Wordless Wednesday: Family Vacation

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Photo Friday: James Bond Island

On our trip back to Thailand several years ago.. way before we had Mr. Z, we went to Phuket and Phang-Nga for a short visit. It was before the tradegy of Tsunami hit Thailand. I haven't been back since but I have heard that everything is now back to normal. The trip was my first trip to visit Phuket myself.. I know.. Shame on me even though I lived in Thailand for over half my life but I have yet to fully experience what my birth country has to offer.

The trip started at Phuket resort and we hired a tour guide (since we also traveled with Mr. Rojo's parents) to take us to James Bond Island. It was named James Bond Island because one of the Bonds movie was shoot here.. I'm not the die-hard 007 fan so I couldn't really tell which one. I don't know if Miss J will remember any of the trip but it was one of the fun trip. We rode on the small engine boat. It was just a bit bigger than a canoe with seats for probably 10 people. We also made a quick stop at the Floating Fishing Village for lunch. I wish we could have stayed longer. I couldn't wait to bring Mr. Z back there one day.

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A Good Day in Destin

Our last day at Destin was a GOOD Day indeed. We woke up to a sunny day. The weather was still a bit cooler than we would love to. But no problem, we could just spend the morning heading down to Seaside and got some lunch before beach time. After breakfast, we got ready and headed out for an adventure. We headed East past Destin and took the scenic route.

It was such a nice and leisure drive along the Route 98. We truly felt like we had been transported to a different time. The little cottages along the beach with different beautiful cotton candy colors lined up along the way. The contrast of the bright blue sky and the green turcoise ocean was memorizing..

After a quick drive by in Seaside, we headed back to our condo in Fort Walton Beach. The kids couldn't wait to head down to the pool. The water was definitely coldddddd.. That didn't stop them from jumping in and out of the pool. We warmed ourselves up with frequent visits to the hot tub. Ah.. Warm and relaxing tub with no one else there. Then we rode on the tube along the lazy river a few times. Then we headed out to the beach for some sand and sea...

Miss J was busy building her masterpiece but ended up spending most of her time catching and riding wave in the ocean. It took a bit of encouragment and convincing to get her into the ocean but once she was in.. It took a lot more to get her out.

Mr. Z on the other hand didn't really want to go into the water at all. He spent most of the afternoon by the beach building his fort or castle or house.. hmm.. I couldn't tell. After seeing how much fun Miss J had in the water, he had a change of heart and joined us. I didn't know how long we were there but it was long enough that my kids started to turn prune.. So it was a queue for us to head back and had dinner. Ah.. A great day in paradise indeed!!!

Wordless Wednesday: The View

The oceanfront view from our balcony during our Destin trip.

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Rain Rain Go Away

During our trip to Destin, we got rained in for a couple days. What to do when you planned a beach vacation but no sun? Luckily, there are things to see around Destin that we could do.

When we arrived, we just took the opportunity to drive around (even in the rain). It was so easy to drive around Destin. You can't get lost.. There is pretty much one main highway that go through Destin from Fort Walton Beach. I was so impressed with the emptiness of the street. I have heard about the traffic during the high season so I'm glad we didn't have to go through that.

The next day was much better. When we woke up, there was no rain. So we didn't waste any second and headed down to the beach. Armed with beach toys, Miss J and Mr. Z started building their own masterpiece. The water was too cold to get in so we just enjoyed the quiet and relaxing time by the beach. I was surprised to see people on the beach. We thought we were the only family in the whole building. Seriously, there was only one car when we arrived on our parking level. Well, we didn't get to spend that much time there because after about an hour the cloud moved in and the shower started. Guess it was time to go sighseeing.

We got back to our room and headed out to check out Baytowne Wharf Village after lunch. It was stilll quite early so there weren't that many people there. I think it would be nice to go there at night. It was a nice outdoor shopping/entertainment plaza with several shops and restaurants. I love that they thought about family with small children because they have one of the super cool playground. It was really big playground with separate area for small kids. The ground are made of recycle tire so it was so crushy to walk on. We literally had to drag them out from the playground.

We also checked out the boardwalk that leads to the dock. It was off season so the boat ride wasn't in operation. It was a really long boardwalk though. It was especially long when it was windy and cold and we were extremely under-dress. I highly recommend doing this for kids who have high energy. :) Mr. Z did run all the way to the end. On the way back, I think he used up all his energy so Mr. Rojo had to come to the rescue. After the boardwalk, I couldn't help but stopped by a few shops. I hope that all these shops and restaurants will survive the economy downturn. The whole village is a really nice place to just walk around, let kids run wild in the playgroun, sit back and enjoy a great outdoor.

Next stop on our agenda that day was to get my Hard Rock Cafe pin. We stopped by Destin Commons which wasn't far from Baytowne Wharf Village. It was yet another outdoor shopping mall. But this one is much bigger than Baytowne Wharf Village. I think Baytowne is more for eat and drink. But Destin Commons is more for shop and shop. After I got my pin, we walked around and checked out a few stores. Then we got on a free tram ride around the property. It was a nice treat for Mr. Z. Then it was a quick break for me and Mr. Rojo. We let them play at the outdoor play area. It was a really cute play area with various sea creatures and a lighthouse.

Before we knew it was time to wrap up and headed back. We stopped by Publix for a quick grocery run and I made Taco for dinner. It was such a nice day even with a cloudy weather. And we didn't even hit all the must-do attractions like Tracks or the Okaloosa Island Pier.. I can say that Destin is one of my (our) favorite destination now.

Oh..The Food We Ate

On our trip to Destin, we had sampled a couple restaurants that are on the Must-Eat list. (Don't you love that list? Must-Eat..Who can resist a must-eat list.) With trying to do a budget travel that doesn't compromise the experience, I planned our trip down to the hours.. Yup.. I'm crazy that way. Asked Mr. Rojo. I had a spreadsheet on what we would do and eat each day. Well, I like to know the plan but we didn't necessarily stick to the plan. In order to save some doughs, we plan to eat out during lunch and cook our own dinner at the condo. I chose easy meal for dinner like Hamburger Helper, Taco Dinner Kit and Publix Chicken on my menu.

On the first day, we arrived later than we thought. So the lunch was McD along the way. Then dinner was Publix chicken. Nice and easy plus with a long drive from GA we didn't want to bother with cranky kids in the restaurant.

Our first stop on the list was McGuire Irish Pub. We went there right before lunch so we didn't have to wait at all. The first thing you will notice when you walk in is thousands of dollar bills on the ceiling, on the wall and everywhere else around the restaurant. It is a tradition started with friends of the owner gave him the dollar bill and signed his name. The owner then put it up on the wall. And one by one now they have almost half a million bills on their wall. Amazing!

The food was amazing! I had cornbeef and cabbage.. Oh. It was so yummy and huge. I didn't think I could finish it but I did! The cabbage had sweet taste the compliment with the cornbeef perfectly. Mr. Rojo got Fish and Chips.. By far I think it was the best Fish and Chips I have had. It was crispy enough but not too hard. The breading was perfectly... Yum-O... Also make sure you pay attention when you ready to freshen up and head to the bathroom. See the sign? Better read before heading to the Men room or you thought.

The next morning, we went a bit further toward Seaside and stopped by the famous Donut Hole. The food was great and the donuts was even better. After a big plate of brunch and a full dozen donuts, we were ready to roll and check out seaside.. Check back later for posts on what we did in Destin and beyond!

Little piece of paradise in Destin

Ok.. Technically, we stayed at Fort Walton Beach which is about 10 minutes drive from Destin. Last week, we packed up the kids, the cooler, the car and armed with DVD movies and headed down to Destin, FL. This place has been on my to-do list for a really long time. I wanted it all.. I wanted to stay in a nice place with ocean-front view. I wanted to spend as less money as possible. I wanted to enjoy and relax by the pool... Could that be done? Well, we did it.

I started off by checking on TripAdvisor.com. This is a great site with a lot of local and real travelers input. I learned about a brand, spankling new condo that recently opened in April called 'Waterscape'. It has everything I am looking for.

An ocean-front property.. checked!

A to-die-for pools for the kids and kids-at-heart adults.. checked!

A great gym with great view for Mr. Rojo.. checked!

A room with kitchen and great decoration.. checked! (ok.. I'm shallow that way. I want to stay in a nice place)

A reasonable rate that we can afford.. checked!

I waited untill a couple weeks leading up to our planned vacation to book because I knew that we were going during the off season so there were plenty of rooms available. Sure enough, I was able to snag a 2br/2.5bt condo with the best view for the same price as 1br/1bt condo if I would have booked it 1 month ago. There were so many rooms available from various resources. I checked VRBO, Resort Quest and a few other rental companies.

I decided to go with Resort Quest because of their reputation and extras like free tickets to local attraction. The checking-in process couldn't be easier. We arrived about an hour earlier than check-in time and they let us check in right away. After we picked up the keys and card, we were ready to unload to our new home in the next few days.

The condo has 6 floors and we were on the 5th floor with a great ocean view. We were so close that we could hear the sound of the wave every night.. Ah.. Heaven! It was unfortunate that we got rained in 2 days during our stays. But we still managed to get around town and checked out other stuffs around Destin area. (that will be another post)

It was fortunate that we chose to go during an off-season in Destin. We practically owned the whole pool and the whole floor.. It felt like we were at our own beach house that was really really big! There were little traffic and no wait to eat at the restaurant. The beach was not crowd. We truly enjoyed having the piece of the paradise all to ourselves here.

So stay tune for more to come in detail at Destin..

Photo Hunt: Blue

Where else can you paint your house this blue except in Seaside - the picturesque seaside town near Destin.

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You Will Find Me Here...

I have been seriously looking into where to stay in Destin area for a while. At first one of my friend recommended Sandestin. They just went there recently and they really enjoyed it. I checked it out and it looks really nice. It's pretty much like a mega resort (or shall I call it town). There are pretty anything you will want during your vacation. Golf, shopping, entertainment and restaurants all in one property. However, what I want to get from Destin is beach time and pool time for the kids and us. The pools at each building in Sandestin are just typical pool. Nothing too fancy. I'm looking for something more.

With the help from many expert users from Trip Advisors forum, I found this new jewel in Fort Walton Beach... Waterscape condominium. This is a brand spanking new luxurious beachfront condominiums with 3 swimming pools, waterfall and Lay-Z-River. Also it has two main requirements from Mr. Rojo. The great gym overlooks the pool and internet access is available in all units.

Fort Walton Beach is about 10-15 minutes from Destin. It has the same great feature as Destin for white sand beach and emerald blue ocean. But the price is a bit lower than staying in Destin and less crowd. Waterscape offers 1-, 2-, and 3- bedroom condo. It has all the amentities that you want for a perfect family vacation including kid's pool and kid's activities (seasonal). They also provide complimentary beach service (chair and umbrella during season from August to October). One less thing for me to pack. :)

There are so many things to do in or around the Destin area. So I know that with a mini trip for 3-4 days it won't be enough to enjoy it all. But I am hoping that this will be a place that we will come back year after year. Well, stay tune for our trip report!

Beach Bum

Summer is ending and Fall is coming. But I have this urge of going to the beach. Eventhough we went to the Carribean in the beginning of Summer but that was 4 months ago. I need my beach-fix.

I have my short list of where I want to go within driving distance. Of course, if I have unlimited resources I would love to go to Hawaii or somewhere else in the Pacific. But for now, the beach on the East coast or the Gulf will suffice. After reading and thinking and thinking and thinking, we have settled on Destin area in FL. With the white sand and family-friendly resort, we think it will be a nice break we are looking for.

But Destin is one of the popular beach destination so the choices are endless.. Where do we want to stay? There are thousands of units available on VRBO. Which one is the right one for us?

I have to make a decision first on what type of accommodation we want. I know I don't want to stay in a hotel. I want to have full kitchen. So it will be condominium, townhome or beach houses. Well, we are not printing money so we probably will have to settle for the condo. Even that we still left with hundred of options. Destin area spans from West of Panama City which includes the South Walton beaches area to Fort Walton area. We need to narrow down into a particular area so I can make my decision.

At first I want to stay in a slow pace, out of the beaten parth area. But knowing our family, we might not enjoy it as much as staying in the center of the activities. Plus this will be our first time there, we might not want to get out of our comfort zone too much.

Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort is a huge resort area (or shall I call 'town'). It has everything you will ever need for a vacation. It might not be for everyone. But I think it will be great for us. A gym for Mr. Rojo to work out, swimming pool for me and the kids to enjoy, bike ride, golf course, shopping and more shopping.. So for now, I think this is where we will start our search for the perfect place to stay.

How about you? Have you been to Destin, FL? If so, do you have any suggestion on where to stay?

Carnival Cruise - Day 6 - Orcho Rios

Welcome to Jamaica. It's our final port on our 7 nights cruise. Oh.. I couldn't believe that we had been on this big, huge ship for over 6 days already. We took the Jamican Irie attitude to heart. We woke up late and grapped our breakfast. No rush here.. We booked the Bamboo Club excursion which basically a beach club. I knew from some of the cruise forum that the beach club is just a stone throw from the pier. So we weren't that worry about being the first one off the ship.

:: Getting Around ::

We knew that first thing we had to do was to get my Hard Rock Cafe pin. We missed it in Grand Cayman and I wouldn't want to miss it again here. We got off the ship and checked out the excursion tent to find out what we need to do. The lady there from Bamboo club told us that she would prefer us to go directly to the beach club. But after we insisted that we really wanted to walk around first she said she will wait for us. We headed out the pier area and walked to Hard Rock Cafe. I have heard about how Jamaicans are very persistent in offering you their service. I can totally understand that. It's their livelihoods. I have no problem with that.. A big smile and a polite 'no' will do. We walked a good 10 minutes to the cafe and picked my pin. Mr. Rojo got a teddy bear. Yes.. that's right.. Teddy bear but he is so cute.

:: Things To Do ::

Then we walked back and checked out the Island Village. Basically, it's a compound with a lot of stores in a nice setting. We walked around and got a few more shopping here. I think we made the most damage here than any other ports. :) I guess it was the last port and we missed out on the shopping in Grand Cayman so we felt obligated to shop to make up for the missing opportunity. We were also looking for a place to get Miss J hair braid. But believe it or not, we couldn't see one. We got approached by one lady but she wanted us to follow her to her place.. Ehhh.. No. Thank you! Guess she will be one of a few kids who didn't get her hair braid in the Carribean. Well, we can't get everything we want in life. Good lesson here, heh?

After about an hour and a flat wallet, it's time to head to the beach. When we got back to the excursion tent there wasn't that many people left and the lady from Bamboo beach wasn't anywhere to be found. No problem... Another lady showed us how to get there. It was really easy. We signed in and they quickly found us a host to take care of us. The food and the drink weren't as good as what I expected. Basically, you had 2 choices of drinks (lemonade and rum punch) If you want something else then you would have to buy it from the bar including soft drink. Doesn't make sense too me.. I would think soda is cheaper than alcoholic drink. Maybe not. Food was some chicken and pasta.. It wasn't that great.

No worry.. The staffs were so friendly and nice. So food wasn't a big deal for us. Plus we weren't that hungry anyway.. I mean.. come on.. After 6 days of all-you-can-stuff-in-your-face food.. we could possibly stay for a small meal for one day. The entertainment throughout the day was great. The DJ had the music on pretty much all day. I think if you love to party, this is the place. Also if you love to watch people dance and do funny things, this is the place as well. But some of the dance move could be non-kid friendly. Luckily Miss J was spending much of her time in the water and Mr. Z was busy building his sand castle.

I have said this before and I will say it again that I won't judge Jamaica with just my one small trip to a beach next to a pier. I know I can't expect much from that. And I'm glad I didn't. The water was murky and had a lot of algae in there. It's hard to not compare with Grand Cayman or even Cozumel. How could I not.. Either way, the kids still enjoyed the day there. We also enjoyed the music and had fun watching other groups danced. We spent a few hours there before heading back to the ship.

:: Back on The Ship ::

We went up to our regular hang out in the Lido Deck after we took a quick shower. Soft serve yogurt couldn't taste better. We sat at the back of the ship with the view as the ship pulled away from Ocho Rios. It was a nice day and certainly a place we need to come back. I know there are more that this place has to offer but right now our kids are too young to do any adventure activities. But next time we might leave them on the ship.. Well, not in our room of course. This is one of the benefit with cruising. You can drop your kids at the Camp Carnival and enjoy a day at port for any adults activities.

It was a formal night and this time we were smarter. We just realized that there were several photo session setup throughout the ship on Promenade and Lobby decks. Mr. Z was so hyper that he almost pulled down one of the background. Boy! I thought the guy was gonna throw him out. hehe.. We took only 2 sessions. I'm glad we just only did that two. I thought we migh have to take a loan to get those pictures.. Gosh!!! $20 for an 8x10 picture. Come on!!!

After walking in the high heel for a while, it was time to change to my comfy outfit. We headed back to our cabin and was greeted by our lovely monkey. We changed and dropped them off at the Camp Carnival. They had face painting and color bookbag. I got to do some laundry. I know.. I know.. I'm crazy that way. I like to get my laundry done on the ship. This way it won't be too smelly. Plus it wasn't as much as what I had waited for me at home.

This was the night I was looking forward to. The Midnight Gala Buffet. I wasn't sure if *WE* will be up at that time. Well, I sure did. But after stuffed ourselves for the past 6 days, even the most tempting chocolate and cake couldn't even get Mr. Rojo to eat after midnight. I was able to get in line to take pictures just to show that I was up! Maybe next trip we will eat less (yeah.. right..) and can enjoy the midnight buffet. ;)

WW - Lunch by the Beach in Phuket

This was the view from the restaurant that we had lunch in Phuket. We went there a few years ago before the Tsunami hit. It was such a nice relaxing time. I can't wait to go back again with the whole family.

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Carnival Cruise - Day 5 - Grand Cayman

Here we were in Grand Cayman. We woke up early than usual today. I had packed what we need for the excursion today the night before. I knew that we would have little time to prepare. I'm glad I did. After quick breakfast, we headed down to get our tender ticket. It was so easy. I thought we might have to wait for a while. But we got the ticket and they told us to head down there right away. The time zone was a bit confusing for me. I didn't bring my brain to work during vacation. But basically, Cayman Islands is 1 hour behind the ship time.

When we got of the tender ship it was around 8am ship time. So it was still 7am local time.. Way too early for anything to open. I had booked an excursion with Captain Bryan. The meeting time was at 10am local time.. We had about 2-3 hours of free time. So I had to change my plan. Originally, I was planning to go on excursion first and then check out 7 miles beach afterward. With so much time on hand we decided to go to the beach first. I'm glad we did.. I will tell you why later..

We took a short walk to check out where we were supposed to meet and then headed back to the port area to catch a taxi to the beach. The ride was quick and not that expensive. $4 per person. They dropped us off at The Reef Restaurant. We walked to the beach area and were in awe. The beach is so beautiful and it was so peaceful. Got there early enough we felt like we own this private beach. In the beginning, the kids were afraid to get in the water. They just played with the sand and the wave. But soon enough, we all were in the water trying to catch some waves. The sand was soft and fine.. We could have stayed there all day. Next time, I wouldn't bother book any excursion.

After about 2 hours, we packed up with a lot of resistence from the kids. I was sad to leave as well but was also excited for our next adventure to the Sting Ray City. We rinsed off at the restaurant and caught a taxi back to the meeting place. Now that we got accustomed to the time, we started to worry if we would get back on-time. The schedule for this excursion was from 10:30am-1pm so it means we would get back 2pm (ship time).. Very close to the last tender time of 3:15pm.. I was glad we did the beach first since I don't see how we can fit the beach time after the excursion. So they were several fellow cruisers who were worried about the timing as well. They were talking about leaving earlier so we could get back sooner.

We got on a bus around 10-ish and headed to the pier. I guess it was the loading/landing site for all boats to Sting Ray City. The reason we picked this excursion with Captain Bryan was for the sail boat. And he didn't disappoint us at all. The crews were very nice. The boat ride took about 30 minutes. It was a nice relaxing ride. Once we got to the Sting Ray location, we saw several boats from various companies. At first we planned to just take turn going into the water. But the water was shallow enough that we took the kids down with us. We still had to hold them but it's manageable. Miss J was afraid in the beginning. But later on she felt clamer. I got to kiss one of the sting ray. They said I will have good luck for 7 years. We will see about that. :) The sting rays swam all around us. It was an amazing experience. So much fun.. The skin was as soft as velvet. It wasn't what I expected. After 30 minutes in the water, we headed back on the boat and headed to the snorkeling sites. The excursion included 2 snorkel sites. I wasn't too impress with what I saw though. There weren't as many fish as what we saw in Cozumel. I guess it was more for diving than snorkeling.

Then it was time to head back to town. Mr. Z felt asleep on the way. I would have done the same way if I didn't have to hold on to him. It was so nice. We had such a great time there. The water as blue as the clear sky above.. We got back on the bus around 1:30pm local time which means we had about 45 minutes to get back to the port. The bus ride was very stressful for us since we kept checking our time. The bus arrived at 2:14pm.. Got 1 minute to spare. But when we saw the line for the tender boats, we started to feel panic. We didn't know if we will make it to the boat. But then we realized that most people in line were also on the Victory. We made it! But we didn't get a chance to pick up any souvenir at all.. Not even rum cake or my Hard Rock Cafe pin. Well, guess we have to come back.

Once we got on the ship, we took shower and planned to take a quick nap before dinner. Guess what.. We all slept till the next morning. We were that tired.. We didn't even make it to dinner that night. What a fun day in Grand Cayman!

Carnival Cruise - Day 3 - Cozumel, Mexico

I hope everyone still enjoys our journal for our trip on Carnival Cruise. Now that we were on 3rd day of our trip, it was the day at port of call - Cozumel. I had planed today excursion to be at Chankanaap Park. We woke up a bit earlier than usual but still not early enough to see the ship arrived at the port. We got off the ship around 8-ish.. if my memory serves me right. This is one of the reason I want to start our blog.. Gosh.. where did my sharp as a knife memory go? I can't even remember what I had yesterday. Anyway, off topic.. back to Cozumel..

::Getting Around::

Once we got off the ship, we realized that we had forgotten to bring our floating strap for our underwater camera that we bought specifically for this trip with us. So Mr. Rojo had to run back to the cabin and fetch it. The port is connected to a small shopping plaza. Basically, it is a tourist trap, just perfect for us. hehe.. We almost caved in and rent a Jeep to drive around the island. But being an obessive, compulsive, controlling person, I didn't feel right renting without knowing the fact beforehand. And I would not know how much the rent should be and I could see rip-off report in the near future. So against our temptation, we decided to stay with our plan. We walked to the end of the strip mall and got on the taxi. I was so afraid that we wouldn't be able to communicate. This excursion was the only one that we would be on our own. No tour, no Carnival guide.. but.. There is no need to fear, Underdog is here.. oh.. wait.. It's not the movie.. Anyway, it seems everyone can speak good English for communication. Heck better than some South Floridians I met in the Miami mall.

::Things to do::

We hopped on the taxi for $10 and headed to the park. Using the coupons I printed from their site, we saved an extra $4 for all 4 of us. The entrance fee were $16 per adult and $8 per kid. Money saved here means more for our shopping.. yeah..

We arrived to the park fairly early. We didn't have any problem finding a chair to sit. Actually, it was kinda lonely.. Just us and probably another group at the beach at that time. We settled down and tested out the water. I sent Mr. Rojo to the water first. Well, lucky him.. He found that his snorkel didn't work properly. It was a new one and did I tell you that we hardly snorkel. So we couldn't figure out what wrong with it just that it didn't take in as much air as it should.

We took turn getting into the water for an offshore snorkeling. It was really nice. I was amazed at how many fish I saw. And I didn't even have to swim too far. The kids were just playing right there by the entrance to the snorkeling area. I was worried a bit that they would get swept away by the wave. Next time, we will buy a floaty vest for them. So we don't have to rent it there. We went to the diver shop there to rent fins for us and floating vest for the kids. They only had one kid size vest! One! How could that be? Don't they know that most of the time there will be more than one child in the cruise.

After about an hour at the snorkeling site, we moved to the small beach area so Miss J and Mr. Z could really enjoy some beach time. I wasn't impressed with that area. It was just a rope-off area with stagnant water near the restaurant. However, they did enjoy their time there building sand castle (not so much a castle but a lump of sand) and floating in the calm water. I understand that this park is more about snorkeling and swimming with the dolphin so I wouldn't say that Cozumel doesn't have nice beach. We just didn't have a chance to check it out this trip. There will always be a repeat trip. :)

Later we moved to the pool area. I really like it. It's next to the dolphin area so you could enjoy the show. The pool was really nice with the bar right there that you can swim up and enjoy your drink. It wasn't busy at all. It was a nice way for us to rinse off our salty feeling from the beach. I wouldn't mind stay there for a whole day. But Mr. Rojo was hungry and we didn't want to mess with hungry man. :) We headed for lunch.

::Place to eat::

We had lunch at the restaurant there. La Laguna Beach Grill was right on the beach. The service was great. Along with music. Mr. Rojo couldn't resist requesting La Bamba.. tourist! I had Fajitas which I think it was delish! Maybe I was too hungry or maybe it was the place.. Either way, it was paradise meal. The breeze and the food was so nice. I didn't want to move.

::More things to do::

Before we headed out, we walked the botanical garden. We didn't really slow down to see all the plant. The heat was too much for us. Yup.. even us. So we caught another taxi back to the pier.

We decided to head back to the ship and had quick shower before headed back to town.

There were a few places that we had in mind.. First I needed to check out Hard Rock Cafe to get my pin. I was rather disappointed at the pins collection this time around. I loved to get guitar pin of each city I visited. They had a good design that really capture the city. But this time, I didn't see anything that give me Cozumel feeling. So I was on the fence about getting the pin there. Mr. Rojo suggested that we should check out another HRC in town which is about 10 blocks away.

Then we walked around the plaza a little bit before decided to walked to check out another HRC about 10 blocks away. If we had more time, I think it would be really neat to head to town and really experience the town.

Then we headed to Starbucks. Mr. Rojo couldn't resist order coffee in the 90 degree weather. Crazy man! He got his Cozumel Starbuck mug for his collection. It was a long day.

We got back on board and waited for the sail away. We were able to find a hidden door to access the front of the ship on a few decks. Unfortunately, the best one is reserved for crew member only. No chance to post for Titanic moment on this ship.

The day was over but the night was just begun. We washed up again and got ready for dinner. The next day would be Fun Day @ Sea so it was a great schedule. We had a break from a long day in Cozumel. Next trip we will definitely look into snorkeling tour or renting a Jeep. Adios.

Wordless Wednesday - Caribbean Paradise

I'm still in the vacationing mode even though we have been back for a few days now. It's just the kind of feeling that I would love to treasure it as long as it lasts.

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Now, this is my kind of vacation

Picture from 9beaches.com

I love to read about travel or destination articles especially beach or island destinations. One of the places that I have always dreamt about going is the On-The-Water hotel. But we all know how ridiculously expensive these type of hotels are. I mean they aren't meant for typical working mom like me but for celebrity or millionaires who can shell out $2K a night just like we buy 1 penny item in Publix.

Till now, meet 9 Beaches Bermuda Resort. Recent article (or maybe not so recent. It just happened that I just found it) on MSN Travel section gives the detail on this resort. I didn't even care to read the whole review. Just the idea of something a little bit more within reach and closer appeals to me to have to put it on my to-travel list.

There are different cabana types that you can choose from in this resort. The most expensive ones are the one that sit directly on the water. They called 'Paradise Pier Over the Water'. Appropriately named if I may. It looks like a real paradise.. The rate as of 2008 is ranged from $370-$470 per night. Ok.. It might not be that cheap but when you compare to what you will be paying in let's say Bora Bora, this seems like a good bargain to me. And the most importantly it's within reach. I just have to wait for maybe 2 years. :)

One Tree Hill's groupies!!!

Ok. I confessed.. I'm a big fan of One Tree Hill and Dawson's Creek shows. Well, for Dawson's Creek I got to start watching when the show was already canceled. I caught the whole series on rerun while on maternity leave a few years back. And last night I got to watch the season premiere for One Tree Hill. It brings another potential trip that is yet another advantage in living in Atlanta.

One Tree Hill is filmed in Wilmington, NC. Wilmington is about 7-8 hours from us. So this will be a long weekend trip. It's a city on the coast with the small town feeling. Looks like it can be a good vacation for us. The kids will get to visit the Battleship and we can take a tour to the studio for the sets of One Tree Hill..

There are several places that we can check out.

1) Screen Gems Studio - They offer the tour every Sat. It will be nice to get to see the sets of the shows and movies that I like. Ok.. Sound so much like movie groupies, heh?

2) USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial - I'm sure the kids and us will have a blast checking out the battleship. I have never been on one. So I would love to check out the history and get the real sense of the history of this ship.

3) Bellamy Mansion - They have tour for the mansion that also operates as a museum of history and design arts. It's time to take in a little bit of culture..

4) Relax on the beach - We will have to plan this in Spring or Summer to also take advantage of many beaches that we can choose from in Wilmington. I would love to walk on the board walk on Carolina Beach to check out the archade, restaurants and a pier.

5) Ride around town in this cool fun wheel suitable for the whole family. And what could be better way to check out around town than with this fun wheel from wheelfunrentals..

There are probably more stuff than I can think of right now that we can do there. Now we just have to find the perfect weekend and plan our trip.