the best vacation EVER, EVER, EVER

We had the absolute best time in Cancun. The hotel we stayed in was called the Gran Caribe Real and it is an all-inclusive family-oriented place on the ocean in Cancun, Mexico. It was our first time traveling with other families (6 other families, exactly), our first time in the Caribbean and our first experience with an all-inclusive, all-you-can-eat-and-drink place.

Activities
Without boring both of my readers (haha) with the daily play-by-play, I will just put it out there that the food was outstanding, the fruity drinks rocked, and the activities were so much fun. There was bingo, super-sized jenga, bracelet-making, spin class (O.M.G), aqua aerobics, games in the pool, step aerobics beside the pool, paiea cooking lessons on the beach in the biggest pot I have ever seen, kayaking in a beautiful lagoon, bike-riding down a narrow sidewalk with scary traffic flying by, shopping, bargaining, and being accosted in the black market, karaoke, hammock-swinging, beach-walking, and lots of laughing, talking, and great times with friends.

General notes
Notes to self for next time: take computer with me, as the place has wi-fi, take only 5's and 1's because stuff is so cheap and don't get any pesos because they are happy (thrilled) to take American money, take more clothes (even though it is vacation, it is the Caribbean so people dress up and look nice even in swimsuits), remember that just because we can eat everything we want doesn't mean we have to, stay in Playa del Carmen for a little more family vacay and a little less college spring break (although that definitely added to the celebratory and social feeling of our hotel, which we loved), get a massage in the evening (rather than the morning) and then shower before hitting the sundeck because the oils they put on your skin block any sunblock from working and make you bake like a Gorton's Fish Stick in the Mexican sun.

Food, food, and more food!
Did I mention the food was really, really good? I mean, out of this world, best stuff I've ever put in my mouth delicious? There was a 24-hour snack bar place which was the smallest and least delicious of the places, but it would rival any American hotel continental breakfast and was changed periodically throughout the day. The kids loved it and the constant coffee was awesome. Strong and black - just like I like it. There were also two other buffet restaurants that had so many choices I couldn't possibly list them all. All of the choices were generous portions, freshly-cooked, and perfectly-seasoned. There was a humongous variety so everyone had something he or she liked at each meal: hamburgers, fruits, steaks, chicken, pastas, seafood, chips and salsa, lots of vegetable salads, yogurt, breads, fajitas, tacos, and some good old American staples like mashed potatoes, french fries, and one-pounder hot dogs. Everything was wonderful - there were bars in every room of the place just about, and even the most exotic fruity drinks could be enjoyed with each meal and all throughout the day. There was one restaurant that we could not get into because it was booked, and one that was an outside place that was cold in the evenings and hot during the day, but still had yummy, richly-marinated grilled selections. A poolside sushi bar also had some appetizer types on the menu, but I never got around to eating there. I can not say enough nice things about this hotel.

Drawbacks - and they weren't very many
The only drawbacks I had with our entire trip were that there are often workers around the hotel trying to talk the visitors into spa treatments, expensive excursions, and club membership (aka timeshare) presentations. Due to the nature of the economic situation in Mexico, these services are lucrative and extremely helpful to these individuals. You can't fault them; they've got all these tourists walking around wanting to do stuff and they stand to feed their family if they can talk them into one or two extras. When we went to the Flea Market we were literally harassed by the workers there to buy stuff and come to this store instead of that store and pay the best price and it was annoying and stressful. I still loved it because I was all about the experience and that was part of it. The whole trip was so, so fun - I was just happy to be out of town that I was cool with whatever we did, so long as we were safe. Speaking of which, we never felt uncomfortable in the least bit in our hotel, only a little at the flea market, and a teensy bit at the airport. Also, I had a hard time getting my shower to the right temperature, and one of the other family's shower backed up on the last day....hated that for them, but pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, in which 31 people went to another country together for spring break.