We're Back!

Last Monday Clint and I returned from our trip to Cancun. I flew into Grand Junction from Cancun and stayed the week with my family for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Clint flew into Salt Lake as he had to work a couple days and then joined us on Thanksgiving Day. After almost three week's worth of vacation I'm glad to be back in my own comfy bed and to see my little Easton but I sure had fun lying on the beach.




We stayed at the Mayan Palace Resort. We actually were able to stay there for free. Clint and I endured a three hour time share presentation in order to qualify for a free weeks stay. Dare say it was well worth the three hours. We also were able to get free flights down to Cancun because we cashed in our miles.



The resort was absolutely beautiful. It was so large that shuttles were needed to take you from place to place. The pool is the world's largest pool and holds the Guinness Book of World Records. It wound it's way around the resort and was amazing to see.



The resort provided various activities everyday. We participated in bingo, tennis, water aerobics and a bike tour around the resort. I also did stretching on the beach and dance lessons. This is my little dance buddy Luis. Clint wouldn't dance with me so I had to find a new dance partner.




We spent a lot of time relaxing on the beach. The weather was perfect. It was in the 80's everyday. Don't worry, Clint and I didn't get sunburned. With our pasty white skin we didn't take any chances and lathered on the SPF 500.


This is Tulum, an ancient Mayan civilization. The people that lived here were not as barbaric as other civilizations and didn't believe in sacrificing people. They did, however, believe in stretching out their babies heads so they looked like aliens. Fifty-percent of babies died during the process.


(See my baby bump. For some reason Clint and I like to take vacations while I'm pregnant. It's better that way because then I get motion sickness really bad and need to throw-up any time we drive or fly some where. Needless to say the flights were not my favorite part.)



We sent snorkeling at a place called Xel-Ha. The water was perfect. Clint and I did much better this time with our snorkeling skills. Not that it's very difficult but we kind of struggled in Hawaii when we were learning how to do it.


Xel-Ha was an all inclusive "water park" with trips down the river, cliff jumping and bike rides. The 'trip down the river' was not really what I thought it would be. It was more trying with all our might to move our tube anywhere and not making much progress. The water did not flow like a river, it was like a lake. Apparently they don't know the difference between a river and a lake.

We loved swimming in the ocean. Due to a bad hurricane that struck several years ago a lot of beach was washed away and so traveling out into the water was made difficult unless you had water shoes. We went and purchased some right away to save our feet from the rocky shoreline.

We also went to Chichen Itza. It was much larger than I thought it would be. They were a very barbaric civilization and sacrificed men, women and children. I would not want to be hanging around that place at night. It felt strange just being there during the day.

This wall was double in length and featured the heads of the team captains who were killed after they lead their team to a victory or a loss. Historians aren't sure which. A game was played, apparently often because there were a lot of heads on the wall, and when it was over the captain of one of the teams got his head cut off. Sounds like a lot of fun.

We really wanted to climb to the top of the temple but unfortunately they don't allow it any longer. It was very steep looking and appeared to be quite dangerous.

The last couple days of our trip we actually spent in Cancun. Our resort was about 30 minutes south of Cancun. The first day at our hotel I was admiring how pretty the water was and thought I would wade out a little bit to see how warm it was. I still had all my clothes on and hadn't yet prepared to swim. Well, I wandered out a little too far and looked up just in time to see a giant wave come barreling towards me. I couldn't run so I thought I would hold my ground and brace myself for the impact. I was no match for the giant wave and was knocked on my back and thrown completely to the ground. After the wave washed over me I quickly sat up to see who had witnessed the embarrassing wipe-out. I looked up to the beach and saw several beach-goer's laughing and smiling at me. So at that point what else is there to do but laugh at yourself and try as discretely as possible to get the sand out of your pants. This is me shortly after the wipe-out. I figured a flower in my hair might help me regain some of my dignity back.

Cancun is awesome and I loved the time I had to spend with Clint. I didn't even get sick of him once. We missed Easton so much and everywhere we went we would comment on how much Easton would love to see this or that. I want to thank my parents as well as Clint's parents for watching our little guy while we were gone. As much as we missed him it was really nice to just be able to relax and not have to change diapers or worry about what he was up to.

As beautiful as it was there I am so glad to live in America. I couldn't believe the amount of poverty we saw as we drove to different places. Billions of dollars are coming in from tourists and yet ten minutes away from these beautiful resorts people are living in stick huts with dirt floors. It was so sad to me to see little kids living in such squalor. I also appreciate the fact that I can pump my own gas at the gas station, I don't have to give anyone a tip and there is more than just one gas station chain to go to.

Thanks for letting me share this really long post about our trip.