The past week in Mexico was one of the best family vacations I can remember. After a week on the beech, I’m relaxed, well tanned, and overly fed. The resort we stayed in was absolutely gorgeous and my parents had a master suite, with big screen tv, 2 bedrooms, 3 balconies, a well-stocked bar fridge, and a private dipping pool.

I really don’t have any complaints, other than having to make the transition from the heat of Mexico to the frigid cold of Winnipeg on Friday. Kelsey and Kerry’s drunken antics were a bit annoying, but I spent most of my time with Fran’s daughter, Ainsley, so I was able to ignore most of their charades.

The highlights of the week were:

• Snorkelling – the protected bay on the resort was jam packed with colourful fish, eels, and sea rays.
• Beach Volleyball – Ainsley and I played a few games almost everyday. It was great exercise and lots of fun, and a few times we evenly balanced and talented teams with long, exciting rallies.
• Turtle Sanctuary – we visited a turtle sanctuary where we released recently hatched turtles into the ocean. They were so adorable.
• Whale Watching – it took 2 attempts that were almost foiled by hung-over boat drivers and puttering engines, but we finally saw a group of whales put on an amazing show. 3 huge whales and 1 baby spent over half an hour jumping, spinning, and spraying water within a few hundred meters of our boat.
• Buffet Food – Amazing food. Only the daily exercise saved my gut, because I was probably consuming 5000 calories a day. I had refried beans, salsa, and guacamole with almost every meal, and loved all the fresh fruits. Mexican food is my favourite, so this week was a real treat
• Mafia – I think I managed to hook another 20 people on Mafia. When we were leaving, people were talking about having Mafia parties in Winnipeg.
• Customs – Kerry and Tiff got the rubber glove treatment at Canadian customs when we got back to Winnipeg. I was hungry and wanted to get home, so the extra hour wait wasn’t too fun, but the look on the girls’ faces when the customs officers did a thorough search for drugs was worth it.