little vacation BIG fun.

day 5: its hard to get over. he was my first australian friend.

on wednesday, haley and i got some advice from one of the ladies at our language course. she told us that the nicest beach, devoid of vendors and annoying tourists, was called playa bruja, about 14 kilometres south of where we were staying. we jumped on of the cab golf carts (of course, we picked the one that was probably the slowest in the city), and found ouf little piece of deserted beach. the two biggest problems we had that afternoon were figuring out how to open our beers without an opener, and trying to understand the 'bilingual' horses that were advertised. it was an area of beach that was just north of some of the big resorts, so at the end of the day we walked down the beach to try and see if we could actually find the resort where we knew other asfm teachers were staying. i love walking in my barefeet on the beach. it feels like a massage as the sand gets stuck between my toes. we had no trouble finding the hotel, sneaking in, AND finding our friends lying by the pool. perfect timing! because i got to play with the babies AND the whole group of us went out for dinner together. it was great -- thirteen of us, or more, all enjoying seafood by the beach, two for one drinks (dangerous) and i had a baby in my lap the whole time. little quinn has not had a lot of experience with busty women in his life, so let's just say he got mighty comfortable. my mom did always tell me that someone would really appreciate them one day.

day 6: haley, stop pulling the baby's hair.

language school was pretty hard today. i was tired from a late night of dancing and two for one margaritas. we were not overly ambitious in the afternoon either, parking ourselves down on the beach and snoozing all afternoon. we met up again in a big group for a shrimply delicious dinner, and i was in baby heaven once again. good thing there weren't serving two for one drinks, only some spanish homework paired with an early night.

day 7: little people big world.

i got a little starstruck on friday. i knew that one of the guys in my language class was a tv producer, but i didn't know the specifics. it turns out that he used to produce the dr. phil show and now produces the tlc show 'little people big world'. and when i walked in to my prononciation class early friday morning, amy, one of the parents on the show was sitting there! i'll tell you, she wouldn't have been at the top of my celebrities to meet list, but it was pretty fun. i guess one of her kids is failing spanish and they were thinking of doing a show where they bring the kid down for some extra spanish classes. we found out that her and her husband matt were staying at the hotel right next door to our condo (sans cameras... too bad, because we think it would have made a great episode: elementary teachers take little people parents out for a wild night on the big town!). we did actually end up meeting up with them several times, and they even took us out for lunch!

day 8: is cam on a boat to australia?

it is always easier to leave a place when the weather stinks. it was cloudy all day, so the beach was really out of the question. instead: silver shopping! (which for me, really does rank almost up there with lying on a beach) i spent too much money, and but i got a lot of my christmas shopping done. by the afternoon, however, the weather had gone from bad to worst. it was now so windy and rainy that we couldn't keep the balcony doors from breaking open. i think it was as close as i have ever been to living through a hurricane. on second thought. that might be a slight exaggeration. but it was pretty crazy. tonight we went dancing again with the full group (minus the babies this time!) and had a pretty ridiculous night of which the details (to save face) will be mainly left out of this entry. i will only say this: there was some serious grooving and maybe some late-night ocean swims!

day 9: life lesson #368: don't come on vacation with five ladies and expect to get the ocean view flower-print room.

i woke up earlier then everyone, which was a perfect way to end my week. i am rarely a morning person, but perhaps i should become one. wandering the quiet streets and sitting at a cafe in the early morning was quite relaxing... although so is sleeping. hmm. tough choice. maybe it was only a one-time thing. unfortunately, the trip did actually end on a bit of a sour note. because i really enjoy planning things, i was the one who had found the condo and put the trip together. i make the mistake of trusting too easily and i have now learned that not everyone is as laid-back about travel as i am. i don't know how someone could have found trouble in our paradise, but i guess not everyone is so easily pleased. so, with drama to settle, we returned to monterrey... with bags loaded with silver, a tan to beat, a few new laugh lines and a brand new appreciation for all things vacation.