Running with the Ward's: August 2010

Muffins - August 20th

I forgot to post these last week. These are my one point blueberry muffins. Don't they look cute in their little wax paper wrappers?

We are dog sitting for my brother-in-law while he is in New York getting engaged! Everything was going fine (aside from the black lab hair everywhere) until 5:30 this morning. We woke up to Lexi and a pile of her puke in the hall. Luckily, I got to lay in bed and cover up my nose while my husband had to clean it up. Yes, I could smell it in the bedroom. She looks innocent enough but don't let her fool you. On a cheerier note, Lexi did show me where the yoga pose downward dog came from. I am not fast enough to get a pic of it though.

A Little Piece of the Beach-August 14th

Much to the chagrin of my husband and father, I have been collecting sand and small treasures (shells and driftwood) from different beaches that I visit. This weekend I finally got around to creating the display for my sand that I have been envisioning. So far I have a little piece of the beach from Cannon Beach, OR; Monterey, CA; Akumal Beach, MX; and Puerto Aventuras, MX. Not bad for a little over a year of collecting. I think they turned out well! Also notice the coral I smuggled out of Mexico against my husbands better judgment.

Headed Home - August 13th

We left for the airport at 11 but got a few good shots in before we left. So sad vacation is over :(

For Grandmommy...aren't those the flowers you love?

View of our seats for the week.

Pool to the beach.

Posing on the boardwalk.

Relaxing - August 12th

Today we just relaxed on the beach at our hotel. We did alot of reading, some snorkeling from the shore, and a little kayaking. There was a reef directly in front of our hotel with nice snorkeling. I saw a fish with a bite out of it literally! There was also a school of fairly large fish that we kept swimming through. We didn't make it long in the kayak since the current was fairly strong making it pretty tough to paddle. That evening we went to the Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was delicious and a great way to cap off our trip.

I forgot to mention that on our first night in Mexico, we went to the Tapas bar and sat on the patio overlooking the ocean. It was really fun!

The waiter made us do it.

View of the Day.

Cozumel - August 11th

We took a snorkeling tour to Cozumel today. We rode a ferry over to the island and then took a small boat (10 of us total) to two different snorkel spots. Our boat was named the Sea Witch. We were a little disappointed because there wasn't as much sea life as we expected. We heard Cozumel had great snorkeling. But the water was an amazing color of blue and so clear you could see all the way to the bottom probably 60 feet below us. A Mexican guide that barely spoke English took us around and we did see a Barracuda. It was a fun day out on the water! We also got to see the Playa del Carmen beach during day light since the ferry left from there. That evening we went to the Japanese Hibachi grill. We were exhausted but still enjoyed the festive atmosphere of the dinner. Justin even attempted to catch a chunk of fried egg in his mouth that the chef tossed to him while cooking fried rice. We also upgraded our room that evening and got a much nicer room with a third floor patio facing the pool with an ocean breeze.

Coast of Cozumel.

On the snorkel boat.

Coast of Playa del Carmen.

The ferry to Cozumel.

Hibachi Mexican Style.

View from our balcony.

View from our balcony. The thatched roof building on the left is the Mexican restaurant. The umbrellas are the creperie.

Tulum - August 10th

Today we went to Tulum, an ancient Mayan city situated on the coast about 30 km south of our hotel. It was sooo hot! But the ruins were really cool! We saw a ton of Iguanas and got some great pics. That evening we went to the specialty steak house at our hotel. The food was really good. The restaurant was open air near the water. The waiters wore western style shirts and they played country music.

Me posing in a ruin...notice my 5 fingers non-shoes that totally embarrassed my husband.

View off the cliff in Tulum.

Another view off the cliff.

A precious couple shot in front of Tulum (Justin only lets me have a few each trip).

The main structure in Tulum.

Mr. Iguana

Ruin on the cliff.

El Eden Cenote - August 9th

We went to the El Eden Cenote today. A cenote is a fresh water cavern. This cenote had an opening to enter into an under water cave that led to another cenote. We saw some scuba divers go in to the cave. The water was freezing but it felt great! The water was really clear and so we could see all the way down to the bottom of the cavern. There was also a cliff you could jump off of into the water so Justin and I jumped off with all the kids! It was really cool to swim in the freezing water in the middle of the jungle! After swimming for a while, we went back to the hotel and laid on the beach for the rest of the day. That evening, we took the hotel shuttle into Playa Del Carmen for dinner and shopping. We went to a little taco place for dinner and bought some souvenirs. PDC is a really cool little town. I just loved the way the very green trees met over the road!

See me jumping off the cliff?

Posing with the cenote.

Cenote El Eden

Chillin' on the Beach

Yummy Tacos!

Beach in Playa Del Carmen

Beautiful street in Playa Del Carmen

Akumal and Yal Ku Lagoon - August 8th

We went to Akumal beach in the morning and snorkeled with sea turtles and sting rays. You could swim right next to the turtles but the sting rays would swim away fairly quickly. The turtles were huge...the bigger ones were probably 3 feet in diameter. We saw probably 10 different turtles! Justin took most of these pics with an underwater camera. In the afternoon, we headed to Yal Ku lagoon for more snorkeling. We swam out to where the lagoon entered the ocean and saw some of the most beautiful coral I have ever seen. The lagoon had tons of fish and we snorkeled for almost two hours straight. This was my favorite day of the trip!