JJKL: "NOW, we're on vacation!"

At the end of March we headed to Mexico with our friends, Rachel and Brandon, for a week long vacation. We were able to stay in my sister's vacation condo in Playa del Carmen, about 45 minutes south of Cancun. It was a relaxing vacation and we enjoyed a break from our responsibilities back home. The kids stayed with Grandma and Papa and had a lot of fun. I didn't miss them as much as I usually do, thanks to Skype. We were able to talk to them at least once each day.

Most days we headed to the beach and hung out on our beach chairs or in the water. Later in the afternoon we would go to the pool or read. In the evening we would venture out on 5th Avenue looking for a good place to eat and do some shopping. Our running joke for the week was for someone to say, "NOW, we're on vacation!" each time we were doing something new and wonderful - getting off the plane, first time on the beach, first Mexican meal, etc.

Towards the end of the trip we decided to have an adventure day. We rented a jeep and headed south to visit Tulum. After walking around the ruins and taking a dip in the ocean below, we drove to a nearby cenote (underground freshwater sinkhole). At the Gran Cenote we got in the slightly chilly water and swam around. Most of the water was in a cave and a little creepy in the darker parts. There were a few small fish swimming around. Our next stop was lunch at an oceanside restaurant. The view was fabulous! After lunch we stopped at Akumal Bay which is a good spot for snorkeling and swimming with sea turtles. This was a very picturesque beach and appeared to be very family friendly. It was starting to get chilly so we didn't get in the water. Our last stop of the day was Cenote Azul. This Cenote was fully exposed to the sky and was more like a large swimming hole. We spent most of our time there jumping off a 10 foot cliff. They had larger fish at this cenote and it was popular with the locals.

The other highlight of our trip was all of the good food we ate! We could go on and on about the different meals, but our favorites were chorizo and pastor tacos, shrimp and seafood platter, and Mayan specialties. We can't wait to go back again and eat at some of our all time favorite restaurants again! Liane and Jeremy, thanks for letting us stay at your place!

*The pictures below are not in order, sorry.*