Two If By Sea

Yesterday Ibis and I spent the afternoon at the beach -- something I really don't do as often as I should, considering where we live -- because I wanted to see the TWO cruise ships in the bay. Two! This has happened before but I was out of town or something, so this was a first for me.


We had planned to go to Playa la Ropa (the biggest beach on Zihuatanejo Bay) but stopped at the hotel where Ibis used to work to see which beach some friends were at. They were settled in front of the hotel, so we decided to stay there. (I swear this gets more interesting...)

About an hour after we sat down, Ibis was running up and down the beach, Owen yipping at his heels, when he stopped to talk to a family of four. Ibis talks to everyone and Owen is absolutely adorable, so I didn't pay much attention to what they were doing until they approached where we were sitting.

"Melanie?" the woman asked, rushing ahead of her family.

"Yes." I stood and took a step forward, smiling as she neared. Like I said, Ibis talks to everyone so it's not uncommon for people I don't know to come up to me and say hello.

"I read your blog!"

This is where I about fell over.

"I'm [xxx]. I wrote to you a couple weeks ago."

Ah yes, [xxx]. She was concerned about the violence here in Zihua and had written to ask if I thought it was still safe for her to come. I wrote back that as long as they used common sense I was sure they wouldn't have any problems, like I do whenever people inquire about the risks.

"Hi!" I said. By now her family, Ibis, and Owen had joined us, so we all shook hands and talked for a good ten minutes.

They'd been in town for three days but because their hotel is SO nice, this was the first day they'd ventured into town. (I do NOT blame them. The hotel is awesome.) They were on their way back when she noticed Owen racing across the beach. She told her husband that she thought it was Owen, to which he -- obviously -- replied that she was crazy. (Yes, I'm paraphrasing here.)

She was sure of it, then she thought she recognized Ibis, and just as her husband and tired children had almost convinced her to keep walking, she heard Ibis call Owen's name. That's when she went up to him and asked "Is that Owen?"

(Ibis told me afterwards he thought they were going to try to buy Owen, but they weren't worried about a mere dog. They wanted the blogger! Ha!)

Ibis confirmed that Owen was Owen, and then she asked "Is your wife Melanie?"

Fortunately Ibis is aware of my blog so knew right away how she would know all this. He pointed out where I was sitting and that's when we met.

The craziest part is that we NEVER go to that beach (Playa Madera). Sure, Ibis runs with Owen on the beach sometimes, and she remembered reading that on my blog, but never there. CRA-ZEE.

Once they left, I turned to one of the people we'd been sitting with. "I feel like a celebrity."

He laughed. "You ARE a celebrity!"

Does this mean I have arrived?

*****

(Here's another shot of the boat, zoomed in so you can see a bit more.)