This trip was quite amazing. Mexico was absolutely beautiful and surpassed all of my expectations. Below are my favorite highlights from our trip.
We ventured out of the resort to visit the Mayan city of Tulum. Our group got there early, before there were too many tourist and before the sun could scorch us. The remains of this city have the Atlantic as a beautiful backdrop. We did meet some rather pushy peddlers, but that was to be expected.
We also went snorkeling in a Cenote(under ground river *EEK*). It was eerily gorgeous under the water, and surprisingly deep. I kept thinking that a giant fish was going to eat me. After snorkeling this we went ziplining through the jungle, during which I looked terrified in every. single. photo.
One day we decided to just sit on the beach and read/people watch. It happened to be a particularily windy morning and Darrin managed to spray the sunblock into a cute swirl design on his chest. He received many funny looks everytime he was without a shirt for the rest of our stay. Side note, I read 4 books while on this vacation and one of them was 800 pages. Darrin scoffed at me for bringing so many, but I know myself.
We had met another couple from ND on the shuttle to our hotel and decided we should all venture to Cozumel for a day together. After getting sea sick on the ferry- yes I am that sad- we rented scooters and drove through the city out to a beach. Let me just say it was terrifying, but the beach was COMPLETELY worth it. The restaurant we had a late lunch at was literally 15 feet from the water. And that water. So blue. So clear. I decided we must go back to Cozumel at some point in order to scuba or snorkel.
Otherwise we just relaxed, drank pina coladas, and enjoyed the beautiful beaches and weather!
~Anne
In honor of the upcoming Father's Day holiday, I thought I would share a little bit about my old man. And no, he doesn't take offense to the designation "old" and has come to terms with the fact that he no longer gets carded on senior citizen day at the grocery store. At the ripe old age of 76, he still rides his exercise bike regularly, helps out on his farm, goes deer hunting, and gardens tons of delicious vegtables that he shares with me.
Some of the high lights of my dad and me are:
*Him teaching me how to skate, but more importantly how to stop.
*Him making me weed the garden and mow the lawn(s)
*Us driving for 15 hours to visit my brother and family down in Missouri- without music, because "music is annoying"
*Us rollerblading for hours on country roads-this isn't smart as there are lots of rocks.
*Him teaching me how to drive while I practically gave him a heart attack- it was windy that day.
*Him meeting my fiance, Darrin, and promptly putting Darrin to work moving branches and mowing lawn.
*He showed up for and helped me move in and out of every dorm and apartment while I was in college.
*He went to every hockey game and skated at every hockey practice from 3rd grade through senior year.
*Despite sleeping through half of both, he came to both my high school and college graduations.
He has always challenged me to be a stronger, more independent, nicer, and helpful person. He is always available for advice, but lets me make decisions (and mistakes) on my own. He doesn't like asking for help, but knows when he needs it. And I suspect I got my stubborn streak from him, although that might have been passed down from both sides. I couldn't have made it this far without him.
Here's wishing all you dads a happy Father's Day!
~Anne
