We are on our way home from our 6th Annual Away and it occurred to me that I take the fewest pictures on these trips. I don’t use or look at my phone very much because I like to unplug as much as possible and do “perfect day” activities. That means fewer pictures, but usually more enjoyment.
I think it’s a fun game to explore what would make up an individual’s perfect day. Once you have figured out what a perfect day looks like you can incorporate those types of moments and activities into more of your regular days. For example, my perfect day consists of going for a walk and seeing the beach. I can’t do a beach walk every day, but almost any day I can go for a regular walk and enjoy fresh air and a mental reset. I can create a “perfect day moment.”
I have had a lot of perfect day moments the last 5 days and 4 nights at Sun Palace, but notably missing was time with my kids. Therefore, I can’t wait to get home!
We arrived to Sun Palace on a Wednesday. Our good friends had been there for several hours but hadn’t been able to get into their room until we arrived since both reservations were in my name. Surprisingly when we were finally checking in we were upgraded to a Governor’s Suite! The suite had a fabulous shared living room and dining room with separate bed and bath areas. We both had private balconies overlooking the water that had big jacuzzi tubs and then we also had a shared balcony outside the living room with a view of the water as well.
We were hungry so we quickly freshened up, changed, and went to dinner. We ate at La Tratto, the Italian-themed restaurant and then went to “The Mentalist” show in the ballroom. Entertainer, David Magee, put on a fabulous show reading peoples body language to predict their answers to every question he posed. And also planting ideas so he would manipulate the answers. It was incredibly fascinating! Look him up on YouTube, you won’t be disappointed.
After the show the four of us headed up to our Governor’s Suite and put on bathing suits. We filled one of the big jacuzzi tubs and hung out in it like it was a hot tub, chatting until we were all ready to go to bed.
Thursday I started with a beach walk and then Justin and I had breakfast at Fuego. We claimed four lounge chairs by the “fun” pool and participated in the poolside activities like water aerobics and games. For lunch we had pool snacks. I also spent some time by myself reading in a lounger on the beach. For dinner that night we ate at Aurora, the Mexican-inspired restaurant. We had a great meal and the server teased us that we had ordered a total of 10 plates for the four of us! Our eyes may have been bigger than our stomachs, but we ate almost everything! After dinner we went to the Lobby Bar to play pool and found out that they were doing karaoke for that evening’s entertainment. Karaoke is my jam and I kicked off the night with “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen. Justin was the showstopper of the night with “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It was so fun to watch him lose himself in the song and give his all. Everyone was so into it! And the rest of our time people at the resort people would randomly stop him to complement him on his performance.
Friday we slept in a little bit and then had breakfast at Aurora which does a buffet for lunch and dinner. After breakfast we went to the spa where we all did hydrotherapy together and I even did the cold plunge twice! Justin and I had a couples massage while Danielle got a facial and Jeremy had a massage. We hit Fuego for lunch and I discovered a deep love for the apple artichoke salad they had on the lunch menu. Deliciously sweet and savory. After lunch Justin and I swam in the ocean. We had fun jumping in the waves and laughing as we let them take us high and low. In the afternoon we met two other couples and after chatting with them in the pool we decided to do the beach dinner and Fire Show with them that evening. It was fun to connect with them and we enjoyed dinner and the show together so we kept hanging out with them after the show when we went to see the guitarist in The Lobby Bar. The guitarist was great and very talented. He did a Queen medley and Justin went up and sang a little bit of Bohemian Rhapsody with him, a fun reprise from the night before. We danced a bunch and had a great time with our new friends. Before heading up to our room for the night we also watched two mama sea turtles come up onto the beach and dig holes to lay eggs. We found out the next morning that during egg-laying season there are people who patrol the beach nightly and then move all the eggs to a protected area to ensure they are not disturbed and can hatch and return to the ocean.
Saturday I woke up and went to the gym to bike and put in my Ironmaiden miles. I didn’t keep up with my daily goals the whole time and will have to make up for missing a few days. After biking I got an iced latte from The Sweet Cafe and claimed four loungers near one of the quiet pools. One of my few complaints about this resort is that the loungers fill up quickly so you have to claim them early. The four of us spent some time in the ocean that morning as well as in the pool. Then had lunch together at Fuego. After lunch Justin took a nap and Danielle and I read for awhile next to the pool. We hit the Thai restaurant for dinner and watched the evening variety show in the ballroom. The main singer covered “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman and it was outstanding. After the show we headed to the Governor’s Suite to play a relationship question game based on the TV gameshow “About Last Night.” It was a great way to wrap up another fun and meaningful trip with our good friends.
Saturday we had breakfast with Danielle and Jeremy before they headed to the airport. Justin and I had a few more hours so we swam in the ocean and lounged in the pool before cleaning up, packing up, having some lunch, and grabbing our taxi to the airport.
I was not sure if four nights would be long enough since most of our previous Annual Aways have been at least five nights. For this season of life four nights was plenty. I’m more than ready to get back to my kids who I missed dearly. Even so, it will be hard flipping the switch back to reality. To know that tomorrow when I wake up I’ll need to make not only my own coffee, but also breakfast for family, house chores, laundry, and all the things that we do to keep order in the house. The kids will almost certainly bicker with each other or challenge Justin and I in some way. And then there is my job, it’s back to reality tomorrow! It’s time to become responsible again after enjoy a few footloose and fancy free days in Mexico.
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