We're back on the beach in Mexico for Thanksgiving -- or Turkey Day, as the locals call it.

The sun is shining, the surf is up and restaurants all up and down the coast are roasting turkeys and giving thanks that the American tourists have finally arrived.

Right up until yesterday, it wasn't looking good. Last weekend, there was nobody here. And I mean nobody. Saturday and Sunday, I had the pool to myself. That's unprecedented for a weekend, especially a warm, November weekend. The peddlers on the beach were so forlorn you wanted to cry. One of them told me that he hadn't made a sale in nearly two weeks. (I bought a bracelet from him. It's a very pretty bracelet but I didn't need another bracelet) Another offered me a huge ceramic vase that would have ordinarily cost $35 (when you've been coming here as long as I have, you get to know what the prices are) for only $15. He'd paid $20 for it, but there weren't any customers and he needed money to feed his family. It's scary to think that even beach peddlers can end up over-capitalized.

When the cars started rolling in last night, you could literally watch the worry-lines vanishing from everyone's faces.

Bao and I are about to go downstairs and have Thanksgiving Dinner. Turkey, with all the trimmings. And for the second year running, I didn't have to cook it. Oh, bliss.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!