Mexico!

Vacation, vacation, vacation!!  It was faaaaaar past time for this 'ole gal to hop on an airplane and take a trip somewhere tropical where I could lie around and sip cocktails while someone waited on me! Chad goes snow skiing in Aspen every year and because I'm not fond of the cold (or falling all day and being sore on my vacation), I choose to stay at home and let him go by himself.

Before we became parents we traveled constantly!! We spent every other weekend in Charleston. We've enjoyed cruises to numerous islands in the Carribbean, trips to New Orleans, New York, Colorado, Jamaica....  With no children or pets, it was never hard to plan any getaway.....until now.  We were always spontaneous and could easily jet away, but since Beckett has been born, I've only traveled as far as Charleston overnight for a wedding.

My biggest requests were service, spa and sun.  No sightseeing, no excursions.  I cared nothing about what kind of gym was offered, zip-lining adventures or swimming with dolphins.  I wanted to lay my white self in the sun and have someone repeatedly ask me questions like "what can I get you to drink?" or "may I take your order?"

I was so excited that our friends Lauren and Glen decided to go with us. It's never fun to travel alone, we needed amigos to accompany us on our vacation!  Excellence Riviera came highly recommended as a great all-inclusive, so after reading tons of glowing reviews, we decided to book our trip to Mexico!!

The swim-up suite was so wonderful!  It was so nice to be able to walk out on our terrace and enjoy pool access and lounge chairs just steps away!  

The resort offered a variety of restaurants to choose from.  I think we all agreed that the French restaurant, Chez Isabelle was our favorite, but Spice Hibachi restaurant and The Grill were excellent as well.

Really?  Can we take them anywhere?  

Old friends making new memories together!  

Take me BACK!!  

Enjoying champagne and music after dinner at Agave Mexican restaurant
(Where Glen tried the roasted grasshoppers).
Yes, you read that right, GRASSHOPPERS! 

He removed the legs because he "didn't want them getting stuck in his teeth" 

2 mamas enjoying adult time.....but missing the kids like crazy!!  

A lady we met right after we arrived suggested the "Banana mamas" on the cocktail menu.
These became the pool drink of choice for the few days we were there! 

Glen was dying to see the magic show.....until the magician disappeared with 

the $20 bill he gave him for a magic trick.  

Lauren and I decided long before ever booking this trip that we wanted to find a resort with a great spa. The second day we were there, we walked to the spa to book our massages.  Wow!  What a palace!  I absolutely HATE that I didn't get a picture of it.  It looked like a white temple with 2 story panels of breezy curtains flowing at the entrance.  We booked an 80 minute massage that included an extra hour of hydrotherapy.  We were so excited to be spending more time at the spa than we anticipated, we literally skipped across the resort to meet back up with the boys.  

As wonderful as the hydrotherapy sounded, I have to say, it was a bit different than what we both expected. I assumed we'd be sitting in some sort of pool or spa that massaged our backs, but that wasn't exactly the case.  It's more of an obstacle course in water massage/detox of steam and dry saunas, ice cold plunge pools and water jets.  Not exactly the most relaxing hour of my life, but I'm glad I got to experience it!

After our hydrotherapy experience, we were ushered upstairs to the massage waiting room.  The atmosphere was calm and tranquil and after we both had fantastic massages, we were given champagne and chocolates since we (haha!!) booked a couples massage since we ARE a couple of crazies! 

Lauren woke up from her massage with braids....I, however, never turned over and
had the masseuse work on my back the whole time.  

I do have a disclaimer to add.  I knew I would miss my child terribly, but by the second to last day, I was in tears and was ready to get home to put my heart back together.  I kept thinking; why on earth did we decide to leave the COUNTRY for our first vacation away from him?!  

We had a few days in paradise, but in all reality, the paradise is right here! 

We really did have an excellent time and the resort gets 2 thumbs up.  I'd love to be able to return one day and do it again!!  

If your'e interested in info on Excellence Riviera, visit their website at: 

http://www.excellence-resorts.com/

Hasta Luego!

XO,