Buttermilk’s smooth, smooth ride for families

March 4, 2015 By

Making music at Buttermilk

Breaking news: Buttermilk, the easiest of Aspen/Snowmass’ four mountains, is my new top choice for best Colorado resort for young families. Not only did they open a 7,500-square foot state-of-the-art children’s center with many nooks, crannies, hideouts, jungle gyms, rope bridges and a lookout tower, but the ski school and wide-open terrain were top-notch.

I also learned that just one day can make all the difference.

When we were at Snowmass the previous day, conditions were fine yet not optimal due to the lack of snow. However, the heavens didst open and we were blessed with glorious powder at Buttermilk.

The Grownups at Play

The mountain’s seven lifts and 43 trailers are predominantly rated for beginners and intermediates, and even the black diamond (advanced) runs weren’t very extreme so I worried we might get a bit bored until the snow hit. Then it was love at first white as Jamie and I had our best ski day of the season. Because the mountain is geared to less extreme types, the more difficult terrain was a ghost town and we had a powder-perfect playground all to ourselves that morning. If you’ve never skied fresh powder, it’s like floating on a very cold, glorious cloud.

I had a dilemma, though. When it’s snowing, the light is flat and it’s tough to see. The Lasik surgery I had in 2002 is deteriorating so knowing there would be poor visibility, I brought my glasses to wear under my goggles. However, it’s been so many years since I’ve worn glasses when working out that I forgot how fogged up they come. So, I alternated between wearing my goggles and glasses, getting too fogged up to see anything, taking off my goggles, then my glasses, getting blinded by snow and starting the process all over again. Glasses-wearing people: what on earth do you put on your glasses to keep them from fogging?

Of course, these are #FirstWorldSkiProblems and we still had a fabulous time together. Jamie and I spent much of the day on the eastern slopes of Tiehack where the runs are longer and steeper.  At one point, we spotted Hadley doing a black-diamond mogul run with her class. Supportive parents that we are, we started yelling embarrassments encouragements and as luck would have it, she had an illustrious wipe-out. Our job was done.

Buttermilk also boasts an Olympic-size half-pipe commonly seen on the Winter X Games and two smaller terrain parks.  I started gloating about my 0.0005 feet of air after launching off a jump at the Red Rover (read: wussy) terrain park until a class of local 8-year-olds nonchalantly knocked a few 180s out of the park. Tough crowd.

Conquering the Black Diamond

When we skied with the kids at the end of the day, they raved about the camaraderie with the staff.  Hadley pointed out fox tracks under the Summit Express lift and 14,018-foot Pyramid Peak shrouded in clouds. “And when we ride the West Buttermilk lift, do you know what the lift operators do at the midway loading station? If you pretend to fall asleep, they throw a snowball toward you to wake you up!”  After just one day on the mountain, both kids felt like insiders at a small resort community.

We raced over to Tiehack, determined to take Bode down his first black-diamond run. The terrain is much more moderate at Buttermilk so even the black-diamond was more like an advanced intermediate run. Without hesitation, he skied it like a champ and at 8 years old, he can proudly say he conquered his personal Everest.

Which means it’s all downhill from here for Jamie and me.

 

 

Filed Under: Family travel, outdoors, skiing

Happy birthday, Aspen style!

March 3, 2015 By

Despite having Aspen, one of the world’s most famous resorts a mere 3.5-hour drive from our house, we had only skied there once many years ago. But I’ve been dying to get back so when we were invited to visit “The Power of Four” resorts–Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk–over my birthday weekend, I was ecstatic. We opted to ski Snowmass and Buttermilk, the more family-friendly of the resorts and I can understand why people love the area.

The Birthday Presents

We arrived to Timberline Condos in Snowmass late Thursday night. Occasionally, publicists will gift swag–a neck gator, some mints or a hat. But Aspen/Snowmass were so generous. Check-out this haul for my birthday, including the shirt I’m wearing!

Twinners. Or rather, quadruplers

That would have been plenty (in addition to just being there) but Jamie and the kids bought me a much-needed Sherpani purse and an iPhone 6. My phone has been on the brink of death for months and the battery dies whenever it comes into contact with cold air, a wee problem if you’ve ever been to Colorado. So, the iPhone was a great surprise!

The Skiing

We only stayed one night at the condo, which was located above the base area. Jamie and I have our own skis so we strapped ‘em on. The kids were ski-school bound where they’d get rentals at Snowmass so good parents we are, we made them run down the mountain. “Run Forrest, Run!”

We’ll call that their warmup.

Out of Aspen’s four area resorts, 3,362-acre Snowmass has something for everyone—from long, cruising green and blue runs to glades to double black extreme terrain to terrain parks to excellent learning areas. Aspen Skiing Co. beautifully caters to kids and mine fell in love with the Treehouse, Snowmass’ 25,000-square-foot children’s center with seven interactive nature-themed rooms intended for specific ages as well as a 700-square-foot climbing room.

But forget the indoors, outdoor fun was where it was at!

As you can see, Bode was really sad to have a class full of fellow dudes. Hadley had a blast in her class as well.

I was left alone with my favorite ski buddy to conquer Snowmass. The resort had not received much snow since Christmas did a great job of snow-making to compensate. That said, I really really want to ski Snowmass on a powder day because I think it would be phenomenal.We lunched at Elk Camp, Snowmass’ newest on-mountain restaurant with a creative menu of organic items prepared in their rotisserie, pizza hearth and bake shop. I told Jamie to order me a panini while I hit the salad bar, intending to get just a small for the side. That didn’t happen. It was, hands down, the best ski resort salad bar ever and I ended up with a salad the height of Everest. When Jamie started to judge me for ordering two full meals and a caramel brownie for dessert, I told him it was my birthday, something he needed to be reminded of throughout the day. :-)

Mid-afternoon, the heavens opened and God gave me my birthday gift: a huge dump of snow.

It’s like He totally knows me.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to enjoy the new snow because we had to grab the kids from ski school. We spent over an hour at the free Snowmass Ice Age Discovery Center in Snowmass Village and marveled at the ice age discoveries in the area!

The Ullr Night Out

Though some might enjoy a distinguished night out on the town, I preferred family fun at Ullr Nights. Every Friday from 5:30-9 p.m. Ullr, the Norse God of Snow, comes to life. For just $8 per person (kids 3 and under are complimentary), we were whisked up the gondola to Elk Camp’s hoarfrost land of Norse mythology with live music, bonfires, ice skating, treats, entertainment in The Tent and guided snowshoe tours hosted by ACES.

SnowBikin’. Upon arrival, Bode grabbed a Strider snowbike, took the magic carpet up the mountain and skated ?Slid? Biked down the hill. (Whatever the verb, the result was the same: exuberance). Children’s bikes are free with admission; for intermediate skiers ages 12+, a snowbike tour is offered for $69.

Slip Slidin’ Away. What would Ullr Nights be without a gargantuan snow sculpture of Ullr’s face with a slide running through the middle of it? I was content to watch Hadley and Bode at play until they played they taunted me to follow. “What’s the matter, Mom? Too old?”

If careening down Ullr’s nasal passages proved that I’ve still got it on my birthday, so be it. I climbed the slippery slope, lay on my back, crossed my arms and shot outta there like a booger gone bad. Turns out I’ve still got it…and also got a blanket of snow up my back at the bottom.

It was just a reminder of how young (or old?) I really am.

Lift-serviced tubing is a welcome new addition this year and cozily lit multiple lanes are carved into The Meadows at Elk Camp. We linked up, went solo, joked with the staff and laughed as we banked off the turns. Tubing is an additional $24 and be sure to pre-reserve your time.

I’ll tell you later about the woman who did not pre-schedule and the lovely meltdown that ensued.

We had a blast at Ullr Nights but my favorite part of the evening was our ride down the mountain in our gondola.  “It was a dark, snowy night,” I whispered and our impromptu ghost stories began as snow flew around our frosty expanse and the wind clinked through patches of crystals and aspens. Enraptured, the kids wove in their own ghost stories, a befitting end to a mysterious night that gives homage to all things snow.

As far as birthdays goes, this one was pretty darn perfect.

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, skiing

Aspen/Snowmass for families: The Ultimate Colorado Vacation

March 2, 2015 By

“I can’t believe I really did it!” My son Bode’s cheeks were flush with excitement and big, feathery snowflakes. It was our second day in Aspen and he had conquered Mount Everest. Or, in 8-year-old vernacular, he had skied his first black-diamond run at Buttermilk.

“The Power of Four” resorts–Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk–are renowned destinations but it wasn’t until we experienced the latter two resorts’ family-friendly offerings that we were hooked. Not only does Snowmass offer a staggering amount of kid activities including their “Very Important Kid” program and Ullr Nights, but its counterpart Buttermilk’s gently rolling hills and new children’s center is now my top Colorado resort pick for families with young children.

Several resorts claim to be world-class but at Snowmass, we felt like the world had literally descended upon us as we shared chairlifts with charming Europeans and so many enigmatic Brazilians we could have sworn we were at Carnival.

And it was a party! When I’ve extolled the virtues of a winter vacation to Colorado’s ski areas, I’ve had several friends counter, “I don’t like to ski.” Believe me, in Aspen it doesn’t matter–you’ll have as much fun as a family on the slopes as you do off. Here are just a few reasons why my family had a blast on my birthday in Aspen!  KEEP READING

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, skiing, travel

Just an average Saturday

February 28, 2015 By

This morning, Bode and I were snuggling up in bed and conversation turned to the beautiful bluebird day. We’ve had a glorious dump of snow this week, which is torturous because I’ve had an annoying cold and haven’t been out to enjoy it. We commented on the sun’s critical role in warming the earth and I remembered a video that NASA released last week that is a 5-year time lapse of the sun.

I’m not one to get emotional about space but seeing explosions of fire brought tears to my eyes. 200 million images were spliced together into an unbelievable display of color and power. “A constant ballet of solar material moving through the sun’s atmosphere,” wrote NASA. Light, in every metaphorical sense, surrounds us, warms us, heals us.

Fascinated, this led Bode to study the black hole and watch a fascinating video showcasing solar flares and an additional ejection of solar material called a coronal mass ejection (CME), and some with complex moving structures in association with changes in magnetic field lines that loop up into the sun’s atmosphere, the corona. 

When I was his age, my Saturday mornings were spent watching Bugs Bunny.

Filed Under: Bode, Humor

Snow Day Updates!

February 26, 2015 By

While back East has been pounded, Colorado forgot it was winter…until this week. Today, many of our area schools declared our first snow day of the year and my kids are rejoicing. Well, Bode is rejoicing; Hadley is still sleeping in. That is her way of celebrating.

We’ve been really busy with travel. A month ago, we were in Cancun. We were at The Broadmoor for Valentine’s Day and 12-year anniversary and then last week for my birthday, we had a fabulous time in Aspen. It’s funny to catch a glimpse at the high life when we’re quite the opposite.  Mile High Mamas is in a lull with advertisers and several of Jamie’s clients are late paying their invoices so we’ve been scrimping and saving…just one of the joys of being self-employed. It’s feast or famine and while we’ve been feasting on our trips, we’ve been famining at home. No complaints, though. Plenty of blessings come from being self-employed, even if it is a roller-coaster at times.

I’ll have many updates on Aspen and I’m still working on my magazine article for The Broadmoor, hence my blogging hiatus. Must. Meet. Deadlines.

I’m a bit under the weather today so am dispatching the kids to their friends Trey and London’s houses. A few other updates:

Jamie. My favorite ski buddy. Working like crazy, countdown to pumpkin season is on and is busy indoctrinating the kids with story lines from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a movie that I despise.

“Dad, what is the movie rated?” Bode queried.

I responded “‘I’ for Idiot.”

Hadley. Rocked the moguls last week, graduated to Level 6 in ski school and completed huge Egyptian diorama at school that about sent me to my grave (she loves that crafty stuff).

Bode. Skied his first black-diamond run at Buttermilk in Aspen. Student of the week, named me his “hero” because I take him on cool trips,”brought me to earth,” and am an amazing cook.

Who knew it could be that easy?

Filed Under: Hadley, Jamie

From Denver to Cancun with Southwest Vacations!

February 23, 2015 By

A couple of weeks ago, I detailed our family’s awesome trip with Southwest Vacations to Cancun.

Today at Mile High Mamas, I wrote about even more of our experiences and am helping them promote the incredible discount their offering: an all-inclusive resort + air starting at just $749.

Go check-out the fun today at Southwest Vacations: Our luxurious Cancun trip without the expense (get our deal now!)

Related: It’s currently 15 degrees in Denver (chilly even for me) so if you go, take me with you!

Filed Under: Family travel

Growing On Up

February 18, 2015 By

I’m overloaded with travel and deadlines the next few weeks so posting will be sporadic. Thanks to those who have asked about my mom. She’s still in the hospital, not much has changed, and I’m flying home in a few weeks. Please keep those prayers coming.

Last weekend, we went to one of my favorite places on earth, The Broadmoor. The timing was impeccable! Their PR Director gave me the story assignment for their magazine to write about Broadmoor Outfitters, their on-site adventure guides and we had a blast rock climbing, geo-caching in the snow, mountain biking and hiking. Much more to come about that but what made it the most special was being able to celebrate Valentine’s Day and our 12-year anniversary there. I’m so grateful for this little family of mine and my wonderfully handsome, hard-working, spiritual, wise and hilarious husband who not only puts up with but supports my hair-brained ideas.

I posted this picture of us on Facebook and my longtime blogging friend Serf Rhett commented: “Tarnation. I’ve got to get out more often. Who are those small adults posing with you two?”

Tell me about it.  These kids are growing up waaaaay too fast! I had a freak-out moment last week when 10-year-old Hadley (who’s almost my same height and is the tallest girl in her class) told me she needed new running shoes. Her previous pair was a size 5 youth so we started with a Women’s 6. Then 7. Then 7 1/2. Finally, she found a pair that fit: a women’s size 8!!! I also bought her a make-up kit for Valentine’s Day. We’re holding off on eye liner, mascara, etc. until she’s in middle school but her face has been breaking out (hello, puberty) so she has started wearing foundation and lip gloss.

It’s only a matter of time before she starts sharing my shoes, make-up and clothes.

I’m still trying to figure out if that is a good or a bad thing.

Filed Under: Hadley, Health

Southwest Vacations: An iguana bike ride, a too-late discovery and farewell (Cancun Day 4)

February 13, 2015 By

Just tuning in? Be sure to first read:

Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1)
Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2)
Southwest Vacations: A Snorkeling Adventure Within a Misadventure (Cancun Day 3)

=====

Biking Explorations

A three-night trip with Southwest Vacations wasn’t nearly enough time to explore the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort. But thankfully our direct Southwest Airlines flight home didn’t leave until 2 p.m. so we had an entire morning to explore. Since our previous three days had been dedicated to the beach, we opted to check-out some bikes and explore the property’s 55 acres of lush tropical foliage.

Moon Palace implements a wildlife monitoring system that has classified 29 reptile species, 112 bird species and 15 mammal species that live and breed in the resort’s natural areas. We were ecstatic when we spotted a white-nosed coati lurking in the jungle and my daughter almost ran over an iguana (chalk those up to things that never happen in Colorado.)

 

While at the resort, we spent every moment together but my kids were counting down the years until they’d be old enough for the state-of-the-art Wired Teens Lounge. That is, until we stumbled upon the Playroom during our bike ride, a veritable kid’s wonderland geared to potty-trained kids up to age 12.

From various game rooms, an American Ninja-warrior-style play area, outdoor playground, mini-spa, fashion runway to practice the catwalk, a movie theater, arcade, toddler area, Xbox room…the Playroom had it all. What we had intended to be a 5-minute stop turned into an hour and we had to practically drag them out.

For once in their lives, the kids were begging for us to ditch them and we were frustrated we didn’t have enough time before our flight home for them to be ditched.

That is what I call a lose-lose situation.

Our Sad Farewells

Twenty-four hours prior to departure, Lomas Travel called our room to confirm our pick-up time for the airport (usually I’m the one trying to track them down tour operators confirmation).  They were right on schedule, we easily navigated Cancun International Airport and boarded our Southwest Airlines flight to Denver. As we were taking off, I turned around to see this girl of mine.

Sun-kissed. Hair braided. Personalized bracelet. In just four days, she had turned into a Mexican Senorita as she marveled at the wonderland below she had been fortunate to experience.

And so had we all.

It’s a Wrap

Southwest Vacations Shuttle Bus Friends

We arrived in Denver to a cold, snowy night. We collected our luggage, bundled up and loaded the shuttle bus to our car in long-term parking. There were two other couples sitting near us and we started talking.

“I’m so bummed to be home.”

“Me, too. We just got back from Cancun.”

“So did we!”

“Us, three!”

Coincidentally, we had all booked our trips through Southwest Vacations and had been on the same return flight. When I asked about their experience, the younger couple replied, “We had some problems with our hotel the first night. We called Southwest Vacations and they switched us to a different resort with no problems at all.”

The other couple echoed their approval, raving what a smooth trip they’d experienced.

I chuckled. Sure, we’d had some minor bumps in the road due to our own ignorance but it was one of our least stressful vacations ever thanks to being able to pre-book our flights, excursion, resort and transportation.

And finding ourselves in the back of that shuttle bus with those couples was just a reminder of what a small world it is with Southwest Vacations, and that they truly bring the world to you.

Filed Under: biking, Bode, Family travel, Hadley, Humor, outdoors, travel Tagged With:

Southwest Vacations: A Snorkeling Adventure Within a Misadventure (Cancun Day 3)

February 12, 2015 By

Just tuning in? Be sure to first read:

Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1)
Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2)

=====

Booking our direct flight, ground transportation to and from the airport and our hotel was simple on SouthwestVacations.com. Tougher was narrowing down their excursions because Cancun has a plethora of options such as these:

Camel Safari & Reef Snorkeling Adventure * Selvatica Extreme Canopy Adventure * Chichen Itza Plus Cancun * Xcaret eco-archaeological park full-day tour of ruins and activities * Xel-Ha All Inclusive Eco-Aquatic Park Tour (the Zip Bike looks amazing) *Swim with the Dolphins at Wet ‘N Wild.

The Adventure Before the Adventure

We ultimately decided since we were only in Cancun three days, less was more and we would spend as much time in the sand and surf as possible with the Snorkeling Tour and Lunch. Little did we know our adventure would start before we even left the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort.

Our Southwest Vacations confirmation told us we needed to meet our Lomas Travel transportation outside of the Grand section at the resort. Ever the planners, we decided since that was about a 15 minute walk, we would take the shuttle and leisurely eat breakfast there before leaving. All was going according to plan when, just 5 minutes before we were supposed to meet our guide, I had a sinking feeling something was wrong. I approached the concierge.

“Is this the Grand?”

“No, this is the Sunrise section. Grand is on the other side of the resort.”

The other side, meaning where our room was located. We had erroneously assumed that since Sunrise was the “grandest” of the buildings with the most activities, that was the Grand. Turns out Sunrise is Grand. Are you as confused as we were?

We panicked, knowing there was no way we could make it back in time to meet our transport and we had just missed the resort shuttle bus. We would occasionally see golf carts weaving in-and-out of people on the ocean-side trail and I wondered what one needed to do to hitch a ride. Turns out you need to be an idiot.

“Get in the golf cart and we’ll take you!” the bellhop generously offered.

Golf ride for idiots

The Official Adventure

He raced us back just in time to meet our transport and we cruised down the coast on a saltwater breeze to Playa Maroma in the Riviera Maya, just 10 minutes north of Playa del Carmen.

Playa Maroma

Following a brief introduction from our snorkeling guide, we boarded our catamaran, were fitted with snorkeling gear and sailed away on waters so blue they can’t be found on any color chart.

My cerulean reverie was interrupted by my daughter.

“Mom, you look like a dork,” referring to my snorkeling mask, to which I responded to her mirror image as “the pot calling the kettle a dork.”

There was nothing geeky about our two different stops at reefs teaming with marine life. Though the coral wasn’t overly colorful, the iridescent schools of fish were. We squealed as we swam through a jelly fish field, feeling tiny pin-pricks on our skin, and lazily floated above the reef to the slow-motion balletic pulse of the water.

When we weren’t snorkeling, we were munching on chips and water provided by the friendly staff and diving off the back of the boat.

“Hey, Mom. Check-out my pencil dive,” Bode called out.

I’m not sure what happened but his pencil looked more like an ink blot when he unceremoniously plopped into the water.

“Hey Bode,” I joked back. “Why don’t we just call that one an ‘eraser dive’ so we can forget about it?”

Once back on shore, an open-air buffet lunch was included in our incursion where we were serenaded by a mariachi band.

Bode brought down the house with the very unforgettable Mexican “Chicken Dance.”

We spent our final hour frolicking on Maroma Beach’s wide open transparent water, convinced we had landed in a world of movie-set perfection.

Unintended Adventure No. 2

Though my husband and I hadn’t had an optimal first experience along the hotel strip years ago, we wanted the kids to experience at least a taste of Cancun so we had our driver drop us off downtown. However, something got lost in translation and instead of delivering us to an outdoor, touristy market like we requested, he left us at a mall–something I despise in the U.S. and appreciate even less in a foreign country. We realized this just as he was driving away with all our snorkeling gear, and the instructions to return in 1.5 hours.

I tracked down an older American couple and they pointed us in the correct direction, several miles down the road. Then we had our second misadventure of the day: We hopped on a Cancun public bus, prayed for the best (it turned out to be perfectly fine) and we eventually found a gloriously tacky tourist market.

The moment we stopped off the bus, I kid you not, an overzealous man almost crossed the street in an attempt to lure us into his store. “What is he doing?” Hadley asked, ready to get back on the bus. “Don’t worry, it’s just the way it’s done here,” I soothed, which was the only calming moment of the experience.

But our extra effort was worth it. I loved watching my kids haggle with the locals. Hadley got her hair braided and a personalized bracelet while Bode got a fair price for a shark T-shirt.

We were ecstatic when we arrived back at the resort and I asked Hadley, “So, what did you think of the market?”

She thought long and hard and then equated it to our favorite card game: “It was just like the chaos of playing Pit.”

Welcome to Cancun.

======

Stay tuned tomorrow for Southwest Vacations: An iguana bike ride, a too-late discovery and farewell (Cancun Day 4).

Filed Under: Bode, Family travel, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, travel

Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2)

February 10, 2015 By

Just tuning in? Be sure to first read Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1).

When you have only three nights in Cancun with Southwest Vacations, you can either try to cram it all in or take it easy. We took one look at at the Moon Palace Golf & Spa resort’s staggering amount of activities and decreed we needed to spend an entire day at the resort doing nothing…and everything.

One of my favorite travel traditions is to go for an early-morning run upon arrival. There’s something untainted and magnificent about watching the sun wake up your new world and I was entranced by what I saw on property. From a curious field of sunflowers overlooking the ocean,

to a tranquil beach,

to a preview of the resort’s seven outdoors pools that are among the largest lagoon-style pools in Mexico.

Sand and Surf

Following a delicious buffet whereupon we discovered the best thing ever to happen to breakfast–sweetened condensed milk on pancakes and waffles–we hit the pools. We were among the first in line to test our surfing skills on the Flowrider where thousands of gallons of water create two lanes of endless waves. Eager beavers? More like we arrived early to avoid witnesses to our inevitable humiliation. We had a couple of options: We could bodyboard on the FlowRider or attempt the standup flow boards. As newbies, we opted for the former and after the initial fear of  dropping into the bowl,  we felt pure exhilaration as we rode the unbroken waves, carved turns and cut back and forth.

As it turns, face-plants are the norm there so we were in good company.

We settled onto the beach where we played volleyball, glided through the Caribbean waters in kayaks to watch the on-site Dolphin Discovery program, built sand castles and strolled the surf.

Conditions were cloudy yet still warm, likely scaring off the crowds. I settled back to read a book in the temperate weather while the kids played. 

I think some people call it relaxing. It was a first for me but won’t be my last.

The All-Inclusive Obsession

This was my children’s first all-inclusive resort experience and they whole-heartedly embraced it. I gave them some freedom but not as much as Hadley would have preferred. “Mom, I think you need to just let us explore. I mean, set boundaries, of course, but we’ve got it from here.”

By “here,” she meant bouncing between the pool, beach and the Sweets and Coffee shop where we downed about 20,000 calories of mini-cheesecakes (but who’s counting, we didn’t!)

We also became virgin Piña Colada and Miami Vice addicts (the drink, not the tacky 1980s show).

I knew we had a problem when we had to prematurely cut Bode off to rush to make a reservation. Our normally low-maintenance son lashed out, “This is the second time today I have been denied my pina colada.”

His reentry into the real world wasn’t pretty.

=======

 Tune in tomorrow for “Southwest Vacations: A Snorkeling Adventure Within a Misadventure (Cancun Day 3).”

 

 

 

Filed Under: Bode, Family travel, Hadley, Jamie, travel Tagged With:
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »