Well...what can I say? It was an amazing week. And we needed it - so bad.
While we were going through the very difficult weeks of getting the initial news regarding my blood work being "concerning", having the ultrasound and CVS, getting the results of the CVS, and eventually losing Jeslyn...I decided that if we were going to lose our baby, we needed to GET AWAY. Somewhere, anywhere, somehow...we needed to take a vacation. Luckily, Alberto was all too happy to oblige my request and we sent an email to our wonderful travel extraordinaire Barbara (check her out if you're ever in need of a full service travel agent - she's fabulous) to help us pull something together. A few days after we lost Jeslyn, we finalized our travel plans, settling on Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The resort we chose, Secrets Vallarta Bay, was actually the same resort we were going to vacation at when we'd planned to get away in March of last year. We ended up cancelling that trip because I quit my job and we decided to be financially responsible adults (you know, use our vacation money to help float our boat in the absence of the income we'd lost due to me quitting). Kinda ironic that we took a vacation this year and I still am not working...but, whatever. Right? We needed it and I am so glad that we did it.
We left in the wee hours of the morning on 6/14 (1:20a, to be exact) and arrived in Puerto Vallarta around 1:45p local time (they are 2 hours ahead of us here in PDX). It was a gorgeous day and we couldn't have been happier to be in paradise. We were greeted with welcome champagne and chilled, lemon scented towels. VIP ALL the way, hehe After our quick check-in, we went up to our room and, just as I expected it to be, it was gorgeous. The king sized bed was beautiful and comfy, the bathroom was modern and had those fun bowl basins that sit on top of the granite countertops for sinks, there was a huge jetted soaker tub, and a dream shower...outfitted with a rain forest shower head and separate multi-setting detachable shower head. Not to mention (well...I'm going to mention it, hehe) a nice, deep shower bench. And the view? Just lovely. We could see the entire resort from our balcony...and the ocean was in full view - plus, it was close enough to hear it with the sliding glass doors shut. Magnificent, really. The whole thing was just...perfect. Naturally, the first thing we did was go down to one of the restaurants for lunch. We choose Oceana, because it was poolside and we could see the ocean from our table. The fish tacos and the shrimp fajitas we had were delicious. We had our first drinks in Mexico at lunch, too! We toasted to the wonderful week ahead of us. And that it was...absolutely, positively, wonderful.
I won't bore you with a detailed recount of everything we did - or brag about it, I should say. But, I will say that this trip was exactly what we needed, and, it's the happiest I've been in a LONG time. We did tons of relaxing...we lounged in the pool and on our pool side lounge chairs. We drank all day and ate some amazing meals. We read a lot, met some awesome people and chatted and hung out with them all week. I even played beach volleyball and it was a blast! We took a few excursions, too. On Monday we visited the most beautiful beach I've ever seen @ Las Calates...we snorkeled there, too. On Wednesday we swam with the dolphins...that was an unforgettable experience that we would recommend for children and adults alike. On Friday, we went back to Las Calates in the evening for a candlelit dinner and a show called Rhythms of the Night - it was so much fun! We even got to take in a World Cup game between Mexico and Brasil...that was exciting and kind of disappointing, too. You know, since Brasil tied with Mexico. The weather was perfect for 90% of the week. There was a pretty crazy storm with intense rain/thunder/lighting...but, it was in the evening and we got to sit in the indoor/outdoor lobby and listen to/see it all! There was one really loud thunder clap - it was so loud that I screamed and the live band stopped playing their music. But, we were all safe and after that, the storm let up. Miraculously, there wasn't a cloud in sight when we woke up the next morning!
All in all, it was the perfect trip, and, I wouldn't change a thing about it...not even coming back home. I missed my Isla SO much, and, I was grateful to get to hug her and see her little beautiful face again ;-) It'll be a long while until we get to do another solo trip like that again, so, until then...I will relish the memories we made and look forward to new and different adventures.
Here are a few highlights from our week away!
While we were going through the very difficult weeks of getting the initial news regarding my blood work being "concerning", having the ultrasound and CVS, getting the results of the CVS, and eventually losing Jeslyn...I decided that if we were going to lose our baby, we needed to GET AWAY. Somewhere, anywhere, somehow...we needed to take a vacation. Luckily, Alberto was all too happy to oblige my request and we sent an email to our wonderful travel extraordinaire Barbara (check her out if you're ever in need of a full service travel agent - she's fabulous) to help us pull something together. A few days after we lost Jeslyn, we finalized our travel plans, settling on Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The resort we chose, Secrets Vallarta Bay, was actually the same resort we were going to vacation at when we'd planned to get away in March of last year. We ended up cancelling that trip because I quit my job and we decided to be financially responsible adults (you know, use our vacation money to help float our boat in the absence of the income we'd lost due to me quitting). Kinda ironic that we took a vacation this year and I still am not working...but, whatever. Right? We needed it and I am so glad that we did it.
We left in the wee hours of the morning on 6/14 (1:20a, to be exact) and arrived in Puerto Vallarta around 1:45p local time (they are 2 hours ahead of us here in PDX). It was a gorgeous day and we couldn't have been happier to be in paradise. We were greeted with welcome champagne and chilled, lemon scented towels. VIP ALL the way, hehe After our quick check-in, we went up to our room and, just as I expected it to be, it was gorgeous. The king sized bed was beautiful and comfy, the bathroom was modern and had those fun bowl basins that sit on top of the granite countertops for sinks, there was a huge jetted soaker tub, and a dream shower...outfitted with a rain forest shower head and separate multi-setting detachable shower head. Not to mention (well...I'm going to mention it, hehe) a nice, deep shower bench. And the view? Just lovely. We could see the entire resort from our balcony...and the ocean was in full view - plus, it was close enough to hear it with the sliding glass doors shut. Magnificent, really. The whole thing was just...perfect. Naturally, the first thing we did was go down to one of the restaurants for lunch. We choose Oceana, because it was poolside and we could see the ocean from our table. The fish tacos and the shrimp fajitas we had were delicious. We had our first drinks in Mexico at lunch, too! We toasted to the wonderful week ahead of us. And that it was...absolutely, positively, wonderful.
I won't bore you with a detailed recount of everything we did - or brag about it, I should say. But, I will say that this trip was exactly what we needed, and, it's the happiest I've been in a LONG time. We did tons of relaxing...we lounged in the pool and on our pool side lounge chairs. We drank all day and ate some amazing meals. We read a lot, met some awesome people and chatted and hung out with them all week. I even played beach volleyball and it was a blast! We took a few excursions, too. On Monday we visited the most beautiful beach I've ever seen @ Las Calates...we snorkeled there, too. On Wednesday we swam with the dolphins...that was an unforgettable experience that we would recommend for children and adults alike. On Friday, we went back to Las Calates in the evening for a candlelit dinner and a show called Rhythms of the Night - it was so much fun! We even got to take in a World Cup game between Mexico and Brasil...that was exciting and kind of disappointing, too. You know, since Brasil tied with Mexico. The weather was perfect for 90% of the week. There was a pretty crazy storm with intense rain/thunder/lighting...but, it was in the evening and we got to sit in the indoor/outdoor lobby and listen to/see it all! There was one really loud thunder clap - it was so loud that I screamed and the live band stopped playing their music. But, we were all safe and after that, the storm let up. Miraculously, there wasn't a cloud in sight when we woke up the next morning!
All in all, it was the perfect trip, and, I wouldn't change a thing about it...not even coming back home. I missed my Isla SO much, and, I was grateful to get to hug her and see her little beautiful face again ;-) It'll be a long while until we get to do another solo trip like that again, so, until then...I will relish the memories we made and look forward to new and different adventures.
Here are a few highlights from our week away!
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| The resort...this was the adults only, Secrets side |
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| This is the adults/children Now Amber side...we could enjoy this part of the resort,too |
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| Our first selfie ;-) |
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| First drinks @ lunch! |
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| Our first sunset <3 |
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| The beach @ Las Calates...just breathtaking |
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| Nothing better than lounging in a chair with a book and a mimosa |
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| Swimming with Nemo the dolphin! |
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| My favorite dinner @ Capers...beef filet was delicious ;-) |
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| This is what I did most of the week...it suited me well. |
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| Me and my love...we had a great time! |
Looks like such a nice getaway! One of these days I need to get myself to Mexico!
ReplyDeleteOh, and what I would do right now for Mexican food! Gah!