A Vacation So Great That I Can't Even Think Of A Good Blog Title For It

I couldn't decide between that title and simply the word "Paradise". Our trip... Well, it truly was a dream come true. Corey and I have never been on a beach vacation. We went to San Antonio on our honeymoon. We are "mountain people", and we always choose to spend our vacation time in that direction. I am fair complected, and the idea of going to the beach for vacation and getting sunburned didn't thrill me. We are not big partiers, and I think that I had the impression that going to the beach would include lots of loud and crazy drunk people in bikinis.  I didn't think that it was a place that I would feel comfortable.  I say all that to say --- We had absolutely no idea how incredibly great and peaceful and relaxing a beach vacation could be.

The last few years we have begun to think that we might be ready to try a beach vacation. The idea of relaxing in a beautiful place and doing absolutely nothing for a few days has become more and more appealing as our lives have gotten more and more busy. For Corey's 40th birthday, I decided that I would save money for a year and see what I came up with. I was surprised with the success that I had. In March, we put a few more dollars to the ones that I had saved, and we booked a great vacation at an all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen.

Then the Swine Flu hit.

For a couple of weeks I was not sure if we should go to Mexico. The media's reports about the virus and the response in our area were terrifying, and I was not about to go put myself in danger and leave my kids in The States while I did it. Finally, we decided that we would plan as if we were going, and we would change course if it was obvious that we needed to.

About a day after that we got a call that our flight had been cancelled due to the drop in travel to Mexico. Just as we were rescheduling that, we got a call that our hotel had been closed and they were moving us to another property. We had the option to do that, change properties, or cancel all together... or there was another option. In this option, we could agree to let the travel agency assign us to a resort of their choosing. It would be one of a few upper-end resorts, but the catch was that we would not find out which one we would be assigned to until the day before we were scheduled to leave. It was like that old game show, Let's Make A Deal. We had a great hotel secured, but what if we got something even better with this "deal" that our travel agent was offering? There were so many other unknowns about this trip --- we decided, why not add another.

On Tuesday, the day before we were scheduled to leave on our trip, we got the call that we had reservations at the Zoetry Paraiso De La Bonita Riviera Maya. As we read their website from our own computers we yelled excitedly across the house about the amenities that we would have. It was like Christmas morning! This resort had things that we would never have dreamed of before. Things that little ol' us had never had before. We were so excited!

We left our house last Wednesday morning sometime in the 4 o'clock hour. I had stayed up all night preparing to leave and was so exhausted, but I was also very excited to go on my first beach vacation with Corey.

~ mobile photo of Corey & me on the plane ~

When we arrived in Mexico we went through customs and were greeted outside of the airport by a driver and our own personal Lincoln Navigator. It was a taste of the amazing things to come... When we arrived at the resort, we were greeted at the entrance by a man holding a tray with 2 glasses of iced tea and a hostess who showed us around the resort. When we walked up, the view literally took my breath away. (I have a tear in my eye right now thinking about it.) After our tour of the property, our hostess took us to our suite. It was beautiful! A living room, desk area, huge bedroom & bathroom, a small balcony off of the bedroom, and a large balcony off of the office area.

~ the view from our front door ~

~ our bedroom ~

They gave each guest this little beach bag laying on the chest.

~ our balcony ~

We ate a few meals out here and spent a lot of time laying on the outdoor bed. One night, we even slept out here for part of the night.

~ the view from our balcony ~

~ the bathroom ~

The bathtub was huge.

(And those of you that know me well know how I love my baths!)

~ our bed, after the maids had turned it down and laid our robes and slippers out ~

Every night we slept with the doors open and listened to the ocean waves and wind blowing through the palm trees.

(I can't believe it, but I don't have any photos of the living area.)

Shortly after our luggage was delivered to our suite, we headed to the pool.

They had great double chaise lounges by the pool. This was our view from the one that we laid on. It was perfect - a beautiful pool and a beautiful ocean view. We spent the afternoon reading, eating, and napping here.

~ Corey swimming ~

I love the palm tree's reflection!

The flowers were beautiful. Each day, they would pick hibiscus (maybe my favorite flower) from their bushes, and place them all around the resort.

The second day, we spent much of the day on a beach bed. Seriously, I had no idea that a beach vacation could be so wonderful! The servers would bring us food and drink as we laid on this bed and read and napped.

~ sushi, in bed, on the beach ~

~ a picture from our iPhone ~

~ our view from the beach bed ~

This is the mariana and dock that belongs to the resort that we stayed at.

The afternoon of the second day, we visited Playa del Carmen. The water was even more beautiful there than in Porta Moalas, where we stayed.

Senor Frog was not taking any chances... no Swine Flu here!

~ shopping in Playa del Carmen ~

In retrospect, we wish we had not spent the day here instead of our resort, but now we know...

~ breakfast on the patio ~

Every morning the peacocks would visit us at breakfast. This one was white with blue eyes. I've never seen one that looked like that before.

These black birds were everywhere. They were my alarm clock each morning, and they stole my food all day long each day.

The iguanas did not usually get too close to people, but this morning they all gathered at breakfast. One even started to crawl up this man's leg!

As I was walking by this bird, he yelled "Hola!" at me. It cracked me up! I never thought about a bird speaking Spanish!

~ another iguana ~

The third day Corey took wind surfing lessons. He did really well!

I sat on the dock and watched Corey, and this was my view.

~ walking back to our suite ~

Iguanas were everywhere! It kind of freaked me out at first, but I got used to it.

~ by the door to our suite ~

Friday night we went on an evening cruise on the resort's boat, La Bonita.

(I only took a waterproof camera that has not been developed yet.)

Saturday we snorkeled in the water in front of the resort. It was more difficult than I thought it would be, but I think that I would like it if I tried it again in a reef.

That afternoon Corey did a scuba lesson in the pool and loved it, so the next day he took another lesson in the pool then went on a scuba trip to the reef that was only a few minutes away from where we stayed. While he did that, I went to the spa and had an amazing massage.

Dinner at night was wonderful!

Corey also enjoyed sailing in the little boat that belonged to the resort.

~ another animal that roams the property ~

I asked a couple of people what it was called, but I could not understand what they said. I think that it is related to the raccoon though.

~ lunch by the pool ~

~ our view during lunch ~

Our last afternoon there we pulled our beach chairs out into the water and read.

~ another great palm tree shadow and the dock ~

~ dinner on our last night ~

There were lots of animals that roamed the grounds of the resort. The last night, this little raccoon decided to join us for dinner (which I was not a fan of).

Our last morning the sky was so beautiful!

I took these photos from our balcony.

Corey enjoying the last few minutes of our magical vacation.

Happy 40th Birthday, Baby!

On our last walk out of the resort, we saw this beautiful peacock.

~ getting ready to go home ~

~ the car that took us to the airport ~

So, if you can't tell - I loved our first beach vacation! After 17 years of marriage, 3 kids, a busy and wonderful life, and little time alone together it was amazing to be blessed with such a special trip to share with Corey! Thank you to my family that totally and completely took care of my kids while I was gone. I love you all!