travel – The Impatient Traveler

Fort Lauderdale, FL – Day 4 & 5

November 30, 2022 by The Impatient Traveler, posted in Florida

Day 4-

It’s amazing how much you can get done in a day when you wake up at 6 AM. We had a nice breakfast on the patio while watching the sunrise over the ocean. Unfortunately the bagels we got from the store were pretty gross but, at least, the hotel coffee was decent. Of course, Harper had her moo moo. Day 4 was our “Miami Day”, but we had some time to kill before heading in town, so we decided to go for a nice long stroll along the beach and then to the pool for a little bit. It’s funny how different the pool is at 8:30 AM vs. 11 AM. It’s only filled with parents and kids. All of the “20 somethings” and partiers come out a little bit later after they sleep in. The transition of life stages opens you up to new time frames and new people.

We got a great little spot in the shade next to a cabana so Harper wouldn’t get sun burnt. We put her in her little swim diaper and floaty and hopped in the water. Thankfully, the pool was heated so we don’t have to worry too much about it being cold. It’s really cute watching Harper kick her little legs in the water and splish splash around and amazing to watch her learn her body parts and explore what they do. We were at the pool for about an hour and enjoyed some of our drinks that we smuggled in. We even talked to some of the parents that were there about their experiences with their kids. Everyone keeps telling us to enjoy Harper while she’s so little because it goes so fast. We are trying to soak up every moment.

It was time to head back up to the room, get changed for Miami, have an extra feed and do a little pumping. We got all of our bags packed in the car called and headed out for about a 45 minute drive. We got to Miami around lunchtime so we decided to go straight to Little Havana to a Cuban sandwich shop called Sanguich to try some of the local fair. Sanguich at great reviews and was not as sketchy looking at some of the other dives. It had a long line outside for people waiting for the sandwiches and smelled delicious. We got a table pretty quickly and the staff was so nice, cooing all over Harper. We probably could’ve split the sandwiches because they were huge! We also tried potato croquettes because I heard those were also all the rage. My croquettes were a little frozen on the inside, which was slightly disappointing, but the sandwich was a 10 out of 10. The bread was so crispy and delicious. Was a very filling lunch and definitely something we wouldn’t be able to get in Dallas!

While the GPS showed only a 15 minute drive to the Perez Art Museum, there was crazy traffic backed up for hundreds of yards at the Museum drive entrance. Thankfully, we were able to scoop around the traffic because of the way we are coming in but it was stressful. We waited about 25 minutes to get into the parking garage and find a parking spot. I ended up doing some journaling in the car while we were waiting and Ryan was just relaxing at the drive. We finally made it into the lot we are pretty wowed by the building itself. It was right next to the Frost Museum of Science and both buildings were beautifully architected it had some really cool gardens around them. They also looked out over the wharf with 10 out of 10 views.

We got into the museum and started looking around. Harper was really alert and started looking at all the art. She had never experienced anything like this before and a lot of the exhibits were very bold with color. We found a bright green tapestry and Harper just started talking and talking and talking. She couldn’t stop looking at the art and was very engaged with it. Her babbling was absolutely adorable and you could tell she loved all of the colors and patterns in the artist’s creation. Of course, the color didn’t stop as we entered the Andy Warhol exhibit. It was pretty incredible; full of color and fun prints. The museum combined Warhol’s art with another artist that Andy was inspired by and it was really cool to see the different styles of art from Warhols color blocks printing to the other artist block style of art.

The other collections within the museum were also compelling. We were in the museum for about an hour hour and a half before it is time to hop back in the car. I had to do a quick pump in the car on the way to the Wynwood walls. Ryan was running out of steam and I was getting kind of tired too after a long day. We drove up the walls and the art everywhere was pretty incredible! The Wynwood neighborhood just has murals after murals after murals on almost all the buildings. The Wynwood walls end up having a cover to get in and it was really crowded. It kind of felt like DiBella Maria and Dallas with a very young hip five. We decided not to go in since it was so crowded and we had Harper in the stroller.

We walked around for about 10 minutes and I did some of the pieces that we could see. Literally there’s art everywhere! There’s so much talent in this area. We decided to hop in the car and head back to the hotel pretty shortly after because we were pretty tuckered.

It was Harper’s nap time but, every time we tried to put her down for a nap, she decided to start talking. She just lays in her crib and talks and talks and talks and then rolled around a bit. There’s a mirror at the back of her crib and, even though we put her in vertically as not face in the mirror, she somehow found a way to turn, look in the mirror, and talk at herself. It’s absolutely endearing! Of course, Ryan couldn’t nap while she was talking but how could we be mad? She’s just so freaking cute! We did get a darkening tent to put over her crib which helped her get to sleep, but I couldn’t help but go over and peak at her. Ever time I did, I got a big wide smile back. Ugh my heart just melttssss.

We did some relaxing for about an hour and a half before the rain rolled in. The winds were crazy and we watched the umbrellas and pillows at the hotel pool next to us flying all over the place. We plan the perfect getaway for our day Miami since the beach really wasn’t an option with the weather. Because we really couldn’t walk anywhere due to the rain we decided to go back to the C-stand and serve for restaurant downstairs. The food was excellent so it wasn’t no-brainer. Ended up getting the goat cheese croquettes again because how can go wrong with with fried local goat cheese in a passion and purée? We all tried the ba buns and a sushi roll. Of course they pass her table with this giant blonde cookie thing for dessert and couldn’t resist. It was probably one of those delicious cookies I’ve ever had with kind of a coconut E chocolate texture and vanilla ice cream on top with butter scotch. You could tell that cookie had almost a whole stick of butter in it because of how soft and Juliet was. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

After being immensely full and watching the rain hit the water from our table we were really tired. We went up to the room and played with Harper a little bit before passing out for the night.

Day 5-

I couldn’t believe it was our last morning already on our trip. At 5 o’clock Harper decided to start talking and talking and talking. She’s usually sleeps in until 6:30 so Ryan got up and held her for a couple minutes and she went right back to sleep. Thank goodness!

We had our final breakfast on the patio enjoying the view and then decided to go for our morning stroll. It’s so nice to see all the people out running and we actually have started to see familiar faces that are at the same time is us every morning. We get so many smiles with little Harper in tow. After our walk, we grabbed our pool bag and went to the pool. You got our same spots as the day before and Harper was a little more fussy this morning. I think she’s just overall very tired since her naps have not been as consistent and cut cut short. We had her in a little floaty for a little bit and then suede in the water. And then we laid out a little bit while she took a nap on the lawn chair. It was all very relaxing and such a nice day!

Lunchtime when you are a parents is at like 9:45 AM. When you have breakfast at 6 AM you do get hungry for lunch really early! We ended up packing our bags up at 10:30, getting changed in the room, and headed back to our favorite Mexican restaurant down the street. I couldn’t get that lobster quesadilla out of my head so we went back for round two.

Along with some margaritas, we had a nice long lunch looking out at the water. It was a really hot day so Harper enjoyed a nice cold bottle of milk. I have to say, the food has been excellent on this trip. We’ve been so pleasantly surprised!

After lunch I was pretty exhausted. We went back to the hotel for a nice long nap and I just totally passed out. It was the heat of the day so we wanted to wait it out a little bit for to get cloudy so we can go to the beach. That plan ended up working perfectly because, by the time we went to the beach around 3 PM, it was overcast.

The tide was also out so there are some sand bars that we could go sit at. We sat there for about 10 minutes and put our toes in the water. Harper liked feeling the sand but she wasn’t really into it as she was little too hungry and a little too tired and a little too cold. We ended up making her a little fort in between our layout chairs so she could take a nap. I was actually kind of jealous because of how cool it looked.

Ryan and I just relaxed and enjoyed the sound of the waves and the people. We talked about how much we needed this vacation, how good it was to get away together, and how we’re such a good team. It’s really amazing to watch Ryan become a father. He is the perfect partner for everything we need to do for a little Harper and for managing each other’s stress in situations. If you can travel together, you can do anything together. If you travel with the baby together, boy you’re unstoppable!

Eventually, little Harper woke up and we went looking for shells. We walked along the seaside and enjoyed the water on our feet. Harper was wearing a swim diaper but those do not hold pee. I was holding her and had her wrapped in a towel, praying that she wouldn’t be on me!

We were on the beach until about 4:30 PM, until it was time to head to the hotel and get ready for dinner. We have to do dinner around 6 o’clock or else we get too close to Harper‘s bedtime and she gets fussy.

We opted to try a Peruvian place down the beach called Kousine. It had great reviews and we found out why pretty quickly! Our waitress was really nice and from Cusco, so we ended up chatting with her about our times in Cusco and our favorite milk shake ever at a place near the cat park in Lima. She brought us these crispy corn curnals with this salty seasoning to start. Ryan and I also shared this insanely good passion fruit, ahi tuna ceviche. The waitress also told us that there is quite a Chinese influence in Peru, leading us to try this almost fried rice style dish with sweet Peruvian flavors. It was so different and so good! We have been trying a lot of different foods than we would typically order this trip which has been so rewarding! So many new things that we now love!

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel, packed our bags, and watched Below Deck while finishing off the rest of the birthday cake Oreos.

Traveling With A Baby

June 7, 2022June 7, 2022 by The Impatient Traveler, posted in Packing Guides, Packing Lists, Tips & Tricks

Getting back into traveling when you’ve just had a baby can seem like a daunting task. There are just so many things to think about! My hubs and I used to be a “carry-on and backpack” only type of travel crew, but the addition of our baby, Harper, turned us into the “checked-bags / arrive two hours early” family. Such a different travel experience! Good news for you is that, it really isn’t bad at all (even if you find out mid flight that your diaper bag does not, in fact, have any diapers in it…yikes!) You just need to be prepared. To help my fellow travel-mommas, the following post will go over booking, hotels, plane flights, and more based on our first few trips!

The first important thing to discuss is mindset. It can get very stressful planning a trip with a baby. Our first vacay was supposed to be stress free, but 2 weeks out from our Florida trip, 2 additional trips popped up. We had a work/ family road trip to Houston, a solo mom work trip to Minneapolis, and our first flight trip to Florida all within 1 week, while pumping! Talk about the need to plan ahead. We made it through all of that because, at the end of the day, what was the worst thing that could happen? Yes, Harper could have cried in the car or on the plane. We did, in fact, forget diapers on the plane which we realized when she had a poop, but we made it and no one on the plane complained. We could have forgotten something but there are always Targets, Walmarts, or other stores close to pickup anything we forgot. If we ran out of bottled milk, I was on tap. At the end of the day, just know that “the worst thing that could happen” is not THAT bad and you will still enjoy yourself. As moms, we have so much to juggle, so take a breath and don’t be hard on yourself!

The second part is your expectations. If you haven’t read about my other trips, in summary, I pack A LOT of activities into a little time. I almost killed Ryan in Rome with trying to see the city in one day! Traveling with a baby is a completely different pace than what we are used too – but that is OK! The vacation will be slower, but honestly, you probably need it to be that way to get rest, take naps (Naps on vacation? What?! But yes, naps are good!), and not stress yourself out. For Florida, I told myself I wanted a restful vacation. We had no places we HAD to be, no time frames, and just a very rough outline of things we could do if we were up for it. Honestly, that was perfect. It gave us so much flexibility to do things based on Harper’s pace and our energy levels. This is your time to get some R&R, so give your self some grace. Your trip will be what you make of it and mindset is a huge part of that!

Considerations For Planning Your Trip With Baby:

Where To Go: You have so much stuff to bring with a baby. A trip that has multiple hotels, locations, and un-packs / pack-ups is going to be tough. We opted to go to Florida and stay on the beach in the same hotel for 5 nights which made it so much less stressful. Also, consider places with lots of outdoor places for you to enjoy with your little one. Just make sure to check the weather for the time of year you are going.
Distance to the Airport: Babies should not be in carseats for hours on end. Pick a spot within an hour or so of the airport because you will be exhausted after the flight. Also, if you choose an early flight like we did at 7:10 AM to Florida, expect a VERY early wake up (aka 4 AM) since you will want lots of time at the airport. The further your drive to the airport, the earlier the wake up. Also, if you have a rental car, you will need to add more time for getting gas, dropping the car off, and getting to the gate.
Activities: We usually book so many excursions on our trip, but with a baby, most of the usual suspects (long tours, adventure activities, etc.) are off the table. However, that does not mean you can’t have fun! Beaches, pools, areas to hike, zoos, gardens, water-taxi / larger boat rides, and National Parks, areas with town squares or walkable shopping districts are great places to go with kids as they usually don’t require a certain time to go, are paved for strollers, are cheap to get in, and give you areas for down time if needed. Indoor places like museums, aquariums, art galleries, malls, restaurants with a great view so you can camp out, etc. are great for rainy or hot day options as well.
Renting a Car/ Ubering: Ubers ARE doable with a carseat (even without the base). We did Uber to the airport and then we rented a car in Florida to get around. It was just easier to keep our stuff in and have our own, flexible schedule. Also, I could pump in the rental car while Ryan drove if we were out longer than expected. That would be AWK in an Uber.

Baby Friendly Hotels:

Location: Hotels close or walkable to the main areas you want to explore are super helpful. We booked our Florida hotel right on the beach, so it was a 2 second walk to the huge pool or beach. Also, the hotel was right next to the beach walk with tons of restaurants so we went for a stroll every morning and walked to almost all of our lunch and dinner spots.
Amenities in Order of Importance:
- Baby Crib: Many hotels offer cribs, you just need to ask or check their website! This will provide a safe sleep space for your little one so you don’t have to lug one with you. So helpful! Just make sure to call a few days in advance and confirm you have one set aside for your room.
- Kitchenette Area: To me, washing bottles and pump parts in the bathroom just does not feel sanitary. We had a little kitchen area in FL with a sink and it was a game changer. Also, having a freezer instead of just a mini-fridge for any extra pumping milk for those breastfeeding mommas out there is a nice-to-have as well.
- Double Queen Beds: We got a King in FL and had double Queen beds in Houston. It was so nice to have an extra bed to use for Harper and her stuff in Houston. She played on it, we changed her on it, and if she spit up or had a blow out, we were NOT sleeping on it. The extra play space was so nice.
- Elevators: If you are staying in a motel, get a 1st floor room. You do not want to lug all of your stuff up and down those stairs.
- Balcony with a View: Getting up so early with a baby, we spent a lot of time drinking coffee, eating breakfast, and enjoying nap time on our hotel’s balcony in Florida. Having a way to enjoy your new environment from the hotel room is an big added benefit.
- Kid’s Clubs / Activities: We traveled with Harper at 5 months old. Most Kids Clubs / hotel babysitting services have age minimums (starting at 6 months) in order to use them. Check that when booking if you want to take advantage for a date night or two.
AirBNB / VRBOs: These are always an option and having a bathroom / kitchen would be so helpful. The biggest thing to call out with rentals is a safe sleep space for the baby. Check in advance if they offer cribs or if you have to bring your own.
Darkness: Hotels are full of natural light during the day. While I love light and windows, it is not conducive to nap time! Our Houston hotel was way too bright and we had to put Harpers crib in the closet and use our cloth wrap on top to try and block the light. We bought this crib cover for our Florida trip and it made nap time so much easier!

Flying With Baby:

Booking Your Flight: If you have a baby under 1, they can fly free as a lap child! Doing so for a 3 hour flight to Florida was easy. Just consider how comfy you would be having a baby on your lap for longer international flights of 5+ hours. That might be the time to book a second seat, even if you have to pay. When you do book, just make sure to indicate you are flying with a lap child in the booking. Try and get seats to the front of the plan for a quick exit and an isle seat for easy trips to the bathroom if needed.
Airport Arrival Time / Check-In: Give yourself at least 1.5 hours (2 if this is your first time traveling with baby) to check in. Our first flight needed all of that time since we hit a few snags. Even if you check in online, most airlines require check in at the desk for the lap infant. You will also likely have to check a bag with all of your stuff. MAKE SURE THEY PRINT A BABY BOARDING PASS. You will need this to get on the plane. Even though I booked the tickets with a lap infant and all of Harper’s details, they did not print a boarding pass for her upon checkin and we had to recheck in at the gate as we could not board the plane without one. We lost our original seats in that process too. Talk about stress. You will also need to check your stroller and carseat at the gate and get a tag so you can bring it down the jet bridge.
Getting Through Security: Wear your baby! We went through TSA Pre (which is so nice since you don’t have to take your shoes off and the lines are so much shorter) and Ryan’s ticket did not say TSA Pre so he had to go recheck in. I went through security while carrying Harper in my arms and getting the stroller / car seat broken down and the milk out was so hard. A nice man had to help me out. On the way back from that trip, I carried Harper in the Ergobaby carrier and it was so much easier! If you are brining milk, just have it in a cooler that you can easily take in and out of your bag. We used this Skip Hop cooler that fits 3 Dr. Brown’s bottles. I also bought these long lasting, sandwich-size icepacks to keep things extra cold.
Flying & Pumping: Being on a pumping schedule is hard. You will likely have to do so at some point during your flight experience. It is not that bad! Airports have lactation rooms or pods in each terminal. I used those on my work trip to Minnesota and trip to Florida. Just check the terminal maps for their locations. I used my Momcozy pumps which are perfect for travel to do so and brought a cooler for the milk / Ziplock freezer bags for the pump parts. I also pumped mid-flight twice as well. I brought a scarf to wrap around while I was in my seat using the Momcozys and it was super easy. If you are traveling solo with baby, make sure to pump in the airport as doing so on the plane without someone with you will be very challenging.
Stroller / Car Seat: Most airlines (even Spirit!) let you check your stroller and car seat for free at the gate. You will need to get a tag at the gate agent and carry these things down the jet bridge. I highly recommend getting a case or protective bag for your carseat. If you buy it from the carseat brand, they usually will replace your carseat if it gets damaged in transit if in the case. Checking at the gate will reduce the risk of damage in transit and you will get them back as soon as you get off the flight on the bridge.
Baggage: You can also bring an extra bag for your kiddo onto the plane for no extra charge. Pack your bags for flights strategically and have Bags 1 & 2 for under the seat/ easy access and Bag 3 in the overhead bin.
- Bag 1: Baby stuff. Toys on the bottom, food, pacifiers, and changing stuff on top of the bag for easiest access. Wipes / hand sanitizer.
- Bag 2: Your entertainment, pumping stuff if needed, snacks, purse, water, and wallet.
- Bag 3: Additional stuff you need mid-flight or cannot fit in your checked bag. Since it is overhead, it will be harder to access. Try to put anything you need during the flight in bags 1 & 2.

Baby Packing List Must Haves:

Baby: Diapers / wipes, changing pad, bottles, ice packs for milk if needed, cooler for bottles, cleaning supplies for bottles, light blanket or towel (we used one for the beach), toys / books, pacifiers, moisturizer / shampoo / baby wash / diaper cream / baby sunscreen, hats, baby bug spay, stroller fan, stroller rain or bug covers, stroller cup holder for walks, bathing suits that cover arms with UV protection / swim diapers / swim hats, swim inflatable for the pool, baby ear protection (you never know when it will be loud like on a water Taxi), small packable umbrella for the beach or other random times there is sun, bows (because they are cute, duh), baby carrier, crib cover, PJs and outfits plus lots of backup outfits, and bags for bringing dirty clothes home. We used packing bags and put swimwear, pjs, day clothes, and accessories all in different bags for easy access and neater packing.
Momma: Pumping parts / chargers / cleaning supplies, pumping bras or shirts, swimsuits that can’t be pulled off easily, water bottle to keep hydrated, a fully charged phone with lots of space for new photos / videos, and excitement for the trip!

Overall, making your baby into your travel buddy is so easy and absolutely worth it! They will be so engaged with their new environments and you will get some needed rest and quality time with your baby. Talk about making core memories! Just take it slow, listen to your babies cues / don’t push too hard, and enjoy every second of it!

Riviera Maya During Covid

November 12, 2020 by The Impatient Traveler, posted in Riviera Maya

Day 1 –

With everything going on with Covid, our trip to Spain and Portugal, two trips to Mexico, and trip to SXSW this year were all canceled. By July, I was getting very restless. We have a few friends who work for different airlines, like Southwest and American, and both of them were traveling and gave us all of the details on how the airlines were staying relatively safe. With that in mind, we decided to take a trip in September for our three-year anniversary to Riviera Maya Mexico.

After doing tons of research on TripAdvisor, we found the Unico 20 87 resort in Riviera Maya. Unico was only running at 50% capacity and they had major deals on their typically $800 a night room’s so we booked an ocean front, all inclusive, adults only room for only $350! Flights were $1,600 to fly direct from DFW on American when I originally when they are usually $250! I was panicking at first, but after some additional research and waiting a couple of days, we finally got a flight that was reasonable for the dates we wanted.

I couldn’t contain my excitement leading up to the trip! I broke out all of my resort wear and packed it all into our carry-on bags. We booked a whale shark tour and I couldn’t stop imaging swimming with such incredible creatures. However, we were at the tail end of the whale shark season so I wasn’t quite sure if we actually get to see any. I wasn’t holding high hopes that this trip was actually going to happen in 2020, let alone the whale sharks.

Luckily, we got to the airport without issue and were of security within five minutes. Our flight boarded on time and we even landed 15 minutes early! We were through customs and onto the private Happy Shuttle ride to our hotel within about 15 minutes. Crazily enough, everything went super smoothly for probably the first time in 2020! The drive to the resort was uneventful and we passed a few of the resorts we stayed at in the past, as well as Xplor, one of the adventure park so we went to. Most of the adventure parks and quite a few resorts were closed due to Covid in different cities since City regulations vary from place to place. Technically, we weren’t even supposed to enter the country unless it was for emergency reasons, but Cancun was letting people in for vacations anyways as tourism has such a huge impact on the economy.

We drove up to the resort and it was absolutely beautiful and situated in the middle of jungle. Our driver told us that there were monkeys and jaguars in the jungle around our resort! I was wearing a jungle blouse with jaguars to match LOL.

We walked into the resort and immediately felt relaxed. Everything was socially distant and all of the staff are wearing masks. They even sanitized our shoes when we came in with spray to make sure that we are safe. Upon check-in, we met Carlos, our personal concierge for our entire stay. He gave us his details via WhatsApp so we could communicate and also booked all of our restaurant reservations for the week so we didn’t have to worry about it later on in our trip. We were then taken up to our ocean-view room and, wow, it was absolutely gorgeous! The view of the ocean was 10 out of 10 and our room was super modern and clean. I absolutely loved it.

We put our stuff down and decided to go to one of the lunch spots right by all the pools for a bite to eat since we hadn’t had anything since breakfast and it was already 3 PM. While we were eating, we saw three different couples from our flight were actually staying at the same resort! We are amazed at just how many Texans we ended up meeting on our trip.

We tried quite a few different dishes for lunch. I would say the food was a 6 out of 10 on the yummy scale but it wasn’t one of the main restaurant so I wasn’t too worried. After filling up, we hopped into our bathing suits and went back to the pool for a swim. We found some lounge chairs by another couple who were just married that Saturday. They were super nice and we talked to them for a while before they got up for the dinner reservation. We hopped in the water and another couple came down to swim in the same area so we started chatting. The girl, Kayla, was a CrossFit gym owner and her boyfriend, Jordan, was an engineer. They were definitely “feeling themselves” with some drinks and we ended up having a very lively conversation. After about 30 minutes, they got up to leave for their dinner reservation but Kayla was having trouble getting out of the water and we were all laughing so hard as she kept falling down! It was hilarious. It was her first time in an all inclusive and the drinks really snuck up on her! After they left, we swam for about another half an hour and basically had the whole pool to ourselves.

As we were getting out, my phone started ringing. I answered it and some one said “can we get a wheelchair?” I told the person that he had the wrong number but, as I hung up, I realized it was Jordan! I looked around and saw Jordan and Kayla about 30 yards away – they hadn’t made it very far! Kayla was sitting on the ground laughing hysterically and Jordan couldn’t get her up to move around. I ran over to the closest restaurant, knocked on the door, and typed “too much to drink drink, need a wheelchair” into Google Translate. The waiter read it and walked over to our friends to help them get back up to the room! It was so funny and quite a scene.

We went back to the room ourselves and got ready for a nice dinner at the Mexican restaurant. We sat on the patio and, of course, I forgot to wear bug spray. Oops! Despite that, we ended up having a lovely dinner. We got these duck taco spring roll things that were absolutely so delicious that we had to order more. Got a love all inclusives!

We also had guacamole with crickets, steak, bone marrow, and a pork chop which was all really good. At one point, there was a mosquito on my cheek and instead of saying “Hey, there’s a mosquito on your face”, Ryan just looked at me and blurted out “Eat it”! It was such a weirdly funny reaction that we used that phrase for “there’s something on your face” the rest the trip.

After dinner we went back to the room, got ready for bed, and had an amazing night sleep!

Day 2 –

We were supposed to go on the whale shark excursion on this day but, because it was the end of the season and the tour hadn’t seen whale sharks in a couple days, they canceled. I was a bit bummed, but it is 2020 so what can you do? We will just see them the next time we visit Mexico.

We got up and went down to the breakfast restaurant for a delicious breakfast. We probably ordered way too much but, at all inclusives, you have to try different things, right?! I tried one of the Mexican egg dishes and wasn’t a big fan but still enjoyed our morning.

After breakfast, we went back to the pool area we were in the day prior. At some of the other resorts we’ve stayed at in past trips, we’ve had to get up super early in the morning to reserve chairs because there are so many people but, with 50% capacity, we had our pick of all of the best pool spots!

We claimed some chairs and decided to go walk along the beach for a little bit. The sand felt great between our toes and the water was a perfect temperature. It felt so nice to get out and walk a little bit. There was barely any people on the beach too!

We went back to the resort and laid out for a while. The sun was so intense. Eventually, I got up to walk around and saw Kayla and Jordan! We ended up moving over closer to them and they were so excited that we still wanted to talk to them even after the craziness of the night before! I was so proud of Kayla for being such a trooper. She was much better condition than I thought she might be LOL. We ended up chatting with them pretty much the whole day in the water. It was a really nice time.

One of the guys working in the activities part of the resort told us we could go stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking. So, after lunch of Hawaiian pizza and pork tacos, all four of us headed to the beach. We tried to find the kayak area and were flagged down by this guy. He was hanging by the lifeguard stand so he looked pretty legitimate. He came up to us and, instead of kayaks, offered us cigars. When we politly declined, he said “how about cocaine?”! What?! That was definitely not what we were going for. We laughed as we say “no” and walked way into the ocean water to relax for a while. The water temperature was absolutely perfect and, while there were some rocks in the water, we found a great, sandy patch to float around in. The colors of the water was so blue and amazing and I was very happy.

We eventually ventured back to the pool area and said goodbye to Kayla and Joe so they could go to dinner. We had an 8:30 reservation at the Italian so we have some time to kill. We ended up going back to the room and decided to try out the hot tub bath on the balcony. As I like overindulge, I put both containers of bubble bath in tub and turned the jets on. Bubbles were flying everywhere! It was absolutely hilarious. The people at the pool below us could see us being goofy and there was bubbles flying all out of our balcony down to the pool. I can only imagine what they thought of our laughter!

After rinsing all the bubbles off, we got ready for our dinner at the Italian restaurant. Since our reservation was so late, we tried to go and get an earlier table but they were booked out. All of the restaurants were at half capacity so it was kind of hard to get reservations at decent times. We ended up going to the coffee bar for an espresso and then over to the reception bar for a couple cocktails and football.

8:30 finally hit and we walked over the pond area back to the restaurant. We ordered calamari and various pasta dishes that were all really tasty. I got raviolis for my main course but there were only three of them made of way-too-thick thick dough so I didn’t like them very much. We had a few glasses of wine and enjoyed the evening overall.

After dinner, we walked back to the room with full bellys and passed out.

Day 3 –

Day three of our trip started the same as day two, with a delicious breakfast trying all-of-the-things and getting a good spot at the pool. We decided to sit by the party pool today because it was a celebration of Mexican Independence Day. The resort put up these fun banners everywhere and hosted events and music throughout the day. There was a nice older couple that sat next to us and we ended up chatting with them for a good hour or so before Ryan and I decided to embark on a hard-core water basketball tournament. Mind you, he’s 6’2 and I am 5’2, but I still totally beat him (maybe with just a littttttle bit of cheating). We had a lot of fun with water basketball and were a little winded. Covid definitely got me out of shape, but after mudslide and a few strawberry margaritas, I got my wind back in my sales!

About 20 minutes later, the water volleyball tournament commenced and we ended up playing for three different games. No one wanted to play at first so we went over to just play each other and, after we entered the volleyball court, 20 showed up on each side! It was a bit crowded but really fun. Once volleyball ended, all of a sudden flamenco dancer started dancing. They did a great job and had wonderfully colorful outfits on. We enjoyed some alcoholic Popsicles while we were watching the show and then a guitarist appeared and played guitar alongside the DJ in this really awesome rhythm I’ve never heard before. It was quite entertaining.

We had another pizza for lunch and just relax by the pool until it was time to get ready for our dinner reservations at the sushi place at 5. The sushi restaurant was totally booked out and I had to check the Unico app every few hours to see if anyone had canceled just so we could get in.

I’m so glad we did! The sushi restaurant served some of the best sushi we’ve ever had, and we’ve been to Japan! The spring rolls were so crispy and delicious with so much flavor and the sushi was insane. We thought the portions were small so we ordered a hot pot of bbq pork ribs, pad thai, some steak thing and ended up with absolutely way too much food! But it was all sooooo good.

After dinner, we walked over to the breakfast restaurant located right by the beach where they were supposed to have live dancing and mariachis. We had some wine and churros while we waited. Ryan wanted to move spots to sit by the pool and, right after we moved the dancers started their performance where we were sitting. Talk about bad timing. We ended up just lounging in the dark, listening and watching the dancers run in and out of the bathroom as they changed into their numerous outfits.

Carlos, our Unico guide, texted us and said that there was a turtle release right before the fireworks at 9. We invited our friends Jordan and Kayla to go check it out and we all set off on an adventure to try and find the turtles. We walked on the beach and it was so dark! I turned on my cellphone light and saw a giant crab the size of a softball on the beach not 2 feet in font of me! There were bugs everywhere too. We kept walking into the darkness and thought we were going to get mugged but, eventually, we saw a group of three or four people crowded around a guy with a bucket of baby turtles. The bucket must have had a few hundred turtles in it and followed the guy down to the water’s edge. The guy who was in charge dug a small path in the sand and then tipped the bucket of turtles over and they all started running towards the water. It was absolutely wonderful to see. They were so cute and wiggley. Jordan had to pick one up and reroute it into the ocean because it was coming to hang out with us. Even though we didn’t get our whale shark experience, we still had a bit of nature love with the turtles.

Once all the turtles were safely in the ocean, we walked back to the pool area and relaxed on some lounge chairs facing the firework area. The fireworks went off with a bang (literally) and were right above us! It made for a wonderful view. The fireworks didn’t last very long but they were so fun to watch and made for an insanely great end to the night. We chatted with Jordan and Kayla for a while after the fireworks and eventually decided to call it a night.

Day 4 –

I finally got my groove down at breakfast and ordered Mexican eggs with red bell peppers, green bell peppers, onions, homemade flour tortillas, salsa verde, and bacon to make breakfast tacos! While it all took absolutely forever to come out of the kitchen and my eggs came out 15 minutes before everything else, it all ended up being really delicious.

After breakfast, we went to the pool and decided to try the infinity pool area. We grabbed some chairs for Kayla and Jordan and figured out we had the best view in the house. It was only place in the resort that had ocean view and the infinity edge was just amazing!

We were right by the party pool and I was ready to work when Victor from the athletic’s team came out for some “pool-aties”. We jumped into the water with about 5 other people and were stretching and moving and grooving! It was pretty fun! Kayla and Jordan came up to our spot and then invited some other friends they had met throughout the resort, so we had quite a group going. Although our new friends didn’t want to join, Kayla and I indulged in the pool spin class. While there was no resistance on the pool spin bikes, the water made it hard to peddle, especially when we were out of the saddle! It was quite a workout! You’d think with my Peloton I’d be OK at water spin but, boy it was tougher than I thought.

After “spool”, spinning in the pool, we relaxed and just hang out by the poolside chatting and enjoying yourselves. Around 3 o’clock it was time for us to go to the spa for the experience pools in massage! We walked over to the spa and we’re taking through a series of experience pools and showers. We first had to to shower off, then go in the hot sauna for 10 minutes, then the steam room for 10 minutes, then the cold shower, then a Jacuzzi tub, and then a cold plunge into a freezing pool. After all of that, it was time for a massage. The massage was absolutely fantastic, especially on oils and my sunburnt skin. I was soooo red even though we had been putting on tubs and tubs of sunscreen. Oops!

After the spa we went back to the room and felt super relaxed. Ryan wanted a nap but we had to go to the sushi restaurant early to try and change our reservation from hibachi to sushi again. We had such an amazing dinner the night before that we wanted to enjoy it again, especially since it was our three-year anniversary. We grabbed an espresso and walked over to the restaurant and they were, thankfully, able to accommodate us.

We even talked to the sommelier and ordered a bottle of port 20 year Tawny port. We talked to the waiter about how good the food was and he brought out the chef to chat. We had a really nice night talking about how this place compared to all of the wonderful places we’ve been able to eat at like Gagan in Thailand, Il Pagliaccio in Italy, Passion by Martín Berasategui. It was so nice to remember all of those very special nights.

Once we got to desert, we had some of our port and set two glasses over to Jordan and Kayla to enjoy as well. After dinner we grabbed the bottle and went to the bar lobby to drink the rest and chat with some of the new friends.

I ended up playing pool with this guy who was in the 60s and had moved to Mexico to DJ for 14 years before moving back to Florida to retire. He had led a pretty interesting life! While we didn’t do so well at pool, we had a good time playing.

Once Jordan and Kayla got done with dinner, we met up with their other friends and ended up going to one of the couples swim-up rooms to hang out. Eventually got kind of cold in right now headed back up to hit the hay.

Day 5 –

It was our last morning in Mexico and our checkout time was at 12:30. Boy did time fly! We went back to breakfast restaurant for another round of breakfast tacos and then out to the infinity pool for our favorite spot. Ryan was super sunburnt so he hid under towels and a big umbrella while took a quick walk on the beach to get one last look at it before we had to leave. Feeling refreshed, I laid out and absorbed some sunshine in the fresh air.

Eventually our group from the prior day trickled in and we all enjoyed each other’s company until it was time for Ryan and I to get ready to go. We went back to the room and ordered room service pizza intros for our “last meal” in front of our ocean view. We packed up, checked out, and were back in the Happy Shuttle van to the airport before we knew it. We were in the airport quickly, on the plane quickly, landed quickly, and were out a customs in no time. It almost felt like the entire trip it never happened as it went so fast. We were definitely relieved to have the time off to decompress.

Golden Temple, Kinkakuji outside of Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto, Day 2

July 28, 2020 by The Impatient Traveler, posted in Japan, Kyoto

After a quick and over priced breakfast of weird ham, egg, and lettuce finger sandwiches, we all met at 9 AM for our full Kyoto day tour. Unfortunately, our guide Mika had gone to the wrong hotel, so we had a bit of a wait before she came running into the lobby. Mika was very friendly and bubbly as she walked us down to the subway stations for our connections to our first stop, the Palace gardens.

We wanted to see cherry blossoms and Mika said there was a part of the garden with quite a few in bloom. She was so right! They were beautiful and my mom was super happy that we got to see some. We are right on the brink of all of them flowering so, every day, more and more are popping out.

The Emperor and Empress were actually residing in the palace we were at so we could not go look at the place itself. Instead, we walked to hop on a bus to get to the Golden Temple, Kinkakuji. There were tons of people but seeing the gold leaf temple reflecting in the pond below was so worth it. The gardens were also beautiful but the gold building stole the show.

We enjoyed the gardens as much as we could while staying in line with the flow of tourists. Mika told us that this was a light day for traffic too since we hadn’t yet entered the peak season yet! I couldn’t even imagine how crowded that would be! At least Ryan, being 6’2, could see over everyone to find me when I got sidetracked.

After the Golden Pavilion, we stopped for lunch at a very traditional soba house. We had to take our shoes off downstairs and had a short table on the second floor to enjoy our food. I had tempura soba and it was quite good but a little over priced. Everyone else felt the same about their meal and we had to pay for our guides food and transport during the tour. I get paying for our own food and transport but you would think the tour cost would at least cover the guide.

After lunch we had a 30 minute bus ride to get to Kyoto station. Lunch must have had sleeping pills in it because I zonked out on Ryans shoulder. I kept waking up thinking we had missed our exit but all was good. We took a few subway connections and would up at the entrance to the famous Tori Gate shrine (Fushimi Inari Shrine). There are over one thousand gates of all heights within the property. It was also very crowded at the start and there were so many girls dressed in their kimonos and taking photos. It made it hard to navigate. We all decided to make a few poses of his own haha!

Tori Gate shrine (Fushimi Inari Shrine), Japan

The crowds did open up eventually and the walk through the forrest because much more enjoyable. Japan is, overall, just so crowded it takes away from the magic a little bit.

After the Tori Gates, it was back on the public transit and to Gion. We walked through some more temples and were getting pretty burnt out. We ended back at the main temple in Gion to check on the massive cherry tree and see if it has bloomed more before saying goodbye to Mika.

My parents took off in one direction and Ryan, Julia and I decided to check out Nana’s Café for a drink and to relax. I had this AMAZING drink with sweet black bean at the bottom. It was by far the best latte of any kind I’ve ever had! It felt so good to just sit and reflect after so much go, go, go!

Post-latte, we went back to the hotel to freshen up and meet my parents for a drink at the bar. Ryan needed some serious calories so he went to McDonalds for dinner and we took off to this famous gyoza place down the street. We waited about 20 minutes but it was so worth it! My sister and I tried an assortment of gyoza flavors from veggie to pork, curry, and shrimp.

Post gyoza, Ryan met us up for another ice-cream crepe before heading back to the hotel for bed.

Kyoto, Day 1

July 14, 2020July 28, 2020 by The Impatient Traveler, posted in Japan, Kyoto

To ensure we got to the train station on time, we had breakfast at the Hiroshima Washington Hotel. It was a mix of both Japanese and Western style dishes. I tried a whole host of dishes and was quickly filled up and ready for the day. We grabbed our luggage and were off to wait on our bus to the Hiroshima Station. We were waiting about 10 minutes before my sister and I realized that the bus didn’t start until 9:33 and it was only 8:55. We needed a different route so we quickly changed course to hop on the green line trolly. We had some difficulty figuring out how Pasmo cards, the preloaded public transit payment cards, worked to check in but figured it out after watching others for about 4 stops. I got stuck on the way out because I didn’t have enough money left! Oops!

I loaded up my card and we were off to JR line 13 to wait on our train. We got there about 20 minutes early to ensure Ryan, Julia, and I had seats in the unreserved section. My mom went to the bathroom as we were heading up to the platform and she came running back to us exclaiming she had lost dad! Oh no! I took her to the numbered area on the platform for her train car and told her to wait while I went to find my dad. After running around for 5 minutes, I found him patiently waiting right where she left him originally. When I told him we were all waiting for him he said “I thought she was taking a little longer in the loo than usual!”Phew! I brought dad back to the platform and told them to make sure to get off at the Shin-Osaka station for our train transfer to Kyoto. About 5 minutes later, we saw my parents attempt to get on the wrong train headed for Tokyo! Thankfully, they saw our panicked signals to abort and we all ended up getting on the right train. It is never easy!

It took us about 2 hours to get to Kyoto by train. The station was only a quick subway ride away from the main area where the Cross Hotel was located. Our hotel was situated right in the main shopping district and only a few blocks from the Gion district. We were not able to fully check in so we dropped off our bags and took off to explore the shopping area.

There were two main streets parallel to one another that were lined with shops and restaurants. The streets were pretty packed but we made our way around. I found a cute skirt at a boutique and my sister found a few items at a thrift store. We were getting pretty peckish but, with our impending late-night food tour in a few hours, we opted for something a little lighter. We found a fried chicken place and had that with some pork and gyoza.

After lunch, we checked into our hotel. It was so luxurious and our rooms were much bigger than our other hotels. My sister and I decided to continue exploring the shops for another hour before we met up with everyone for a drink. There are not a lot of wine / sports / regular bars or just places to just have a drink in Japan. Even our hotel’s bar closed around 3 PM and didn’t open back up until 6 PM for dinner service. We were lucky to find this “Liquor Museum” right around the corner. It was a small bar with tons of old, cool looking alcohol bottles. When we walked in, one of the patrons looked at me surprised and told me, jokingly, that I did not look old enough to drink! I will take that as a complement!

We had a few gin and tonics before it was time to walk to a designated subway station exit by the Gion district to meet our guide, Mardi, for our night food tour. Mardi was actually from the Dallas area and extended her year long study abroad into 5+ years in Kyoto! She started the tour talking about how the Gion area was for entertaining and had us try some delicious rice cakes with a soy glaze as she talked about the Kabuki theater across the street.

We kept walking up the main road until we got to the Yasaka-Jinja Shrine Nishiromon Gate. The main hall is over 360 years old! Interestingly enough, Mardi told us a myth about a god who had 3 children. The first two, the goddess of the sun and god of thunder, were born from the god’s tears. The third and more meddlesome child was shot out of the god’s nose as a booger! No wonder that god felt he drew the short stick in life! Such a funny story.

We rang the bells of the shine for luck and to make a wish and then continued on through the grounds to a massive cherry tree almost in full blossom. It was beautiful in the evening light and there were a bunch of 20-something year olds picnicking around it and enjoying the evening.

We left the Shrine grounds and continued through the narrow streets of Gion. In earlier parts of our trip, especially in Tokyo, we kept seeing these weird posters of very feminine looking men. Mardi explained and pointed out these high rises with floors and floors of for mainly men, but also women, where hostesses worked and served drinks. There is not supposed to be anything sexual going on at these clubs, more like the hostesses incessantly complement and listen to all of the woes of the patrons. The hostesses also make themselves look nothing like their patron’s spouses in real life, thus the male hostesses look super feminine and made up and the females wear prom-fancy level dresses with full hair and makeup. The patrons do not tip the hostesses in cash, but they do buy them very expensive luxury goods, so there are tons of thriving pawn shops close to the clubs filled with designer shoes, bags, and clothes that the hostesses sell for cash and the patrons buy to give away. Such a strange and unique way of doing things. Apparently this is the equivalent to doing business on golf courses in the US.

We continued to wind down the narrow passages and Mardi also explained that every house / restaurant has to have a bucket of water out front incase of fire. Considering many of the houses had paper walls, I don’t think those small buckets would help too much but it doesn’t hut to be prepared?

Eventually, we got back to the main area and walked to our first, tiny restaurant on the river side for tapas! We were the only people in the restaurant and we tried a whole bunch of seasonally delicious dishes and drank some beer.

After we had our fill, Mardi took us to more of a bar styled restaurant for tempura fries, fried chicken, and sashimi, again all totally delicious.

We were stuffed by the end of dinner and thanked Mardi for such a great welcome to Kyoto. Even though we were so full, we somehow found room for ice cream filled crepes before heading back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

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Day 1 –

Day 2 –

Day 3 –

Day 4 –

Day 5 –

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