Getting better...

Yesterday, Vince and Dad had planned massages and facials for Mom and me.  It was awesome--they were very relaxing.  Then, we found out (after numerous calls) that Mom's luggage is probably already in either Tampa or St. Pete.  They hope to have it delivered today.  We went to the huge Prime Outlets about 30 minutes away and Mom got a couple of things.  That was fun.  We're probably going to go back since we got there with only an hour before closing.  They do have a Coach outlet.  That was dangerous, but Meanie Vince wouldn't let me get anything.  We went back to the island to go to bed and get ready for Disney today.  We had planned to go on a day that was cooler and rainy.  It rained last night (the surf yesterday was REALLY huge--reminded us of Mexico), and was still wet this morning.  We woke up around 5 am because our power went out!  Luckily it was only out for about an hour.  It didn't get too warm because it was so early.  I'll post pictures later.  

Wow. Just Wow.

So our trip is off to a rocky start.  Isn't that always the case?  Our flight from Lexington to Chicago was fine.  We paid $70 to eat at O'Hare because we were starving and couldn't find anything.  We went to an Italian restaurant, thinking we would have time to sit and eat in between our flights.  We barely made it.  Flight to Tampa was really turbulent--there were several collective screams as we kept "dropping" due to wind.  It was pretty scary.  We got to baggage claim around eleven to find out that Mom's luggage is STILL IN CHICAGO.  Don't worry, they will deliver it as soon as possible (but they do have at least 24 hours to get it to her).  She has nothing.  Only had her purse as a carry on.  The good news is that I have some things that she can wear until she can get her things back.  We're hoping that it doesn't come back damaged with everything missing.  If it does, though, we're going shopping!  That might be fun.  

After waiting around to try to see if her luggage MIGHT be on the next flight coming in (at 1 am) and waiting for the rental car, we finally got to the island around 1:30.  We went to go pick up the keys and found the place.  The problem was, there were four units, and we didn't know which one was ours.  We rented directly with the owner and forgot to ask!  The key didn't have the unit number on it.  So we're there at 2 am trying to figure out which unit might possibly be empty (hard to do with no lights on anywhere).  We found the one that we thought was supposed to be our rental, but the key wouldn't work.  We were afraid to jiggle it too much and alarm someone if it wasn't our unit, so we tried to call the emergency numbers we had.  We did get in touch with the rental company, who took down our name and then hung up (never to be heard from again).  We decided to try the lock again and take our chances.  It doesn't really "fit", but after forcing it, the door finally opened.

And then there is the actual unit.  Really small, really old.  Not really clean at all.  We got a good deal but we're kind of afraid to take our shoes off.  Oh, and the air conditioning doesn't work!  YAY!

We've called and they're "sending someone to fix it."  The rental car's key fob is falling apart (and it's a Magnum that takes a special key to start it).  If it breaks, we're done.  

So between waiting for Mom's luggage, waiting for the repairman, and waiting for the car to fall apart, we're having a GREAT time!  Can you tell I'm bitter (and having female problems)?

Now that I've vented...I'm going to let it go, enjoy the sun and the beach.  It is still as beautiful as ever.  I'll try to post some pictures later.

Three more days!

Wow--this week is DRAGGING. We are leaving Friday afternoon for Anna Maria Island, our favorite beach spot. Spring Break starts Monday. I am DYING. The kids are crazy, and so am I! The weather has been pretty nice here, which helps, but only makes me crave the beach more. If I can only make it until Friday...

P.S. Do you like how all of my blog posts revolve around vacations? :) Hopefully I'll have more time to post other things as well. Wait--no, there are still 6 weeks of school left! :(

Home at last!

My phone is dead, but Vince's has a little charge left. We got in around 6:15 and met Mom and Dad outside of customs (which took FOREVER, by the way, thanks to the stunt we pulled for Gabe and Travis) around 7. We then went to Buca di Beppo and ate. We have leftovers for days.

It is late and we are exhausted, but glad to be home.

I could really do without the 35-degree weather, though.

Love to all. Talk to you soon!

Mayan Fire Show

We saw a Mayan Fire Show today at the outdoor theater.  Before they started playing with the fire, they did a lot of dancing and drumming.  It was really cool.  We took some videos and tons of pictures.  

We sat in the front row and one of the guys dropped his fire stick.  GREAT!

More pictures

This is a swim-out suite's pool.  We were walking under a palapa, which covers all of the outdoor hallways in the resort.

Chairs in the fountain (it looks brown because it has reddish brown tile on the bottom)

Lounge chair

One of the fountains at the resort (not really deep enough to be a pool)

Beach

The lifeguard who ignored us!

Vince laying on the beach

To the left of our resort

There were lots of men here diving in wet suits.  We didn't know what was going on.

Vince's sushi from lunch.  He went to eat it, and noticed the things on the rice.  They were grasshoppers!  This was confirmed by the chef.

We didn't get any pictures of the nude beach, (sorry to all of you hoping) but these are still some good ones.

Snorkeling Trip

We went snorkeling today near where the Secrets Silversands resort is (how ironic).  They said that is why the beach is so bad there; because there's a reef.  They didn't want me to take my real camera, so we bought a disposable underwater camera.  

The water was pretty deep, and after almost drowning the other day, I was a little uneasy about it.  Of course, Vince jumped right in and started swimming like a fish.  The current was really rough and I kept getting water in my tube, so I just went back to the boat and watched the others. Vince went back out and took all 27 pictures on the camera in 2 minutes I think.  He said he saw an eel, millions of fish, lots of coral, etc.  A guy on the bus with us said he saw a long manta ray. 

The stuff that I saw was exciting.  They kept telling us that we had to keep swimming, because the water was shallow enough that we could cut ourselves on the reef if we hesitated.  Since I am in awesome shape (hear the sarcasm?), I couldn't hang.  

They did end up taking everyone closer to the reef in the boat, so it was still fun.  We were back in the hotel around 12:30.  As we were coming back, we passed a resort with lots of big beds on the beach.  We looked closer, and noticed that it was a NUDE BEACH!  We couldn't see that far away, but we could definitely tell that the people were naked.  It was funny--they were playing beach volleyball and everything.  

We went back to talk to the concierge to see about extending our trip, and he FINALLY called the US Apple for us.  We talked to a manager, who seemed to be really honest.  Told us that they did not record their phone calls, and she shouldn't tell us this, but if we send all of our info when we get home (and stay persistent), they will refund our entire trip.  She said she has seen it happen many times before, and that we WERE NOT the only ones with the SAME ISSUE (with the same hotel).  They said that there are no charter flights leaving until January 7th, and that they might be able to work something out, but then the lady told Vince that we need to fight to get our money back because any thing they "give" us will lessen the possibility of a refund.

I have always heard about people getting refunds, free trips, etc. from Apple, but I don't know what to believe.  She did tell us that there were many, many notes and phone calls recorded on our account and it sounded like we had a good case for a refund.  She was a supervisor.

She said we could write the report and email it right now, but we figured we would enjoy our time left and send it when we get home.

We are not going to think about it anymore--just enjoy our last day and a half.

We miss you all.  Hopefully if we can get this resolved, we can come back for a stress-free trip. It is a wonderful, beautiful place, but it's hard to forget that all of your money is gone! :)

Love you!

I'll try to post pictures in a second.