Los Cabos Trip, Part I.

We just returned from another trip! This time, to Los Cabos, Mexico.

HOLA!

A little preface before I go into the details of this trip….

Everyone has been asking me why I’ve been traveling so much this year. During the past 7 months, I have traveled 6 times, and 4 of those trips were overseas. I suppose that is indeed a lot. However, my travels this year have been more about reconnecting with family and friends, rather than sightseeing and play, although I did end up combining the two.

Admittedly, I’m a workaholic, and I attribute that to the fact that I love my job and I am a perfectionist when it comes to my job. Ever since I started my wedding planning business 9 years ago, I have devoted 200% to build a career that I can love and be passionate about. I have the flexibility to make my own schedule, but it’s a double edged sword, because I end up working all the time. Even while pregnant with Bridgette, I was going 200 miles an hour with weddings. I barely took a maternity leave and jumped right back into my work two weeks after Bridgette was born. For the last two years, I kicked it up another notch by starting a second business, Wedding 360, to bring education to the wedding industry. I worked 80 hour weeks, sometimes more. I spent more time with my business partner and clients than my husband. I missed going to birthday parties and play dates with Bridgette. Finally, at the beginning of this year after our move, I decided I needed a real break to prevent myself from burning out entirely. I realized that I needed to reassess my priorities in life and make smart choices. I couldn’t continue to go at this pace, and expect to stay sane. I needed harmony and balance! To achieve that, something’s gotta give.

I also had an epiphany after my trip to Hong Kong where I visited my 80 year old grandma who had a stroke last year that left her hospitalized for months and permanently handicapped.

“Tomorrow is unknown. Live well, and cherish family and friends today”

I’m not retiring just yet. But I vowed to make this year about my family and friends, while taking a bit of a sabbatical from my career. I am lucky that I have so much flexibility in my work, and more importantly, that I have an amazing assistant Amanda who helps me hold down the fort here whenever I’m away. I decided that for this year, I would take fewer weddings and devote more time to taking care of my family, and rekindling family connections and friendships. Most important to me, was to be present more to Alan and Bridgette. So far, it has been wonderful, and I finally feel a balance in my life again. My business hasn’t been put to the back burner though. With fewer weddings, I am able to focus more time on improving many of the internal processes within my company, as well as my marketing and PR, so that I can provide even better service for my clients when I am ready to take on more weddings next year.

Anyway, I know I’m fortunate to have this break, and I’m grateful for Alan’s supportive attitude and trust towards my sabbatical. Meanwhile, Bridgette has been the real lucky recipient of all these exciting travel and mommy-daddy time!

So back to this Los Cabos trip…..this trip was a gift for my mother and father in law for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day this year. We thought they would really appreciate getting to spend some fun, quality time with Bridgette away from home. My father in law doesn’t particularly like to travel afar though, so we needed to find a destination that wouldn’t require a long flight. I had taken my mom to Los Cabos 5 years ago, and it was one of our most memorable trips together, so we decided that Los Cabos would be an ideal location for this family trip.

Off we went last Friday, and it was a real treat to depart from SFO’s new Terminal 2. We loved how it felt like an upscale retail development, with restaurants like Lark Creek Grill and Bridgette’s favorite Pinkberry! There was even a small children’s play area which kept Bridgette entertained the entire time that we were waiting to board our flight.

Alan was happy to find out that Virgin America could loan him a Chrome book to 'play' with during the flight

This trip was totally low key, and we stayed on property at the resort to swim and eat most of the time. Bridgette just couldn’t seem to get enough of the water! Alan, my mother in law, and father in law indulged in two days of spa treatments while I offered to stay with Bridgette. I didn’t mind at all….I had so much fun playing in the water with my little girl!

Bridgette made a lot of new friends in the pools, and her favorite part was getting to eat and drink without ever having to leave the pool!

We stayed at the Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Resort & Spa, and they have these “golf carts” that take guests from one location to another because the property is so massive. At first, I thought it was a bit inconvenient to have to call a cart every time we needed to get somewhere, but Bridgette absolutely LOVED the rides, as we went up and down some pretty steep hills on it, so I guess it was a nice touch after all. I’m not going to review the resort here as it would be too lengthy, but I’ll be glad to share my experience over email with anyone that is interested in knowing more. The suites are a good size, with a kitchenette, spacious living room, and large balcony with ocean views.

cabos11 — Bridgette would put her hands up high every time we went down a hill, pretending that we were on a roller coaster

We did squeeze in a few excursions in between our swims at the resort. Bridgette and I had the best treat swimming with the dolphins! It was my first experience as well, and a very delightful one! Not only did we get to swim with the dolphins, but we also got to kiss them and dance with them. It was way too much fun, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

To our surprise and amazement, Bridgette wasn’t the least bit afraid of the dolphins. The only time when she was a bit timid was when the dolphin kissed her, and she refused to kiss the dolphin with her lips. The most enjoyable part for her was gliding through the water on the dolphin, and she kept begging the instructor to let her do it over and over again.

The only down side was that they wouldn’t allow us to take any photos, so we were forced to pay a ridiculous price for their photos.

We strolled around the marina after the dolphin excursion and enjoyed more Mexican food at a local restaurant. I always allow Bridgette to pick 1 christmas ornament and 1 additional item of her choice whenever we travel, as her keepsake. This time, she chose to get a pink guitar. For those of you who have traveled to Mexico, you know that it is common to be approached by musicians while you eat. They play for you in hopes for a good gratuity. Sometimes, you may get an entire mariachi band playing for you! Bridgette caught on real quick, and walked around the restaurants playing her little pink guitar for the other patrons. Everyone thought it was really cute and hilarious!