Recently Kelly and I celebrated our 10th anniversary!! Double digits!! Honestly I can't believe its been 10 years but they do say time flies when you're having fun. Since we love to travel we wanted to go somewhere special. I can't even begin to tell you how many hours Kelly put into researching places to go, stay, flights, resorts, etc...Hubby definitely planned everything out and did his homework. I really sat back, looked at some places when he asked me too, and let him do his thing. He finally settled on us going to the Excellence Resort Riviera Cancun. This was an all-inclusive resort just south of Cancun and it was wonderful! We really loved it and it was so beautiful! We love all inclusive resorts because you are definitely spoiled and waited on hand and foot. This mama quickly got into relaxation mode! We flew out on a Wednesday morning and we were at the resort a little after lunch time. We actually ate lunch there at one of the restaurants. After we ate we went to our room which had this sweet banner on the door showing that we were celebrating an anniversary. I actually took a nap on our balcony on the bed out there! What?! I had forgot what a nap was!
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| Ready to board in ATL |
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| We have Arrived! |
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| one beautiful view |
It came a short rain shower that afternoon but it didn't last long and we actually enjoyed the hot tub while it was raining. We then got ready for dinner and decided to try the Mexican restaurant out that night. It was called Agave and it was delicious. Throughout the entire trip I think we ate our weight in guacamole. It was some of the best I have ever had. We were serenaded by a small band (all women) at our table which was sweet. The whole meal was fantastic. After we finished we headed to the main theatre and watched some of the entertainment. That night they also had fire twirlers and that was very fun to watch. A good start to our trip! We headed back to our room later and actually had some quiet time to read! Another foreign hobby!
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| outside the Agave restaurant |
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| All of the table were arranged around this courtyard |
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| We got a kick out of Hubby's food arriving on this pig |
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| Part of the band that would play for each table. |
On Thursday we got up and had breakfast at another restaurant. For someone who isn't a big breakfast eater, I sure did enjoy it! All of our meals were so good. I have to brag on the food. I think we came home 10 pounds heavier! The drinks didn't help either! After breakfast we made our way to the beach and found a fabulous beach bed along with lounge chairs under the tiki umbrella. This is really what my definition of paradise is. Every day on the beach they would have Coco Loco which were these drinks that you would have right out of the coconut! Yum! We really soaked up the sun on the beach for a few hours and enjoyed more reading!
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| Saw this guy going to breakfast! I sure thought of Kate |
That afternoon they had a cooking class and that day's fix was no other than guacamole! Oh my! We definitely listened on that one and took major notes! YUM!
Ran into another iguana heading to the pool. We decided it was a great time to FaceTime with the girls so they could see it too. I'm pretty sure Kate would have loved to chase this one down and try to pet it!
Since Thursday was our actual anniversary we had chose to try the Japanese restaurant for dinner. It was called Spice and was one of our favorites. We had the best sushi and they had decorated our table since it was our anniversary. IT was so sweet and romantic. A great way to celebrate for sure.
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| 10 years together! |
Friday we got up had breakfast again at the same restaurant and went back to the beach. The beach had a good bit of seaweed that would wash up because the ocean was very churned up for sure. They did have this big tractor with some type of machine behind it that would get all the seaweed off the beach. It was funny to see a tractor in this tropical paradise. Again after our beach time we headed to the big lazy river that circled a big part of the courtyard. This is what we saw from our balcony.
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| What stands out in this pic....not tropical tractor |
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| the fabulous lazy river, I think this was Hubby's favorite |
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| a view of our building/room from down at the pool |
We also had spa treatment planned for late Friday afternoon. We had an hour of aqua therapy which was very interesting. It included things like a hot steam room, sauna, water massage, a dip in ice cold water, etc...Very different but it left you relaxed. Then we had an 80 minute massage which was heavenly! We were both in a trance after that was over. The spa was great though and it was so pretty and relaxing inside.
That night the resort had a dinner option of attending a Mexican party in the main theatre. They had everything you could possibly think of to eat and it was all so good! Of course we found the guacamole and cerviche first! Cerviche was a shrimp dish they made which they call more of a shrimp salad. Another good one! That night they had a true mariachi band. That was very neat. They also did a Mexican show that had awesome entertainment. They had one guy who twirled a rope and he was unreal.
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| They had the coolest chairs that we had fun in. It was one chair with the 2 seats facing each other |
Little did we know that the next few days would bring the start of a tropical storm! We woke up Saturday to rain which is never fun but being at a resort like this they had a whole rain itinerary and we filled the day with fun things. We played Bingo and both Kelly and I were winners! There were 3 people who bingoed at the same time and we were both 2 of them. What are the odds? Sad thing is that our 2 out of 3 odds were not that great because only one person could get the prize and the other person actually drew the number to win. Not good luck for us. We also had salsa lessons! Its funny because for the last 7 years of our marriage we have had children so we don't get a lot of alone time except on the trips we take and even with the rain we had a lot of fun with each other. It also was pretty romantic to be at this beautiful place with a big storm going on. Several times the power was out throughout the day. That night when we went to dinner, we chose the italian restaurant and the power happened to be out when we arrived. We were soaked from the rain blowing so hard but we get inside this restaurant that is totally candlelit and we have a harp player right beside our table. It was pretty awesome! I snapped a picture of the neat candle at the front of the restaurant. It was so big and wax was running everywhere. I think it had been used on several occasions!
Hello wind and rain....
We love where we are...
But we hate that its raining cats and dogs....
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| When life throws you lemons...play bingo! I knew Suzy & Nanny would be so proud of me especially since we won! |
Ok, how awesome is this huge, waxy candelabra!? It screams spooky, romantic and everything in between all at once!
Enjoying the entertainment that night in the main theatre.
Sunday was another rainy one unfortunately. It did stop off and on and we actually got out that afternoon for some reading. There was a lot of reading on Sunday :) We also decided to enjoy the rain and storm from one of the big tiki beds at the pool. It was surprisingly very dry so why not. You can't say you have been in a tropical storm in Mexico too many times in your life. Since there were some things we wanted to do and didn't get to do we decided we would just have to come back on another vacation. Ahhh, I hate that :)
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| enjoying room service while the storm rages on |
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| front row seat under the tiki bed shelter |
Well we certainly enjoyed our stay at the Excellence Riviera Cancun. Like I said, we do hope to visit again, whether we go with friends or for another anniversary. Every year calls for a celebration in my book. We hated to leave but we did have 3 very cute amigos that we were pretty excited to see and they were excited to see us too! I missed these cute faces! I loved my anniversary trip too, but nothing beats the fun we have had together these last 10+ years. I have a good hubby who is an excellent father and I feel like God has blessed me beyond belief. It has been one fun ride so far and I can't wait to continue on our little journey together and see what our future holds. Who knows what the next 10 years will look like but I know that together we make a pretty good team. As long as it holds a few fun getaway trips to these all inclusives, I think we will remain sane!
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| As you can see Hubby was not all smiles on the morning we left |
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| This face made home a little more sweet! |
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| 10 years later we have a lot to show! |
