Latest / The Blind Chick / Playin In Playa - The Blind Chick Escapes the Office!
Transcript
- Penn (00:00.6) Hello everybody and welcome back to the blind chick. That's Moses Street. Moses (00:06.814) And that's Penn Street. Penn (00:10.505) I'm going to home. And we are actually coming to you from only about three, four blocks from the ocean. We are in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, which is part of the Yucatan. Moses (00:28.814) just south of Cancun and north of Tulum. And I have been coming to the Yucatan since 73 or four, 1973 or four, when Cancun was just a little fishing village. And then Penn and I both got to Playa del... I still haven't learned how to say it since for, wow, maybe 1990. Penn (01:09.262) 1990, think. Yeah. 30s. Gosh, that's 36 years. Moses (01:15.182) And at that time, Playa was still a fishing village and Fifth Street, which is the main whole tourist area, was only a few blocks long. then you'd go out to Cozumel. Penn (01:36.908) Yeah, it really wasn't much of a tourist attraction back then. It was really just a stop on the road. Yeah. It was a place you just stopped going that you were headed someplace else. Moses (01:50.286) Probably the only reason to stop here is you were going out to Cozumel. Penn (01:55.928) You needed a drink or to go to the bathroom because you were going somewhere else. Moses (01:59.854) Yeah. everything that well, the big change is everything was dramatically cheaper back then. Yeah. And we even we came down here. Well, we basically lived in Mexico in the winters. And so and we were going as cheap as we could possibly go. So we could be here, you know, three months. And and so we would fly. into Cozumel, walk from the Cozumel airport into town, get on the ferry, and then come over to Playa de Carmen. And that was dramatically cheaper than flying to Cancun. Penn (02:44.974) Yeah, and it was a lot easier just to get here. Yeah, and but we knew by Del Carmen was going to explode because every year we'd come and so there was a few times it was two or three years because we would go to other places like Islamo Harris and to do but Ocumal those different places so we would go two or three years without coming it would Moses (03:14.958) to require. Penn (03:16.334) to Playa del Carmen, it was like huge change. Like it would be five times bigger, 10 times bigger. And the last time we came down, the last time we were here was 18 years ago. Our oldest daughter Chantry had gotten married on Isla Mujeres and then Moses and my brother Tim, who was still alive at the time. We, after the wedding and all the guests left, the three of us came to Playa del Carmen for about a week. I think we were here before we went home and we were in shock because Moses (04:00.734) When we got here this time. Penn (04:02.954) Well, we, and that had only been three years. No, that had been eight years, an eight year gap. And we were in shock at how much it had grown. And of course this time, besides a few little things, we do not recognize it at all. Moses (04:26.348) and it took us a couple hours to find all our old haunts, which were not what they were at all last time we were here. Penn (04:34.218) And very few of them really. Moses (04:36.334) And we knew it was going to be big because in the old days, it was a two lane road through the jungle. And it would just be jungle, jungle, jungle. And then you'd see a sign, Aki Mall. And then the jungle, jungle, jungle, Playa de Carmen, jungle, jungle, jungle, Tulum. it's a street mall away from Cancun down to here. Penn (04:46.946) get here. Penn (04:59.214) It's sad. Penn (05:02.67) Yeah, and it's a four lane highway. Yeah. And yeah, so we knew from coming it was going to be a bit crazy, but it's still been wonderful. We rented, it's called a penthouse. don't know, it's kind of a penthouse. I mean, it's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful. And we're about four blocks from the beach. And it's so quiet. And it's hard to believe we're so close to the crazy Fifth Avenue. In the Fifth Avenue, the only way to describe it is if you have not been to it, it is like the Vegas strip on steroids, but much cleaner, much livelier, much more diverse. actually hear English is not the first language and neither is Spanish. I would say Italian and German are pretty problem, especially Italian is very problem. And any kind of restaurant you can ever imagine. people don't even start going out to dinner until nine o'clock. Moses and I are the old people. So we go to dinner at Well, the first night we went out of. Moses (06:07.726) Yeah, pretty common. Moses (06:24.91) free. Penn (06:29.326) Well, actually the first night because our plane Got delayed getting here, but yeah, we we didn't eat dinner until nine o'clock that night But even then it was just beginning to start up but last night we went out At 7 and I think we were the only people in the restaurant for the first Just as we were leaving more people came in but it's been really I don't know retrospective for us wine we were Moses (06:33.326) Oh right, got delayed. Moses (06:58.677) Really nostalgic. Penn (06:59.976) Very nostalgic, but also just realizing how we're getting older and change and also, but how much we've changed and. Because we are all changing. The world is changing. Society is changing and just how different we are as a couple. Moses (07:27.522) Well, we were here the winter going into our wedding. Penn (07:32.962) Yes, the, yes. Yeah, we were here in 2000. Yeah, we were here the winter of 2000. And we had rented a beautiful little apartment on Fifth Avenue, and it wasn't quite the Fifth Avenue it is now, because there's no way we would not have tolerated it. Moses (07:55.064) Now, which? Very, very loud. Lots of, lots of music as you walk down the. Yeah. Penn (08:02.702) So now, yeah, yeah, we would not. Moses (08:05.646) And at that time, the Fifth Avenue was, and this is just, well, I guess it's 26 years, but at that time, Fifth Avenue for the tourists was maybe six to eight blocks. Penn (08:20.718) And not like now. Yes, there was a few discos. yeah, was few and far between. And really everything got quiet around midnight. And I have a feeling that midnight is when everything gets really super started. But yeah, 26 years ago we were here. Moses (08:28.31) Everything was really funky. Penn (08:47.734) I had hired a seamstress to make my wedding dress and she was making it. I had brought down a bride's magazine and I know the exact dress I wanted and she was making it to a tee exactly the way I wanted it. Moses (09:05.454) And to show you the difference at that time, in the magazine, the dress was roughly around $2,000 to buy it from the designer. And the woman from the photograph made the exact same dress, and it was about $200. Oh, and at the same time, I was having a little work because the dentist had said, you're going to need a root canal. Penn (09:21.454) that's about 200. Penn (09:26.382) dental work. Moses (09:33.326) And it's going to be a two, $3,000 up in the States. And we came down here and it was like $150. Penn (09:40.654) so nice, they're so gentle. Moses (09:43.416) Yeah, and it's still as good as it was 26 years ago. Penn (09:48.152) Yeah. Yeah. And yeah. And we, and we got, we really were in the best shape of our life. We to yoga every day, worked out at the gym, gym. Yeah. we ran, we were running like, yeah, we were, we were hot. Moses (10:06.318) And the big shock this time is right about where the 5th street, 5th Avenue stopped, the jungle started. And so you cut over to the beach and you could walk for miles on the beach, just all day long if you wanted to. Penn (10:20.675) Yeah. Moses (10:32.898) And so we went out to walk yesterday and it was basically two football fields and you could not go any farther because it is solid. Penn (10:48.248) But it was also there was no beach. Yeah. Like the... Moses (10:52.942) They built the hotels right up to the water and then they had guards that you can't do it. So we went back to Fifth Avenue, which goes now for a long way, and we walked and walked and walked and walked and we couldn't get to a place where we could get back to the beach. Penn (11:09.71) Yeah, but even where the beach was, there's no beach. Like no beach, no beach. that was no beach. Oh yeah, that does kind of sound dirty. But that was sad to me because I used to get up first thing in the morning, go have some coffee and grab my beach towel and my book because I could see better then. Moses (11:14.018) Yeah, it's much thinner. Moses (11:20.814) That's dirty. Penn (11:37.486) All my books were large print, but I would go down to the beach and I would read pretty much all day and then come back wherever we were staying and I would go do something in the evening together. now it's, except by the ferry, there really isn't a beach to lay on unless you go way up north. And that's sad to me. Moses (12:05.942) Luckily the beach and that's the part that still looks like it does the old plaza. But then it's super glitz just past the plaza. Penn (12:16.726) Like it's crazy, they have like three super, like super glass steel malls, like that have like urban outfitters and support. Moses (12:29.71) And all the top brands, know, yeah, they got a Starbucks, but then they've got stuff that you'd have to go to Paris to get to that store. Penn (12:40.524) Yeah, it's, but yeah, but it's, yeah, it's, it's really crazy. I do have to say though, cause I remember. And yes, my vision is way worse now than it was then. But when we used to come down before I just stumbled and stumbled, stumbled. but now it's, mean, it's, it's definitely not the United States with, you know, the flat sidewalks and. Yeah, the, you know, the street crossings line up and all that. It's not that accessible, but I'm in shock at how accessible it is compared to the way it was, you know, even 18 years ago. Yeah. And, and, but I, I, have yet to see another person with a cane or a guide dog. I have not seen anybody. We have seen last night, there's a person in a wheelchair. There's another one. And I was kidding. was like, there must be a conference in town. Yeah. Moses (13:45.198) And then for me being a shallow, very shallow male, what I loved when we first came is it was kind of like way back it was just a fishing village. And then the following year we come and you had Fifth Avenue and it was touristy. But what was amazing is Europe had found out about it before we did. And so it was like every per, this is not an exaggeration. Every person you saw what looked like they just walked off a Vogue cover. Everybody looked like a fashion model. Everybody was just phenomenal looking, dressed in the latest fashion, well, summer fashion and summer. Beachwear and we had this favorite coffee house, which was right on fifth. And so we'd sit there for hours and drinking coffee and stuff. And literally everybody that walked by us was breathtakingly gorgeous. All the men, all the women. And then it was about three. and then what made it cool is like Tyrese, which most people would know from Too Fast Too Furious. was shooting a rap video and Penn and I got in it. Yeah. And so. Yeah, and we were rocking with I res and he was so cool because afterwards he goes, let's all go to the bar, my treat. And then we're sitting on the beach, you know, with our blanket and about three blankets over his Matt Damon and his girlfriend or wife. Penn (15:17.613) We Because like I said, we were hot. Penn (15:41.464) or girlfriend. Moses (15:42.508) Yeah. And then, they were making a movie here and there was some I love and I can't remember. So there was all the Antonio Bandera showed up. that was on his left. Yeah. But it was that same summer. Yeah. And and then about three years later, maybe four. Penn (15:55.022) That was on Islamaharish. Moses (16:07.662) We came down and of course the town was bigger, Avenue was longer, and the Americans had found out about it, and all the beautiful people from Europe had left. Penn (16:21.294) I not say that. But yeah, but yeah, is, Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, I think, I think more this time than ever when, I don't know, coming back to a place that we have so many memories, our girls were, you know, five and eight. Moses (16:27.96) whole atmosphere had changed. Moses (16:47.554) Yeah, they basically grew up here and think of it as their home. Penn (16:51.266) Well, and our oldest daughter got married on Islamaharis because we spent so much time down here with them. And we just have so many memories as parents being down here with them, but also as a couple, we just spent so much time down here together. Moses (17:11.167) And we were so much younger. Penn (17:14.637) Yeah, we have been napping a lot. Yeah, which we never well you did you always have been a napper but not me. Moses (17:24.366) The heat just knocked me out. So today we're doing this kind of stuff in our beautiful penthouse and with killer, really good air conditioning. it's not brutal like so much air conditioning. Penn (17:42.472) And then even with that, we never would have stayed in a place that had air conditioning. No, we would. We did use the fan and. Moses (17:49.816) The was it had to have a fan and it had to have the hooks for our hammocks. always slept in hammocks down here. Penn (17:58.412) You did. I did not like it. I need luxury now. Moses (18:07.394) Yeah, and I love the hammocks so much that we've, at one point I think we had three or four. Penn (18:14.508) I think we still have two of them. Moses (18:16.492) two of them. They're huge that literally four people could be in the hammock comfortably. And to me, those hammocks, they were called familiar hammocks. Penn (18:30.092) Because the whole family would fit in them. Moses (18:31.906) Yeah, and to me it was like the best night's sleep I ever had. And our house now being an old vintage cottage, no room is big enough to put... Penn (18:45.146) Yeah. I know. But yeah, we just wanted to share a little bit of our time down here. We do have some fun things planned while we're down here. Scott Garrison, is the founder, CEO, I'm not sure what his title is. We need to find out of blind pilots. His parents are going to be here next weekend, so we're going to have dinner or. lunch or breakfast with them, Brenda and Joe. We can't wait to meet you guys in person. And then this is crazy. Miss Megan Huffnagle and her husband, Greg. Megan and I have been friends. Moses (19:30.626) long as I've known you. gosh. Penn (19:33.324) We met, I think, when I was 21 years old. That was a long freaking time ago. And Megan, you know, as people do, you get older, you don't see each other as much. Husbands get in the way, that kind of thing. But Megan Moses posted that we were flying out on Monday, and she goes, my gosh, we're flying out on Monday too. We're going to Mexico. And we ended up, are both. Moses (19:45.228) Husband's getting Penn (20:02.57) in Playa del Carmen. They're staying a little bit north of us. And we are going to get together for coffee or breakfast tomorrow or the next day. And we haven't seen each other actually. I think it's been a couple of years. Long time. And it's just crazy that we had to both come all the way to Mexico to have breakfast or lunch. But yeah, it's Moses (20:24.686) It's kind of like, I mean, they've called the Yucatan, what was it, compared to Europe. Oh, I can't remember, so we'll cut that. The French Riviera, they've called the Maya, they've called this area. But what is so neat is we got down here, Penn (20:43.662) Myrivia. Moses (20:51.116) Like the first time I saw Cancun, it was only three or four blocks long and was just a little village. And there was one hotel that was, they were starting construction and out on the peninsula. And now that of course is solid hotels. And now of course it's solid hotels, but all these sites like the cenotes and all the places that you can go like to loom in that. There was nothing down here. you would stop and you'd just walk into the jungle and it was all free. It cost a couple pesos to go to Tulum, the ruins. And now it is solid hotels from Cancun down to the border. Penn (21:42.124) I'm sure people who visit the United States say that too. Yeah. Moses (21:46.808) But it's so neat to see it when it was still jungle-ish. Penn (21:49.196) Yeah. Well, imagine what it's going to look like 18 years from now. Yeah. Yeah. But we would love to hear what you guys think. Have you ever gone back to a place you haven't been for a long time? And what is that nostalgic feeling? I'm definitely feeling a bit of sadness. Same here. Yeah. Moses (22:14.476) Yeah. Penn (22:15.15) And what's really striking me as we get older is you don't know what you have when you have it until it's gone. I feel like that must be like a Bob Dylan song. Moses (22:29.976) No, Joni Mitchell, but take Paradise and quit up a parking lot. Penn (22:33.964) that's Tony Mitchell. But it's like you don't really appreciate where you are in life or until you look back on it and and you can experience it I guess. Yeah. I mean I feel like I'm a totally different person than when I was here before and even even for Moses (22:56.359) you are Penn (23:02.648) Chantry's wedding, I feel like I'm a different person than I would expect that. Moses (23:09.374) No, yeah, and I'm the same old boar. Penn (23:12.782) You are much more relaxed than you were back then. more relaxed, which is nice. But we've been really, like, I mean, that's why we're here, right? We've had a rough year. And then Beethoven passing away, my guide dog passing away December 22nd. That was sort of the icing on the cake. Like, we need some chill time. And I have been working a little bit. Moses (23:17.614) Yeah, way more. Penn (23:39.97) while I'm down here, which has been good, keeping me in reality. Moses (23:45.334) And we basically came down just so we could sit by the ocean and sit in a really nice condo, penthouse, and really not do much of anything. Well, there's the reason to come. I don't think there is a bad restaurant here. Everywhere we go, it's like you're eating super gourmet for roughly the... Penn (23:56.398) Eat yummy food, fresh food. This morning we had a Moses (24:11.17) Well, it's almost like the exact same price for us to eat out at regular everyday places in America. Everybody walks in, it's like, I have never tasted, you you order the same thing you'd order in the States, but it tastes way beyond. Penn (24:17.25) Yeah, but here. Penn (24:27.326) Yeah, I think part of it too when you're on vacation. Yeah, cuz you're more relaxed. Yeah, you just go with the flow Moses (24:36.16) And the scene down on Fifth Avenue is really, I mean, there are thousands, I mean, counting the whole length of it, there are thousands of people the length of that. Penn (24:47.054) I do want to say I feel it is weird at 10, 11 o'clock at night that people have their small children. I feel like they should be in bed, but that's just me. I guess we used to keep Chanter and Tate up. Moses (25:00.243) Yeah, they'd always be a pool in the ocean and we'd go swimming in that. Yeah. Penn (25:06.284) or ice cream to eat at 10 o'clock at night. Moses (25:08.962) Yeah, yeah. Now that we're old, it's gelato. No more. No more dairy. No. Yeah. Penn (25:14.424) There's dairy and gelato. I'm sick. That's why you're telling me. We're getting schooled. But yeah, I think we're just appreciating trying to live in the moment. Yeah. This trip. Yeah. And appreciating what we have. Moses (25:32.854) And it's true a lot. it's been well, we've only been here a few days and it is wonderful. I love you. And the other thing I love about here is everything's still social. Everybody talks to everybody. Penn (25:35.395) Yeah. Penn (25:42.21) Yeah, I love all we do. Moses (25:57.408) And so it doesn't matter what shop you go into, what restaurant you go into, you walk out with the new one, two, three friends. Penn (26:07.534) I do have to say though, even when they tell Moses no English, no English, he still goes on and has a complete conversation with them. Moses (26:15.638) Yeah, I'm the ugly American. You just talk louder and add an A on the end. Penn (26:20.246) And slower, you do talk slower. I do have to say though, it's really nice for somebody who's blind. People don't touch you. Right. Like nobody, like they will move stuff out of my way, which is fine. Like I can tell, I can always tell when it's an American because they always jump out of the way. else, anybody else, anybody else, yeah, but anybody else will just, just move. gently out of my way. But Americans will leap, leap. make a scene. Moses (26:54.936) they'll hit their husband because the husband didn't see us coming. Yeah. And the husband will jump and she'll take off the other way. And it's just like. Penn (27:04.09) you Americans. You Americans. Well, let us know. We'd love to hear from you guys. If you've ever done a nostalgic trip and how that affected you. We'd love to hear from you. Also, my birthday's coming up. Love to get your cards. Send them. Moses (27:26.548) send ideas for me to things to do for Penn's birthday. Yeah, it's so hard. Penn (27:30.126) Yeah, because he really needs her. Send them to feedback at aftersite.org and you can send the cards to after site and that's 1802 Highway 42, Suite 201 and that is Louisville, Colorado and that's 80027 and Jonathan will be putting that in the show notes at the bottom. Moses (28:00.054) And what was that address? was doing something. don't have my pen. Penn (28:03.598) You can find it in the show notes. But yeah, it's just fun. It's also fun to read what you guys have to say on the podcast. So keep them coming. We'd love to hear from you. As always, thank you guys for showing up week after week. We really appreciate it. And definitely thank After Sight. for supporting the show, because absolutely could not do it without all their hard work on the back end. Yep. yeah. So remember to be kind to yourselves this week and try to find a way to be kind to somebody else. It's good for your soul.