet up with Alison & Brad on Friday and tag along on the tail end of their week long vacation. Had I told people what I was doing, I would have had a ton of concerned warnings from friends and coworkers. Warnings that I know would have been full of care and concern for my safety amidst state department travel warnings and scary stories of violence in other parts of Mexico. While I am certainly no ostrich with its head buried in the sand, completely oblivious to what’s going on around me, I take precautions and travel safely. Going down there for some rest and relaxation was what felt right for ME.

I started my adventure Thursday morning after I picked up my rental car. See? My car is old and has almost 200,000 miles on it (Rock on Toyota!!) so I took appropriate precautions and rented a car. I love to drive on road trips and don’t mind driving alone. I’ve driven to the LA area alone, a one-day turnaround to Flagstaff alone…just turn the radio up, sing along and enjoy the scenery. Got to Lukeville and as the US Customs officer asked me a few questions, joked about taking a rental car through Mexican officials, searched my car, opened my ice chest and rummaged around finally telling me to have fun, I cross the border and get the green light from Mexican officials. Drove through the town of Sonoyta and then come to a road block.

Crap. The streets are closed and traffic is diverted due to a parade going through town. Another of my precautions: NO detours. But in this case there was no choice. I managed to get around the parade and take a minor detour without any incidents. I actually love the drive to Rocky Point. I like to drive fast and once you’re out of town and on the open road, 90 mph is a breeze!

I had originally planned to stay somewhere really cheap like Rosa del Desierto or Playa Azul on Calle 13 but intelligent, precautionary thinking prevailed and instead I stayed at Las Palomas.

A huge condominium resort with lots of security. Checked in, got situated and headed down to catch some sun. After a while I hear a familiar voice calling me….Alison! She and Brad were walking the expanse of the resort beach looking for me after they finished their fishing trip. We hung out for a while, hit the local grocery store together and then parted ways. I checked out the next morning, made a stop or two and then drove the 30 minutes out of town to the Mayan Palace where they were using their time share points. I settled in to their suite and then it was all about the beach, the pool and having fun. Lots of laughing, drinking, eating and good times.

They took me out for a Mother’s Day brunch on Sunday morning and then we headed home – caravan style (See? More precautions.) We parted ways when we hit Tucson; them to their house, me to return the rental.

It feels good to be confident enough in what I want and to be willing and able to take the steps to get it. So that shoe? The one that was once squeaky and stiff? It’s not quite soft and worn but it’s definitely getting more comfortable and I can pull the band-aids off that once prevented the pain. I’m getting there.

And this past weekend, that shoe was a Mexican huarache.