january 5th, 2010.

with our stomachs full with all the food we could possibly consume, and our brains mushy with more alcohol than was thought humanly possible, and new friends from New York... it's our final day. the sun has finally managed to show it's face in full, bright, HOT form. it has now become our goal to soak up every possible inch of vitamin D until it is time to leave for cold, snowy chi-town. 

 we spent our last few hours on the beach in and out of sleep, as well as telling stories about the night's prior events out on the cancun strip--- which only made being in my mid twenties make me feel like a dinosaur ---since the typical age seen out at the clubs seemed to be 17. oh, high school how i forever miss you and all the 'breaks' you brought to my life

oh, cancun even though the sun wasn't out as much as we hoped, you still managed to give me a great first trip and jump of the year. with only four hour direct flight from o'hare, there could be a possible second trip back to visit in may? 

xoxo simon.

january 4th, 2010.

it was the day to swim with the dolphins. katie and i woke to more clouds, and a brisk chill in the air. somehow we convinced eachother to put on our suits and head to the ferry that was to take us to isla de mujeres- yes the island of women. i kept my optimism high, remidning her the sun would come out, yet the dark grey gloom wasn't adding to our prior postive thoughts. once on the boat, the wind continously smacked us in the face, and it wasn't helping that the water's spray was thrashing against our faces. so, we huddled together and tried to keep warm, i think this was just around the point when we realized we had to get into the water to ''swim with the dolphin's''...

now, if anyone knew me when i was a little girl growing up--- swimming with the dolphins would not have been high on my list- actually you probably never would have heard those words come out of my mouth. i was typically as far away from fresh or salt water, and near the beach or pool. yes, i have always had a fear of--- fish. more importatnly BITTING FISH. i can still remember being a young girl, and spedning the summers at our cabin in lake minequah, wi ---it was the thing to do to swim out in the middle of the lake to a dock. well, when i finally got the courage, i was bite by a rainbow trout, and forever will be tormented by it. (some may say biting fish don't exist, i will forever disagree.)

perhaps it's the scorpian  in me, that keeps me wanting more, but i've always been a water baby- but with the pool, not so much lake or ocean. i can honestly say that the fear of being in fresh or salt water with live fish...is almost gone. when finding nemo came out, i was on a conquest to see the 'life underwater'---and i think swimming in barrier reefs were a huge eye opener, understanding more about a completely different world that exists 1000 of feet below sea level. 

so, when our hour of swim time came, and there was still no sun, i sucked it up- knowing this could be the only chance to swim with pablo- the dolphin. the ocean was...freezing. but once pablo swam up and kissed me, and then hugged me, i instantly fell in love. it's so incredible to think a dolphin can be trained to interact with humans that way. the best part of the experience was swimming into the middle of the ocean and having pablo push me back to shore- so incredible. 

since we were given wrist bands for an all you can drink and eat package while on the island we took full advantage. but... what is with mexico and all you can consume deals? katie's natural instict was to start triyng all the fruity drinks they offered, i had one bob marley that tasted like liquid sugar and opted for tequilla and fresca...

it was definatley a day to remember, and we made sure to again get all we paid for by spending the remainder of time at the island bar, katie, trying all different types of concoctions that the bartender could come up with. 

xoxo, 
simon.

 

january 2nd/3rd 2010.

day two began with clouds, and a chill in the air. pedro, our bartender from the night before, who apparently also doubles as the poolside waiter told us not to fret. he explained in hand signals and spanglish that this is 'island' weather, and that it would be sunny and 80 again in just a few hours. 

yeah.... wellllllll let's just say days two and three kind of run together. the sun managed to stay hidden for both days however we made the best of it and took FULL advantage of the 'all-inclusive' alcohol portion of the package during the day so we could be in and out of our naps--or forget that it was cold and cloudy? katie made it her mission to try every fruity, sugar filled cocktail they were able to create- and by the night of day two, she struck victory.

i'd have to say the most memorable portion of those two days was the spa. being in the industry and having constant back pain, i've had my fare share of massages, and normally you can't dis-please me,i mean what could be better than a massage on the beach with waves crashing next to you? well, that's what i thought-- in fact that's what we BOTH pictured when we signed up to split a package of 4 massages within the next few days... however as soon as i layed on the masseurs' table i knew it was far from a deep tissue massage. in fact it was as if for the next hour the therapist was rubbing sun tan lotion on my body- there was no rhthym, absolutely no pressure and let's not forget the cracking of the knuckles on my back!? ehck. the positive to the massage- getting a full day's access to the spa area. they opened at 9am, and closed at 5pm. we were the only ones there that were using their hot tub, steam room, rain shower, and sauna on half hour increment- it was cloudy- what else were two twenty-something girls supposed to do?!

when we left the spa it was dark out, which also meant dinner. being an all-inclusive resort also meant...room service was included!! so we figured why not stay in and make it the laziest day of the year?  4 orders of guacamole, chips and salsa, quesadillas, french fries,some weird mac and cheese dish, a burger and tiliapia for katie and who could forget desert? not us, in fact we topped it off with ordering each desert they had to offer on the menu. my favorite part of the whole phone conversation was when i was asked, 'and how many people will this be for?" 

xoxo, 
simon.

day one of 2010.

january 1st, 2010. the first adventure of the new year has begun. it's five o'clock in the morning at o'hare. just 20 minutes prior there were air guitars on the dance floor followed by tequilla shots, somehow we made it through security and to our gate. with echos of 'glory days' ringing in my head along with numerous cocktails still in my blood stream, the airport is soon the last place on earth i want to be. i'm trying my absolute harderst not to blink for a second too long--since now it would just be tragic. it's been over 24 hours since i've slept and am now determined that the next place i will sleep will be on the beaches of cancun.

i don't even remember taking off, in fact i don't even recall boarding the plane. the next thing i do remember is katie telling me we had landed and it was only noon. the sun was out, it was 80 degrees, and i thought i was still dreaming. no, no... we were now on our way to 'dreams' all-inclusive resort in cancun, mexiiiiiiiiiico.

we arrived by 1pm to dreams cancun- our resort we would spend the next four nights at. we drank the the champagne that was offered to us upon arrival, as a 'nap enducer' and immediatley headed towards the ocean to soak in all the vitamin D we had been lacking since september 2009... and here begins five days of pure relaxation. 

xoxo, 
simon.