If you are close enough to drive to a beautiful Mexico vacation, then you need to do it! We went in October during the kids fall break. We drove 4 1/2 hours from Tucson to Puerto Penasco, Mexico(everyone calls it Rocky Point because it has a rocky pointed shore line.) We crossed the border and immediately stopped for the best carne asada tacos at a roadside food truck. I think its funny that food trucks are so popular in America, they have been around Mexico for years!

When we arrived at our resort the Sonoran Sea, on Sandy Beach we were engulfed by the fresh beach breezes! I rented a one bedroom condo on the bottom floor of the resort. It was a little more than I should have paid but I really wanted the bottom floor. I thought it would be easier to walk back and forth to the beach and the room to get food and drinks. Next time I will save my money and book with VRBO.com. 

Before we were unpacked the kids were in the pool swimming! It was a long drive and they needed to work off some energy, and I enjoyed a margarita at the pool while they swam. It was very relaxing! We decided to eat at the resort restaurant the first night, I really didn’t want to drag the kids back into the car and drive through town looking for parking. The restaurant was good, but the service was slow, it may have been faster to drive to a restaurant in town!

We spent our days on the beach, in the ocean, in the pool and lounging by the pool. I had a 30 minute massage on the beach that was to die for. The boys went on a banana boat in the ocean and were proud they were able to stay on! My husband rented a wave runner and enjoyed jumping the waves and trying to throw the boys into the ocean, again not successful. The rest of the time the boys played in the water, dug in the sand and played in the pool. It was heaven.

The last night in Rocky Point our group ventured down town to the fish market. We went to a restaurant and asked for a table for 24 people. I was shocked they were able to accommodate us and so quickly! The food and drinks were amazing and the service was fast and friendly! We had a wonderful time at dinner then walked through the town. We found a Thrifty Ice Cream that could fit all of us and it was delicious.

Our trip to Rocky Point was amazing. Everyone had a great time and no one got sick! It was a success! We will be returning soon.

Happy travels!

Every year my husband and I run away from home for a weekend. My mother in-law stays with our boys and we enjoy our time as a married couple, not mom and dad. My husband is gone a lot as an airline pilot and its important that we work on our marriage. This time we went to Los Cabo, Mexico and stayed 4 nights and five days at Barcelo Grand Faro Resort http://www.barcelo.com/barcelohotels/. We bought our hotel on groupon.com it was $299 for 4 nights all inclusive. I thought it was too good to be true.

We arrived in Cabo and rented a car. As we were getting into our car we were approached by a gentleman offering to pay for our rental car and a dinner cruise if we would visit his time share. His company would pick us up and take us to the time share and he said it would only be 4 hours. I asked him to add a snorkeling trip and we would consider it. He gave us a pass for rental car, dinner cruise and snorkeling trip. We agreed to meet him the next day.

When we arrived at our hotel they offered to give us the same deal, but we wouldn’t have to leave the grounds. Supposedly the other time share has a reputation of holding you longer than 4 hours. We accepted their offer. We knew we wouldn’t buy the time share but we would be interested in hearing about their resort.

At breakfast the next morning we met with our tour guide and he asked us questions about our lives. Where we worked, what we like to do when we are not working and where we like to vacation. Then he showed us the beautiful rooms, the resort facilities, and how accommodating they are for families. He  sat us down and started talking numbers, we said “No thank you”  a million times. He left to get our tickets and the boss came and sat down with us. Then he tried to sell us the time share. I agree it is a fabulous deal, $3000 for 5 years of one week vacations anywhere we want to go. I would sign up in a minute! My husband is better at fiances than I am and he knows that the $500 a year maintenance fee will go up and we will be stuck. He said “No thank you” 4 million times and we finally left with our tickets in hand.

Only 4 hours later we were eating tacos, drinking a beer and sitting in the beautiful pool overlooking the ocean.

That evening we enjoyed our dinner cruise.The dinner was delicious but the view at sunset was breathtaking!

The next day we went snorkeling and had a great time. Unfortunately I didn’t have an underwater camera so I  don’t have any photos. Just close your eyes and pretend you are looking at fish underwater.

We enjoyed several meals at the hotel, and the views were spectacular.

The last day my husband wanted to try zip lining. I’m afraid of heights but I decided to face my fears and do something that I would never forget.  He sold me on the zip line and tequila tasting. I thought I would try some tequila and zip line…..once. NO, it was 7 zip lines and 1 repel, and then a tiny little sip of tequila! We couldn’t even buy the whole bottle! I was very disappointed! I am glad that I did it and that I lived!

He looks like he is having way too much fun! You could hear me screaming in the US!

We really enjoyed our stay at the Barcelo Grand Faro Resort in Los Cabo! Now we are thinking about visiting Cancun. I will stay at another time share again, it was a great deal and a very minimal amount of pain. Just be sure you and your spouse are on the same page before you enter.

Happy Travels!

We flew to the  Denver Airport and went to Payless car rental, which was a huge mistake because we had horrible service! My husband has used priceline.com several times to book and pay for a rental car. He usually looks a day or two before our trip and enters the size of the car we want and makes a bid.You can accept their price or you can name your own price. He starts his price at 60% and slowly adds to his bid until it gets accepted. He gets really excited when he can get a rental car for $19 a day.This time he paid for a mid size car, but when we arrived they gave us a Kia Soul! We couldn’t fit 2 suitcases in the trunk! I refused to drive in the car, I’m not a car snob it was a safety concern! He eventually agreed with me and went back to get a larger car. We were all much happier and safer in a Chevy Cruise.

We drove to Breckenridge and we wanted to ride bikes along the bike paths, but it was cold and raining. So we settled for lunch, shopping and a ride the gondola.

I love Breckenridge! My snowboarder and skier felt right at home.

I didn’t enjoy the gondola! I have a fear of heights and when it came to an abrupt halt and started swinging, I lost it! I was laying on the bench sucking my thumb, in the fetal position, and crying. My family was not sure what to do. When we got to the half way point we all jumped out. We could walk back in the rain but we didn’t know how far the walk was, it could be 1 mile it could be 5 miles. Or we could get back on the gondola and ride it down. Since it was raining and my husband wouldn’t let me walk back by myself I didn’t want to put my family through a long walk. I pulled up my big girl pants and got back on the gondola. My poor husband held my hand and I was so happy when it was over.

North Fork Ranch-  www.northforkranch.com
Located in Shawnee, Colorado (1 hour from Denver) North Fork is a working dude ranch! With so many fun activities, they have something for everyone. Horseback riding, guided fishing, hiking, archery, cowboy sing alongs, line dancing and even massages! We loved the family meals, games and line dancing!
It is a little expensive, but worth the experience!

Browns Canyon Adventure Park-  http://brownscanyonadventurepark.com/

My boys enjoyed 2 1/2 hours of ropes, zip lines, and a 35 foot swing set! I chose to keep my feet on the ground and take pictures.

Performance Tours Whitewater Rafting-  http://www.performancetours.com/

I found Performance tours on http://www.tripadvisor.com/  and it was a  great deal. We rented the wet suit, jacket and booties  all for $5! Most places it’s $20 rental per item! We had a very experienced guide and everyone had a blast. When you book your tour make sure the water level is high enough. My husband and I went last year in September and the water level was dangerously low. The raft in front of us tipped over! I didn’t want that to happen to us, so I asked specifically about the level of the water and the minimum age for children. We had a very successful trip and it was a lot easier this time.

I did purchase some of the pictures, I’m not that talented. I don’t usually purchase the overprice pictures but I really wanted to have great memories.

I love Colorado and I’m sure we will be back again soon!

Happy Trails!