Hola Mexico!

After a long winter (well, not as long as the winter our Northeast family members had), we decided it was time to head for someplace warm and sunny. Thanks to some free airline tickets (courtesy of AirTran following a flight gone bad last summer), we decided to head to Mexico for the week.

Theresa had some reservations about the destination initially. Perhaps it is from reading too many news reports about the violence in Mexico or maybe it was the concern voiced by friends that work for the Department of Defense...Mexico did not seem like a relaxing vacation place. After Joe convinced Theresa that the drug cartels probably own most of the resorts and that it would not be in their best business interests if tourists were kidnapped and ransomed, Theresa relented and agreed to go. The trip was well worth it complete with beautiful beaches, delicious food, lovely accommodations, and no drug kingpins in sight.

The "free" airline tickets required taking a 6 AM flight, thus we were some weary travelers when we arrived. Anna packed her Dora suitcase and wheeled it through the airport like a seasoned traveler. She was not particularly thrilled about flying again after a bad flight last October and started to cry as we boarded the plan. With a little help from her kitty pillow, she calmed down and settled in for the flight.

The resort was lovely and included all of the requirements for a relaxing vacation, namely a beautiful beach and large swimming pool. Anna enjoyed playing on the hammocks at the beach, digging in the sand, jumping in the waves, and looking for fish in the tidal pools. She was also a big fan of the various ice cream locations around the resort along with the playground at the kids club. There was entertainment every night and Anna was particularly enamored with the band and "beautiful lady in the pink dress" who sang a couple of nights. There was a lot of walking involved, which was good for all involved considering the amount of delicious food available at the buffets.

One of the challenges of vacationing with Anna is bedtime when sharing a hotel room. Anna normally goes to bed between 8:30 - 9:00 PM. Joe and Theresa usually go to bed 10:30 - 11:30 PM. Most nights the bedtime for everyone was 10 PM. Anna usually watches cartoons in the morning and was very excited to see Micky Mouse. She was surprised to find that Micky spoke Spanish. She watched just intently as she does at home (the impact of television on children is a bit disturbing).

For Joe, the most memorable part of the trip was not the beautiful beaches and sunny weather, but a horrific accident that left him temporarily paralyzed. During the final day of the vacation, Joe had some urgent business to attend to and retrieved his blackberry from the safe. While walking down the beautiful polished floors of the hotel lobby and reading his e-mail, he tripped on his flip flops. He watched helplessly as his blackberry was launched into the air....and into the koi pond. He dove after it before the swans could get it and immediately performed CPR with the hotel hair dryer, but it was too late. His blackberry drowned. Condolences may be sent via snail mail.

Theresa got to enjoy her birthday during the trip, celebrated by family, a host of Mexican waiters and a silly sombreo photo for all to enjoy.

It was a great trip and we look forward to the opportunity to return again. Who knows...we may even leave the resort next time.