***FOR MORE INFO & PHOTOS OF CENOTES IN THIS AREA- SEE MY OTHER ENTRIES ON CENOTES-

I must say that I am surprised about how much resistance I get about my move to Mexico. I mean I am moving to a place that people wait and save for years to go visit. My friends that live there LOVE it. I mean first of all - it is a wonderful country full of amazing people and culture. Is it the USA?- no--- Are the financial concerns fair--- yes. But the things that people focus on is so different. The things that are important to people are different. I mean- it is not like I cannot come back. I want to at least try it. I have a very good and dear friend who lives there - near the same area that we want to move. And she loves it. She does not have everything in the world- but even better- she does not want it. Her life is simpler and she is happier. And she made the comment to me recently that things seem to fall into place the less she focuses on making that way. On a regular Sunday afternoon- she can go hiking around the Mayan ruins-
and go swimming in the local cenotes. The city that we are moving to is Tulum. It is considered to be a pretty local town compared to is near by bigger cities of Playa del carmen (the latest resort area) and Cancun- which is a very diverse place to live. Tulum also has some great ruins.

"The ruins of Tulum (Mayan for 'fortress') are remarkably well-preserved -- built in 967 C.E., the temples on the site have survived almost entirely without upkeep. This was a small Mayan city; at its height only about a thousand people lived here, as opposed to 40,000 at a midsize city like Tikal. But it's the most popular Mayan ruins site, with almost two million visitors a year -- probably because it's the only Mayan city to be built on the ocean. The Mayans didn't sail; they only found out about boats after being conquered by the Aztecs." - I am sorry I am not sure what web site I found this infor from!
Here are some pics of the city...






I mean who would not want to be here...

Not to mention the cenotes. Here is a great Blog about where we are moving- http://www.yucatantoday.com/destinations/eng-cenotes.htm. Check out some of these cenotes




"Cenotes are created by an underground river system and are fresh water sink holes that the Maya considered to be sacred. In addition they were an incredibly important resource as a fresh water source, and the Mayans also believed they were the entrance to the underworld.






Cenote, (say-NOH-tay) called dzonot (ZO-note) by the ancient Maya were defined by the Motul dictionary, a dictionary of Mayan hieroglyphics, as "abysmal and deep" or "hole filled with water" - from playamayannews.com




You can swim- snorkel- and actually scuba dive in the earth- from cenote to cenote. Ruben and I have a plan to start a little bed and breakfast style hotel. That is the plan. We will see what happens. But I am excited to at least try it. The people who have lived there or even just tried living there are so excited for us. It is the people who have never been to the area or only think of Mexico the way that the cable news channels report that are not happy. Funny enough something tells me that the moment that I have a cot (realistically a hammock- that is how they roll) for them to rest on.... pretty much everyone that I know will be emailing me to come visit. Especially after seeing these pics. Well. You are all are all welcome to stay at our hotel. :) And possibly get a discount:)


Well. It is almost 100 degrees today so we better get enjoying it. And getting used to it.

Posted at 6/28/2008 01:20:00 PM | Labels: , , | 1 Comments  

Washington DC trip





Well... Ruben and I finally took a trip!!! This was our first real vacation and lasted for some time. And to top off the already great news of taking the trip--- our kids were invited to spend that time in SF with their cousins. :) A pretty surreal experience. Of course- Kennedy smashed her head and got a really bad goose egg above her eye only a few hours before we were to leave for the airport. So we spent our Easter Sunday in the ER to make sure she was okay. She was. So Ruben and I set off for 5 days in Washington DC and 3 days in New York.




Washington DC: On our first day we went to the most amazing dinner that I have ever been to. It was at a beautiful french restaurant - the amuse bushe was a quail egg in a lobster cream sauce. It was at this point that Ruben and I began to wonder what we had gotten ourselves into. One of the coolest things was, because it was a Monday at 5:00 in the evening- there was literally NO ONE else in the whole place. It was as if they had closed just for us. After a lot of food- and even more wine- we prepared to get up from the table (3 hours later) when we were met by our waiter who had a gift for us. It was a very expensive bottle of wine for us to take to our hotel and enjoy with our left overs. To say the least- AMAZING DINER. We did everything from see a movie, went bowling- ate a ton and stopped off for cocktails all over town. Definitely needed since I only brought my best shoes. And anyone who knows me and my shoes can imagine how much my feet hurt. (not one pair under 4 inches- but we both looked great the whole time) The coolest thing that we did- and something that, even after my many trips to DC, I had never done was rent bikes and bike the whole town. Once in the afternoon and then again in the middle of the night. To see all of the monuments and buildings all lit up was just incredible. We literally walked all over DC and saw so much. It was great. Then it was off to New York.




New York: Such an sight to see when driving into the city. It is HUGE!!!! Our hotel room was on the very top floor in Time Square! We again walked all over the city- much to the detriment of both of our feet. Oh well. Again- we looked fabulous. One of the nights we were walking all over and got "lost" near Washington park. We were directed to a great little Italian spot - totally packed! The prices looked great - about 9-15 bucks. Perfect we thought. Well- it turned out to Malto Mario's restaurant. (he is on the food network and one of the Iron Chefs) Well, needless to say- they have it worked out. The food menu took up about 3/4 of a page- the cheese list took up 1 page and the wine list took 3 pages (much smaller writing too) When we left -- we were laughing at our bill... lets just say that the food did not take up even 1/5 of the total bill. This was just one of many great meals that we had.




Our kids had a great time in SF and we had a great trip.


Posted at 6/26/2008 11:18:00 AM | | 2 Comments  

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Rockwood!!!

Kennedy and Akilean were thrilled earlier this month when they got to spend hours and hours and days and nights with Grandma and Grandpa Rockwood. They were so excited to show off all of the latest projects in their rooms (which have really become quite the pad for each!) Kennedy showing off all of her latest art work and then hurrying off to draw another picture while Akilean shows off his trains- his pride and joy. Then Kennedy is quickly back to continue the tour- no matter how many times you have been to the house. But then after rushing everyone all over my house to show off the latest shelves that my husband has crafted --- I realized where she gets it! :) The visit was truly amazing. Grandma and Grandpa got to see their personalities after the excitement and energy of not seeing someone for a while wears off and their real personalities come through. It was very fun. The weather worked for us to which was great. The kids keep asking them when we are taking them to San Diego. Soon I hope.

But that trip will have to wait until our latest adventure wraps up. Ruben and I are thrilled that after 6 years together, we are taking our first real vacation together. Other then our honeymoon (3 nts) and our Seattle trip (2 nts) we are so excited to be going to Washington DC and then to New York. Even better- we are flying in and out of San Francisco because the kids are going to be staying with their Grandma and Grandpa in SF while we are gone. Luckily their cousins are on Spring Break that week too! We have planned a pretty good trip. -It has been 2 years in the making and we are finally going. It is going to be great. Rest assured that the next post will have pictures in DC- and we are going right in time for the Cherry Blossoms. Which lets face it... is an attraction in and of itself.


Well, that is all for now. "Catch ya on the flip side."

Mindy

Posted at 3/15/2008 03:27:00 PM | | 3 Comments  

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