Do you like to shop?

I bought a cute, super soft designer swimsuit from this website for at least half the price as it would be in stores.

I am not usually a designer purchaser of anything, but they get some neat things, with pretty good discounts and the items change up daily. Check it out if you like to shop!

http://www.ruelala.com/invite/spalizzi

If I could pick up and go today...

I am having after vacation travel blues. This always happens to me when I have had a neat new place to visit and plan for. I get back from the trip, and then it is "Now what?". It's a terrible syndrome to suffer from, so I have be back to my old habits of planning where I might like to go. Here are a few places that have made my list, in no particular order.

1.Beaches of the Dominican Republic
2.Igauzu Falls, Argentina
3.Coastal Thailand
4.Hawaii
5.Costa Rica
6.Belize
7.Fiji
8.Bora Bora
9.Glass beaches by Fort Bragg, California
10.Melissani Lake on Kefalonia, and many other Greek locations
11.Mauritius
12.Italy
13.Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria-Germany
14.etc etc etc...there are so many unique places to see.

As Tony keeps telling me, now I just need to figure out how to pay for all of these grand trips. Maybe I will win a trip.

May 13, 2011- Back to Chileno Beach

Dad wanted to take Amanda snorkeling, and after hearing us rave about Chileno Beach as the place to go, we made plans to head back there. We left around 8am so that we'd get there and be able to get a palapa closer to the end of the beach with the snorkeling. It's such a cute beach, that even the trash cans are picture worthy.



As I mentioned before, palm trees surround the beach, and there is a level wooden boardwalk leading up to the beach. This is especially nice when leaving, as it gives you time to dislodge a little more sand before getting in the car.



Earlier in the week, while hanging around in the hotel room, we convinced Amanda to show us some of her Karate that she is learning. I was surprised at how good she is, and how high she can kick! Melissa and my favorite move or position or whatever you call it was the horse dance. It's a challenging squat like movement that we kept asking Amanda to show us all week. Here she is just starting to stand up from it after showing us on the beach.

Now I have to admit that I love taking pictures and having my picture taken. I could sit and pose for photos for hours. I have been known to curl my hair before going to the beach, even though I know I will get in the water, or that the wind will destroy it after just a few minutes. Maybe it's the desire to feel pretty, which in every day life can be a challenge, but on vacation I love to pretend I am America's Next Top model, or something like that. (This isn't saying that the pictures actually work out, but that they are at least fun to take.) So any way here are a few shots I made/asked Cameron to take.


Amanda did really well for her first time snorkeling. She got a little nervous, but that is pretty normal. She loved seeing the fish, just like the rest of us.





Here's some of Melissa and Cameron snorkeling. I could have sworn that I took a ton of them, but for some reason, I have very few. In fact I only have shots of legs. I am wondering if somehow some were deleted off the camera. Guess we will just have to go back to take more.












After Chileno Beach, and quick lunch, Melissa and Cameron had to head to the airport to go home. =( I know I was glad they decided to come after all. It made it more fun for me as I was able to get out and about more. It was also good for Amanda to get to spend some time with more of her family.

That night was the big IGFA finale dinner. I decided not to go, as the $100 door price was just too much for me. I had thought to try and sneak in or barter the price down, but gave up at the last minute. Instead I played dress up with Amanda, but some how managed not to get a picture of her with her hair all done up. Hopefully Dad has a good one for me.
Here are the last shots of me in Cabo before I went home the next day.



Tony likes the last one. He thinks it looks "hot."

May 12, 2011- A Little Shopping and Swimming

Amanda and I were up early on Thursday. She was a ball of giggling energy so I decided to take her for a walk around the hotel. I am sure she would have liked to go swimming, but we were waiting to meet up with Melissa and Cameron, and I wasn't in the mood to swim yet.


It's a huge hotel, built into the side of a mountain, and going all the way down to the beach. Our travels took us over the whole thing, including 7 flights of stairs, a lap around the pool edge, and up to see the view from the top restaurant.

It may just have been a really short door, or it could have been that we found the room reserved for little people.


After our jaunt, we met Melissa and Cameron to do a little shopping. I like to look, just look mostly, which drives the vendors crazy. Just because I look or ask how much something is, does not mean they need to pounce. The more relaxed I feel the longer I will look and talk myself into something. The more they try to push, the quicker I leave, and decide I just don't need it that bad.

Even with the very aggressive atmosphere, I stilled enjoyed wandering. We came across this little hole in the wall restaurant. The menu was limited, but the food was pretty good, and the prices were very reasonable compared to every other place we went.

Here Melissa is getting her first taste of Mole, a chocolate based sauce that really doesn't taste much like chocolate.




All that food worked up our appetite for swimming. We headed down to the middle pool, where Amanda proceeded to give Cameron a merry chase. She loved to try and dunk him, splash him or just harass the poor guy.
I wore my Reef Safe shirt and hung it on the chair to give the brand some exposure.
The swim up bar covered with a high ceiling palapa was a lot of fun. The general consensus is that we need a palapa in our backyard to provide shade and to just make it more fun!







When we got back from swimming, we flipped on the computer to see if Dad's team had caught any fish yet. It looked like they had caught a striped Marlin earlier that morning around 9am, but we were afraid to hope too much. Dad had been really concerned, afraid he would have to tuck his tail and move if they came away with no fish. Luckily, it was accurate and Dad came home very excited and full of energy. What a difference catching a fish could make. Was he still tired? Sure, but the whole atmosphere was charged and vibrant.
With his new found outlook, we headed down to Maro's Shrimp House for dinner.



Maro's is a very energetic place. There are people laughing and enjoying themselves. Tables seemed to go quickly here, and people would pass by with that look on their face wanting to know what was making this place so popular.


Again the food was awesome. Fresh seafood, really truly fresh from the sea that day food, is probably the best thing you can eat. Succulent lobster, shrimp, and perfectly crusted fillets. It is hard to be so land locked and remember that food.


Another great vacation day. Good food, friends, and family.