The Honeymoon

This is a long one, guys. Grab a cup of tea, and prepare!We left the wedding and went to Atlanta. Stephen drove us in a big black SUV. He did fine but it was kinda scary. We got 3 hours sleep then took a shuttle at 6:00am to the Atlanta airport for our flight at 8:47 am. We had a little breakfast and Derek helped me navigate the airport. I stressed him out with my anxiety because I really hate flying. The flight was fine, even though takeoff made me cry a little mainly from the feeling of falling. There was a little turbulence but it wasn't bad. Him being there helped me so much.We arrived in Cancun, Mexico and found our shuttle service. It is SO HUMID here. It also started raining as soon as we got in the shuttle. We dropped the other people off at their resorts and then ours was second to last. We got checked in and ended up upgrading our room to a walkout to the pool. While walking to our room we noticed there are wild iguanas everywhere! So many types of plants and trees, too. The resort had robes and slippers laid out for us to use during our stay, which we used every single day. We were completely exhausted so we ordered some room service before taking a nap. I got rolled tacos which are kind of like taquitos and Derek got steak. Then we took a 3 hour nap but still felt tired. We walked around the resort and took a few pictures out on the beach. It is beautiful here. There is coral washed up on the beach and palm trees everywhere. It's also just about the hottest place imaginable. The pools are very nice though and our room is, too. There are 4 restaurants, 8ish bars, and a world class spa. We chose the buffet that night for dinner. It's going to be our favorite place to eat because there's such a variety and it is so tasty. After filing our bellies we were still tired so we went to bed around 9pm.Day 2We slept in for a long time but not long enough to miss breakfast at the buffet! They had everything. Bacon, eggs, fruit, waffles, sausages, bread, hash browns, fresh juice, and more. We loaded up and then went to get our VIP coupons from the front desk. We came back to the room to put them up and Derek decided he wanted to order champagne, so he ordered two glasses. When they showed up they had two empty glasses that they handed him and left. His little face cracked me up so bad. We thought we were ordering two glasses full of champagne but we ordered two glasses FOR champagne. He looked like someone knocked an ice cream cone out of his hand on a hot day but we laughed and laughed about it. Everyone is so nice here, too. Every member of staff and all the guests have been lovely. We decided to go and lay out by the beach for a few hours after the champagne fiasco. It's been hard to get used to being waited on hand and foot. Waiters bring drinks and food and whatever we wish to order right to your lounge chair. Derek ordered us a fresh coconut to drink, just for the experience. Derek loved it but I couldn't stand it haha. I got a little sunburned today but not too bad.We had to cool off in the pool because the ocean dropped of very steep by where we were lounging. After reading and talking and sun bathing we headed back to our room.We found a dead bug on the way back that looked like a locust but it was 6-8 inches long. So yucky. I'm guessing thats what the iguanas live off of... When we arrived we had chocolate covered strawberries and wine waiting for us as a nice surprise! Neither of us like wine or strawberries but we ate them anyways because we liked the chocolate on them. The wine was terrible though, and we later learned it was about a $45 bottle of wine. It was just an extremely dry red. I'm sure a wine lover would have enjoyed it but we ended up leaving it for them to take away. Then we swam around in our section of the resorts pool and took a nap after. After our nap we went for dinner at the fancy French restaurant. It's so stressful for Derek to eat here because of his peanut allergy but we made it through. His meal was better than mine. He had French onion soup then stuffed chicken breast then chocolate cheesecake. I had lobster bisque then filet mignon. Mexican beef has a distinctive flavor and texture and I have decided I am not a fan of it. The chocolate cheesecake was also not what we thought it would be and not yummy. We were unimpressed with that restaurant. We then went to get coffee at the coffee bar and D got a cappuccino. They had a live show as it was Halloween today, and we watched that until it started raining. They moved the buffet restaurant outside that night so people could eat while watching. We would have stayed longer but we were in nice clothes from the restaurant and we didn't want to be soaked. We sat in the hammock on our porch for a while overlooking the walk out pool and a bat flew in right over our heads twice. Then we went to bed.Day 3We woke up late again and then rushed to make it to the buffet for breakfast. It is SO good. Then we went and booked a snorkeling trip for tomorrow. We hung out at the pool all day and drank and read and relaxed. It started to rain again and we came home to cool off. I booked us massages for tonight at 7 and we're having the Italian restaurant for dinner afterward. We are so excited! I am having the neck back and shoulders massage and D is having the Swedish massage. Derek can't wait for snorkeling tomorrow. It was the only thing he requested we do while on our trip. We have to be ready by 10am for pick up. We are taking the go pro to film on, too. Our massages were absolutely incredible. She found so many knots in my back and Derek loved having his legs, head and hands massaged. I loved the whole thing. It is a world renowned spa and you could totally tell. Everything was beige marble and there were different dressing rooms for men and women (duh.) There was also a giant jacuzzi and a bar in the room that had multiple flavored waters to sip. We sat in the sauna and then the steam room before our massages. Man. They were so good. It felt like she had a million hands haha. We are now washing off all the oil and then heading to Italian for dinner!!! Derek got beef something for an appetizer and then stuffed chicken breast for dinner. I had zucchini lasagna stuff for appetizer and ricotta and spinach ravioli for my main course. It was delicious. We had bread with olive oil and balsamic to dip in, too, which is one of my favorite things. I also had a chocolate truffle cake for dessert. Then we went and saw some trinkets for sale in the main plaza of the resort and we ended up buying a ceramic skull for D and a few coin purses for my mom and Megan (brother's gf) and we probably got had (they were pricy...) but oh well, it was a fun experience.Day 4We got up and ate breakfast, then went to meet our ride at the front desk for our trip. The van picked us up around 10:30am and then picked up the rest of our group. We went to a forested park with a cenote and did a zip line and Derek and the rest jumped off a platform into the water. I skipped that part because I am terrified of heights. We snorkeled around the whole cenote and saw tons of fish. It was incredible.I've never snorkeled before but Derek had and he loved it. I was scared because breathing underwater is unnatural (swimmer since I was 7, here! I was taught at a very young age to NOT breathe underwater!!!) but I wanted to be brave for Derek. After the cenote we went to a cave and snorkeled there. There was only catfish in the water and fruit bats on the ceiling with the stalactites. There were huge rocks and deep tunnels in the cave and our guide had to shine a light for us to see details but the water was crystal clear just like the cenote. It was FREEZING in that cave. Next was lunch: smoked chicken, tortillas, rice, beans, pico and guac. Authentic and delicious. Then we went to another area called an inlet where fresh water mixes with salt water. We snorkeled more and saw tons of fish. It was incredible. I loved every second after I got used to my mask and snorkel. Derek was like a little fish diving down to the bottom and following fish schools. He loved it too. Then we came home and made sure our times for our excursion tomorrow and our shuttle back to Cancun were right and then we showered. We were going to have the buffet for dinner but it turned out to be Dia de los Muertos tonight and the buffet was moved outside. We still got to eat it, it was just in a different location. They had authentic Mexican foods and a show for us as well as real shrines set up for deceased people. It was incredible. We looked at the shrines after leaving the show. During dinner we met a couple celebrating their 45 anniversary from Memphis, Tennessee. They were amazing. We talked for so long and had drinks together. The waiter kept our drinks coming and even brought us tequila shots that we all took together. The show was a real Mayan ritual but we couldn't understand the words. The costumes and dancing was so cool though. We really enjoyed watching it. We ended up drinking a little too much with our new friends tonight but it was so much fun! Tomorrow is our tour of Chichen Itza and another cenote. It's our last day in Mexico and I'm quite sad about it. We aren't ready to go back to real life yet.Day 5We woke up at 6:45 and ran to grab a bite of breakfast at the buffet before running to the main lobby to be picked up by our guide for our day trip today. He drove us into the city and we met with the rest of our group. We started the drive to Chichen Itza which took about 2 hours. When we got there we walked all around the park looking at old Mayan ruins and temples. It was so hot.We saw a huge court where they played a game by getting a ball through a circle on the wall. Then we looked at the castle and he told us about all kinds of things. There were so many different areas in the park and people were lined up along the paths selling things. We got a chance to buy gifts so we bought Derek's mom a magnet and us a Mayan mask. Then we drove to another cenote and it was 40 meters deep and had lots of fish in it.Then we had a snack of authentic Mexican tostadas and they were delicious. Fried tortilla with beans and lettuce and carrots and sour cream and cheese. So yummy. Then we drove to Villadolid, a small city about an hour away from Chichen Itza. We went to a restaurant for lunch and had our choice of chicken, pork, or a chile relleno. I got the chile and Derek got the chicken. They were both super tasty. They made homemade guacamole right at the table before they brought our food for us to snack on and it was incredible. Then for desert Derek had flan and I had mango sorbet. So yummy. After that we came back to the city and Alberto (our guide) brought us back home. We are sore and sweaty and super tired. In Villadolid I bought Jared (my brother) a ring I thought he would like. We are sad to be leaving but we are both ready to be home now. I miss our girls and families. And I have so much to do to get ready to start my new job and move us into our apartment. We keep looking at each other and saying "Guess what? We're married!!" And we get really happy. It's weird though cause nothing feels different. We both feel like we have been married for at least 2 years. I'm sure it'll really sink in when life starts getting normal and we can't escape each other. ;) We are trying to decide whether or not to go to sleep tonight. We have to be up at 2:45 am because our shuttle is getting us at 3:30 to get us to Cancun by 5:45 for our flight at 8am. Yuck. We decided to go to bed at 9:30pm so we could get some kind of sleep before the flight after packing our bags and cleaning the room. We also had one last dinner at the buffet and it was super yummy, like always.Day 6We woke up at 2:45 and got to the main lobby at 3:30. I surprisingly didn't feel too bad. The shuttle got us and then picked up two more people at another resort then drove us the hour and a half to Cancun where the airport is. We were very early for our flight like you're supposed to be so we had breakfast at Starbucks while we waited. It was freezing in the terminal for some reason. Our flight home was fine. Takeoff still bothers me but I handled it okay. We had in flight entertainment this time so I watched the latest Star Trek movie. It was really good. We got back to Atlanta around 11:30 and mom picked us up from the airport. We had an easy ride home. We had a wonderful week and are happy to be back among friends and family. We're also ready for our next move which is straight down to Auburn! :)Love,Jess