A Picture of Paradise

After all kinds of crazy stress and planning, E and I finally made it to Cancun for our anniversary. Although we arrived super early, we somehow almost missed our flight out >< We checked our bag, went through security, got our boarding passes and sat down at a recessed table about 10 feet from our gate to eat some breakfast. About 30 min before our plane was scheduled to leave we figured boarding would be open so we wandered back over to our gate only to find out that they had finished boarding and were looking for our bags to take off the plane! I seriously couldn't believe it, they had never made any boarding announcements (Flight blah blah blah boarding now, final boarding call for flight blah blah blah) and they almost left us behind 30 minutes early. Ugh. Luckily we were the last ones on and the flight was smooth sailing after that.

We ended up staying at Beach Palace, one of the smaller and more intimate palace resorts. We got a corner room and the view was to die for, it just wouldn't quit. We had the lagoon for the majority of our view, which made for killer sunsets, and the clear blue tropical ocean when we turned the corner. It was breathtaking.

 The view from our private balcony <3 p="">

Seriously in love with this balcony

The plan for this trip was relaxation. We basically ate, drank, and basked on the beach for a week, punctuating the sleep days with a long couples massage, a romantic beach front dinner and a snorkeling trip that I could have lasted forever as far as I was concerned. After a ride on a trick speed boat doing spins and swirls, we rode jet skis across the lagoon, through the channel and out into the open ocean to the coral reef. Cancun has the second largest reef in the world after Australia and it did not disappoint. It's no secret that I love fish but seeing them in their natural environment took it to a whole other level. They schooled with me, danced through anemones and poked out of little caves. I could have stayed there all day and we've already decided we need to go back. The jet ski ride back was almost equally incredible, it began to rain a warm tropical sprinkle with cracks of distant lightening splitting the clouds and we watched the show all the way back to the dock.

Cancun sunset over the lagoon. If it can't set over the ocean, at least it sets over a body of water.  

The resort itself was also fabulous. The staff were friendly and extremely attentive. You couldn't sit for more than a few minutes before a waiter would pop up to offer you food and drink. The packages at Palace Resorts are all inclusive and the food and drink did not disappoint. You couldn't go 10 feet without finding something delicious, from the official restaurants to the tiny desert hut that made fresh crepes and the beach and pool side staff who would bring us margaritas and tacos. There was even a fabulous chef who worked at their rooftop bar making the most delicious grilled Thai skewers.

Sunburns' r 'us on the fabulous beach

They also had fantastic 24 hour room service that had breakfast waiting for us each morning when we woke up. They brought mimosas for our anniversary and we finished off the evening with a "Romantic Dinner", a private table for two down on the sand. I'd normally have more photos to post but E and I made the decision at the beginning to keep most of our trip tech free. We left computers at home and phones in our hotel room so we could truly focus on relaxing, healing and soaking up the sun. It was just what I needed to recover after being sick for so long and I hope it refreshed my body enough to welcome the little embryo we'll be transferring soon. I can't wait to go back to Cancun with our little one in a couple years and watch them play in that clear turquoise water. 

Happy Anniversary Mimosas with my lovey

Cancun?!?!

After dealing with months and months of sickness and feeling awful, E and I found ourselves with an entire week off over our anniversary. This rarely happens, E almost never has a solid week off (unless it's Grammy time) and when he does have days off, they never seem to coincide with our big events. It seemed like the stars were aligning and telling us it was time for a vacation.

Our first thought was Hawaii. We stayed in a gorgeous house on Kauai last time we were there and would have loved to go back. Unfortunately, that property was booked solid and our back up connection for a good hotel didn't pan out. With no good hotel options, and crazy expensive food and airfare, Hawaii was out.

Until we meet again, Kauai...

With Hawaii off the table, I began looking into other tropical destinations, specifically those with all inclusive vacation packages. This was right up E's alley and it took about 5 seconds for him to fall in love with the idea of an all inclusive resort - all the food you can eat, all the alcohol you can drink, what's not to love? However, it was now less than 3 weeks till we'd be leaving and the top 20 all inclusive resorts in Jamaica and the Caribbean were booked. For such an expensive trip, I really wanted to make sure we stayed at a fabulous resort and there were just no 8, 9 or 10/10 vacancies left for less than serious cash.

Aside from booking a smaller getaway like Santa Barbara or Morro Bay, our last option for a tropical getaway was a family friend's resort time share in Cancun. These friends had offered up their timeshare a long while ago and although we'd never taken them up on it, there was the offer, still standing. There was some rapid back and forthing about how cool it would be if we could go, and before I was quite mentally ready for it, we were booked for a 5 day vacation in Cancun.

My usual vacations take several months, hours of research and a great deal of thought to plan. I need prices on every possible flight mapped out over several price fluctuations. Trends and seasonal pricing information for all the housing options in our top three locations. This trip took two conversations and the better part of an hour. It went from an idea to kick around to a charge on our credit card in less than 48 hours. I'm actually so discombobulated by the whole thing that I've had a tough time wrapping my head around it.

Since everything was so last minute, we've had to book, cancel when there were problems with the extras, and rebook under a different affiliation number (who knew there was more than one??) and book the last two plane tickets available after they went up $300 overnight. The flights are so full that they won't let me select our seats on the way there and on the way back, we're in the last row. It's making me crazy.

But, then there's this:

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And this:

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And this:

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It also comes with resort credit good for the spa, snorkeling, turtle and stingray encounters and all sorts of other things. Private, romantic, candle lit dinners on the beach. An in room liquor dispenser, a swim up bar, delicious restaurants of all types, 24 hour room service. It promises, without a doubt, to be an absolutely incredible and much needed vacation.

Now, all I have to do is cram several months of planning and prepping into just a few days. I need swimsuits, sandals, beachy clothing! E has decided he hates all his shorts and where on earth am I going to find swimsuits in my size this last minute? I need to decide which excursions and spa treatments we want so I can book them now. There's so much to do that I'm going to need a vacation from my vacation planning.