After being quarantined in Mexico for 5 months, it was time to make an escape! Our daughter was moving into LSU and of course, we had to make a quick trip to Louisiana to help her. It also meant I FINALLY got to see my husband after he had been quarantined in the USA!
So in August, me and CJ loaded up and headed for the airport. It was our first trip since COVID and we weren’t sure what to expect. We put on our masks at 2:30am to get in the transport van and were on our way to Cancun airport. They only had one terminal open since there wasn’t a lot of traffic coming in/out of Mexico, so we had to learn a new area of the airport, which wasn’t bad, just more walking than we were used to. Going through security, we had to walk through a temperature scanner and answer a COVID questionnaire. By this point, it was 6:30am and we were starving! However, even though the airport was open, there were NO restaurants or stores open to find food! We finally found a little, sort of, store and bought a canned coffee and a piece of fruit, it was all we could find, but at least we had something in our stomachs. And by 7:30am we were on the plane headed to the states.
I was so excited, I hadn’t been away from Britt this long – ever – and he was going to be waiting at the airport to pick us up.
I expected when we landed in Houston to have to answer another questionnaire, to have my temperature checked again, but… nothing. I thought it was odd that it was more difficult to leave Mexico than it was to enter USA, but still glad to be back on American soil.
And as promised, Britt was there to pick us up! Of course, my daughter came too, but hey – I had just said goodbye to her a week earlier, so even though I was glad to see her, I was super glad to see Britt. (even though for the next five days we had ZERO alone time because we had the kids with us!). But I was super, super glad to be able to take that mask off after wearing it for 12 hours straight!
First stop. Buccees! I know, I know. Who gets that excited to go to a convenient store? Well, someone who has been quarantined in Mexico for 5 months with no access to junk food! And even if I would have had access, there is no comparison from what is available in Mexico to what is available in the states. I honestly just stopped right in the doorway with my mouth open thinking I had entered convenient store heaven! (and of course, Britt just stood there laughing at me). After spending $100 on stuff for the “ride” back to Louisiana (which is only 2 hours) I was on a junk food high and happy as could be.
But enough about junk food because now I’m suddenly craving a trip to Buccees, lol.
We spent 1 day shopping for her dorm, 1 day shopping for all of the things that I can’t buy in Mexico, 1 day moving her in, 1 day visiting family – and then it was back to Mexico. Oh, and Britt got to come home with us! Yep, finally had to just use a vacation week so he could have some time at home. And just like that, my Escape from Quarantine was over.
For someone who is used to traveling almost every month, one trip in the last year just doesn’t seem enough, but it may have also been a blessing in disguise. I was able to slow down and really enjoy staying put in one place this last year, and that sanity is worth more than all the goodies I can get and bring home from the states!
BarefootBikiniBeachlife 