Cancun

We went to Cancun to celebrate our 5th anniversary! We went with our good friends Rob and Mandy. We also celebrated 2 birthdays while we were there! We stayed at an all-inclusive resort called the Oasis Cancun. We got such a ridiculously good deal on it, we couldn't afford NOT to go!!! :) We had a great time, but I will admit I did miss my little boys, who didn't make the trip with us. I would never want to take them on a vacation like that at this age, but it was kind of hard to be away from them too. They did great while we were gone, and I just know that they appreciate me so much more since we've been back! ha!

Our first view of the ocean after checking in. The sunset was gorgeous over the water, and the moon was shining.

Several of the resorts along this stretch had their beaches demolished by Hurricane Katrina. Our resort supposedly had its landscape changed by the storm. There are now big boulders on parts of the beach, but not by our portion.

The lobby of our hotel was very beautiful. We were impressed with all of the huge slabs of marble that made up the floor and stairs.

I also really like the thatched roof walkways that accompany you wherever you want to go!

This wasn't our room, but ours looked very similar. They were very nice, clean, marble everywhere, balconies, etc.

I didn't get very many good pictures of the pool, but here is a sample. The pool is the longest pool in Cancun. It winds its way over a quarter mile through the whole length of the resort. There were 4 wading areas, 4 swim-up bars, several bridges, water volleyball, rock features, etc. It was nice, but we preferred the ocean.

Across the street at the marina we were able to use all non-motorized water equipment. We went out in these kayaks. We returned later and used the paddle boats.

There were beautiful peacocks roaming the resort.

There were about 10 restaurants that we could choose from. We definitely had our favorites though. This was taken in the Thai restaurant. Yum!!! Also, the steak house was a big hit. They had a salad bar buffet, which included cooked and raw veggies, fruit, french fries, and desserts. Then, the servers brought skewers of meat that had been roasting on a spit. There were 10 different kinds of meat, and they would cut it right off the skewer for you. Sirloin, Top Sirloin, Chicken, Turkey, Sausage, Leg of Lamb, Tenderloin, Ribs, Shish Kebob, and Filet Mignon.

The first show was a Mexican Fiesta. We enjoyed watching the dancing. One whole dance was performed with an open bottle of beer balanced on each dancers head. Not a drop was spilled.

These friendly fellas are everywhere!

We went down to Club Med to snorkel. This is where they take the snorkel tours, but we had our own gear, so we just took the city bus down at $0.65 each. The reef was beautiful!!! We saw lots of very cool fish!! Unfortunately I didn't have a way of capturing them on film.

The ocean is really quiet in this bay. We like the waves that crashed at our resort, but it was kind of nice to just float in the calm ocean, too!

As you can see, it was pretty cloudy that first day of snorkeling.

Good friends hanging out at the resort.

This was the view from our balcony. The resorts in Cancun are on a strip of land between the ocean and this big lagoon. Our room faced out over the golf course for our hotel and the lagoon. We had a beautiful view! We did golf several times! I even did! It was fun, but it was pretty hot out there!

Our balcony decoration. :)

The second show was a variety show called Dreams. The clown pulled me up as a volunteer in the silly balloon hat portion of the show. We never really figured out what my hat was supposed to be, but the other lady was a mouse and the guy was a girl with a flower, earrings, and a big chest.

This kind of a show always amazes me.

Boats pulling these big signs attached to para sails went by the resort throughout the day. They advertised restaurants, clubs, etc.

We had a lot of fun playing in the waves. Sometimes we could really catch a good one that would take us all the way into shore. You'd ride on top of the crest, and then at the last minute it would pull you down and flip you over. It was a lot of fun, but I got a few scrapes and bruises! The last few days we were there was a horrible riptide. They had the red flag flying which recommends no swimming. We were able to stay in the really shallow water where the waves were breaking, but we couldn't even get out very far, because the surf was so wide the waves would push you in before you could get passed them. There were a couple of guys who managed to get out past where the waves were cresting, but 2 lifeguards jumped in and saved them, because the riptide instantly pulled them out and down the beach quite aways.

This picture was taken after completing a tennis match. We played some tennis in the evenings and one of the days when it was overcast. We weren't willing to pay $15 an hour to have the courts lights turned on, and it was too hot to play if the sun was out, so that somewhat limited our tennis time. This picture was taken in the lobby of the Grand Oasis. That is a ritzier resort nestled inside of the resort we were at. We shared all of the same facilities, but there were a couple of restaurants that were exclusive to Grand Oasis customers.

We went downtown a few times to spend the evenings. It was fun to see all of the lights and restaurants.

On our second day of snorkeling we took a little extra time to enjoy that quiet bay I was telling you about.

On the beach at Club Med.

He LIVES! The last show of our stay was impersonations. It was very entertaining!

Our last full day there we went down to use the paddle boats. Before we got out on the water, this huge storm hit. 2 employees went out on jetskis to bring some of the other customers in. One came racing back with a man on the back and a girl draped over the seat. She wasn't breathing and her husband/boyfriend kept saying, "She drowned!" They performed CPR, and when the ambulance FINALLY came (it may have gotten delayed in the storm for some reason) they had gotten her breathing again. Pretty scary! The storm passed pretty quickly, and we were able to resume our boating. :)