Thursday, January 29, 2009

January 28, 2009

Heading back for another vacation in Puerto Morelos



We left the Island in good time this morning crossing the swing bridge at 06:15 a.m.. The roads were clear until just North of Parry Sound where we ran into a light snow fall, the roads were somewhat snow covered and traffic was light. We stopped at the Parry Sound Tim Horton’s for a pit stop and liquid refreshment, we were surprised to see they were not busy, there were few customers and no one from the Island this time. Usually when we stop here we meet someone we know, but not today.

On to Barry we went to do some last minute shopping for items we needed to pick up for our trip and lunch. Those who have had the good fortune to eat at the Mandarin (Chinese buffet restaurant) will understand when I say we planned this meal since last year’s trip. Dwayne and Nancy told us how much they enjoy this place; we have been eating there ever since when passing through. Again we had another good meal, the salad bar was exceptional, I was going to make that my whole meal but couldn’t resist the temptation of all the other food just sitting there waiting to be eaten now could I?

What is a vacation without an adventure? You gota have something to talk about when you get back, right? We were leaving Barry at about 1:30 , traffic was slow due to the heavy snow cover and slippery conditions, as we were rounding the ramp to Hwy 400 the car skidded to the left of the roadside and over the curb – there we were side by each - stuck . Allan got out to shovel while I took his picture (he wasn’t too happy). Knowing we weren’t on the Island we didn’t expect anyone to stop but one nice man with a 4X4 ½ ton truck stopped and pulled us out. Before he came by though one car stopped, its driver was checking to see if we were ok and asked “Do you have a cell phone?” Allan answered “Yes”, the man nodded and then drove away. Who were we to call and where would we find the number???? Toooo Funny!

That was the highlight of our day – with the exception of travel conditions the rest of the trip from Barry all the way to Buffalo. The roads were heavy with snow and traffic was very slow because of it. For the next 5 hours we traveled 40 sometimes 60-80 kph. There were times when the edges of the road and sometimes other vehicles were too close for comfort – there was not much steering in places, the snow just took you where it wanted. Miraculously there were no accidents; we didn’t even see a fender bender along the way. Traffic never stopped, it was a steady slow pace all the way. We arrived at the Best Western in Buffalo at 6:35, had supper at Max’s just next door and called it a day. It was a long one, but we were grateful that each of us and the car survived the trip in one piece! Another good day!