So most of you have seen the professional wedding photos because I put them on facebook but what you may or may not have seen was everything before that. So for all of you who couldn't be with us, I'm going to spend a couple of posts describing what went on before the wedding :)
dustin, afton and i had a challenging trip down to mexico, changing planes in Philadelphia which i take full responsibility for b/c i was trying to get the best deal on airfare and waited too long! we had to leave the house at 3:15am so afton was all confused. from phillie to cancun afton pretty much cried the whole way except for when he fell asleep on his neck pillow which you can see here.
needless to say, both mom and dad were needing those beers that the shuttle drivers keep in coolers at the airport!
we arrived to meet all of our friends and family, most of who had arrived just before us. those who hadn't arrived later that evening or the next day. we sat on the beach until it got dark and then sat around in the bar where we could watch everyone arrive. it was fun to see everyone's excitement and and everyone got to know each other very quickly. i should have organized an official meet and greet with name tags or something but oh well.
The resort was beautiful. we had amazing views of the ocean and the courtyard from our room. i would definitely go back there in a heartbeat. everyone was so friendly and the resort was unbelievable.
afton woke us up at 6am the next morning but no matter, we we so anxious to hit the beach we didn't mind. we ate breakfast everyday at an amazing buffet with more food than you could imagine. lunch was at an open-air restaurant by the beach everyday and dinner was at either the buffet or one of 5 specialty restaurants. there was a bar at the beach and it had swim up chairs in the pool area.
the first couple of days we were so excited that we took the offers of pina coladas at 8am but later in the trip we realized this was not the best option. but every first time guest gets tipsy by lunchtime at this resort. it's just how it is...you can't resist!
be sure to drink lots of water when you're in the heat!!!
a group snorkeling adventure was planned for thursday and a group of 18 of us went. it was supposed to be 19 but doug backed out at the last minute b/c the ocean was really rough that day. he gets motion sickness and he wouldn't have made it to the boat before puking. good decision doug. i refer to this part of the vacation as 'extreme snorkeling.'
now, we don't have pictures to prove it b/c if we had our cameras they wouldn't still be working. we had to wade out in the ocean up to what normally would have been our waists, but with the rough seas, was over our heads. i lost my sunglasses immediately. along with my cousin emily, we were decked by a giant wave and immediately burst into a fit of hysterical laughter that last 15 minutes. the mexican guides had to lift us by our life jackets onto the boat that was lifting at least 5 feet into the air with each wave and thus, launching each of us onto the boat while climbing up the ladder. it was great. this was my favorite part of the excursion. watching the 'older' ones come onto the boat looking like drowned rats was good too. once we started going toward the reef in the boat, i decided to put on my goggles b/c this was the only way i could see and/or breathe. the waves were pelting us so hard on the boat that we held on for dear life and dustin's mom screamed like we were on a roller coaster. also great fun. when we got to the reef, it was a lot more work than i remembered. we had to paddle so hard to fight the waves and it was not ideal to see a lot of fish. we did see some but it wasn't the best snorkeling i've ever seen. lots of our group only made it for about 5 minutes before asking to get back in the boat due to 'goggle' or other issues. it was rough. :) getting back onto the boat was another chore and vicki (dustin's mom) decided to take off her fins in the water and was nearly swept away. it was funny, i assure you. we all made it safely back onto the boat and were pretty worn out after that excursion.
after that we just lounged on the beach. afton spent the whole day with my dad and they had a great time.
the younger group went to senor frogs that night as we danced like it was our job. good times were had by all.
next up: the mayan ruins in tulum...
it's amazing to me that these buildings are so old! the beach at tulum was also amazing. it's one of the most talked about beaches in the western hemisphere and people go there just to see that!
afton got to hang out with a different family member each day. this way he never got bored with anyone and also everybody got a chance to 'enjoy' him. afton was a little bit of a handful at times...:) here he is jumping on the bed with cousin allen!
we also spent a lot of time at our beach at the hotel and also lounging by the pool. afton loved the water! i wasn't sure how he'd take to the ocean but he loved it!
we had a 'rehearsal dinner' even though there wasn't anything to rehearse and i made dustin give a 'speech' which consisted of 10 words and i think nearly caused him a heart attack. but he did it. :)
Next up: wedding day!
