We headed off to Cancun Mexico on New Years day our destination, The Great Parnassuus Resort and Spa- All Inclusive...yes that's right ALL!
The plane trip was uneventful and we landed up at the resort on Sunday night a little travel weary but we had great expectations for our trip. The place was all a glow with Christmas and Santa and even a Nativity scene, after all we were in Mexico the leading supporters of the Virgin Mary.
We hit Big Ben for dinner, which is a steak place and the food was actually really good, however if you starve your kids all day traveling, any food would be good! We wandered around the hotel trying to get a lay of the land and got to our rooms around 10:00 completely worn out. The room was great from the stand point there was a king size bed, and a small type room with a bunk bed and a trundle bed for the kids! Everyone collapsed into bed tired from the long journey.
The days seemed to take on the same theme. The first morning we had to report to the front desk for a tour and a sales pitch which we successfully dodged ( hint: tell them you booked your trip using free points and the you are unemployed, the leave you alone:). The days would begin around 9:00 with a trip through the breakfast buffet which had everything from sushi to Mexican casadia's - we were in heaven! Then it was off the kids zone. yes the hotel had a kids area where you could drop off you kids and leave them for a few hours! Awesome, Tracy and I headed tot he gym, got in a workout and then picked up the kids and it was off to the pool for lunch. The kids got a kick out of being able to swim up to the bar and order soda and not having to pay. The kids had their own buffet for lunch and in the course of the week Billy must have eaten 20 hamburgers. 
After lunch by the pool, the social directors from the hotel would gather up the kids and take them to the beach for football, dodge ball, volleyball or shelling, it was great. From there we would hit the ocean and the kids would play in the waves and build sand castles for the rest of the day. 5:00 found us relaxing in our room, reading, playing with Lego's or watching some TV show in Spanish, AH culture. We even caught the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl!
The dinner rush would start around 6:30 for all the families and every night there was a family event from a Michael Jackson impersonator, a Circus de Sol, inappropriate dating game ect. So all the families headed to the different restaurant's to get dinner before the show. They were all really fun and interactive, to the point where the last night the kids were trying to pass flour over their heads to the kids behind them all trying to fill a cup with flour, what a mess!!! Very summer camp-ish and of course the kids all loved it! 
For a break on Thursday we headed out of the compound for a day of swimming with the dolphins and a tubing at a local water park. The dolphin's were incredible, having never done it before we were all a little nervous. Jimmy went first and the smiles told the story. Kay to a little convincing but out she went and again had a huge smile. Bill not to outdone made the trip with the biggest smile of all. The dolphins even swam up and kissed you on the check and the lips, really cute. They would not allow you to bring a camera but for $30.00 US you could get a picture, so trust us it is really fun!
The water park is your typical water park you would visit anywhere with maybe a few exceptions:It is all inclusive and yes that means all you can eat and drink, which is odd. The second is that they have bumper boats, which at first seemed innocent enough, round rubber rafts with seats and like jackets for the occupant, the difference is these boats a powered by and actual functioning 9.5 horse powered motor, complete with a propeller...really. Needless to say, this was Billy's second favorite thing of the day after the dolfins. The third interesting component of this water park was the detailed escape procedures post everywhere, that you were to follow in case of a fire. This is a water park constructed of concrete and well, WATER! The best was you were instructed to stay calm, locate the fire, put it out, then notify the staff, then exit. The rides were breath taking drops from 3 stories in a round raft while going backwards. yikes! The kids could not get enough even though the temp was about 55 degrees, did I mention all inclusive?
The trip was a blast, we all had a great time relaxing, swimming, eating and collecting shells. When we came home, Kay even went around our neighborhood selling the shells and made $5.00 and gave Billy a buck 25 as his share.Happy New Year to all and to all God's Blessings!
