Browse Tag: mexico

Los Cabos, Mexico

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We spent 4 nights in Los Cabos this past weekend and it was so much fun. It’s not Hawaii but it was still a great trip for us. We flew out on 8/31 and returned on 9/4 with Labor Day free to unpack and unwind.

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We flew free on Jes’ United miles and stayed free with our SPG points.

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We stayed at the Sheraton Grand Hacienda del Mar, which is a HUGE property with 5 pools. KK literally swam in a different pool each day.

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I also booked a round-trip transfer ahead of time that included carseats for both kids! Score!

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Unfortunately, Peanut had a hard time on the flight over. It wasn’t horrible but the 20 minutes of waiting before the take-off was pretty painful. He cried and carried on until we were off the ground and luckily for us (and everyone around us), he fell asleep. Ugh…boys are crazy.

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The weather was warm and humid, which was nice when we were in the pool but a little uncomfortable sometimes because there wasn’t much of an ocean breeze during the day. The property was right on the beach so most of the pools had a really nice view of the ocean.

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I just drank margaritas the whole time and the servers were very efficient in taking our orders at the different pools.

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Our room had a view of the ocean and a patio to hang dry out swim suits each night. The room also had enough space for the four of us and the A/C worked really well. It was perfect for our mid-day siestas each day.

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Speaking of siestas, I actually got to take a nap on two of the days.

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While everyone was asleep and/or playing with the iPad (KK didn’t nap much), I was also able to read a magazine that another passenger on the plane gave me, sip some wine, and snack on Cheetos. So nice.

There were only two inconveniences on this trip: 1) the fridge was not very cold so we used bags of ice to help keep all the milk cold (worked out well!) and 2) there were these pesky little black bugs that were tiny and gave us bug bites in the evenings.

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Otherwise, the food was decent, the staff was really friendly, and it was SUPER empty! When they said it was low season, we had no idea how empty it would be. They also had golf carts that could take you from place to place if you wanted.

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We went to the buffet for breakfast each morning and I stocked up on beans, rice, and fruit for the baby so that he’d have lunch for the day. They also served soy milk so that Peanut could have some milk after I ran out of his lactose-free milk. (Don’t know if he’s allergic but I took dairy out of his diet for a bit to treat his eczema). The best part of the buffet was that unlimited champagne/mimosas and bloody marys was included!!

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The beach was gorgeous and very empty. Not only was it low season but they had black-flag warnings posted to not swim in the ocean because the conditions were too dangerous.

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Oh well, at least the kids were still able to play in the sand and KK found a water spout for her sand castles.

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What a fun family trip! As expected, it wasn’t as relaxing as a typical vacation without kids but it was good enough.

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Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

IMG_1197 We headed to Mexico on Christmas Day and stayed until Sunday, December 28th.  It was a less-than-3-hour flight but ended up waiting another 3 hours in the immigration line because they were short-staffed on Christmas Day.  It was definitely not a good way to start a vacation.
IMG_1301We stayed in a small resort called Bel Air Collection Resort and Spa located in Nuevo Vallarta, which is a 25-minute drive from Puerto Vallarta.  The hotel was right on the beach with an infinity pool overlooking the water.  It was perfect for our little family and a kid who wanted to go the beach everyday.  They served coffee every morning in the lobby from 6-8am and this was my alone time every morning.

IMG_1182We booked through Expedia and got a deluxe studio for only $125/night.

IMG_1367It had a kitchenette complete with dishes, microwave, stovetop (with pots), mini fridge, and sink.  It was perfect for when KK would wake up in the morning starving.  I brought instant oatmeal and instant rice porridge for this purpose.

IMG_1369There was a table and chairs for her to eat and color.

IMG_1198They also had a pull-out sofa bed that was perfect for her to sleep on.  This is usually how I found her in the morning.

IMG_1303They also had a king-sized bed and a very clean bathroom with a huge tub.  KK ended up sleeping in the big bed one of the nights.

IMG_1312We had breakfast at the hotel most mornings and they had a buffet of fresh fruit, chilaquiles, eggs, and beans.  I thought it was actually pretty good.

DSC_6030The pool was nice and had lots of different levels and nooks to play in.  KK loved the pool and we loved the view.  Jes particularly enjoyed the swim-up bar.  After a while, KK would say “let’s go get Dada some juice.”  Haha.DCIM100GOPRO IMG_1334In the afternoon, they would serve tea and cookies at the pool.  That was a nice touch.

IMG_1262 1We took the bus into Puerto Vallarta one afternoon.  It was a little sketchy considering there weren’t any marked bus stops and a local told us to just wave it down when you see it.  That’s what we did and it picked us right up.  We didn’t see much of PV since we got dropped off in a weird spot.  We did, however, find a place to eat.

IMG_1273 1It was called Mi Pueblito and run by a very nice old lady that was just enamoured with KK.

IMG_1270The food was decent and the bathroom was super clean.  We had enchiladas and taquitos.

IMG_1283We also stopped at a shopping plaza in Nuevo Vallarta where we got Starbucks, frozen yogurt, and had McDonald’s for dinner.  IMG_1294We were curious and got a few unique items off the menu.  They had “shaker fries”, which was basically fries, a paper bag, and a nacho cheese powder that you add and shake onto the fries.  Jason said they were “meh”.

IMG_1295_1We also ordered these fried spicy cheese balls.  They weren’t bad.  The best item was the fried blackberry apple pie.  Jes mom ordered it and devoured it so fast I couldn’t get a photo of it.

IMG_1314 1On one of the days, Jia and I went to the spa for pedicures.  I had an hour-long pedicure and at one point had this coffee paste painted on my feet.  Neato.  Jes and I went to a timeshare presentation the day before and got $150 to spend and this is where we spent most of it.  With the discount, we ended up having money left over after paying for both of our treatments.

IMG_1392The best part of the trip was seeing my little girl having such a good time.  She woke up every morning wanting to go play in the sand and water.  It took a very short time to warm up to the water both at the beach and the pool this time.  DCIM100GOPRO DCIM100GOPRO DSC_6059It was nice to have a hotel that was just steps from the sand.  We were surrounded by lots of mega resorts that had all-inclusive packages but I was pretty happy with our set-up.

IMG_1400Overall, it was great family vacation.  The people were nice, I got to practice some of my Spanish, the food was just OK, and we had lots of time to just relax.

IMG_1221The grandparents got to play with KK and I got a little bit of time to do nothing.  KK was a really good traveler and actually napped each day we were there.  The time difference didn’t affect us much and the weather was really nice.

IMG_1410The only hiccup in the trip was probably at the end when I got to the airport and realized I had left my phone in the backseat of the taxi.  Fortunately it was the same taxi that took us to dinner the night before and he was nice enough to bring it back to us at the airport 25 minutes later.  Phew, that was a close one.  I had taken most of our pictures with my phone on this trip! With that happy ending, I gotta say that we had a fun time in Mexico.  Can’t wait for our next vacation with the other side of the family in Hawaii this coming March!!!