People Who Can Stay for Free

The other day while digging through paperwork trying to catch up on our Mexican and US taxes, Cheri found a little notebook containing a list of names. At the top of the list was written, “People Who Can Stay For Free.” The list is dated October 24, 2004.

We remember that night like it was yesterday. We were several months into negotiations for the Hotel Zanzibar, the little hotel in Playa del Carmen that we would eventually buy and later rename the Luna Blue Hotel & Bar. And, unbeknownst to us at the time, we were four months away from signing the final docs. We were at the the dreaming, planning and imagining stage. What would a move to Mexico mean to us? How would it change our lives? Would we like living in Mexico? Would the deal really go through?

We were having dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in San Francisco, sharing a bottle of red wine, and one of us said, “We should have a list of people who can stay for free.” “That’s a great idea!” the other replied. We were just tipsy enough to take the idea and run with it. We went back and forth with a bit of “Who is that??” and some “You want who?!” and a couple “Well, if you picked him/her, then I want ____!” After a lot of laughter and wine, here’s the list we came up with. This list is people who, if they ever were so inclined to visit us in Playa del Carmen, would not pay a peso at our little Mexican hotel, the Luna Blue Hotel & Bar. They are listed in the order we came up with that night. A few were added today, three and a half years later, because…well…because we are different people today than we were then. The list is filled with people one or both of us respect, admire, lust after or would just really like to meet. Here it is.

BTW, every name is a link, just in case you’re curious about someone. We have a personal bet on whose name will be clicked the most often.

PEOPLE WHO CAN STAY FOR FREE AT THE LUNA BLUE HOTEL & BAR

Muhammed Ali Bill Clinton Aaron Neville Cyril Neville Art Neville Charles Neville Ivan Neville Daniel Day Lewis Salma Hayek Denzel Washington Pat Conroy Jimmy Buffett Jimmy Carter Keith Olbermann Isabelle Adjani Michael Moore Hillary Clinton Christopher Moore Gene Hackman Vicente Fox Susan Sarandon Tim Robbins Bob Dylan Gordie Howe Anthony Bourdain Bonnie Raitt Gary Snyder John Cusack Nancy Pelosi Royce Gracie Anderson Cooper Ramblin’ Jack Elliott Cheryl Strayed Tom Hanks	Kurt Sutter Katie Sagal Oscar de la Hoya Robert Stone Chip Davis William Shatner Michael McCloud Aretha Franklin Hank Williams, Jr. Seymour Hersh Brooke Burke Al Gore Mark Burnett Jeff Probst George Clooney Jenna Jameson Fidel Castro Richard Cohen Doris Kearns Goodwin The Dalai Lama The guys from Sons of Anarchy Big & Rich The Dixie Chicks Stevie Wonder Anne Lamott Barack Obama & family Rachel Maddow Christina Aguilera Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberg III Isabel Allende NJ Governor Chris Christie Keb’ Mo’ George Takei Tom Selleck

So….if you find your name on this list and are in the mood for a quick trip to paradise, give us a call. The room’s on us, and we might even throw in margarita or two.

Who would YOU put on this list??