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.