Playin In Playa - The Blind Chick Escapes the Office!

1) Episode Summary

Penn and Moses check in from Playa del Carmen, Mexico—just a few blocks from the ocean—sharing a nostalgic “then vs. now” look at the Yucatán. Moses reflects on visiting the region as far back as the early 1970s, while the two of them compare Playa’s fishing-village past to today’s explosive growth: a once-small Fifth Avenue now feeling like “the Vegas strip on steroids,” and a jungle-lined two-lane road now a major highway.

They talk through what they’ve loved (food, social warmth, quieter lodging close to the action) and what’s been hard to watch (beach access shrinking, hotels built right up to the water, old haunts gone or unrecognizable). Penn also notes the accessibility shift—still imperfect, but dramatically improved compared to earlier trips—while pointing out she hasn’t seen other cane or guide-dog travelers during this visit.

Underneath the travel memories is a deeper thread: aging, change, grief, and gratitude—how you don’t always realize what you had until time has moved on. They share upcoming meetups with friends in the area, invite listeners to share their own “returning after years” stories, and close with listener mail and birthday notes—plus a reminder to be kind to yourself and someone else this week.

2) Contact Info

• Listener feedback + birthday ideas/cards: [e-mail]
• Mailing address (as stated in the episode):
  Aftersight
  1802 Highway 42, Suite 201
  Louisville, CO 80027
• Producer: Jonathan Price (Aftersight)

3) Show Credits

• Show: The Blind Chick
• Hosts: Penn Street, Moses Street
• Producer: Jonathan Price
• Network/Org: Aftersight

4) Chapter Markers

• 00:00 — Welcome back; quick banter and intros
• 00:10 — Coming to you from Playa del Carmen (Yucatán)
• 00:28 — Moses’ first Yucatán trips (1973/74) and early Playa memories
• 01:09 — “1990-ish” timeline check; realizing how long it’s been
• 01:15 — Playa as a fishing village; Fifth Avenue was only a few blocks
• 01:55 — “Stop here for the bathroom” era; Cozumel as the main reason
• 01:59 — Doing Mexico cheaply: Cozumel airport → ferry → Playa
• 02:44 — Watching Playa “explode” between visits (5x, 10x growth)
• 03:16 — Last big trip 18 years ago; coming back after a gap
• 04:26 — Finding old haunts; almost nothing is the same
• 05:02 — Fifth Avenue today: wild, global, late-night culture
• 06:29 — Eating times, crowds, and the feeling of nostalgia
• 07:27 — Winter of 2000: living right on Fifth Avenue (when it was tolerable)
• 08:47 — Wedding dress + dental work stories: the old Mexico price shock
• 10:06 — The beach reality now: access, guards, and what’s changed
• 12:40 — Accessibility reflections: improved, but still not “U.S. sidewalks”
• 13:45 — Moses’ “shallow male” era: European tourists, celebrity sightings
• 17:14 — Getting older: naps, heat, air conditioning, and “luxury now”
• 18:45 — Upcoming meetups: Scott Garrison’s parents; Megan Huffnagle & Greg
• 21:49 — The deeper point: returning after years, sadness, gratitude, perspective
• 23:12 — Rough year + loss; why this trip mattered
• 24:36 — Fifth Avenue at night; family culture differences
• 26:07 — Social warmth + travel humor (language, Americans jumping away)