i love new york.: Cancun '07, Part 1

On Friday night, I left work practically running. Half a block later, I realized that I had forgotten a print-out of our itinerary so I had to go back, and actually snuck in undetected because I didn't want any chance of being drawn back in to the editing fray. I know that it's just a job, and that people with families to take care of never really get a break, but when you work 2 straight weeks of 14- and 15-hour days, it really wears on you. By Friday I was starting to get that high-pitched, hysterical-sounding laughter that people usually get right before they're taken away in those fetching white straightjackets. Dustin had been working even harder, staying until 1am most nights, but he handles stress much better than I do. Anyway, my point is, by the time we arrived at Newark Airport at 7am on Saturday, we were definitely ready for a week away.

We were surrounded by New Jersians.

I'm usually afraid of flying, but if I sit at a window seat, halfway through I usually calm down enough to enjoy a view of the world from a different angle.

Gorgeous. Meanwhile, Dustin was all bundled up and asleep next to me.

Just before we landed, I looked out the window and squealed, "OH MY GOSH LOOK! IT'S WATER!" As you probably know, I'm easily amused/amazed. I took about 20 shots like this.

We were staying at the Excellence Riviera, an adults-only, all-inclusive resort. We were a little nervous about the the place. Booking online, there's just no way to be sure that you'll be staying at a decent place, or if you've fled your city only to be sleeping with bed bugs and dirty sheets, you know? When I told my boss we were going to Cancun, she crinkled up her nose and went, "Oh." Sort of the same way as if you'd just told her that you're moving to Harlem. When I pressed her further, she said, "No, I'm sure it'll be fine, it's just... I went there once and... well, it's kind of just like New Jersey." So we weren't totally sure about this place, and I wasn't sure about Cancun at all. Fortunately, the resort was on the Riviera Maya, about 20 minutes away from the city of Cancun, so we were away from the strip clubs, Pizza Huts and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.'s. And as soon as we got out of the taxi, we were handed cool towels to refresh our faces, and when we walked into this lobby, greeted with glasses of champagne, we knew we would be just fine.

Oh man it was beautiful. We had to wait for our room for a bit (we were really early for check-in) so we dropped off our bags and walked around the premises.

Beautiful bathrooms, of course.

Giant chess set!

And this was our beach. Private.

We promptly plopped ourselves down next to the pool and started maxin' and relaxin'.

We walked all around, squealing to ourselves and each other about all the amazing amenities. Since it's an all-inclusive hotel, you pay one price and get unlimited food and drinks, all tips already included, and you can choose from 7 different restaurants or 24-hour room service. We were beside ourselves.

But the best was yet to come. Due to a clerical error that we never happened to correct, we were booked under a Honeymoon suite. Don't worry, it wasn't true, we are NOT married, but we got a little something extra in our room.

Awwww.

Our room was perfect. WITH a jacuzzi bathtub.

And a nook.

Heaven.

The best part, though, was the view.

But there was no time to waste with the room. We immediately changed into our bathing suits and booked it to the beach.

I love these bamboo umbrellas. May I call them bambrellas? Good. They're perfect when you don't want to be in the sun (though I still always wore my SPF 50) but still want to be outside, on the beach. This was the best view of the trip.

We were lovin' it.

After layin' around for awhile, we checked out the pool, which was equally warm and luxurious.

After that we went back to our room to chill before dinner. We had perfect timing - as soon as we got upstairs and opened the drapes, it started to pour rain, harder than I've seen in a long time.

Luckily for us, despite the weather forecasts that called for rain all week, that storm lasted about a half hour and was the only rain we saw all week (while New York was getting drenched and Brooklyn got an actual tornado).

We dined that night to the dulcet tunes of a wonderful harp player, who we later learned was self-taught. But more on that later.

They had the most gorgeous, huge chandelier.

We took a walk after dinner and enjoyed some more design elements of the Excellence Riviera.

I love the way pools look at night, like an oasis from the darkness.

We passed by the outdoor theater, which was playing "Crash," and which we soon learned would be the bane of our (my) existence. This was the only unfavorable part of the trip: they would have big, loud shows at the theater and awful cover bands playing bad renditions of cheesy love songs from 3:30 to midnight every day (they were especially partial to Whitney Houston, circa "The Bodyguard") and since our balcony faced the theater area, it sounded like it was... well, ON the balcony. But hey. I am NOT complaining.

The next day, Dustin caught a game of Texas Hold 'Em with some fellow vacationers while I hung out on the beach.

Did I mention the pool's swim-up bar?

We had lunch at one of the many restaurants, and my that time I was taking my mother's advice to eat slowly, and just enjoy the moment.

Dustin, not much of a drinker, actually tried a Strawberry Daiquiri.

After dinner at another lovely restaurant,

We walked around and saw some cool things, like these decorated palm trees on the beach.

And this beautiful outdoor lamp.

Monday morning came like a dream, although brutally interrupted by the bright sunlight.

We went to the spa for a massage, and beforehand they make you do "Marine Wellness Therapy," which is a series of steam rooms, showers, jacuzzis with strategically placed jets for each muscle, an ice-cold water dunk, a sauna, and ice bath, and more showers. It was pretty cool.