A Little Family Vacay

Well I'm a little late (okay, so it's been almost 3 weeks), but here is my official report on the Stratton/Champoux Brady Bunch Family Vacation to Mazatlan (we just called it "vacation" for short): it was the best guacamole, strongest sun, and biggest pool I've ever eaten, experienced and seen (respectively, of course).

We stayed at Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay (not to be confused with Pueblo Bonito...). It's a time-share hotel on the beach complete with pools, swim-up bars, a spa, exercise classes - and pretty much anything else you could want on vacation. (Including daily trivia games, dance classes, ping pong tournaments - it was kind of like that big hotel in Dirty Dancing...you know the one I mean.) And as if all this weren't enough, our amazing parents were footing the bill for our stay. The deal was, if we flew ourselves out there, they would take care of the rest. There is only one answer to a proposition like that: heck yeah man!

I pretty much spent the first 7 of our 8 days in Mexico in my swimsuit, with a book in my hand (The Count of Monte Cristo), and within 10 feet of the pool/swim-up bar & grill. Jean-Louis (the poolside waiter) became our new best friend and happy hour our favorite time of day (you get double of everything you order - it was great!). Pretty much every day went like this: wake up, maybe eat some room-service breakfast, think about working out, wander down to the pool, alternate between a) reading, b) dipping in the pool, or c) eating. Then in the early evening, we'd head back to the room to shower and "get ready" for the day (read: dinner), venture into town for dinner (thanks to Chris our veteran international traveler we had a new, local, non-tourist-y venue each night - it was great!), then after completely stuffing ourselves on some seriously delicious cuisine, we would head back to the room for an evening round of cards and dessert, and then resign ourselves to bed. Yeah, it was pretty rough.

The last day I actually ventured out with my sisters (both "bonus" and in-law) to the market. We spend the better part of an afternoon haggling with the locals, checking out some pig heads, and buying souvenirs. We even utilized public transit for the trip. For a whopping 7 pesos (that's about 70¢ to us) we acquainted ourselves with the local mode of transport and saw a glimpse of the real Mexico. It was a great little adventure to cap off our trip.

All in all the tasty food, the free time to do whatever I pleased, and the hours in the sun were all exactly what I needed, but mostly I just enjoyed being with my family. We don't live far apart, but we don't live close either. Real life seems to get in the way of quality time all too often. I was thankful for the opportunity to just be with them. Dad and Jane - I don't think I can thank you enough for the gift you've given all of us. Thank you for teaching me generosity by first demonstrating it. I'm proud to call you parents.