What Happens in Mexico…

Over the holidays, my brother and I traipsed down to New Mexico to meet up with my mom, her boyfriend, and his son in anticipation of a week-long sunstravaganza on the beaches of San Felipe, Mexico.  Whoohoo!  We ate soooooo many tacos and drank soooooo many margaritas.  We fished, we camped, we shopped.  And no one got kidnapped, stabbed, robbed, or contracted Montezuma’s Revenge.  Hooray!

You can flip over to my Flickr page to see the other good ones (the not-so-great and the family pics stay safely on my hard drive, thank you).  And keep watching this space!  Got a short announcement coming up soon (nothing terrible special, I promise).

Edited: January 8th, 2010

Best of 2009: Trip

[[Many thanks to all the lovely blogladies out there that inadvertantly pointed me to this challenge issued by the illustrious Gwen Bell.  I may not write about all the topics, but I think that December is a wonderful time for reflection, so I'll give it a whirl.]]

Hands-down, the best trip I’ve taken all year was the honeymoon. I wrote about our Orlando Disney adventures a while back, but the rest of the vacation was just as magical.   Both Mr. Man and I couldn’t have been more ready for a getaway; the sunny shores and sparkling sea were exactly what we needed.  In fact, we might even go so far as to look into getting a timeshare (gaspshock!).  Here are my favourite pictures from the best week of my traveling year.

xxxooo,

Edited: December 1st, 2009

Know What’s Awesome? DisneyWorld!

After being married for over two months, Mr. Man and I finally went on our honeymoon.  We didn’t think we’d get one, due to being chronically broke, but our wonderful friends Steve and Joy offered us a week of their Disney Resort timeshare as a present.  How freaking cool is that?! We stayed at the Vero Beach resort on the Treasure Coast, 1.5hrs from both Orlando and Cape Canaveral, right next to the ocean. Mr. Man had never been to a “real” beach before and spent a lot of time in the water, chest-bumping waves and falling down, while I picked up shells and shiny things in my monokini.  At least, that’s what we did most of the time.

One glorious and magical day, though, we went to Disneyworld.  Yes, the Magic Kingdom itself! I’d been to Disneyland Paris back when it was still called Eurodisney (about age eight) and have very bright, candy-coloured memories of the experience, so when we finally decided that we’d hit the park here, I was all squee-y inside!

The lines were short, the heat was down, our spirits were up. There’s something just…striking…about the place.  You know logically that it’s all fake and manufactured to make you feel good, but somehow it breaks right past those notions and seems more real than reality.  Hyper-real. And it doesn’t matter how mean-hearted and jaded you think you are, it’ll get to you.  It really is magic. Mr. Man and I went in still a little stressed and kind of worried that it would be silly, but we immediately abandoned all that at the gate. It was everything I’d hoped it would be and more.

Words are failing me a bit today, more for want of the perfect ones than for lack of them.  So you’ll have to make do with the glorious pictures.

I’m not really sure what more to say about it. It was a fantastic time and we’ve even been talking about getting in on the timeshare gig ourselves, as well as maybe taking our mothers there soon. When we left, I could hardly walk (literally) and I could’ve passed out in no time flat, but we both had smiles on our faces and wanted to go back the next day.  If you’ve been there, you know exactly what I mean.  If you don’t, go.  Just…go.

Have you ever been to Disney (anywhere)?  If so, what did you think?  If not, why are you waiting?!

Edited: September 8th, 2009

Now I’m Even Packing Like a Rockstar

I’m getting all my crap together to head out tomorrow and realized (with a bit of encouragement) that I was missing a perfectly good oversharing moment if I didn’t document the hell out of my packing experience this afternoon. So here goes:

Dr. Bones sez: “Plz don’ go!”

Ever since I stayed with my aunt in Europe [Gawd that sounds pretentious, doesn't it?  Trust me, it wasn't like that.],  I’ve been notorious in my circle of friends for being a Super Packer ™.  My suitcase always contains everything I need, as well as a few things I suspect I might need, in perfect order and in perfect fit.  I always made fun of friends and boyfriends who would bring a garment bag, suitcase, and a purse/backpack on every trip – they were packing like “sick old ladies”.

Turns out that karma’s a bitch.

Since deciding that I’m going to be a rockstar (see: blogdiva, princess, debutante), I’ve started packing…heavier.  As in extra shoes, more outfits than days that I’ll be gone, six shades of eyeshadow, the lot. I’m on my way to Saint Louis [holla!] for five days and this is what I’m packing:

Know what I’m doing?  Going to a funeral on Saturday night (we’re…special) and out with college friends on Sunday.  THAT’S IT.  The grand sum of my plans totals two nights of doing anything at all.  The rest, I suspect will be spent sitting on the couch with my good friend, watching Top Gear and Iron Chef America, and eating ice cream.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  I’m just saying I believe that I may have overpacked.

BUT! Butbutbut…I did manage to pack five days’ worth of schtuff into a tiny little, carry-on-sized suitcase – the backpack is almost entirely empty (I have a 17″ laptop and a couple books in there).  So maybe I did okay.  Maybe I can be a rockstar and be a Super Packer ™, too!

See?  Not so bad, right guys?  Guys…?

What’s your packing like (no jokes, you perverts)? How much crap do you cart around with you when you’re travelling?

xxxooo,

Edited: July 30th, 2009