July Fun: MEXICO!!

Oh, the places I go!!
I participated in a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association last Spring.  They had an incentive weekend where who ever earned the most on-line donations won a 'vacation pkg.' Well, with a last minute donation on Monday morning, I won!!  I was thinking it would be something in the Ozarks or the Dells, well, it ended up being a week in a time share anywhere in the world (no airfare included).  PERFECT prize for me!  So I challenged myself to pick somewhere I've never been and after looking at my air miles, I chose Riviera Maya, Mexico!  I invited my friend Sarah to come along as I figured I shouldn't go to Mexico by myself.

So off I went.  Flew down on a Friday - boy, was it warm!  A mix of hot & humid & sunny.  The resort is south of Cancun - halfway between Cancun & Playa del Carmen. Of course I got hit up with the time share presentation...but the gifts were too good to pass up:  10% off all my purchases, free trip to Tulum, and $300 off my final bill.  BONUS!! So I went & listened to that on Saturday before Sarah got there.  I think they figured out pretty early on that the teacher isn't going to be buying a $53,000+ time share...bwhahahaa!

The resort is nestled back away from the road, had a huge golf course, and one of the top 5 biggest pools in the world.  It also has a beach front - a bit rocky and dark coral - guess it got hit by the hurricane a few years ago and they need to fix it up.  Still gorgeous!

Sunday we hit Playa del Carmen and even went over to Cozumel for the day...which was perfect since there were no cruise ships on Sunday so it was a ghost town.  It was also county elections, so no one was serving alcohol on voting days...but we found a nice guy to serve us margaritas & nachos! :)

Monday we signed up for a tour to Chichén Itza. It was a full day tour (with alcohol on the bus), with a stop in Valladolid at the cathedral and a swim at a Cenote (underground pool, sometimes used for Mayan rituals).  Sooo cool swimming in the Cenote - clear water, fish swimming, opening letting the sun stream in...priceless..

Chichén Itza, or Chicken Pizza for us gringos, was pretty awe-inspiring!  The 4-sided, 91 step pyramid was breathtaking!  The whole area was in ruins until they found it & started restoring it - wasn't destroyed by anyone, but by the jungle.  Got to see Chac Mool statue, but the other impressive site was the ball court. If you've seen the movie "Road to El Dorado," they play the pelota, or ball game, in the movie.  We read about it in my Spanish 3 class...so to see a real one was pretty cool for this Spanish teacher.

Tuesday we did our free tour to Tulum, a walled-Mayan city on the ocean as it was a port city.  Spectacular and very well preserved. We hit Playa del Carmen for the evening...figured out to cover our resort bracelets to diminish the catcalls we got from all the local vendors claiming to be our waiters...

Wednesday Sarah left :(  so I just lounged down by the beach and finished my 2nd book.

Thursday, in honor of my mom's bday, I went for a massage...and then took a nap on the beach...

Friday I went home.  Got exit row seats from Cancun to Chicago. Since I only did carry-ons, I got to hit the "One Stop" line in O'Hare that combined Immigration & Customs - done in 10 min. Hit the priority security. Got on stand-by with the earlier flight and didn't have to sit in O'Hare for 5.5 hrs.
All-in-all, it was a spectacular trip.  First time in Riviera Maya.  It rained for a bit almost every day  Although I love traveling with all my 'ducklings,' it was a bit freeing to travel solo and have some quiet time...a new experience for me.  I'll definitely go back...either to Riviera Maya or try the west coast as I hear it's spectacular over there. Girls Week 2014 - woot woot!!

So there you have it, round one of July fun.  Next round starts Wednesday - look for a new toe color :)
~steph :)

Day 17: CNS --> SYD --> DFW --> MLI

Well, all good things must come to an end.  Today we made the looooooong trek back home.  Up at 4:30 for a 5 am transfer.  3 hour flight from Cairns to Sydney.  Once in Sydney we trekked all over trying to connect to our international flight.  Our flight from Sydney to Dallas, apparently, is the longest in the world.  15.5 hours...which ended up being 16 - for some reason we arrived 30 min late. And as they say, everything in TX is bigger...must include the lines at DFW as I've never seen passport lines that long.  Good thing we had a long layover as we were in lines for about 2-3 hours...not kidding.  Grabbed some lupper (lunch & supper) at TGIFrday's and then just chilled at our gate.  One last little flight from Dallas to Moline, a mere 2 hours.  We were greeted by some very happy parents at the airport - lots of cheers & hugs & tears!
Airports & I are on a love/hate relationship.  There are many happy moments...and some sad moments at airports.  It's always bitter sweet to see the kids sooo happy to see their loved ones...you grow pretty attached to them over the course of a 17 day trip.  Such great memories we have made over the last few weeks...memories that will last us a lifetime!

Our amazing TD, Adam, looking spiffy in his Team Iowa shirt!

Kids & Adam at the airport

Off to Sydney we go!

Farewell Cairns - we had a blast!!

Sunrise over Cairns

Ready for take-off on the longest flight in the world - Sydney to Dallas - a mere 16 hrs.

Yep, we're excited for this route!

'Merica - home of the free refills & ketchup!!

I have many thanks to hand out...
--Thanks to my mom & dad for the airport shuttle, and for taking care of things at my casa while I was away. Sorry your travel-obsessed daughter is never home...
--Thanks to the moms & dads who made this trip happen for their kids - you can never go wrong with the gift of travel...while scary to let go, remember that awesome feeling when they come back!  :)
--Thanks to the 3 M's:  Mike, Molly & Mary!  What a blast traveling with you three!  I love your zest of travel...especially with kids.  Not everyone is built to travel with teenagers and you three were amazing!  Mike & Molly - your 1st time... Mary - lucky #7. Hope there is more in your futures!
--Thanks to the amazing people at EF!  You all really helped make this a trip of a lifetime!  We loved Cairns and are so grateful to have gotten to go up there! What an amazing tour - top notch!
--Thanks to our amazing Tour Director, Adam!  Your good-nature, chill attitude, passion for adventure & love of everything Aussie made my kids fall in love with your country!  I love all the stories you shared, the anecdotes you told, the videos we watched (Beached Az; Sam Kekovich), the songs you taught us (that are forever stuck in our brains!), and also to your parents who so graciously allowed us into their house & showed us their macadamia nut operation!  Thanks just doesn't cover it all...
--Thanks to the kids who absolutely made this trip a blast!  I love your quest for adventure, your curious natures, your good hearts, your laughs & smiles...especially at your 4 am wake-up knocks, your love of life, your jumping skills (Eddie??), your go-with-the-flow way of being, your positive attitudes, and your awesome singing skills.  You will forever have a special place in my heart.  I wish you all the best at college - will be weird not seeing your faces next fall, but you're off to bigger & better things!  Make sure to keep in touch!

Well, that's it for this summer's successful student trip!  Next year we're doing Greece for Spring Break and Spain/Portugal in June, and an Adults-Only Italy/Sicily trip in July...join if you want!  The more, the merrier!
As for me, I've luckily got a few more personal trips up my sleeve this summer!  Thanks for reading the blog!  It was always cool to see how many people read our blog while we were sleeping!

Until next time....
~steph :)

Day 16: GREAT BARRIER REEF

WHAT A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!  To quote a little girl as she got out of the water "This. is. the. best. day. of. my. life."  I think the PV kids (and adults) would agree!  The GBR is everything you think it is...and more.  We took a catamaran out to the reef this morning.  Best advice - take some dramamine before you get on.  The water is pretty smooth here in the cove, but once we got out past Fitzroy Island...ka-bam!  Waves!  Boat was a rockin'!  We docked next to a pontoon...which is best described as a quanset hut/airplane hanger with picnic tables.  They have a huge area roped off and it was free snorkeling amongst the bueys.  There were glass-bottom boats & a semi-submersible boat you could ride in. Big buffet lunch.  Good stuff.  The weather was ABSOLUTELY perfect.  Barely a cloud in the sky!  We rented an underwater camera so will upload those pics after they burn them to a CD for me - Eddie wins for best pic - great shots of a turtle!!  After about 4-5 hours out there, we headed back to port and then back to the hotel.  We all had an amazing time out on the Reef today - pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  :)
We have another early departure tomorrow as we fly from Cairns back down to Sydney, then to Dallas and then finally Moline. 
Such a great adventure we have been on - ready to come home, but only probably to grab some more clothes and head back out again.
I'll post pics later!
See you soon!!
~Steph :)

Ready for our Reef adventure!

Eddie & the underwater camera ready for fun!

Sunscreen is a MUST!!

Selfie :)

Woot woot!!

Our modified jumping pic

Selfie :)

Tired after a loooong day on the Reef

Making new friends on the boat

Last ice cream...love our Magnums!

New BFFs:  Norm, Duckie, & Cedric...just missing George!

Day 15: Cairns & Kuranda

Well, we made it up north safe & sound yesterday.  Internet is a bit more difficult to access at this hotel as there is no Wi-Fi...
It's MUCH MUCH warmer up here in Cairns - a nice relief after the torrential rains of Sydney.  We dropped our bags off at the hotel, changed into better clothes, and headed off to Kuranda.  Kuranda is a village nestled up in the hills outside of Kuranda.  We hopped on a skyline gondola to take us up to the village. We stopped a few times along the way to check out some overlooks of the gorge below and the waterfalls.  Once in Kuranda, we had free time to wander.  The streets are lined with little shops & vendors...but not tacky nor pushy about buying things.  We grabbed some German brats for lunch and just meandered thru the streets.  Got some ice cream.  Girls got weaves in their hair...it was a pretty amazing day!  We took the train back down to Cairns. It was a 2 hr ride down and was breathtaking.  Wound us thru the hills, stoppped to see the waterfalls, and just chug-a-chugged us down the mountain.  Dinner was right along the bay and then the kids went for a quick swim in the cool pool before retiring for the night.
Tomorrow we're off to the Reef - super excited!!
I'll post pics later of today's action.  Got a great jumpin' pic involving lifeguards!  No worries - no one drowned :)
~steph :)

On our way to Kuranda...this is just after Olivia got attacked by a wild turkey.

skyline to Kuranda

Showing off their hair wraps

strike a pose, there's nothing to it...Vogue! Vogue! Vogue!

this is how we do it in Kuranda

Ice cream buddies :)

Scenic overlook stop on our train ride down from Kuranda

Eddie put all his women to sleep.

Cairns

Cairns with our new lifeguard friends