Cory & Erin: 2009

Avid readers, I know you have been waiting for two weeks for the details of our trip…Okay, okay…there is only the two of us but it makes me feel good to write it out. So…here we go!

Our last trip was in September 2008, since that time we have many career changes, life circumstances, and all around a pretty difficult 2009. With that said this trip was not without a small amount of anticipation.

I book most of our trips through the Funjet.com, there is a ‘Hot Deals’ button and you can pick your trip from any city and they already have package deals. Since we live in the land of the snow we always check for trips from Vegas, Denver, Phoenix, just in-case…there are always better pricing and locations. So…in September I found an amazing deal to Cabo through Phoenix…I booked it…thinking oh…flights to Phoenix are only $100 per person (usually). Well…not this time…they were about $250 per person ...So we said lets wait and see if they go down…bing.com suggests when to buy, or wait. It was 80% sure the prices would come down. So I waited….then one day it said BUY! So I went through the process and bought…but…blond moment…I didn’t complete the transaction. Drats! When I realized it the next morning I called to try to fix it…no luck…the price went up another $100 per person! At this point we are looking $700 to fly to Phoenix…do you know what kind of purse I could buy with that kind of cash? So…we decided let’s do a road trip and make it part of the adventure. And…of course a trip to the Scottsdale Mall was on the agenda (more to come on this).

That leads me to…
Friday-December 18
After work and drove halfway, to Mesquite, NV…about a six-hour drive. We had dinner, got a room, and of course decided to play a little BINGO! Yes, that is right…BINGO. For all of you that might be judging me right now…I won $150! WOOT WOOT!

Saturday
We got up and left Mesquite about 8 AM and started the remainder of our journey toward Phoenix. The car was packed full of snacks, our DVD player was loaded with FireFly (old school-sci-fi movie) and my IPod was jammin’ with some oldies but goodies. We laughed and joked and reminisced over our past 13 years. Talk about a great time with the one you love.

Our drive went to the Hoover Dam. Yeah, I was not that excited about it either…but when we got there it was CRAZY, I had no idea what a big deal the Hoover Dam really is. It was so cool we got out and walked around. (Our age is really starting to show!) We parked our car and caught our plan to Cabo. We arrived around 10 PM by the time our shuttle dropped us off and we checked in. We went right to bed…exhausted from the trip.

The Hotel did some fun towel art …

Sunday
Lazy day…You guessed it we spent the ENTIRE day at the beach/pool. Our agreement was I get to sit for an entire day before we do anything! The beach was nice and warm…we are talking 80-degree weather! Cory played in the ocean and was swirled around the riptide. He giggled as if he were a child--having the time of his life. Of course our hotel was an all-inclusive—food and drink---all you could want (It was a shame the drinks were not delish, note to self…must hit the local Wal-Mart). I normally never branch out with food but I actually fish! It was delicious and fresh…and of course MY FAVORITE DESSERT in Mexico…LIME SHERBET! There is nothing like Lime Sherbet in Mexico…DELISH!

Cory has an obsession with Donkeys so I had take this photo.

Monday
We decided to venture out to town…Of course in Cory and Erin fashion we take Public Transportation, 8 Pesos. It is as adventurous as it looks!

Yes, that is a ‘stick’, and it looked like it had been used…for what…who knows but it was there!

We found the flee market and shopped from some Christmas Gifts, ate a local restaurant (not good), found the coolest leather shop hung out with the locals. So much fun! Then…it was time to venture for treats…we took the bus to Wal-Mart. Let me just say…shopping at Wal-Mart in the US and Mexico is very similar…it still takes 2 hours to go through! We purchased a few snacks and of course some Jack Daniels and Coke, my beverage of choice on most days! MMMmmmm.

In town you can find the funniest signs...here was keeper!

We had reservations at the Steak house tonight, after reviewing the menu Cory noticed the Steak said 6 oz for a Rib Eye. He chuckled to himself…who can eat 6 oz of meat and be full…so…he ordered two! Um….there was a typo on the menu, it was really 16 oz! Poor kid ate 32 oz of meat that night, good thing it was a tasty.

TUESDAY
Another pool day…There are two pools at the hotel, one by the beach and one in the main part of the hotel. Since we were on Vacay with families and older folks they would wake up at 6 AM to save the chairs. So…we were stuck at the regular pool (which is not heated). Of course we still enjoyed the day and I finished book 1 for the week.

All-in-all this wasn’t our favorite day of vacation. People were bugging, the food was awful, and we were stuck in the bad pool. We made the most of it but not our favorite day.

Our hotel...

Couldn't resist...for Nathan!

Wednesday
Today…we went to Lover’s and Divorce Beach. We took a water taxi, which was a glass-bottom boat from our hotel. Cory was able to rock climb, play in the surf, write in the sand, and I was able to read and layout. As we were getting ready to catch our water taxi there were Whales swimming by. When our taxi arrived he chased the Whales so we could get a closer look, it was an awesome experience.

We had the taxi drop us off in town and we caved, we ate at Hard Rock-we were so ready for some ‘normal’ food. Finished our shopping and headed back to the hotel. We arrived in time for the sunset.

Thursday
Today was Christmas Eve! Cory was a dear and woke up at 6:30 AM to save us beach view seats (good husband). We sat outside all day--finished reading books 2 and 3 today, got sunburn and hung out with each other.

The chair that Cory built...

Dinner at the hotel was a huge production. The entire resort had a huge buffet dinner, anything and everything you would ever want was there. Plus amazing food art.

Friday
Merry Christmas!

Again-Cory woke up at 6:30 AM to get us a beach chair. The sky was overcast and not the warmest but we were not going to let that get in our way. We went for a walk down the beach, enjoyed the warm weather, finished book 4, and Jesus’ birthday. We tried to soak in as much as we could possibly since this is our last day. As we were walking down the beach Cory decided he needed a Mexican Fighting Mask. Oh my…

Drinking and Laughing!

Saturday
Today was our least favorite day…we woke up at 4 AM to catch our plane at 7:30 AM….we arrived in Phoenix on time…but with the recent events on Christmas day…we sat on the tarmac for 1 hour. When we finally got off the plane we stood in line at customs for 1 hour…then we caught our shuttle to get our car and drove over an hour looking for our car because they wrote down the wrong aisle. Needless to say…it was 12 PM before we headed down the road to get home, by that time I decided we were not going to the mall. So…no, I didn’t get a purse, but I WILL! On the drive home we went through the Hoover Dam again…and sat for 2 hours waiting to go through the security check. So…our 12 hour drive became 14 hours, grrr….We arrived home at 2 AM. What a long day, ahhhh. BTW-Finished book 5!

In summary, we had the best time even with all the mishaps. When we got home the weather was FREEZING and we wished we had stayed longer, but I do not think our works would appreciate us on vacation until April.

Thanks for re-living our trip with you...hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours!

Loves and Hugs,
Cory & Erin

In typical Utah fashion is has been snowing all week. Last night alone we received 8 inches of snow. Cory being the good husband he is went out to shovel the snow. That man is truly amazing, he takes care of the girls in the house. Our street has not been plowed in 3 days so the road has 8 inches of snow and ice on the street, makes for an exciting drive. While he was out shoveling a neighbor got stuck, he helped get the car out.

Then there is Chica—her love for the snow is equal to mine—NONE. She fights going to go outside to potty. Today when I put her out I thought I would see how she was doing…noticing the awnings protected a tiny patch of the grass…she was able to crawl under the railing and jump onto the grass once she was down walked as close to the house as possible to not touch the snow…once she was finished she jumped onto the porch under the railing again. Seriously, I enjoy watching her…she is hilarious. If you are ever in need of a pick-me-up call me and I can give you a Chica story.