Archive for the 'Travel' Category

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Shadow Portraits Cozumel

Published on Thursday, December 8, 2011 in Cozumel, Shadow Portraits and Travel. 0 Comments

It’s no surprise that we love taking shadow portraits. We’ve been doing this for years, in all different kinds of locations. Just check out the Shadow Portrait Category to see what I mean.

I couldn’t wait to play around with this in Cozumel!

Claire and I played with the morning sun on the beach in front of our condo the first morning we were there.

iHola!

The three of us played with the waves and shadows.

Here comes the wave!

As I was sorting through all the images on the photo card, look what I discovered!

I think this one looks like...

...this one from California!

Granted, that was a couple years ago, and almost half a world away…

Did you know I was a Safe-Cracker?

Published on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 in Cozumel and Travel. 0 Comments

As we were prepping for our trip to Cozumel, I started to feel a bit like Jason Bourne. In my money-belt, I had two different passports and a whole wad of cash. I even stashed another wad of cash in a separate carry-on item, in a safe but unexpected place. Thrilling!

Granted, the passports were my daughter’s and mine, and the cash was an assortment of American dollars in small denominations so that we didn’t need to get or change money for Pesos while we were down there. It looked like a lot more money than it was.

Still, it felt oddly exciting.

The people who rented us the condo gave us a wealth of information via email before our trip. One question we’d had was if there was a safe in the unit. There was, but it was relatively small…just big enough for passports and cash, and small valuables.

iPerfecto!

Ever since our wonderful child locked us out of our own safe in a hotel room in San Francisco (with all of our treasures safely INSIDE IT, with a code only SHE knew and oddly enough, wasn’t able to replicate…), my husband and I are a bit jumpy around hotel safes. In San Francisco, we got to meet the nice gentlemen of the Security Department. They were summoned and quickly arrived in their crisp suits, with their magical handheld safe-cracking devices and curley-que ear-pieces.

Editor’s note: No children were harmed in that situation, but a huge impression was made, and Claire knows to steer clear of hotel safes.

In Cozumel, I was glad to hear there was going to be a safe at all, but this was going to be different. There was a person who might be able to help us if the safe got locked accidentally, but it would be difficult to reach that person quickly (and the email implied “if at all.”). Best bet? Please leave the safe open when you leave, and please, please, please be careful with it.

When we arrived at the condo, and we finished ooohing and ahhhing, I decided to check out the safe.

It was locked. Shut. Not open. As in, exactly what the email had said NOT to do.

iPerfecto!

Rather than panic, I switched into Jason Bourne mode. I hadn’t traveled for hours with more than one passport strapped to my body for nothing. What would he do? “Let’s see if we can figure this out,” I said. “Let’s try this before we try to reach someone.”

I punched in the security code we’d been given for the front door, hoping someone wouldn’t be so silly as to use the same code twice, all the while mentally crossing my fingers that they had been stupid enough to do just that.

It didn’t work. (I was actually relieved. I mean, that would not be very secure at all!)

Then, a random code popped into my head. It was way too simple. Would someone be stupid enough to use this code?

THEY WERE.
IT WORKED!!

I’d cracked the safe!

We were extremely excited, despite the fact that we didn’t find any unmarked bills waiting behind the locked door.

We immediately changed the code to something we could all remember and held the safe with utmost respect for the entire week. It may be too soon to put “Safe-Cracker” on my official resume, but I was pretty proud of myself.

Jason Bourne would’ve been impressed.

The Lighthouse at Punta Sur: Faro Celarain

Published on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 in Cozumel and Travel. 0 Comments Tags: Cozumel, Mexico.

The beauty of a relaxing vacation on the beach is that some days consisted of the following agenda: BOTH pools AND the beach. In random order. Followed by a siesta. Make sure you see the sunset.

I’m not even kidding.

One of the days, however, we set out to explore Punta Sur, the aptly named park encompassing the southern tip of Cozumel.

We had such a great day that all our adventures cannot possibly fit into one post, so I’m focusing on our first and last stop in this park: The Lighthouse at Punta Sur, called Faro Celarain.

We got to the park before the cruise ships released their crowds onto the island. The first stop was the Faro, and we decided to take advantage of the lack of tourists. (As it turned out, the park wasn’t very crowded anyway, but we erred on the side of caution.)

Faro Celarain

We signed our lives away and are ready to ascend! 133 steps!

You can see the lagoon and the sea. Beautiful, beautiful view from the top of the Faro!

Shadow of the lighthouse, morning shot

Yes, that’s our little Tiida below, just to the left of that palm tree in the center of the picture!

We explored the Mayan ruins on the grounds, too!

Then, we explored the rest of Punta Sur. (Click here to read that post!) On the way back, Claire INSISTED that we climb the Faro again.

The adults summoned what energy we had left…and agreed! (What? Relaxing and exploring can be hard work!)

The steps were steep!

...and curvy!

And there were 133 of them…EACH WAY. Yes, that’s 532 steps per person, for those of you playing along at home.

But it was worth it! (Again…)

Shadow of the lighthouse, afternoon shot

Paradise Absolutely

Published on Friday, December 2, 2011 in Cozumel and Travel. 0 Comments Tags: Cozumel, Mexico.

The title of this post answers the following two questions about our trip to Cozumel, Mexico.

1) Where did you stay?
2) Would you go back?

It really was paradise. More specifically, the official name of our island getaway was The Residencias Reef. It’s located at Kilometer 14 on the island of Cozumel. This will mean nothing to you if you’ve never been there, but makes perfect sense once you have.

It’s just far enough south to be away from the cruise ships, but close enough to San Miguel to get groceries easily. (We recommend MEGA. It was awesome and had everything…except dishwashing detergent, but that’s another story in itself!)

We rented a car for the week, and I’d highly recommend that. Our place provided parking, and it was great to have a car to tool around the island on the days we wanted to explore or needed to grab groceries A LA MEGA! (Sorry, the all-caps on that was an inside joke. We couldn’t NOT say it that way.)

We were traveling with a friend, so the place we rented was a two bedroom (three bed), two bath condo. Residencias Reef has 24hr security and is gated.

This is their secondary security, if you get past the guards at the gate. This guy (and his friend) guarded our Tiida every day.

Tiida! (Ours is the silver four door.) We joked that this was the clown car of Nissan. It looks tiny on the outside but HAS SO MUCH ROOM on the inside. Totally bizarre.

View of the condo from one of the pools. This is the back, or oceanside, of the unit. Ours is on the 3rd and 4th floors, in the center, under the thatched roof. (Yes, really!)

View of the second pool, closest to the beach. Notice how crowded it is? Heh.

Elevator to the 3rd Floor

The condo was situated on grounds that were gorgeous and really well maintained. We had a “private” beach, just steps from the condo.

Claire and the guys playing frisbee on the beach

Connecting the pools was a wooden walkway that went through a lagoon-like area.

The walkway at sunset

Another portion of the walkway

This particular unit was two floors, with the main living area on one floor and a rooftop patio above.

Rooftop Lounge

View

The view was breathtaking. Waking up to this same view from our room every day for a week was amazing and made leaving really hard to do.

Which brings me to the answer of the second question. We would go back in a heart-beat. Hawaii is my true love, but Cozumel is a close second. There are parts I like better about both locations. I foresee another beach vacation in our future.

Absolutely.

Not your typical Thanksgiving Day stroll

Published on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 in Cozumel, Thanksgiving and Travel. 2 Comments Tags: Cozumel, Mexico.

Holding the Sun

Published on Monday, November 28, 2011 in Cozumel and Travel. 1 Comment Tags: Cozumel, Mexico.

We relaxed. We explored. We walked for ages along the beach searching for shells, the soft sand squishing through our toes while the waves lapped at our ankles. We swam with the fish. We floated on the waves. We held the sun in our hands.

The Island Awaits

Published on Thursday, November 17, 2011 in Cozumel and Travel. 0 Comments Tags: Cozumel, Mexico.

Do you hear that?

It’s the sound of bags being zipped, and boarding passes and directions to a beachside haven being neatly stowed in a safe place.

It’s the sound of swimsuits and snorkel gear being contained, but the giggles of a Kindergartener getting to use her Passport for the very first time not being contained at all.

It’s the soft exhale as the last item is crossed off the list.

It’s the sound of things being unplugged and shut down, left to sleep for a glorious week.

The island awaits.

Steamboat Springs: Our Fall Break Getaway

Published on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 in Travel. 2 Comments

Claire’s Fall Break from school was October 14th through the 17th. Daddy also had some vacation time to burn, so we opted to get outta town!

Where did we go?

We checked out Steamboat Springs, CO! It’s a relatively short drive from home, and a change of scenery. Perfect!

Daddy has been to Steamboat a few times in the past to ski, but he’s never checked out the hot springs there. We’re big fans of hot springs, so we couldn’t wait.

The good news? They aren’t stinky like in Pagosa Springs!
The bad news? There is no incentive to actually leave them until you become shriveled prunes.

Needless to say, the verdict? They were fantastic!

We had such a great, relaxing time. Here are some pictures of our stay:

The view from our private balcony at the motel was magical.

Where did we stay?

We stayed at The Rabbit Ears Motel, which was right across the street from the Old Town Hot Springs. The motel was basic, clean, and comfortable, and calling directly to make reservations scored us a great deal on a river-side room! (They also had discounted tickets available for the hot springs across the street, AND they provided towels!)

The neon sign is on the Colorado Historical Record. It was erected in 1952!

Happy Hour! …again, from our private balcony.

In addition to soaking and playing in the hot springs, we did a lot of hiking and exploring and relaxing. (The above photo was taken at dusk.) The fall colors were past their peak, but still GORGEOUS. What a beautiful area!

The weather was PERFECT…upper 60s, lower 70s during the day, crisp and cool at night. Monday’s weather was a bit shocking but more back to normal:

We felt like we were driving through a Holiday Card as we traveled along Highway 40, just outside of Steamboat.

I highly recommend visiting Steamboat Springs in the fall. It was the perfect mini-vacation for us. We can’t wait to go back!

The Inn of the Governors in Santa Fe

Published on Thursday, July 7, 2011 in Product Reviews, Travel and Travel - Santa Fe. 1 Comment

We were in Santa Fe for the long weekend! It’s no secret that we love Santa Fe. It’s always held a special place in our hearts. It’s hard to explain. It’s relaxing. It’s invigorating. It’s magical. The energy there is very renewing, yet very old.

When I say “old,” I mean old. They just celebrated FOUR HUNDRED YEARS, and I’m just mesmerized. Yes…400 years. Amazing!

A sign at The Royal Palace, aka The Palace of the Governors. No, we didn't stay here. We stayed at their Inn.

Luckily, Claire likes Santa Fe as much as we do, and she wanted to know if it would be possible to move our house down there and attach it to the hotel. Soon-to-be Kindergarteners have an interesting perspective on how things should work.

I mean, if we moved the house there, we wouldn’t need to be next to the hotel, right? She reminded us that we don’t have a pool. Duh.

This year, we tried out a new lodging place. In years past, we’ve stayed at Garrett’s Desert Inn. It’s two blocks from the famed Plaza and not a million dollars. Well, the last time we stayed there, it was really showing the wear and tear, and this time, we opted for something that was a just as close to the Plaza, and in a little better shape. It wasn’t right ON the Plaza, so it wasn’t a million dollars a night.

This year’s choice was The Inn of the Governors. We loved it! (No, this isn’t a paid review…it’s not even a formal one!) If you ever stay in Santa Fe, one thing to figure into the price of your room is parking. Parking in Santa Fe near the Plaza is at a premium. The spaces are tiny and expensive. The Inn of the Governors worked the price of parking into their daily rate, threw in a complete hot breakfast buffet AND a $25 daily credit at the restaurant on site.

We thought for sure that meant the food would be 1) expensive or 2) mediocre. It was neither of those two things!! It was fantastic food and VERY reasonably priced! Sweet!

Parking, pool, breakfast, daily credit, AND it’s two blocks from the Plaza? Perfect!

Now, the parking spots at the Inn of the Governors were TINY. We folded the mirrors in on my car, even thought it’s not a huge car! I acted as a spotter when we parked and departed, and it worked. This being said, parking anywhere downtown is going to be a challenge.

The pool was great. It was heated and lovely. The hotel provides cookies, tea, and sherry (for free) at 4pm every day, so it was nice to take advantage of that while relaxing at the pool!

The room we had was furnished with two beds and included a Kiva Fireplace.