Pray For Paris

November 14, 2015

I hardly ever post on Saturdays but in light of the horrific attacks on Paris yesterday, I felt the need to write at least something here. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I adore Paris. Paris for me is something of a second home, a place that I return to every year, a place that means very much to me. And as I heard the news coming out of Paris Friday afternoon my time, I was quite literally sick to my stomach. The senseless and completely illogical killings that occurred in the City of Light, and all acts of terrorism around the world, are beyond incomprehensible. It’s sickening that in this world we still have those who would kill and hurt others in the name of their beliefs. It’s sickening that in this world we still have events unfolding like this.

And yet in the darkest of hours, we see people come together. We see loved ones hugging each other closer, we see groups of good, honest people stand together against the evils in our world. It is that strength we must bring now, that strength that must push us forward. Because at the end of the day, we are stronger than the evils that would try to divide us. At the end of the day, we are one world, there are no borders and we are all human. At the end of the day today, we pray for Paris.

The Truth About Traveling : When A Bunch of Little Things Go Wrong

November 12, 2015

We’ve all had those trips where major things go wrong: flights are canceled, hurricanes detract our travel plans or we’re sick or have an emergency and can’t go, etc. And those are horrible and can ruin a travel experience. But on the other hand, there are also some trips when a bunch of little things go wrong which can add up to really upsetting a trip as well. Such was the case for us our last day in Mexico.

To recap…when we awoke on our last day in Mexico, we were hoping to head into Cabo San Lucas to experience both towns of Los Cabos during our stay (we had gone into San Jose del Cabo the day before) and had asked for late checkout the afternoon before. The concierge assured us it would be fine and if it wasn’t, he’d call us Sunday morning. So we got up and went to the pool, then to breakfast. By the time we got back to the room is was about 10:30 and we hadn’t heard from him, so we called the front desk to confirm it was alright. Well, either he didn’t arrange it or tried and couldn’t and didn’t let us know. Long story short, we were left scrambling to shower, get ready, pack up everything and be checked out by noon to then have 4 hours to kill before we needed to leave for the airport. That started the day off.

Then as we were checking out, the hotel was charging us for breakfast each morning (which by the way was $75 per day, another issue I had with the hotel), and we had been told that was included in our rate. So after a little back and forth, they finally took those charges off and we headed to the taxis to head into Cabo San Lucas which we didn’t like. Keep in mind at this point it was about 100 degrees with humidity and we were completely drained from the heat and the experiences of the morning. Then we came back to the hotel and after waiting about 20 minutes for our ride to the airport, I had my phone in my right hand and tripped on a stair and went falling forward, landing on my phone, which is turn cracked the whole screen.

Finally upon landing in San Francisco (on our “direct” flight to Portland, which is another issue we had with Alaska Air on this trip, that because you fly the same plane from Cabo to San Francisco and then on to Portland, they call it “direct” but don’t tell you when you book that you actually have to get off the plane going both directions and wait a few hours), we got off the plane to find that our boarding passes didn’t work at the TSA precheck security line (since they said Cabo to Portland and didn’t mention San Francisco), so we had to go back through the normal long security lines and then proceed all the way down to the end of the terminal for the plane we had already been on.

At the end, I realized that a bunch of little things going wrong can end up really adding up and ruining a day or a whole trip. It’s one of those things that you can’t control and just have to make the best of it, but at the end of the day, you have to realize that that’s travel and that’s life. Nothing is ever going to go right all of the time, which makes us appreciate it when it does. But it’s also better to be prepared for everything that could go wrong. By the time we were on the flight bound for Portland from San Francisco, we were laughing at all of the things that had happened that day, partly due to being exhausted but also knowing that we were home bound and tomorrow is a fresh start. So when everything is going wrong, just take it in as best you can and look ahead to better times.

Parting Thoughts on a Mexican Long Weekend

November 11, 2015

To somewhat finish up my Mexico posts, I wanted to stop for a moment and reflect on our long weekend in Cabo. In the end, sadly we left not loving Cabo with its never ending hotels and Cabo San Lucas’ bar culture. It was incredibly hot while we were there which drained us even further and we had some issues on the last day leaving which didn’t end the trip well either. But such is the truth about certain places we visit, we might not love them, we might not fall in love with them, we might have issues.

Not every place we visit is going to be perfect for us, but the goal is to walk away understanding the place, understanding maybe why we didn’t connect or why it affected you a certain way. I didn’t love Los Cabos, but on that same note, I did fall in love with a lot about Mexico as a country. I loved the passionate kindness from the locals, the bright exotic colors everywhere, the gorgeous landscape, the overall feel of the country. Those things I loved and it actually made me want to explore other, more authentic parts of the country in the future.

I think that perhaps had the weather been cooler, had we not had so many issues, perhaps our visit would have been different. But such is travel, things always don’t go according to plan, places don’t jive well with your travel style or the weather isn’t what you expected. So with all that we experienced on our long weekend in Mexico, I took away from it that while Cabo may not be a place we return to, I would love to return to other parts of the country and take the things I loved about Cabo and experience those in other places in Mexico, to celebrate the beautiful country that it is.

The Food of Los Cabos

November 10, 2015

Nick and I were looking forward to the food in Mexico for months before our trip. Honestly we would literally discuss it non-stop how excited we were for the food on our trip to Cabo. Then we went and experienced both food in both Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and at our resort and we were a little disappointed to be honest. As people who love Mexican food, we felt pretty overcharged for not the best food, however that’s not to say we didn’t have good food at all, it’s just that it didn’t really live up to the hype we had created. I will say though, I did have the best fish taco of my life in San Jose del Cabo at a place called Ten tu Tacos and kept ordering more because they were so good. So I guess the moral of the story is: you win some and you lose some with food while traveling, but one thing is for sure, the food was really photogenic. So the food of Los Cabos in picture form…

Headed to Mexico?

Take a look at the rest of our archives on Los Cabos here!

Around the Ezperanza Resort Los Cabos

November 9, 2015

After arriving home from Mexico and looking back through the photos that Nick took, we realized that because most of our time was spent at the resort, we had a lot of great memories and photos from the resort itself that I couldn’t fit into my hotel review post. So, to really show off the true beauty of the Esperanza Resort and its location on the Sea of Cortez, it’s definitely worth a second post.

Because this trip was one that we stayed at the resort for most of the time, we spent a lot of time wandering the grounds, taking in the hundreds of candles that they light at night, the cacti of every shape and size, and the vista views over the Sea of Cortez. From the beach to the infinity pool overlooking the ocean to the architecture, the resort itself was a true experience.

Headed to Mexico?

Take a look at the rest of our archives on Los Cabos here!

Love Her, but Leave Her Wild

November 6, 2015

Today Nick and I have been married for five years. Five years of pure joy, exotic adventures, emotional highs and lows, separation and spending every minute together. We’ve weathered our fair share of storms in our first five years of marriage and ten years together and while you won’t hear me say marriage is easy every minute of every day, it’s definitely a pretty incredible thing to walk through this life with someone beside you, with someone who understands you, who knows you sometimes better than you know yourself.

I’ve always had a wild heart, I’m a dreamer. I think big, I go for the unattainable and try to make it work. I often need to be reeled in and I truly believe in this world that you can do whatever you set your heart to. I think with my heart, oftentimes, to the detriment of my head. I feel really deeply and I connect to people and places often differently than other people I know. But at the heart of everything, I am a dreamer.

So when I met Nick, I had this fear deep down that love might make me compromise what I want out of life, of being put into a box, that it might hinder my need to see the world or to dream my biggest dreams or to jump at something when I believe in it. I was afraid, and was for a long time in my life, that love might make me fit into a mold that I never wanted to fit into. Yet, now ten years later and after five years of marriage, I realize that I never needed to be afraid of that. I never needed to worry that Nick would try to take all those things from me, I never needed to worry that he would try to make me something I’m not. I never needed to worry because in our love, he’s always embraced my independence, my wild heart, my passion for things that others might not understand. And at times in our relationship, he’s embraced those qualities to his own detriment and I can’t ever thank him enough for continuing to believe in me, to embrace the parts of me that are perhaps sometimes difficult to love. He has always pushed me to keep the dreamer in myself, to hold onto all that I believe in and all that I am. He’s taken my wild heart in his and pushed me to always keep it strong.

Our life together hasn’t always been perfect, it’s had rocky periods and it’s had moments when we both wondered what we got ourselves into. And I’m sure there are some in our lives that wondered what Nick was getting into when he married me, that I was never going to be the hometown girl that moved back home and had a family and a house in the suburbs. But five years later, all I know is that no matter what others might have thought, the man I married has always let me dream, let me chase my passions, has allowed me always to be myself and in that, if that isn’t love, I don’t know what else is. Love, true and real love, is embracing each other for what you are, to push the other person to be themselves above all else, to embrace their own wild hearts.

And so today on our fifth wedding anniversary, all I would like to say is thank you to my husband. Thank you for always letting me stay who I am, for loving me even when my heart was pulling me in a direction you might not have fully understood. Thank you for ten years of amazing love, for believing in me, for believing in my forever wild heart.

“Love her, but leave her wild.” – Atticus

What You Need to Know for Travel to Mexico

November 5, 2015

Before our trip to Mexico a few weeks ago, I spent one Saturday afternoon googling “travel tips for Mexico.” I’d only been once before when I was in High School with my family and obviously back then, I wasn’t the one doing any of the planning or preparing, I was just along for the ride. So this time, I wanted to find out basic tips for preparing for our trip. I was shocked at how I couldn’t find a true, just general tips post online. So, after returning from our trip, I wanted to put my own true travel tips for Mexico post out there on the internet, so if you’re looking to head that direction, here’s what you need to know for travel to Mexico.

You can use American Dollars or Pesos.

At least in Cabo, everything was quoted to us in US Dollars, much to my disappointment. Usually when foreign places quote in USD, it means they cater to a majority of Americans and usually their conversion gouges you a little, so whenever possible, pay in the local currency. (This is the same in Europe by the way, when you pay by credit card and they ask if you want it in dollars. Say no and pay in the local currency, you’ll get a much better exchange rate.) We had pesos with us on this trip, so we always asked what the amount would be in pesos, but have a quick idea of the conversion so you don’t get ripped off.

Don’t drink the water and be careful of where you eat.

This is an important one and one to even follow at the resorts. We stayed at a really well known, high-end resort and we still got sick when we got home. So whether in town or at the resorts, don’t drink the tap water and be wary of ice when served it at restaurants. As well, be careful of where you eat and what you order and make sure to bring some sort of medication with you in case you do get sick while there.

Bring bug spray and sun block.

For me, this is a really important one. With Mexico’s heat and humidity, that brings a lot of sun and a lot of bugs. The first night there I didn’t put any bug spray on and was getting eaten alive at dinner outside. The following two days I coated myself both days and had no issues, so don’t forget this! Also, make sure to apply sun block regularly, the sun and heat is quite intense so protect your skin.

Bring clothes that breathe well.

My outfits ended up being ok, but to be honest, I wasn’t at all prepared for how hot Mexico was in mid-October. The heat and humidity completely wiped me out (it was about 104 one day we were there on the heat index). So be aware of what the weather will really be like whenever you travel to Mexico and pack clothes that breathe well. I had a couple things I packed that I actually never wore because they were thicker fabrics and I literally couldn’t even handle wearing anything other than light cotton since it was so hot and we were sweating profusely.

Taxis are safe in resort areas, but still take caution.

In Cabo, we were told that taxis are safe in both San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, though if you venture further away from resort areas, take caution. A lot of places in Mexico are still not super safe for tourists, so just be careful and be aware of your surroundings. Also know a decent sense of direction, so if you are headed in the completely wrong direction you’ll know right away. We had one taxi driver taking us back to the resort from Cabo San Lucas that started going in a weird direction away from the highway. I asked him what was going on in Spanish and he then replied that because there as a big bike race (which there really was), that part of the highway was closed so we were catching it in a different spot. At least then, I knew what was going on. So with that, on to the next….

Know a little bit of Spanish.

I took Spanish all through High School and College and while I haven’t used it in a while (other than our trip to Spain earlier this year), I can get by with somewhat broken Spanish when I need to. I can understand a lot more than I can speak, so when traveling to Mexico, it’s a great idea to either brush up on your Spanish skills or learn a little. I was pretty surprised that even in such resort towns, a lot of people still didn’t speak great English, so it was really helpful to know a little Spanish.

Ignore the pushy sales people + tourist traps.

Particularly in Cabo San Lucas, you’ll encounter a ton of pushy sales people and tourist traps seemingly attacking you on the streets to use them for whatever it is they are selling, just ignore them and keep walking. Restaurants will yell out at you to come in, ignore them or say “No Gracias.” If you feed into them at all, they will come on even harder, so ignoring them is the best way to handle it.

Headed to Mexico?

Take a look at the rest of our archives on Los Cabos here!

Where to Stay in Mexico

What to Wear in Mexico in October

November 4, 2015

More What to Wear posts for more destinations here!

For our long weekend in Los Cabos, I was expecting heat during the day and a cooler evening breeze at night, so I packed shorts for the day and maxi dresses and jackets for the evenings. I was quite wrong in my assumptions and the heat and humidity that we had in Los Cabos during our long weekend in October was incredibly overbearing and lasted 24 hours a day. We didn’t get a cool night breeze or a break from the heat except in the AC in our hotel room, but even the restaurants were outdoors, which made it hard to escape the heat. With that said, I adjusted my outfits while there to be a little cooler, taking the jackets off and making sure everything I wore, breathed yet also covered my skin from the searing sun.

I also wanted to wear patterns and brights that fit with the local theme as well as being able to work with each outfit and mix and match things while there. Here’s what I packed for Mexico in October!