Mexico - Part III

As part of our resort package we had a Candlelight Dinner on the beach for our anniversary.  It was very classy, very beautiful, very lovely.  Our reservations were earlier in the evening, so it was not quite "candlelight" yet, but it was perfect lighting to still see the array of blues and greens of the Caribbean.

Before dressing up and heading to dinner, we exchanged gifts.  Great minds....we had each bought something for the other from the same jeweler!
 

One of the courses was Lobster Bisque with Creamed Coconut Cappuccino.  It had nothing to do with coffee, but was named so because of how it looks.  :)
  

(Um yeah, a bit of a tan line!  Oops!)

My baby and me.  Twenty years of marriage and still going strong.  I love this man and would be lost without him!

When we returned to our suite, we were greeted with a beautiful scene.  Turn down service had gone the extra mile knowing that we were out enjoying our anniversary candlelight dinner.  Rose petals everywhere, soft music playing in the background, jacuzzi filled and more rose petals, very romantic!  :)

In the morning, room service brought an extra special breakfast for us.  Salmon omelets, fresh fruit cocktails, blueberry cream French toast (so yummy!), amaretto for our coffee.  Oh my!

This was our last morning walk along the beach, last breakfast at our favorite Kanpai, getting ready to head back to reality.

We had three personal concierges that were amazing.  They greeted us by name each time we stopped by or called with a question, made dinner reservations for us, gave us several different choices of pillows (!), made sure everything was going smoothly and followed up on any and every minor detail.  So very nice! 

A weeks time was just right.  We were very relaxed and refreshed and ready to get back to hug our kiddos.  It was wonderful to spend so much time with each other and not have a care in the world.  As you know from following our many other trips, this was not typical at all!  The kids want to go with us to Mexico next time, we'll see, but I sure hope it's not another twenty years before we get back.

When we arrived home there were lots of hugs and smiles.  The first thing Dad said was, "You weren't gone long enough, we were having fun!"  Mom even had eye surgery while we were gone, but Michaela had taken charge of meals.  I had left meals in the freezer, so they didn't have to prepare a lot, but there was still plenty to do with seven in the house.  The kids got to go to the pool almost every day.  They also took a quick weekend trip to IL so that Dad and Mom could visit a couple of supporting churches.  The kids were complimented by strangers on their behavior at a restaurant.  Things went very smoothly at home!

These are the two that helped make this trip possible.  Thank you is not enough!  Knowing that the kids were in good hands and being loved on put Chris and me 100% at ease.  We love you Dad and Mom/Grandpa and Grandma!

Mexico - Part II

When we woke up Sunday morning I peeked out the window to see CLEAR BLUE SKY!  I about cried, I was so happy.  After three days of clouds and rain, it finally felt like we were in our little part of paradise.

This is looking at the front of our casita:

Our favorite restaurant, Kanpai!  It didn't really have any authentic Japanese cuisine, but we enjoyed what they did have to offer.

Inside Kanpai with my favorite breakfast, mango creamed waffles.  Ohh, my mouth is watering just thinking about them!

 
Several lazy rivers ran throughout the resort.  Each pool had a swim-up bar.  My favorite...a virgin pina coloda with yes, mango.  Yum!!

We enjoyed a bike tour of the resort led by one of the staff.  We got to see some of the behind the scenes areas, such as the amazing greenhouses where they grow many of the veggies used in the kitchens, the crocodile pond (fenced!), a tour of one of the spas, etc.  It was fun to ride, although Chris was a bit worried that our bikes weren't up to his safety standards!

Iguanas were frequently seen around, usually about a foot long, plus another foot for the tail.

Outside the back of the main lobby:

This was our local "gourmet corner" where Chris would get his daily cappuccino and I'd enjoy a banana peanut butter smoothie.  So much yumminess, so little time.  :)

The back of our individual casita suite that looked out to the beach.

Even with the clouds, the water was so many brilliant colors!

Chris said, "To me, this is paradise."  Wi-fi on the beach, waves rolling and gently crashing, waiters bringing drinks from time to time.....ahhh!

It was never crowded, and we often felt like we had the beach to ourselves.

Just more yumminess!

Chris has been dying to trying some dessert that was on the room service menu, so even though we had already had dessert at the restaurant, we ordered more.  Vacation!

As part of our package, we also enjoyed a Couples Sky Massage one afternoon.  It was outdoors in one of the raised palapas on the beach.  Wow, fifty minutes of being pampered, the sound of the ocean in the background, and my honey right next to me.  AWESOME!

Mexico - Part I

Oh, where to start!  Chris and I wanted to celebrate our 20th anniversary by taking an adult only trip.  We made "reservations" with my parents more than a year ago to stay with our kids, and started dreaming and planning our get-away.  Though I am very much a planner, in the end we decided to go with an all-inclusive adult-only resort where we would truly have a relaxing time and all our needs would be met without having to make many decisions.  We chose Mexico because we could get a direct three hour flight from STL and be at our destination in a jiffy.  In a word, AWESOME!

We met Grandpa and Grandma at the airport as they were flying in from Colorado.  We had some time to let the kids enjoy our hotel pool, then we had dinner together before saying good bye to them as they headed back home.   Although I was excited about the week ahead, it was hard to hug the kids good-bye.  Ami shed a few tears along with me, but I knew my treasures would be in great hands. 
 

So bright and early the next morning Chris and I took a taxi to the airport and got on our quick flight to Cancun.  We arrived to cloudy skies and rain :( but for the moment it didn't damper our spirits.

After about a 30 minute ride south we arrived at our amazing resort.  We felt pampered from the get-go and quickly got checked in and then rode the golf cart to our individual casita suite.  AWESOME!!

Jacuzzi in our suite, an extra private outdoor shower, a bed and table on the back patio, not to mention our view of the ocean (through the rain!).  AWESOME!

We had about ten restaurants on the resort to choose from, or we could order room service anytime of day.  It was fine dining all the way and so much yumminess!  This was my first dessert....mango something-or-other with creme brulee....  (I fell in love with fresh mango on this trip!)  We only understood about every other word on the menus, but we enjoyed trying many different things.  Always super service with the chair being pulled out for the lady, napkins placed in our laps, smiles, and even crumb knives from the waiters.  :)  One of the best parts....ordering anything we wanted off of the menus without a concern for price since it was all-inclusive, even tips!

Housekeeping services were incredible and we loved seeing a new towel figure on our bed each day. 

The view towards the beach from the main lobby....through the rain.  The resort in stretched along more than mile of beach.  Our end of the resort was very quiet and it never seemed crowded.  AWESOME!

The main lobby

 

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and it rained pretty solid all that day and night and through Friday as well.  It was a bit of a bummer, but we made the most of it.  We didn't hang out at the beach or at any of the thirteen (!) pools, but we did enjoy walking through some of the resort grounds (immaculately maintained), dining at the restaurants, and our awesome suite.

On Saturday we had scheduled a day trip to see the Chichen Itza, one of the Seven Wonders of the World (I've been to three now....Roman Colosseum, Great Wall!)  It was about a three hour bus ride to the Mayan ruins, but our tour guide was excellent.  The ruins were impressive and we were glad to have a day free of rain!

A funny from the day...there was a family from another resort on our bus tour.  They must have been new to Mexico because shortly after we arrived at the ruins one of the teenagers remarked, "What's the wetness on my skin?"  The mom answered, "That's what they call humidity.  They have that in Ohio."  I had a hard time keeping from laughing out loud!

Along the drive we passed through several Mexican villages, the real Mexico, not "plastic fantastic" as our guide called the resorts on the Riviera Maya.  It was humbling to see the contrast of our world and theirs.

The base of the Yucatan peninsula is much like Missouri's with solid limestone.  Thus they have a lot of caves and sinkholes.  We stopped at a cenote (sinkhole) for lunch and a chance to swim on the way back from the Chichen Itza.  I offered to take pictures while Chris went for a swim in the 135-foot deep hole!  It was cool walking down into the cave and there was a hole directly above the sinkhole that allowed sun to filter in.  Very neat place!

More "real life" Mexico!

Our tour bus also stopped at Spanish mission church built in the 15th century (?).

Hmm, just a little freaky don't you think?!

We left on our tour at 7:30 Saturday morning and got back at 7:30 that evening!  It was a long day, but so worth it to see more of Mexico and to get to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  We were ready for our 8pm dinner reservations and then to crash in bed!

That's it for Part I of our vacation.  So many pictures, it's hard to pare it down for the blog!