Mexico, here we come
- Bob Hanna: Someday
- March 24, 2019
- 1139
Stayed home today with a stomach bug that has been going around. Not fun. If you have it or had it, you know what I mean. I’m not one to get sick often, but when I do, it’s usually the nasty kind.
Well, spring is just around the corner, and I can tell the animals can't wait. Every day the sun shines I’ve been seeing the deer out roaming again, the ground hogs peeking out of their holes and big flocks of turkeys out and about.
Even though most of my articles are usually about hunting or fishing, we do actually have other excursions planned. Keeping track and planning each one is one thing I enjoy. Taryn tells people I’m the logistics guy.
Recently we got a surprise when my boss, Brad Schmucker, along with his son Brandon, called me into the office and asked me if we had anything planned for March. Of course the first thing that goes through your mind is "what now?" Not that that’s a negative, but with all the things that we do, just adding one more thing into our schedule is a burden.
Brad said Millersburg Tire had been invited again to the Hercules incentive trip. Dealers are invited to a vacation/business trip put on by Hercules Tire each year when they reach a certain sales level. This year the trip was to the Grand Hyatt Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. He said they had discussed it and thought we might like to go.
Well actually I was stunned at first. The only time I ever thought of going to Mexico was if we went after Sonoran mule deer or bighorn sheep. I told them I would ask Taryn and let them know. Taryn had the same expression on her face I did. Her reply: ”Oh, why not?”
Preparing for the trip was a little different than usual. For one thing summer attire for me is a pair of grease-stained jeans and a grubby T-shirt. Luckily it was close to my un-birthday (leap year), so I got to pick out a few nice shirts and some shorts. That was the other issue. I rarely wear shorts, so my legs are bleach white. In my softball days, the players nicknamed me “Snow White.” Pitchers would complain they couldn't see the plate from the glow of my legs.
I knew I didn’t want to show up on satellite in Mexico and have people point and say, “Well, he’s from Ohio,” so I went to the nice people at Beach Club Tanning in Berlin and got a quick spray tan right before we left.
Steve Kauffman helped me fill out all of the reservation documents, and because we had just renewed our passports, we were all set. It was kinda nice having all the logistics done for us, and the trip and resort costs were all paid for by Hercules Tire. Some people asked us if we felt comfortable traveling to Mexico with all the immigration issues in the news. They assured us we would be completely safe as there were about 200 people coming from all across the United States and we would be escorted from the time we arrived.
Just as always we counted down the days, and we were on our way. We’ll give ya a good rundown of our stay in Mexico next time, but for now just remember this: In all the places we’ve been — the terrain of the Rocky Mountains, the beauty of Alaska, the Islands of the Eastern Caribbean as well as witnessing the devastation of Haiti, the Arctic tundra of Quebec, the jungles of Africa, the tranquility of the woods in Maine, the Atlantic, the Pacific and now Mexico — one thing stands true. God is there. And that includes right here, right now. And he cares for you and me.
God bless.