RickkciR

In May of 2020, I almost bought the farm. Thirty minutes of sustained ventricular tachycardia sent my heart rate completely out of control and landed me in the hospital. That episode ultimately led to the implantation of my ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator), a device I hoped I would never truly need. I wrote about that experience here: 48 Hours of Hospitals https://rickkkcir.blogspot.com/2020/05/48-hours-of-hospitals.html At the time, I believed the ICD was insurance. Something I'd hopefully never have to cash in. I was wrong. In October of 2022, my ICD fired seven times in roughly an hour. A week later came another trip to the hospital and another reminder that heart rhythm issues don't care about your plans. I wrote about those experiences here: Lucky 7 https://rickkkcir.blogspot.com/2022/10/lucky-7.html No Jolt This Time Around https://rickkkcir.blogspot.com/2022/10/no-jolt-this-time-around.html Fast forward to last week. Almost six years after this journey began ...

Two of our closest friends have a wedding anniversary just three days apart from ours, and historically we’ve always celebrated together with a short getaway. Years ago, those trips usually meant Galveston, but more recently we’ve upgraded to Mexico all-inclusive resorts. This year, Lucy and I decided we were heading to the Playa del Carmen area to take full advantage of our UVC membership and finally experience the Impressions brand — the top tier of the vacation iceberg. At the moment, there are only two Impressions resorts in existence, both relatively new, and we chose Impressions Moxché by Secrets because it was the easier of the two to visit. Our friends Mark and Nancy had been dealing with a difficult year. Mark is still recovering from multiple back surgeries, but we extended the invitation anyway in case they felt up to traveling. To our surprise, they accepted, and suddenly it was game on. Initially, the pricing was steep. On the open market, the rooms were over $8,500, bu...

 Funny Shit .. at least to me. Got kicked out of my third UVC FB group... which branched it to more than a few.  Over the years you realize there are a lot of skin thinned folks on the 'net.  Some get a lil power hungry in their 'admin' roles on groups and pages. (I admin non-travel related 1/2 doz myself).  Funniest thing to me i'd realized early last year, most of them are either from the 'left' (you can tell by their Profile pages) .. or  .. as of late I noticed; Canada.  Just a fact.  Hell, we've got more than our share of 'them' in our blues states and cities.   What happened you might wonder? _________________________________________ Now understand... I found that list this person claimed they had created, shared off by someone else, and noticed at least two errors in it.  After 30 seconds, had created an updated , corrected version of non trademarked info.   Hell, I even created a better one for Adults Only for my person...

  ETA Cruises: Back From the Dead… or Just Another AI Fever Dream? There I was, minding my own business, when my old ETA Motorcycle Cruises posts suddenly started getting traffic again. Not one or two random clicks either — enough to make me think: "Wait a minute… did somebody actually revive this thing?" So naturally, like every aging biker with internet access and too much caffeine, I went digging. WHOIS lookup showing the mysterious domain resurrection. The Original ETA: Gone Like Free Beer at Sturgis For anyone who missed the drama, ETA Motorcycle Cruises was basically declared DOA around 2020. The old references floating around the web said things like: • “ETA Motorcycle Cruises, LLC: DEAD” • “ETA closed its doors” • “cruise-eta.com: DEAD” Then COVID hit the cruise industry with the subtlety of a drunken dude on a Road Glide trying to park downhill. But Then… The Domain Rose From the Grave I checked the WHOIS data and nearly spit coffee ...

 Ten more coming on line via Hyatt.   Not sure if I agree with the 2:1 and 3:1 ratings, but .. hey ....   is what it is ....  Soooooo many more choices in the future .. Living The Dream! Impressions, Secrets, Zilara.  No brainers.  Breathless .. maybe since it's supposed to be a younger crowds  (all of these are Adult only).  Sunscapes?  Oh hell NO!   Zoetry ...  high end, calm, but 'family friendly'.  Still can't imagine many kids there.   Dreams and Ziva are the iffy ones .  Depends on Adult only areas/pools,  and the time of the year (less kids). Still ..soooooooooooooo  many choices. We've got to burn through several hundred Premieir Nights and over a dozen VIP weeks over the next ten years....   

Okay .. this is funny shit.  Booked with another couple for Royal Beach later this year.   I always see positives for Royal Beach .. so ... booked!   Then saw folks talking about Tides and Cap Cana but not mentioning Royal Beach ... so .. did a full blown compairions.  Needless to say, I'll be going to all 3 over the next year or so and do my own comparisons...  But for now, sticking with Royal Beach! R eal-world, review-based breakdown of the three Secrets resorts in Punta Cana— Cap Cana vs Tides vs Royal Beach —based on consistent themes across travel sites, forums, and traveler feedback. 🏝️ Big Picture (quick take) Cap Cana = most luxurious / quiet / romantic Tides = newest / modern / relaxed with best space Royal Beach = most social / lively / best location 🥇 1. Secrets Cap Cana (Premium / Romantic / Quiet) Best for: anniversaries, couples, higher-end experience What stands out Located in a gated, upscale Cap Cana community ...

Ever have your spouse come house with a handful of bags and say " Look how much I saved" ?   You know, buy things on sale and attempt to convince you they did the right thing? Well, today I made ... I mean saved .. I mean ... got refunded about $2500!   That' like what ... $600/hr working at the keybaord for the 4 hours I spent on it???   Okay okay ... lets be honest.  We've got a lot of trips planned this year, but ....  after joining UVC last year, I'm really focusing on squeezing $$ out of it all.  And they way you 'make' money is by tracking your reservations and verifying you've got the best price.   When I book them, I book the 100% refundable rates.  Then weekly ... or worst case .. monthly .. I do a quick check to see where the prices are at.  If they go down on the UVC site, a quick 5 minute call and .. fixed.  Refund in the mail.  If I find a lower price out there that there is less than a 25% delta, a ...

🇩🇴 Traveling to the Dominican Republic: Currency, Cash & Tipping Guide What to Bring, What to Use, and How to Spend Smart Bacially creating this for myself as a cheat sheet but I know it pertains to others!  If you’ve traveled to Mexico, you’re used to pesos — but heading to the Dominican Republic (DR) introduces a new currency and slightly different habits around cash and tipping. This guide breaks down everything you need to know so you can: Bring the right amount of money Use the right currency in the right places Avoid unnecessary fees Tip confidently at resorts and beyond 💱 The Official Currency of the Dominican Republic The official currency is the: Dominican Peso (DOP) ISO Code: DOP Symbol: RD$ Locally referred to simply as “pesos” 💵 Banknote Denominations You’ll commonly see these bills: Denomination Color RD$50 Purple RD$100 Orange/Red RD$200 Pink/Blue RD$500 Green/Purple RD$1,000 Red/Green RD$2,000 Blue/Pink 👉 There is also a RD$20 bill (of...

I've compiled a ton of data over the last year on the subject of tipping.  Headed down next month with friends and going to remind them to bring some funds for tipping (they know but.. haven't been in awhile). We're headed to a 5 Star high end resort (Impressions by Secrets) , so .... here we go! 💰 How Much Cash to Bring Just for Tipping (7 Nights) 🏖 Standard All-Inclusive Resort 👉 $175–250 USD ≈ 3,000–4,300 MXN Comfortable target: ~$210–230 Covers: Housekeeping Pool/beach service Dinners Drinks 🌟 Secrets / Preferred Club 👉 $200–250 USD ≈ 3,500–4,300 MXN Sweet spot: ~$220–240 Slight bump for: Better service areas More consistent staff interactions 🖤 Impression by Secrets (Butler-Level) 👉 $350–500 USD ≈ 6,000–8,500 MXN Comfortable target: ~$400–450 Includes: Butler tip (biggest portion) Higher-end service interactions 🧾 Quick Rule of Thumb Standard AI: ~$30/day Preferred Club: ~$30–35/day Impression: ~$50–70/day ...