To say that the Hard Rock Resort in Riviera Maya showed us a “good time” would not do it justice. But before I get into the insanely amazing time we had while in Mexico, I’ll wrap up a few loose ends.
Our house officially closed on June 30th, and Ken, Noah, Princess, and I are currently living in Hillsborough with my parents – thank you Mom and Dad for making space for all our stuff! Apparently I have a Costco shopping problem. Mom says “problem,” I say “you now have a lot of canned corn to cook with.” Noah was happy to say goodbye to 608. I have to say, I expected some tears, but they never came. That kid is happy, happy, happy!
Noah’s joy continued as we packed up our vacation-wear and boarded the United Flight to Mexico! For his first international trip, Noah was beyond excited. He’s been talking about Mexico since Ken and I told him it was happening. He made lists of what he would see and what he would pack – he may, or may not, be my child. This lucky kid was able to check off each item on his list:
- Monkey = CHECK
- Lizard = CHECK
- Iguana = CHECK
- Butterfly = CHECK
- Fish = CHECK
- Macaw = CHECK
Noah saw things he didn’t even know about; things we didn’t even know about. Oh, you’ve heard of the Bearded Fireworm? How about an Aplysia dactylomela? No? Well, neither did we. And these were just some of the marine life we experienced in our own private lagoon at the Hard Rock Resort. For the record: DON’T touch the Bearded Fireworm (fire is the key word), and DO touch the Aplysia dactylomela (Sea Slug), these guys squirt purple ink. It’s pretty cool! Please take a few minutes to enjoy my poorly edited GoPro videos. Ken promises to become a better videographer and I promise to become a better editor. But I’ll claim, for now, that it is the lack of quality videos which limit my abilities as an editor… yeah… that’s it! (Pardon the music. It’s what comes for free with the GoPro stuff. I’ll work on that too!)
Outside of the daily excursions to our lagoon, we partied with fire-twirlers, robots, and glowing angel-dancers. We had personal fireworks, light-up dance-floors, and indoor pool parties. And this was all in one night at one of the most amazing weddings we’ve ever been to! Thank you to Monica and Mike for choosing to celebrate in Mexico and taking us along for the ride! Noah thinks all weddings are like this – the next person to get married better not disappoint!
After dancing the night away, we relaxed and revived ourselves at the spa. My father-in-law and mother-in-law sure know how to treat us. Their timeshare comes with spa services that we were all happy to take advantage of!
On one of our free days we ventured to Xcaret. If you’ve never been, you need to go. It’s a cross between an animal sanctuary, adventure park, water park, and Medieval Times. I know, I know. Sounds strange. But it is glorious. Noah explored butterflies while climbing faux trees, he learned about new birds while on a draw bridge, he swam with stingrays and dolphins, and, at the end of the night, he watched a show detailing Mexican culture from the ancient tribes to modern day states. You have to go. Here are some highlights:
This time away with Ken and Noah was a blessing. After a sprint of packing to the end of our closing, the opportunity to relax was exactly what we needed. There was so much joy, laughter, and happiness on this trip. I woke up most mornings to the sounds of little feet running around the penthouse, followed by giggling, squeals of joy, and the hearty laughter of grandparents who were witness to two cousins having the time of their lives.
As we flew home, saying “Adios” to one of the best vacations we’ve ever had, Ken and I were full of anticipation for our next flight. Costa Rica, here we come! If Mexico is any indication, the next tropical paradise is going to be right up our alley!
Fearless Fajardos 