The long awaited vacation has arrived.
Ben and I have been planning a vacation like this for quite sometime. When we got married, we honeymooned in Arkansas, which was lovely...but we said for our 5 year anniversary we'd like to go to the beach. Five years was last year...but we decided it would be fun to go with a group of friends..and it worked for various reasons for the trip to happen this year! We bought our tickets in December...prior to knowing there was going to be a little being inside of me...but no worries...we still went, and LOVED it!
We went with three other couples..the Buzzards, the Masons, and the Yoders.
Lot of laughter and good times were had!
This was the first time since our honeymoon we have been on any form of vacation by ourselves. I don't really call serving as MYF sponsors at the youth convention a "vacation". It was very different not having the boys with us...and as I missed them..I was able to truly relax and enjoy the time away! They were in good hands with Grandpa and Grandma..having the time of their lives :)
We stayed at an all exclusive resort at Maroma Beach. It was lovely. We were waited on by such nice people...and given these wonderful cold, damp, good smelling washcloths to cool ourselves off while sitting by the beach/pool...and fed food whenever we wanted...and had no major agenda other than to relax. And that it what we did.
I took naps in the afternoon on the beach. Naps! Ahhh...it was lovely.
We alternated between the pool and the beach. Overall, we were in the pool more.
This was at the seafood restaurant one evening.
One afternoon, while we all were napping...we were the only ones out by the beach. It started to get overcast, so we thought we would go to Playa del Carmen. We didn't maybe realize how far it was...it ended up being QUITE a bit of a walk. We walked to the main highway (which was probably a 30 minute walk, via a jungle-like scenery AND feeling of humid-ness)...then we "caught" a bus that was heading in that direction...which dropped us off again along the highway, and we walked to the center of the town...I don't even know how many blocks that was...a lot. We went to a few of the stores...got what we wanted, and then it was time to head back. I was more than a little concerned our friends would think we just vanished..seeings that we didn't tell them we were going..and I thought we were going to be back in like an hour! We walked, and walked, and walked.....thank God Ben speaks Spanish. We were told, a couple blocks this way to the bus station (make that 6 blocks)...then at the bus station, "this isn't what you need...you need the van...a couple blocks this way" (make that several more blocks)...then at the vans that had VERY AUTHENTIC citizens literally hanging out of them they said, "no, not these...you need the other vans..a couple blocks that way"..it was at this point, I was done! I told Ben, I don't care how much a taxi costs, if I see one, we are getting it!!! Well, of course, as we walked ONE more block, we saw the right van that was supposed to take us. And they pile the people in until they are full! Luckily, there was a nice young man that was sitting next to Ben and he told the driver where we wanted off. It was funny how it took about 25 minutes to get down there...and only 15 or so to get back! We walked the final stretch to the hotel...ahhhh....but wait, we locked our key inside our room :( It was an experience!
It all worked out, and within an hour we were dressed and ready for supper.
We went to bed right after supper...we didn't get finished until 10 or so. And after another FULL night sleep..ahhhh...I was up early enough for the sunrise. So we walked down to the beach to watch it!
We ate breakfast (I always got a crepe with fruit) :).... and then relaxed by the pool.
I normally would not have been awake that early, but it was nice just to rest whenever.
This was the "swimout pool" outside of our rooms. All 4 of our rooms were next to each other, so we shared this pool. It was quite handy.
On Saturday, our last day there, the chefs from all the restaurants bring out food to the pool area. (There was a poolside grill that had buffet style food that we got every other day) It was pretty neat to see them all go around with their various foods..and the one got in the water on a kayak to serve mini cheeseburger sliders.
The group!
Our last evening we ate at the Japanese place, where they make the food in front of you. It was our favorite.
We had such a good time.
I am a lucky lady to get to go with this guy!
I'm sure we won't go on another trip like this in quite some time...but it was sure fun while it lasted.
And I am so thankful for Mom and Dad...for watching the boys, so we could have a peace of mind in just going and completely relaxing!!
Adios Cancun :)
