We weren’t getting picked up until 1150 to head to the airport so we explored the hotel balcony a little and then walked down the street to Merci for breakfast.
I had french toast and bacon and Josh had 2 eggs, hash browns, bacon and toast. The hash browns were probably the best I’ve had and my french toast was amazing.
We walked down the street the other direction then to a monument to Mayan and Mexican history. It was impressive and beautiful, well worth the walk.
When we got back to the hotel around 1000 it was already so hot and humid that we were drenched in sweat. Thankfully I packed extra clothes so I could shower again and change. Warm weather is nice but not when it’s over 90 at 1000. Jeff had left early in the morning for his flight to Houston. He kept us up to date on his status. Everything was fine until he went through Customs and Border Patrol with his turkey and quail. He sent several texts to Josh saying he would like to just toss them all and go home. He called at one point in a panic wanting the info for Josh’s taxidermist but eventually made it through and made his flight to Arizona. Victor picked us up at 1150 and dropped us at the airport. On the way there we drove past the bull fighting arena. If only we would have time to see that!
Once again I was carrying something for Joshua and got stopped at security. This time it was pretty ridiculous though. We had gotten packing tape to put the turkey in a box when we got to Miami, but apparently you cant take tape. When I googled it all I could find was that it could be used as a restraint….. without a weapon I’m not sure how I would get everyone to sit still long enough while I restrained them but to them I suppose it is a valid concern. We made it through security and hung out for our 2 hour wait for our flight. They took everyone individually to the airport but Matt, Kalan and Tracken made it to the airport before our plane boarded. We said our last goodbyes and then boarded our first flight home. The flight was uneventful and we made it through the initial customs section easily. After picking up our bags we went to Customs and Boarder Patrol to declare the turkey. They struggled to understand what he was bringing into the US and the woman helping us had an attitude the entire time. Josh completed all of his Fish and Wildlife paperwork ahead of time to try and streamline the process. She, however, spent a long time on the computer doing seemingly nothing then after Josh asked a bunch of questions she finally said the issue was with the US Department of Agriculture not Fish and Wildlife. Josh was able to call the taxidermist and clear that up. She then spent 15 minutes on the phone speaking Spanish and arguing with someone else. Another officer who was helping was much nicer and he was joking with us and seemed to think the turkey was pretty cool. She finally decide we could go and spent another 15 minutes clicking on her computer then decided she needed to tape the bag the turkey was in and took her time finding the tape and doing that all while knowing we had a connecting flight to catch. When they finally let us go we turned in our checked bags and got through security as fast as possible. We were able to run to the gate and were the second to the last group to board. Thankfully we made the flight though and didn’t have to spend the night in Miami.
Meanwhile the flight from Merida to Dallas was delayed an hour. Matt ended up having trouble with customs as well and between that and the delay missed his flight to Minnesota. They gave him a hotel voucher and hopefully he will be able to make it home tomorrow. We don’t know for sure about Kalan and Tracken but based on flight times too Salt Lake they were stuck in Dallas as well.
After we boarded the plane Josh tracked our bags and realized mine was on the plane and his bow was not. We had the row to ourselves for a comfortable flight home but had no idea what was going on with his bow. In Baltimore he went into the baggage office while I waited for my bag. They showed it didn’t leave Miami but was scheduled to go to Charlotte, NC tomorrow morning and then to Baltimore arriving at 1000. Since it was supposed to come in the morning we decided to spend the night in the hopes of picking up his bow at the airport in the morning instead of them shipping it. We got a room at the Holiday Inn Express around 1230 and headed to bed.