Mexico 2024

(this will be backdated to May 2024)

The very end of April, the first week of May 2024 ... Kolby and Jami had planned a family trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Gray thought it sounded like a good time and extended the invitation to the boys. Landon and Coop took him up on it (although Landon was newly recovered from ACL surgery, and we had to hurry and get Cooper a passport). 

As always with a vicarious vacation, GB was good with sending photos and updates ...

From Grayson: First morning in Mex. I slept pretty well I think. I’ll send you a video walk-around of our flat. It’s really nice. I gave the boys the bedroooms - each one has its own bath. I’m in one of the common areas on pull out bed. You’d laugh at how bad the mattress is which surprised me at how well I slept. Maybe a long travel day took it out of me. The nighttime temps were such that I just left my sliding glass door open all night. It was perfect. I have both a ceiling fan and AC, but didn’t need the AC. It will warm up a bit in the day but wasn’t particularly toasty. There’s a rooftop pool area as well - also extremely nice and seems to be very well maintained.

Dinner last night was really good. Not sure if you’ll be able to tell from the photo but we dined in the water. We removed shoes and sock and stepped into the dining area which was in about 10” of water. Delightful.  I got up and wandered for a little while this morning. Went to the beach, which is about a 5 minute walk away. Trying to determine a running route so I can get a couple of workouts in. First impressions of Puerto Vallarta are very favorable.  Not sure of our plans today. And don’t particularly care. Just relax.

I also got an update from Landon ...

First full day. We kept it pretty low key. Everyone was up fairly early. We went to breakfast at a little restaurant located right outside of the building we’re staying in. The dish most had was the chilaquiles. So delicious. After breakfast we chilled at the pool for a while. I started doing some of my little exercises to stretch out my knee in the water, and it was surprisingly nice. A few hours later, it was getting warmer and warmer. So we all decided to go back to our rooms for a bit to get out of the heat. We made a little store run to have some stuff at our room to snack on. Mexico has their Labor Day today, so a few places were closed. Including the beach club that Kolby and Jami went to last year and loved. So that’s why most of the day was just simple and pretty relaxing and I am okay with that. For lunch we had tacos by our building. Again, deliciosos. By that time of the day, most went to go nap for a bit. I walked around for a while and went back to the room a bit later, but didn’t sleep at all. I would feel that a bit later. Once everyone was ready to rally for dinner, we found an Italian restaurant close by. We walked there and I ordered a pizza. It was okay. I don’t come to Mexico to eat pizza, but this pizza was just meh. Had a tough crust. The restaurant was tucked in this alley a bit, and there were like 5 cats just lounging around there! When we finished, everyone but Kolby and Dad went to go see the cats. They were adorable. One was quite small still and was very nice.  By the time dinner was done, it was late and we returned to the building. I stayed up for a while with Kolby and Maddie which is always enjoyable. 

From Gray: Yesterday was almost entirely beach. I really enjoyed it. I think Landon did too.  I don’t think it was Coop’s vibe. Texted you a couple pics of my parasail. You take off AND land from the beach. It’s very cool to watch and fun to experience. I asked Coop a couple times if he would give it a try. That’s a no go for now. Doing some laundry here. One of the nice things about an AirBNB (video tour of the AirBNB and some of the parasail HERE). Eating quite a bit. Oye. Both mornings I wake up still feeling full. Need to pull that back a bit. I haven’t found a run route yet.  I’ve just lounged around the pool - haven’t gotten in yet. They seem to keep it very clean - it really looks nice. I think the rest of the afternoon/day will be low key. I need to give my head a rest from the sun. I’m going to peel like crazy, methinks. Funny. 

Yes ... he did. Very a-peel-ing!

I asked Grayson if he put on any sunscreen, to which he responded he had not. Landon had checked a bag on the flight, just so he could take the particular brand of sunscreen that he likes. 

From Gray: We had a fun morning at the flea market which is only Saturdays. Coop found a couple of things he wanted to buy and bring home. Not totally sure if they’re gifts or his souvenirs. Doesn’t really matter. Got a T-shirt. He seemed happy.

Uncle Kolby - Mr Monarch

Not sure of the story here ...

From Gray: We’ve cleaned up and packed. Coop got a nice long soak this morning.Flight is at 4:00 - we’ll head to the airport around 1:00. Cooper needs to check-in in person. I can’t do it over the app. Probably the new passport. Last night’s dinner was my favorite. We only ordered appetizers and they were really good. We were at a table on the beach. Generally things haven’t seemed that busy. Never had any problem getting seated. It’s been nice.

... a few flower photos too

Mexico 2024 in the books ... and on the blog (if belatedly).