Mexico Vacay Part 1

We left bright and early Sunday morning, and flew (direct flight - wahoo!) from Newark ALL the way to Los Cabos, Mexico!  The flight was great - no problems, no delays!

When we arrived at the Cabo airport, we were picked up by the resort car and traveled the 30 minutes to the amazing and spectacular Esperanza Resort.

Since we had been up since 5am, and were on the plane for 6 hours, we still hadn't had a proper meal. And we were PRETTY hungry.  We decided on the one of the ocean-front resort restaurants, and ended up having the most beautiful and delicious lunch.  I mean, look at our view!

After lunch, we were taken to our villa and immediately fell in love - it was perfect.

I spent a TON of time up here on the front porch - perfect reading/relaxing spot. 

The view from the villa!

After settling in, we had time to take a quick stroll around the resort, and get a little pool time in ;)

We spent the rest of the day poolside, and then grilled out for dinner!  

The next day:  (well, you're going to see a trend here....)

Wake up

Pinch ourselves

Breakfast on the front porch

Pool/Beach for the day

Happy Hour snacks/drinks and reading on the porch

Grilling out or dinner at the resort 

Movies in bed, asleep by 10

Repeat.

Day 3:

Day 4:

Stay tuned for Part 2, coming up tomorrow!!

Mexico Sneak Peek

We made it back safe and sound (although 45 pounds lighter - our luggage is still lost somewhere), but we are still dreaming about our Mexico vacation.  It was perfect.  Relaxing, beautiful, and romantic. 

Here are a few pics - we took over 400, so I'll put up some more posts this week. 

But for now, enjoy! 

Guest Post - MY BFF!

Hi Everyone!!!

My name is Ashley and I have the honor of being Emily's best friend!! We grew up together in Pensacola, FL and she is literally one of the GREAT loves of my life! While she and Johnny Boy are off on a fabulous anniversary trip, I am going to be talking about one of my favorite trips ever!

To make any trip extra special, it's always important to stop and see your BFF along the way!

This particular trip was in 2009 when Emily invited my Hubbs and I to run the St. Jude's half-marathon with her in Memphis, TN while she was living there. It was literally 27 degrees on the way to the race and I tried to talk Emily and my Hubbs out of running it (after all that training, yeah right?!)

Turns out, we absolutely had a blast!!!! After the race, although exhausted, we managed to stop by Elvis' house and eat some delicious Memphis barbeque.

After Memphis the Hubbs and I packed up and made a huge loop across central America.  We stopped in St. Louis, Chicago (where both of our Southern-born selves saw snow for the first time; can you tell we are a bit excited?) 

Gary, Indiana (to visit Michael Jackson's childhood home, who wouldn't?!;)) Indianapolis (went to the Indy 500 track), Louisiville, KY (Churchill Downs please!) 

and then ended at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. We absolutely had a blast!!!! 

The greatest part of the whole trip was we took historical Route 66 where we saw the most insane sights along the way!!! It truly was one of the greatest adventures of our life! Did I mention that we Southerners couldn't drive in snow either??? We definitely had some firsts and experienced some lasts, things we will never do again - but had an incredible time!!! 

My greatest travel tip of all would be: 

   

--- Get off the beaten path.

Although Route 66 took so much longer, we experienced things we wouldn't have if we had stayed on the interstate.  And always remember, you have time to pull over and take pictures. I mean, who sees a huge pink elephant on the side of the road everyday?!!!!

Cheers! xoxo

Guest Post - Stilettos and Pearls to Princess Twirls

Aloha! Those are the first words we heard as we stepped off the plane. We felt the cool salty breeze hit our faces and were greeted with beautiful lei’s. This was paradise better known as Maui! My husband and I visited Maui for the first time last year and it was AMAZING! The food is incredible (I was 13 weeks pregnant when we went so I didn’t experience much other than bread items but my husband said it was great!), the ocean is crystal clear, the people are laid back and the weather is AMAZING. My husband, Peter, and I have traveled a lot in our day. We have been to the Bahamas, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Europe, China, Puerto Rico and Hawaii has now topped our list of best vacations. The thing about Maui is that people are so relaxed there. They move at their own pace. They come and go as they please and so after a few days there you start to be on “island time.”

Peter and I spent the first 3 days in Kihei. We stayed at a great condo at the Maui Sunset that we found on Air B&B. Our condo was on the third floor and overlooked the pool and the ocean. Not too shabby for a $115 a night condo… that’s right $115 a night! It may have been decorated in 1987 but it was clean, had a kitchen, and overlooked this amazing bay!

Since we were coming from the east coast we were able to watch the sunrise pretty much every morning. By the third day there we finally got to see a sunset and it was pretty spectacular!

Every day in Maui we would get up and go snorkeling. I actually hate the ocean and have an irrational fear of sharks. I have watched one too many shark week episodes so I think that great whites will attack me as soon as I get ankle deep. But for some reason or another snorkeling in Maui was really fun. It was probably because where we were at you swim 20 feet and you are swimming in one of the most beautiful coral reefs you have ever seen. We saw every type of coral fish, swam with turtles, saw stingrays and this was right off the shore. Here is a map of Maui that points out all the snorkeling spots.

As you can see if you step into the water you will probably run into a coral reef within 3 minutes of swimming. This was Peter’s favorite part of the trip. He snorkeled 4-5 times a day.

Maui is also known for the Road to Hana. This is the highway on the back of the island that takes you to the small town of Hana. Along this road terrain changes every 10 miles. 

You see sugar cane fields:

Jungles and waterfalls:

Steep cliffs:

Rocky beaches:

Red mountains:

More waterfalls:

Black sand beaches:

Grasslands:

And many other cool things along the way. Make sure if you go to stop at Aunty Sandy's Banana Bread Keanae Landing Fruit Stand between mile marker 16 and 17 for the World’s BEST banana bread.

My only recommendation is go when you are not pregnant and nauseous the entire drive. The roads are super super windy and it takes 6-7 hours to make it to Hana…. But it was a once in a lifetime drive and the view was amazing!

The last part of our trip we went to the Ritz Carlton in the upper left hand corner of Maui, Kapalua. The hotel was spectacular but this part of the island is SUPER WINDY! Every day umbrellas would flip over at the pool but you can’t beat this view! 

Just be careful because the beach is next to an ancient Indian burial ground. Peter and I thought we were going for a lovely romantic walk and then the Ritz staff member kindly asked us to please exit the ancient burial ground… whoops!

If you are planning a trip to Hawaii let me tell you Maui is the way to go. Any day when I am down I think of lying on the beach with my toes in the sand and my (virgin) pina colada in hand and dream of Maui. 

Thanks for checking out our amazing vacation!

And be sure to visit my blog - Stilettos and Pearls to Princess Twirls!

XOXO

Katelyn