Riviera Maya Vacation - Part Twelve

There you have it, folks..............could I have written more about the Grand Palladium Resort?..........well, sure..........but I think I covered the more important stuff. Finally, I can wrap this report up and start blogging about other stuff such as Christmas. Would I come back here to this resort?......... absolutely.

Whenever you read up about a travel destination, you never seem to find anything about the trip to and from the airport...........what is it like?........how long did it take?...........what will you see along the way?..............what are the roads like?................not that it is all that important because you want paradise and you don't really care what surrounds the place since you might not be planning to venture off of the resort property. How can I describe the Mexico that I saw between the Cancun airport and the Grand Palladium Resort?..............I saw no indication of a middle class portion of society. I got the impression that there are only the haves and the have-nots. The main highway appears to flow well and is fairly well maintained. On the other hand, as I would look from our transport van...........the side roads were a display of blight and squalor. Yet mishmashed amongst that are car dealerships and world class resorts.

There is one thing that they do in Mexico that should be done here in the USA..........or at least in Baltimore. Speed bumps........or as they call them "topes"..........without a doubt the most effective method of traffic control.......guaranteed to slow down the traffic between point A and point B. I wouldn't necessarily use them on the Beltway, but this is exactly what should be used in school zones instead of the money-grabbing speed cameras that were recently approved of and installed.

Every single vehicle slows down for these.

As I said, the main highway appears to be well maintained and a smooth ride.........except for those "topes".........hehehe.


Playa Del Carmen is the largest town between the Grand Palladium Resort and Cancun. We just cruised on past without stopping, except for the traffic lights.

It is a growing area and eventually I can imagine the area looking like Daytona. Still..........I could see quite a bit of rubble and squalor.


Poor infrastructure..............okay, we had some heavy rains........but they just don't have the sewer and drainage systems that we enjoy in the States.

You pass by many assorted resort properties...............and they look impressive.............and you can count on them to be well taken care of as well as being well planned with good infrastructure.

The "collectivo"...........it's not a cab........it's not a bus...........but it is how alot of people get to work.

It took us about just over an hour to get to the resort and just as long to get back to the airport. We had direct transportation..........non-stop. Other vacationers, who do not do their "homework", end up on a huge bus that will stop at just about every resort between the airport and their particular vacation spot...........and that could take up to two and a half to three hours each way..........not to mention a higher price for the ride. If you plan on a trip to the Grand Palladium Resort, make sure that you visit the Palladium Addicts website and read everything.

As you ride along, you are reminded that "paradise" isn't really "paradise".

The resort should be thought of as a diamond in the rough.

As you approach the airport..........suddenly everything is similar to being at home.

There are those "topes" again.........well..........that's about it.

The trip was great, I thoroughly enjoyed it.........Supernurse enjoyed it............and we felt appreciated for being there. I look forward to returning........maybe even next year.

If you have any questions about the resort, feel free to put your question in the comments.

I may have a thing or two that I will mention here on the blog about our trip that, for some reason, I may have overlooked.

Now lets get Christmas out of the way..........next trip : The Bellagio in Las Vegas!........in January.

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Speed Cameras In School Zones

Sometimes you have to just sit back and scratch your head and wonder what the hell is going on? At this point, there is no doubt in my mind that our government officials and law enforcement officials, in reality, do not have the safety of the citizens in mind when they come up with bogus laws and really bogus ways of "enforcing" them.

Consider the "school zones". On the surface, designated school zones are something just about everyone would agree with having. Instead of the school zone being utilized for the safety of our children, the only purpose that I can see for having any such zones at this point is that it is just another disguise as a revenue generator. Think about it.......we have 55mph speed limit signs on the Baltimore Beltway yet the overwhelming majority of vehicles there are maintaining a steady 65-75 mph unless there is a backup. There is no way that police can stop everyone and give them a ticket. No way possible. It is also true that there is no way possible to ticket every vehicle that speeds through a school zone.....regardless of how many signs are posted. The question is......how do we get everyone to slow down for the kids that may be present near a school? The answe is a simple one. No need for a "study"........no need to waste taxpayer money.......especially in these current times. But think about the issue for a moment........how many years now have we had schools and cars on the same streets? For me......I cannot remember any time when cars and trucks and children were not using the same neighborhood.

As long as there have been vehicles on the road, there has been a great number that speed by...... well over the posted limits. Nothing has stopped them and nothing ever really will. There will never be a day when all drivers obey the rules. Out of the blue.......somebody decides that having speed cameras at intersections will discourage drivers from running a red light. Maybe it does discourage a few, but I contend that those few are the decent folks who ordinarily wouldn't run a red light. So instead of the cameras doing what they were initially designed to do, the money grabbers realized that with the slew of habitual drivers with poor driving skills....there is a consistent flow of money being generated via citations that are mailed to each "violator". As I think about it, I cannot recall ever seeing any news reports declaring that traffic light camera fines are decreasing and that the cameras are actually effective. None..........ever.

Holy George Orwell, Batman!.........this camera stuff is getting ridiculous. Our politicians decided that they want cameras also in construction zones.......more money. Of course the reason they give for wanting them is always an honorable excuse............we don't want highway workers being run over. I agree with that.........but I also am smart enough to know that a vehicle that hits a highway worker at 40 mph isn't something I would consider being a benefit for the worker as opposed to being hit by a vehicle cruising at 55 mph............duh!...........but we have those cameras anyway..........more money spent.....more money made.

So now we are going to have speed cameras in school zones. There's gonna be alot of cameras......there are schools just about everywhere...........and there is no telling how many "school zones" that will be expanded into larger surrounding areas.........more money........more money. This is nothing but a money grab. Once again, the cause is a good one.....we want our kids to be safe...........but don't we also want our kids to be safe EVERYWHERE and not just in a school zone?................uh oh......I may have jumped the gun here.......if we say that kind of stuff then the politicians will just cut to the chase and put these cameras everywhere.....once and for all! It seems already that this is the ultimate target......to have cameras everywhere. Big Brother.....Orwell......1984...........this ain't no science fiction anymore.

I just do not believe that these politicians, that enact such laws and mechanisms, really, really have our best interests at heart. Think about it..........school zones are all considered "Drug Free" zones as well. The idea was that our kids would be safer if school zones were declared drug free.......yeah right...........you gotta be kidding me. The only result of the "drug free" designation is that when anyone caught with illegal drugs in a designated "drug free area", they would have an extra charge against them and a heavier fine and penalty. Sounds all well and good, but the reality is....it hasn't stopped the illegal activity and our kids are still very much at risk while at or near a school. Somebody, though, makes alot of money out of the deal. Let's face it.......the gun laws are the same deal. Thugs, thieves, , murderers, drug dealers, speeders.......all sorts of criminals.......none of these people ever just stop dead in their tracks and say....."Uh oh......I guess I won't be doing this anymore because they have a new law." Good people are having laws thrown at them left and right and they already are not breaking any laws. Lawbreakers could care less about the law or the rules.

If our leaders were really serious about getting vehicles to slow down in school zones, they would order some signs similar to the following:

I noticed that they had them in Mexico............we were in a bus that was traveling down a highway to get us to some Mayan ruins, and the bus would have to almost come to a complete stop at various points along the road.......even though I could see no apparent reason for them to stop.....they surely did because they had some effective "speed bumps" unlike any that I had ever seen.

You run over these babies at any speed over 5 mph and it gets your attention.

I had not seen them in use here at home.......we have those asphalt humps......as they call them
"traffic calming devices"...........which really doesn't do very much to slow anyone down. My son tells me that the federal government uses the metal one in front of government facilities......imagine that.......they must want to be safer than the rest of us.

These bumps are effective. They do the job. Who cares what it costs? The objective is to make our kids safer?.........right? Forget those speed cameras.......they won't benefit the kids at all.
Let's put some people to work....other than illegals......and do it right.

I personally will not vote to re-elect any boneheaded political candidate that has approved or intends to approve speed cameras.

The money grabbers need to go......its about time we make things right.

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