Cabo, Mexico {Day 3 – Cabo San Lucas Excursion}

Today we headed into Cabo San Lucas for the day.  Our hotel is about a 10-15 minutes walk to the bus stop and then it was about 30 minutes into Cabo San Lucas on the local bus.

We were planning to take a water taxi to see the Arch, but ended up scoring a deal on a snorkeling excursion that was leaving right away.  Our resort only had Pepsi products but the catamaran was well stocked with Coca-Cola and I took full advantage; apparently, even before we’d left the harbor. 

The catamaran went by Lover’s Beach

And then onto the Arch

We weren’t really expecting to see any whales and were thrilled when we spotted two right in front of us.  They only showed us a bit of their backs and tails, but we could easily see how large their bodies were just under the water.  It was amazing!

We also saw sea lions, dolphins, and a turtle.  Next up was snorkeling.

I stayed on board with Katie and Drew who weren’t interested in snorkeling.  Drew did get in the water briefly with Justin but it was so, so cold.  A crewmember gave Drew several pieces of bread to feed to the fish.  Drew and Katie loved throwing bread down into the water and watching the fish go crazy trying to get it.

Apparently the snorkeling was much better than expected.  Mike even liked it so much that he talked about coming back later in the week to do it again (he didn’t, but we were glad he enjoyed it that much since we kind of forced him on the excursion to begin with). 

They served sandwiches, chips and guacamole for lunch and then we just relaxed and enjoyed the ride back into the harbor.

They played one of Grandpa’s favorite songs on the way back.

Drew was not cooperating with getting his picture taken 

Once back at shore we decided to walk over to the popular (and very crowded) Medano Beach.

We hung out at the beach for about an hour while Mike got a massage and a few of the girls got their hair braided.  I’d told the girls after our cruise that on the next beach vacation they could get their hair braided.  Abigail changed her mind last minute, but Carly and Katie were excited to get their hair out of their faces.

I got a text from my friend Jen while we were sitting along the beach – I loved the comparison of our day.

About every 30 seconds someone would come along trying to sell us something.  Abigail and Hallie did end up buying matching shirts. 

We had dinner reservations tonight in one of the resort restaurants (we were allowed four during the week) so we needed to call it a day and catch a bus back to the resort.  We spotted this unique car while waiting for the bus.

What a fun-filled day!

Cabo, Mexico {Day 2 – San Jose Del Cabo}

Justin was up early several mornings to get in a workout.  He took this on his phone this morning.

Just like our last vacation, I packed several workout outfits and went into the vacation with good intentions to workout a least a couple times, but come on, let’s be real, exercising will never be my idea of vacation.  Needless to say my workout clothes came home clean.

We enjoyed the sun so much on Day 1 that many of the kids were quite sunburned and so Tami suggested an excursion into San Jose Del Cabo to give the kids a little break from the sun.  Justin stayed back with Jason, Katie and Drew and they got to check out the Kids Club – basically free childcare – the kids area had a pool and playground, but if my kids are given a chance to watch TV or play a gaming system they’d choose that – which they did.

We decided to walk into town – me and the girls, the Baumgartner’s and Grandpa.  The walk was a bit tiring for some, and us Pacific Northwesterners aren’t used to that much sun, so we were excited to spot a Dairy Queen along the way.

We did a little shopping in town.  Carly and Hannah bought some cute Mexican backpacks after a little wheeling and dealing.

It was decided we’d take the bus back to the resort.

And then it was back to the pools and endless food supply.

We did learn that even the kids need to be careful ordering drinks.  We had a few non-virgin drinks make there way into our hands during the week.

In typically teenage fashion, Abigail and Hallie were always looking for a good shot to share on social media – they asked me to come outside with them before dinner and take some pictures on the beach.  Cute girls!

Tonight there was a Michael Jackson show in the lobby area. I got the littles to bed and then went in to grab Grandpa – he’d been excited about it earlier in the day, but was getting wishy-washy as he was laying on his bed watching TV.  I told him he’d regret not going so off we went.  Tami and the four oldest girls joined us.  It was so fun!  My girls weren’t very familiar with Michael Jackson and so I got a kick out of watching their reactions, especially as MJ’s famous songs are being performed by a group of Latinos.  The girls were convinced the Michael Jackson impersonator was really singing.  I put together some fun clips for your enjoyment.  You’re welcome.

Cabo, Mexico {Arrival & Day 1}

Within days of arriving home from our big Disney Cruise vacation in November we got word that Justin’s Dad, with encouragement of his sister Tami, had booked a Fletcher Family trip to Mexico over mid-winter break.  Gotta say that sure lessens the post-vacation depression when you have another coming up so soon.

This was our first time to Cabo and we were excited for a week of relaxation and time with family.  Grandpa selected a all-inclusive resort on the Sea of Cortez in San Jose Del Cabo, which is about 30 minutes from Cabo San Lucas. 

We had a direct flight from Seattle and it was super uneventful.  How sweet is it that all the kids are such easy travelers.  The kids loved sitting next to their cousins and were basically plugged into some sort of device for the entire 4-hour+ flight.

Tami had shuttles outside and waiting when we arrived in Mexico and they took us straight to the resort.  By the time we arrived we were starving so we headed to the buffet for dinner.  Tons of food and lots of options – can’t say the food was Amazing, but it was SO great to not have to do any cooking or put any thought into where we’d be eating each meal.

We had four rooms for the 13 of us - Grandma was sick and didn’t end up coming :(  Unfortunately, we were the last guests to check in that day so we ended up with two sets of rooms in totally different buildings.  Which meant my family was spread across three rooms in two buildings.  Not the most ideal, but it ended up working fine.  Abigail and Carly shared a room with Hallie and were next to the rest of the Baumgartner’s.   Justin and Jason were in with Grandpa (though some nights Jason crashed with me and the littles).

We spent the entire first day at the resort. Eating. Swimming. Relaxing. And soaking up the SUN.

Pretty awesome view at breakfast.

Not a bad spot to spent the day, right?

This kid could (and did) paddle around in the pools ALL. DAY. LONG. and never tire.  He’s the happiest kid and was so, so easy.

He also quickly caught on to the beauty of ordering drinks from the pool bar.  He loved it so much that when I tried to get him a drink from the restaurant side he insisted that we get in the pool and swim over the bar.  Just a bit spoiled, no?

The resort had water aerobics most mornings – which was fun to see Grandpa out there participating in.  Justin captured this little clip of Grandpa doing his thing.

Grandpa also took a few cooking classes during the week and let us enjoy some of the delicious guacamole he made this afternoon.

The Baumgartner’s friends (the Crabtree’s) were just wrapping up their Cabo vacation and joined us at our resort that afternoon.  The resort had beach volleyball twice a day – 11am and 3pm. Gotta say the Fletchers have some sweet volleyball skills.

coming down to watch/join the action

   

I was surprised with how well Jason was able to play.  I didn’t know he had any volleyball abilities, but he held his own and even took a few dives to help his team out.

Not sure if I took any night pictures during the week (I’m only able to mentally tackle one day of pictures at a time) so here’s a crummy phone picture of the resort.

We asked the front desk about things to do that evening and they opened up the kid’s club area for us to use.  Nothing spectacular, but the kids enjoyed playing a little pool and ping-pong before heading to our rooms for the night.

Couple fun pictures from Abigail’s phone: