I haven't blogged in months, mostly because life has just been pleasantly boring. I also haven't quite come to terms with the fact that we've been married for OVER a year now.What? Let's rewind a bit...
October is my favorite month. I love fall colors, clothes, and weather, and I also love that it marks the beginning of holiday season. And now, I have even more to look forward to when October arrives. Our anniversary! We decided to splurge and celebrate our first year of marriage with a trip to Mexico. We booked this trip back in March or April, so we looked forward to it for so long!
We stayed at the Valentin Imperial Maya resort in Riviera Maya. It's an adult only, all inclusive, b-e-a-utiful resort and we enjoyed every minute of our time there. Part of that might have been because they accidentally gave us a swim-up suite (a room that normally costs an additional $100 per night), but the rest of the place was pretty nice too! We arrived before lunch on Friday and met our friends who also decided to celebrate their anniversary at the same place! It was SO nice to see familiar faces when we arrived! We ate at the Japanese restaurant the first night, which is how we discovered just how big the resort was. You see, we got lost. Really lost. The map said the restaurant was "building 13," but it wasn't until we went to the opposite end of the resort that we realized there were 2 "building 13s." Did I mention that it's hot in Mexico? We finally made it and had a yummy Kanki-type meal. We then went to the sports bar where the boys got to play darts and we played drunken Jenga for hours. On Saturday, we went on an excursion to snorkel with sea turtles, ride ATVs, and explore an underground cave called a cenote. Despite the fact that we were in the van for about 2 hours there and back, it was an amazing day. You guys KNOW how I feel about turtles. Oh.My.Gosh. We snorkeled in Akumal Bay and I was beside myself - screaming through my snorkel - when I saw my first turtle. They are huge and adorable and it took everything in me not to hug them. I really didn't want to go to Mexico jail. The best part was when they swam up to the top and poked their heads out of the water. I'm squealing now just thinking about how cute they were! After snorkeling, we went to the jungle where they fed us an authentic Mexican lunch (amazing) and then we went on a lame ATV tour. We had some idiots in our group that made us stop every 2 minutes, so I know it would have been better if they weren't there. Finally, they took us to swim in the cenote. Y'all, pictures can't do it justice. The cave is filled with crystal clear, freezing cold freshwater. We had our snorkel gear on and just floated through the cave looking at the awesome stalagmites. It was like nothing I've ever seen. We got back to our resort and had another yummy meal at the French restaurant before our friends headed home the following day. Our anniversary day was my favorite - minus the sun burn. We spent the day lounging in our quiet little pool and then had dinner at the Italian restaurant. I may or may not have had 1-8 glasses of wine, but I swear it was the best meal I've ever had. Payton keeps making fun of me because I couldn't stop talking about the pizza or the balsamic they put on the caprese salad. Whatever! Balsamic is my jam.
The rest of the week was uneventful, and so incredibly relaxing. The resort also had a Mexican restaurant (one word: churros), an Indonesian restaurant, and two buffets for breakfast and lunch. The food was great overall! The service was fine, but I preferred the service we had at Sandals in Jamaica. As much as we loved this place, Sandals is the way to go. No one bothers you at a Sandals resort, but there are TONS of tour companies at the Valentin. They call your room and try and sell you crap all week long. It's easy to avoid, but still annoying.
I think about our trip daily. It was paradise! We couldn't have been more relaxed. I'm sure we won't be able to go on trips like this forever, but I hope we can do something every year to bring us back together and remind us to appreciate each other. I love being married to that man. He truly is the best.
