Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Viva Mexico!

Since I love deals, I LOVE to travel, and my husband was gone all summer, I was able to convince him that we NEEDED a vacation together.  I found us a remarkable deal, too fantastic to turn down and to my delight, we everything fell into place and we were able to go! We checked the forecast religiously each day...Kevin almost cancelled at the last minute.  It was hurricane season, and there was a 60% chance of rain every day.  Luckily, we didn't cancel, and we got that 40% chance of SUN every day! We had amazing weather, beautiful scenery, and the best company ever! 
We got settled in, and went for a walk and enjoyed the sunset from the dock.

Kevin loved the white sand...it doesn't get hot. The water is so clear, and we really enjoyed the surf.  I did get rocked by a few waves, and my whole left side was a bloody raspberry and I thought I ruptured my eardrum from getting plowed into the ground body surfing, but it was well worth it.

The scenery was fantastic too. I just love how brave some people are.

Kevin haggled with a Mexican and got himself a conch. 

We scheduled a trip to Chichen Itza, and on our way we stopped by a cenote.  This is a sink hole that peers down into the cenote.
The entrance to the cenote.  Cenotes are caves, like sinkholes, usually filled with fresh water.

Its a bit dark in there, but you can see the stalagmites.  We were told we could swim, but I didn't feel like contracting meningitis, so I abstained.

That hole a couple pictures above offers the light spot  in this picture. 

Kevin below the light beam.  He loves the dramatic pics.

There was another cenote at this park but not as impressive as the first.

This cenote's sinkhole, sunk.  There is a wide opening here.

Wouldn't we make a darling Mayan couple ;)
 We made it!

We finally made it to Chichen Itza, but we were VERY limited on the time we were allotted there, so we ditched the guide and set off on our own tour.

Kevin at the base of the pyramid temple

 They loved snakes and jaguars.

This entire segment used to be covered, but there were thousands of pillars. It was pretty impressive

One of the many temples here.

Kevin dominating the pillars.

I felt bad for his irreverence, so I offered myself as a human sacrifice.

I am glad that they determined the Mayans were wrong.  I would like to live past 2012.

Can you see me?

Another temple.

Some of the carvings

Jaguars riding snakes...

Temple of the jaguars and the pyramid

This was their field where they played their version of soccer. Up high on the walls are small holes that they had to kick the ball through.  Pretty interesting stuff.

They had an observatory... Mayans had astrology too I guess.

Kevin was going to walk over into the building for a photo op here, but as soon as he lifted his foot, a little Mayan worker jumped out from nowhere and started chasing us.  I couldn't stop laughing.  It was seriously as though he matriculated out of thin air.


A much smaller pyramid.

We love ruins. The next day, we scheduled a trip to Tulum.  Chichen Itza is a HUGE set of ruins in the middle of the jungle. Tulum is set right on the beach, it is much smaller, but the backdrop is breath-taking.

see...

This one is for you Jackie.....there are PLENTY more where that came from.
There were iguana's everywhere here. We saw dozens of them.

We went down to the beach and went for a swim...I took my underwater camera, but I still need to develop those pictures.

 That water is unworldly

a good shot of the largest ruin.

I could have laid on that beach every day for the rest of my life.  Why do vacations never last long enough?

Da Bears

Hello!  I know, it has been a while and you all have missed me...or not, but I thought I would do a quick update with a ton of pictures.  Summer is now officially over, and we are having a splendid fall here in the Chi.  Kevin is back from Reno, and has endured his fall interviews and call backs.  We are pleased to announce that he has decided he will be working with a firm in Palo Alto. Looks like we will be eventually heading back to the Bay!!
Since I last blogged, my darling sister Robyn has come to visit.  Here is a quick recap of the festivities:
We explored downtown together and gave her a taste of Chicago
Da Bears had a preseason game while Robyn was here, and I was able to score some cheap tickets so that we could go. Robyn supplied us with the matching tees. (If you didn't know any better, I think we successfully pulled off looking like bears fans....sorry Bill, you know I love my Pats)

Kevin knows Robyn loves SNL, so we took her to Second City Comedy (it is where most SNL cast members start out)
We saw Buckingham fountain
Explored Soldier Field

Modeled our sexy matching tees again

Got fireworks before the game, and after the game...in fact, there were fireworks EVERY night that Robyn came.  I know, I am the best hostest ever, so you all better come visit!
The view of the field.  Kevy even supported Da Bears with his hat

We went to the beach...

 Hogwarts...

ok, it is really just the Uof C, but whatever.

Thanks for coming Robyn!!!!