The Best of Both Worlds: Oh, Mexico...

Drew and I finally got to take our trip to Mexico that we planned almost 4 years ago. But after having two kids since then and now having to pretend that we're grown ups, the trip was well worth the wait (although that meant me having to be away from my babies for a week)! We went to Riveria Maya and stayed at the cutest, most quaint resort that housed only 75 rooms. I was the most relaxed that I've been in a long time! I wish the beach was right in my backyard!

What a way to be welcomed at the airport! But were we really welcomed? Or were they just pretending since there were quotation marks around "Welcome"? Hmmm...

What a way for us to welcome the beach! We decided that we're going to start taking this flag on any of our scuba diving trips.

Our room was in one of the thatch roofed huts.

This was our daily morning hangout.

This was our daily afternoon hangout with our friend Carlos that I'm talking to. Drew and Carlos became great friends by the end of the trip!

A breathtaking experience...

a massage. on the beach. at sunset. with live clarinet music being played behind me.

Ahhh!!!

Can you believe that we spent an entire week together and never ran out of stuff to talk about?

We planned to go on a diving excursion from the resort on Thursday, but the water was too choppy. So we went to Play del Carmen to go shopping instead.

Lots of walking! And lots of stuff!

By the time we walked all the way down Playa, it started raining. But it was perfect timing since Senor Frogs just so happened to be right in front of us!

The week that Drew and I went was apparently peak season for blue crabs to be out. We literally saw them everywhere (the streets, the sidewalks, the pool, and restaurants)! This one was inside the Japanese steak house crawling right by our table. Every time we headed to town in a taxi, the poor cab driver had to stop almost every 5 seconds to let groups of 20 crabs move over...it got to be comical by the end of the week.

Since our scuba trip got cancelled for Thursday, we rescheduled it for Friday morning, only to find out that the water was too rough again. Luckily, we had already planned a dive trip in Cozumel for Saturday and I suggested that we call the dive shop to see if we could come over there a day early. So we took the ferry to Cozumel, checked in at the cutest little villa ever, and spent the afternoon building up my nerves for diving in the ocean that afternoon.

We stayed at the Villa Aldora while we were in Cozumel. If you are not into fancy hotel accommodations and just need a place to crash, Drew and I highly recommend this place.

Who wouldn't want this view first thing in the morning?

Or this view? Man, I want to go back right now!

This was our "welcome sign" posted next to our room. The numbers represented our breakfast order for the next morning (one was for the breakfast combo and the other is for your juice option brought in a water bottle). The villa manager calls in the order every night and a local delivers breakfast by bike every morning.

The best part about our room, was our view right outside of our window...bees! Just kidding! Drew made me instantly shut the curtains.

Since we only stayed here for one night, we didn't get to enjoy the infinity pool, but check out that view! The dive boat would pick you up right below the deck.

Ok, so here's the scoop on scuba diving...

Drew and I went diving on our honeymoon in Nassau and I, for lack of a better word, hated it (I panicked, I cried, I didn't care for it). So for Father's Day, Drew got me to agree to take dive lessons at Lake Ouachita with him. That I truly did hate...you literally couldn't see anything in the lake further than 5 inches. But I did it and told Drew that it was a true sign of my love for him. Aren't I sweet? Fast forward to Mexico...

So a few weeks after we got certified, we made it to Riveria Maya with all of our new scuba gear (causing us to pay an overweight baggage fee, btw). I'm still very hesitant about the whole idea b/c I've heard that there are sharks in the water. Yikes! But I kept reminding myself that I'm doing this for Drew. Well, as mentioned earlier, we had to cancel our first dive trip twice due to choppy water, but luckily we had two dives planned in Cozymel. Drew was so pumped about it all week. We even borrowed D-dub's dive camera so we could take a pic of us under the water with our Razorback flag. Finally, 4:30 on Friday arrives and we got on the dive boat with everyone else that was staying at the Villa. As I talked to everyone that we're with, I found out that 4 of them had already been on at least 4 dives THAT DAY! Wow, I'm thinking I'm with some dive junkies and I have to just suck it up and be a big girl and I'll be back out of the water in about 30 minutes. Well, the experienced divers went in first (that's not me in case you were wondering), then they told me to jump in. After seeeeeveral deep breaths, I descend all the way to ocean floor (70 feet below). Well, I look up waiting to hold hands with Drew, and where do I see him? Still up at the top of the ocean! The dive instructor pulled out a Dora magna doodle that was strapped to her leg and wrote that her assistant will help him and told me to follow her. So, reluctantly, I did just that. Well, about 15 minutes go by and Drew is still not at the bottom of the ocean with me, and the dive master wrote that "Michael is back on the boat". I'm thinking "Great for Michael, but where is my husband Drew?" Then it hit me that she was talking about Drew. Ha! Ok, so he didn't get down on the ocean floor with me, so I decided that I had to take it all in for the both us. After I took a deep breath, I relaxed and finally enjoyed the wonders of the ocean. Wow! God has put some of the most beautiful pictures underneath! I saw the most beautiful coral and fish. I even saw a nerf shark (apparently they're the "nice" ones) about 15 feet below me and, oddly enough, I was very calm when I saw it! Well, after seeing some amazing things and having to share breathing regulators with the dive master twice, we finally made it back to the boat. When I got up there, Drew looked just like a kid that found out that Santa isn't real. Come to find out, he had a sinus infection and he couldn't equalize his ears past 15 feet. I felt so bad! Especially because I didn't take the camera with me for this first trip, he didn't get to see the coral, and we were about to go back down for the night dive. So I had to do that trip with the group and without him, too. But I'm glad I did it and I can check the night dive off my list! And I'm happy to say that I'm already to go on my next dive trip and with Drew! ;)

Since Drew couldn't go diving due to his ears, I suggested that we skip our dive that Saturday morning and just tour Cozumel since I've never been there. I'm glad we got a chance to see another part of Mexico. It's amazing to see how much STUFF they have to sell!!!

The ferry ride to and from Playa del Carmen was absolutely gorgeous! The water was so crystal, clear blue that you could see several feet below.

I was amazed at how everywhere you turned someone was trying to sell something! There were even singers on the ferry trying to sell cds and take tips.

When we got back to our resort in Riveria Maya, we had took a sunset cruise and had dinner on the beach.

Once again, even the mariachi men were trying to sell cds and take "tip's".

A sunset cruise and a refreshing drink does a body good!!!

It gives you a lot to ponder, too! :)

We got to hear the clarinet music again while we ate dinner on the beach. The hut behind our "Kenny G" was where I got my massage a few nights before.

This was our sunset picture that was trying to be sold to us. Ha! We still got it anyway!

Have you ever seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall? Our resort had 2 of these giant chess sets. Drew wanted me to take a pic of him because he beat me after I beat him every time we played checkers on our honeymoon when it rained.