Goodbye Snow… Hello Mexico…!

I am so not a spur of the moment traveler… in fact, I like to plan things out way in advance so I know what we are going to do and where are going to stay when we get there.  Being married to Matthew has changed me in this area… partly because he LOVES to do spur of the moment trips… and partly because we never know how he is doing so it is really hard to plan a trip in advance because he may not be doing well when the date comes. 

On Valentines Day, after finding out that we didn’t have school on Friday again (which made a full week of snow days before our week off for the mid-winter break), Matthew looked at me and said, “Lets get out of town.”  We tried calling some friends on the Peninsula to see if we could come visit them but they were going to be out of town so he said, “Lets go on vacation somewhere”.  We started looking at various locations down south… Bahamas, Tahiti, Mazatlan, etc… and finally settled on Puerto Vallarta. 

We found a really good deal on an all-inclusive hotel which included airfare.  The only caveat is… we had to fly out the next day.  It also had an overnight layover in Denver… which was no big deal to us.  So we booked the trip and started packing… ready to leave the snow behind.  This was a first for me… first last minute trip and first all-inclusive trip to an out of country destination. 

It is easier to tell a story using pictures so I have lots of pictures of our time in Puerto Vallarta… One thing I can tell you.. is that although this was a first for us… it will definitely not be a last..!

Valentine's Day Snow

What should we do to celebrate?

Let's go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

On our way to Mexico... 

We arrived in Mexico... ready to enjoy all the hotel had to offer... 

The first restaurant we tried was the steakhouse... the host was super nice and didn't make us wait for reservations... instead he helped us find a seat right away.  We later found out that in order to eat at the restaurants (except the buffet) you either had to have a reservation or had to wait with a beeper until your turn came up (wait was usually an hour or more).  Since Matthew had a wheelchair we went up the back way and they took care of us even though we didn't meet either of those qualifications.  

Love me some virgin margaritas... 

Evening entertainment included a show every night... we watched half of them... 

Touring the area... 

Lots of beautiful areas to see.. 

Sunset was one of my favorite times of day... 

We tried the Italian Restaurant next... 

We learned how to make reservations finally... usually only members of the resort could make a reservation but because Matthew has a life-threatening allergy they make exceptions so the chef can be prepared.  This came in handy as we were able to try out all the top notch restaurants without waiting... Of course... getting to the Italian restaurant was not possible with the wheelchair so instead we ate at the steakhouse with the menu of the Italian restaurant.  

Desert looked good but it had coconut so I passed it on to Matthew... 

Then I ordered dessert back at the room..! 

The walkways at the resort were beautiful but I got a workout... 

Lovely little church on site... 

View from the adult only pool... too many stairs for Matthew to get too..!

Quiet time on the back patio... 

They had a zoo for injured animals... Matthew enjoyed watching the animals

The jeep was our mode of transportation... lots of fun... 

View while at the pool... 

We chose sunset time for the Mexican Restaurant... 

The service was amazing... in order to get to the Mexican Restaurant with Matthew's wheelchair we had to go through the kitchen.  They staff then helped him walk up and down a few stairs and lifted his chair so that we could get to a table that had a view of the sunset.  It was beautiful.  We had a long, relaxing dinner so we could enjoy the entire sunset.  We also had fun visiting with the couples at the surrounding tables who were enjoying the food and the view.  

They even made homemade guacamole for the chips.. yummy!

Beginning to set... best view from the hotel. 

In my happy place... 

Making Matthew pose with me.. 

The crepes were delicious... we asked for seconds!

The sun had set and the torches were lit...  What a night..!

Touring Vidanta Hotels... 

We got suckered into a full day time share scam... where they tried relentlessly to convince us to by into their hotel package.  While it did waste away a couple hours... Matthew and I agree that it brought us closer together and wasn't a complete waste of time.  Some good things that came out of it include: a delicious free breakfast, free 1 hour massages each, we got to see beautiful views and a luxurious hotel, we got to meet interesting people, and we grew closer as a couple and learned to communicate better as I depended on him to turn them down each time they tried to convince us with a "better" deal.  

A glimpse of the amazing views... 

Don't worry... we didn't miss the sunset..!

I walked the beach to get a better view!

I only wish Matthew could have joined me... 

Sunset + Beach = Heaven

Oriental Restaurant for dinner

We had to eat the oriental food from the buffet area... since there were a lot of stairs up the restaurant... it is a good thing though since 90% of the food on the menu had seafood in it.  Matthew opted to get food from the buffet instead.  I of course filled up on seafood.  

Matthew didn't turn down the desert from the restaurant.. Fried ice cream  

Love Street... all lit up at night... 

Matthew didn't always get up for breakfast.. but I enjoyed the buffet.

Bible study at the pool.. 

Walking the beach... 

I had to put my feet in the water... 

We went for an adventure in the jeep... 

We wanted to do at least one adventure in the jeep so we headed out in search of the sunset... where Matthew could see it... it ended up being more of an adventure than we expected as we went down dirt roads, got a bit lost, found private resorts with security, and eventually found the town we were looking for Punta Sayulita.  There were too many clouds to see the sunset but the trip was  well worth it... Matthew had a blast driving and I enjoyed the views..!

 

Finding the beach finally

We found the city... just took the long way.  

Back to the steakhouse.. our favorite.  

Another show to enjoy on the last night..!

The trip went by way too fast.  We made a lot of good memories.. Matthew also gave me a few scares... including a concussion when he fell after taking a shower.  He ended up unconscious a few minutes... before finally coming to... thankfully it was the last night and they had a doctor on site that was able to check him out.  I learned that whenever we travel I need to know how to get a hold of medical help in case their is an emergency.  He also thought he was having a heart attack at the airport... leading me to race to the nearest security guard and using my Spanish to ask for medical assistance.  By the time they arrived his vitals were fine and he was cleared to travel.  His primary care doctor is having him get his heart checked out though... we can't let his health stop us from traveling... we learned a lot from this trip... especially since it was the first time bringing the wheel chair on the plane.. that I have to say was an amazing process.  

Home... and the snow is still here..!