January 4, 2016

Winter escape: reminiscing about our favorite tropical vacations

Al Natural Resort, Austin, Cabo San Lucas, Jamaica, Panama, Tulum

We’re back from our annual NYE trip to the Washington Coast! I’ll share some photos with you later this week. Per usual, we had a fantastic time with fantastic people. It was sunny, but very cold which seems very contradictory when one is at the beach. Sand and warm weather go together IMO. So in honor of the true sun and sand combo, I’ve dug into the archives to find my five favorite tropical vacations. Enjoy with a side of margarita 🙂

Cabo San Lucas, March 2010
Granted, this trip was with the family but hey, it was a relaxing getaway anyways! I think I ate guacamole and chips for lunch nearly every day and poolside lounging was the no. 1 priority. My parents even sat through a boring timeshare meeting so we could get this awesome zip lining trip. This is one of the most fun activities I’ve ever done!

Panama, Fall of 2010
2010 was a big year of travel for us! We got invited to a close friend’s wedding in Panama and made a week-long trip out of it. Guests came in from all over the world and it was a big party moving from hostel to hostel until we arrived at the Al Natural Resort for the wedding. I will never forget staying in these rustic, wall-less cabins overlooking the ocean. Oh, and that beautiful beach wedding!

Tulum, May 2012
What can I say? I love me some Mexico! I found Tulum on a travel blog and those white, sandy beaches had me sold. We stayed in this funky little hotel right on the beach and spent our days swimming in cenotes and discovering the local ruins. I’d 100% go back to Tulum in a heartbeat! I even talked my parents into vacationing there this coming spring.

Austin, October 2012
I guess Austin isn’t exactly tropical, but it’s a warm destination compared to Seattle! We made a trip down south to visit our dear friends and take in Austin City Limits, our first major music festival. The beers flowed, BBQ consumed and the warm weather beat out those fall blues. What a cool, hip city to explore.

Jamaica, November 2014
Oh Jamaica and your all-inclusive resorts! Honeymooning there was the ultimate treat for us and the perfect unwinding destination after a stressful wedding. We even extended our stay to come home post-Thanksgiving. It was just that good. Quiet beaches, friendly people and bottomless drinks…pure heaven!

OK, I’m dying to hear about your favorite tropical vacation! Give me some ideas so I can start planning our next one 🙂

March 24, 2010

Day Three

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Well after spending all day yesterday poolside I’ve come up with quite the sunburn. I guess SPF 30 doesn’t cut it around here. I really should have went tanning a few times before heading down here. My virginal skin is totally freaking out on me. Yikes. Spent today rockin’ a long sleeved hoodie since my forearms are fried. I don’t know how one burns the inside of their elbows…..

Anywho, drove down to La Pamilla today to do some snorkeling. All beaches are public down here so we drove right to the resort and walked down to the beach. We saw a ton of pelicans hangin’ around waiting for the fishermen to come back in. I made an attempt to snorkel, but the waves were pretty big and the visibility sucked. Liz and Dad went out for a bit, but I guess there wasn’t much to see. The ‘rents are going on a time share presentation tomorrow morning so we can go on a deluxe snorkeling/kayak tour and zip lining excursion later in the week. The sacrifices our parents make……

Photo: Liz and I getting ready to snorkel. No, I did not snorkel in the hoodie.

Photo: Pelican chillin’ on the beach.

Photo: Our pool with swim up bar. Unfortunately, the bar isn’t getting much of a workout with $7 well drinks!

March 22, 2010

Spring Break 2010!!!

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Oh man, so kidding on that one! Though I’d say half of our flight was full of college spring breakers ready to party and drink the nights away…ah, to be 18 again! Luckily, my gal pals and I took a trip to Cancun our senior year so I’d already gotten ‘that’ Mexico out of my system.

But now I’m back with the fam in tow. We’re just finishing up day two here in Cabo del Sol, which included me sitting by the pool the ENTIRE day. One book down, four to go. The resort is very nice, right on the beach of course, and is pretty empty. I figured we’d have a few spring breakers, but I haven’t spotted any yet. The pool is maybe 30% full at its peak and the beach has the occasionally passerby. Not bad for ultimate relaxation. We walked down the beach this afternoon to watch the surfers; there are some big waves out there.

I plan to spend the next few days poolside until I get really bored then I’m sure we’ll try out a few activities. Liz wants to ride horses on the beach and I want to try some zip lining. I think we’re also going to go deep sea fishing too. Ahhh…Mexico!

Photo: View from our balcony. Could be worse….I guess the resort at the very end is La Palmilla, which is where all the celebs stay. I’ll have my eyes peeled…..