Day 8 - With Autism

As I mentioned, today was the first time that Sammy flew all day without me by her side.  I realize that I was near... but this is truly a remarkable accomplishment.  Its sometimes easy to take these things for granted or to chalk it up as age-appropriate, but in the deepest corners of my heart, I am inspired by the strength, the perseverance and the determination it has taken her to accomplish this!

Here are the reflections I posted on Facebook...

Its only when you finally conquer something, when you are able to overcome a previous struggle that you truly appreciate how far you've come.  

For those who have prayed for us, prepared with us, read social stories with us, practiced with us, packed special gifts with us and strategized how to successfully conquer a plane ride... I thought you'd like to know, our girl has done it!  

Yet one more goal to mark off the list. Feeling super proud. (PS I love this photo for so many reasons)

Day 8

Its bittersweet this morning.  I am excited to get back home, but hate to leave this beautiful place.  We will always remember the memories we've made here.

We ate some breakfast and finished packing.  Our ride picked us up right on time and we had a quick trip to the airport.

Once we arrived at the airport we circled up to pray for our day.  It was a pretty cool way to finish up our stay in Mexico.

Check in and security went smoothly and it wasn't long before we were standing in line at Starbucks, waiting for our flight.  Over the next hour, as we waited, the airport lost power at least 3 times.  I'm not sure what caused it or how they repaired it each time... but it was certainly a first for us all!  I have a really funny story about what happens when you are in an airport bathroom when the power goes out (it is crazy-dark) but would prefer not to put it in writing (so I can deny it later).

The power outage caused a slight delay in our departure but the pilot seemed confident that we could make up the time in the air.  I got to sit with Tyler this time so we watched A Dog's Purpose together and enjoyed our beverages.

Customs, Immigration, and Security all went smoothly in Atlanta.  We stopped at Chick-Fil-A for supper and then headed to our gate.  

Before boarding, our plane was taken out of service so we had to move to another gate and aircraft.  Again, we departed a little late but made it up in the air.  This time I sat with Scott and realized that I hadn't flown with Sammy all day... this was a first!  

We arrived in GR as scheduled and like always, it was a smooth transition to grab our bags and get to the parking garage.  

What a day!  What a trip!  Its good to be home.

Day 7

Waking up to an alarm on vacation seemed a little wrong, but our driver would be here at 8:00 am to pick us up and we had a lot to prep.  We scurried around the condo packing for a full day without knowing for sure what was in store.  From my conversation yesterday with Mike, I knew that we had lots of options.  He threw out things like snorkel, beach, grill, turtles, dolphins, and even more but we all knew it was too much to do in a single day... right?

It took maybe 25 minutes to arrive at the marina.  We met Mike who speaks pretty good English and Oscar our captain who does not.  We boarded a pretty simple 30+ ft fishing boat and headed out to sea.  The water was beautiful shades of turquoise and blue and we all enjoyed the fresh air on the ride.  We headed west toward Isla Mujeres (a small island of the coast of Cancun).  When the explorers first discovered the island, they only found women and children because the men were all on the mainland working... hence the name Women Island.  The boat ride only lasted about 25  minutes but the time flew by as Mike offered fresh fruit and drinks.

As we approached the island, Oscar cut the engines near a small lighthouse.  Mike told us it was time to snorkel so we all quickly applied sun screen and got on our goggles and flippers.  Into the water we go!  Oscar led us on a tour of this amazing reef that followed a good distance eventually ending at the lighthouse.  Apparently this area gets quite busy later in the day but we were completely alone.  

We went along at our own pace and stopped to point out new discoveries.  We saw lots of fish, even some barracuda.  At one point Oscar brought our finger down to touch the coral and as we approached, an animal quickly shot back inside and out of sight.  (You know the ones, you've seen on the Discovery Channel)  Sammy made it almost 2/3 of the distance before she decided to quit.  We were constantly swimming and the current was pretty strong in some areas so I wasn't too surprised when she announced she was finished.  The two of us swam back to the boat, that Mike had repositioned for us.  As soon as we boarded, we were immediately greeted with more snacks and drinks to wash the salt out of our mouths.

As we rested and started to dry off, Mike asked if JC was my father or father-in-law.  I paused only a brief moment and replied, "Actually neither, but they are good people who love our kids and treat us like family." 

"Ahh," he replied with a slow pause...  "It is a treasure, no?"  As I sat in the boat watching the rest of our party finish their snorkel, I reflected on that gift... the treasure that our relationship has become.  My heart is full.

After we all were back on board, Oscar drove us to a dock on the island.  Mike explained that they needed to do some shopping for lunch and that he would rent 2 golf carts for us to take out and explore.  He gave us a few suggestions on where to go and sent us on our way.

This turned out to be a very neat experience... driving through the city, seeing the local residences and businesses.  We made a few stops for photos and ended up on the very southern end of the island.  Its the highest point with beautiful rocky cliffs and a bunch of iguanas!

We navigated the traffic and returned the golf carts about an hour later.  Mike still needed time to gas up so Mary and I took the kids down the beach to swim.  When they were ready, we reboarded and took a quick ride around to the northern tip of the island.  Here we anchored off shore for some time swimming.

The water was AMAZING!  It was beautiful and clear and had incredible buoyancy... we floated with ease and enjoyed a nice rest in the ocean.  At one point, Mike suggested we take the kids for a quick walk to a shallow area to feed the fish.  Oscar led Scott and the kids and I as we headed ashore.  

Oscar knew exactly where to go and when we arrived, we had the entire place to ourselves again.  He opened a package of crackers and crushed them in the water.  Instantly, hundreds of fish (4-12inches long) swarmed around us... swimming in between us and through our legs.  Tyler immediately turned on his video camera and we took turns using the goggles under water.  Because the water was so clear, you could see just as plainly from above so we all had a great view!

When we got back to the boat, we found Mary and JC still relaxing in the surf.  We grabbed some drinks and joined them.    

It was then that Sammy realized our boat was named Samanta, so naturally we took a pic!

The best part of this day is that Mike was so incredibly accommodating.  He was always ready with snacks, drinks, etc.  He had lots of ideas of things to do, but the timeline was always at our pace.  We LOVED it!

When we were done floating, we boarded the boat again and headed around to the south-west shore for our next stop.  Mike and Oscar took their groceries to shore... in the back kitchen to prepare our lunch while we explored the docks.  We saw lots of goodies here.  The salesman even taught the kids how play the conch shells.

Then we took the opportunity to hold a shark.  Sammy opted for the baby but Tyler took on the adult. So proud of both kiddos and their courage to try something new.

It didn't take long before Mike and Oscar were ready to serve our lunch.  We found a spot to sit and were greeted by this...  

It was WAY more food than we could dream of eating, but we made a good dent.  We reboarded our boat and moved a little further south to a animal rehabilitation center.  Here we saw a dolphin that was rescued just 12 days prior.  They are still assessing whether or not the animal will be released back into the wild.    

The rest of the center focused on sea turtles.  In various tanks, we saw turtles of all sizes and colors.  Sammy even had the opportunity to touch... thanks to Mr Mike.

At this point, we decided to head back to the main land.  As the port came into view, I reflected on the incredible day, God's incredible creation all around, and the incredible people in our lives. 

As we loaded back into the van for our return home, we all looked a little worn, a little red, but the smiles on our faces said it all... it was a great day!  I couldn't believe it, but we had literally experienced EVERYTHING that Mike had first mentioned.  It was a full day but what a way to end our trip.  

As we discussed our options for dinner, we all decided that staying in would be best.  So we ordered pizza for delivery.  As we waited for the driver to arrive, we hit the gift shop and let the kids pick out a souvenir.  

After we ate, we took a first crack at packing and then headed to bed.  

Day 6

It was a pretty relaxing morning.  We had scheduled the driver to come at 12:00 noon so we ate  brunch to help hold us over.  It didn't take long before it was time to pack up and head down to meet our driver.  

So today we will be heading to Xcaret, an ecological theme park about an hour south of our condo.  Once we arrived and got checked in, we made our way to the locker rooms to change into our swimming suits.  The grounds are gorgeous... jungle on all sides, with animal exhibits tucked in for your enjoyment.  

After we were changed, we followed the path to the underground swimming.  These caves are more man-made than what we did Friday, but required a liability waiver for anyone over 50.  I'll be honest, I was a bit nervous at what we were getting into.  The staff explained that the caves are longer and colder than what we did at Xplor and therefore required the liability waiver... OK, Hmm.

The caves were longer for sure.  With stretches of darkness that made you lose sight of your hand in front of your face.  But because they were much more crowded, there wasn't much fear involved.  We had a great time!

The cave swim ended pretty far from our locker so we just stayed in our swimsuits to air dry.  We found a restaurant for lunch and enjoyed a buffet.  It was good to refuel after being in the river so long.  

After lunch we wandered around to explore the remainder of the park with its amazing ocean views, hammock parks and historical ruins.  We were too late to do any of the extra activities like swim with dolphins, boat ride, snuba, etc.  but we did find a place to snorkel.  We all made our way into the water to see what we could find.  A resting pelican provided entertainment when we did come up for bits of time but otherwise we found a quiet little nook in the coral and rocks that seemed to be home to MANY fish.  

After snorkeling we enjoyed several more animal exhibits including sea turtles, jelly fish and tons of fish in their aquarium.  

We certainly didn't have time to do it all but we got a taste of a great park which we will be sure to visit on our next trip!  

Our path led us back to the locker room where we quickly changed.  I took a call from Mike to plan out our snorkeling trip for Monday, then we gathered our things and headed toward the front of the park.  

As part of our day, we had purchased tickets to a Mexican dinner show at the park.  There's way too much to explain and I'm not even sure we fully understood it all... but in essence, the first half shared the history of Mexico including a reenactment of the Spanish explorers and missionaries arriving and an exciting game of Battle... a game similar to hockey but played with a ball on fire.  It was pretty impressive to watch! 

The evening included a 7-course authentic Mexican meal... we're not talking burritos and tacos folks, it was duck with mole sauce, pulled pork, and so much more.  The arena stayed dark so eating new foods was made a little more exciting when you couldn't see what was in front of you.  

The second half of the evening showed various traditions from the different geographical areas of Mexico... including folk dance, authentic costumes, and very talented musicians.  We even had a presentation from the Flying Men (Voladores de Papantla)  

The evening wrapped up with a parade of international flags.  The servers lined the aisle ways with hands on heart.  It was a very solemn and proud moment for them and we felt lucky to experience it.

The show wrapped up a little after 9:00 pm.  We pushed through the crowds to find our driver and were relieved to find rest in the cool van.  We spent the hour-long car ride fairly quiet except the occasional interruption from our driver who was a wonderful man, open to sharing the development history and living conditions in Cancun.  Fascinating end to our day.

Even though it was late, we took time for showers before bed and everyone quickly found their way to their pillows.  We all need a bit of rest and our early morning departure for snorkeling will come very soon!

Day 5

We woke up to another beautiful morning!  Honestly the view both to the west (sun rise over the ocean) and the east (sunsets over the bay) is breath-taking.

I took advantage of the late start and got caught up on some of my work for the Autism Family Network.  While I was handling a situation, Francis stopped by.  She wanted me to talk with Mike, the gentleman that would be taking us snorkeling.  In short, Mike shared that the rough conditions had shut down the port and that he wasn't sure we should go out tomorrow.  Instead he hoped we'd go on Monday.  Although I was unsure, we agreed to talk again tomorrow afternoon to re-assess the situation.

Disappointed about snorkeling and frustrated with my work, I set it all aside and we headed down for some sun.  This time, we decided to stay by the pool instead and played in the water doing flips and tricks while we listened to the DJ's variety of music.

After a few hours in the pool we decided to walk across the street to 19.5 again for lunch.  Still dripping, our entire crew made our way to the restaurant and sat down under the thatched roof.  We were the only customers in the place... and had unmatched service as we ate.  Another fabulous meal!  

I ran next door to grab some pop from the convenience store and then we all headed back to the condo to cool down.  The guys rested indoors.  I spent the afternoon reading and talking with Mary on the balcony.  It really is a great way to unwind!

Then I did some researching to find another activity for Sunday.  We found another ecological park that looked promising and lined up a driver to bring us tomorrow.

Because our lunch had been later in the afternoon, we decided to wait on a later supper.  We pulled together spaghetti, garlic bread and a salad... it really hit the spot.  

As Mary got up to start clearing the dishes, she quickly drew our attention to the kitchen counter.  We were unaware that we had a dinner guest...  The cockroach was rather impressive in both size and speed.  Our husbands immediately stepped in to defend us!  It was a pretty funny scene that played out and I'm sure one we'll remember for some time.  But let's just say, the cockroach didn't stand a chance against these two!  

After the excited wore down, we enjoyed another evening on the balcony, sharing stories and good conversation.

Day 4

Today was our excursion to Xplor.  Its about an hour south of our resort, so our driver is picking us up at 8:00 am.  We are hoping to grab the breakfast buffet before we leave so we were packed up and walking down the stairs at 7:15 am.  (That's correct... elevator is still down)

The driver Esteban was right on time.  We climbed in the air-conditioned van and were whisked (literally, he was quick) off to our adventure for the day.

So the basis of Xplor... its one large ecological adventure park with basically five activities:  ziplining, zip-hammocking, swimming underground rivers, paddling kayaks through caves, and driving amphibious vehicles.  Its all-inclusive and includes food and drinks as well.  I highly recommend it.

As you walk between activities you are hiking through underground caves or jungle.  We had lots of fun taking photos along the way!

At the very center of the park is a large heart that you can hear beating that helps you find your way back to the middle after each activity.

Our first swim on the underground river was amazing!  We were alone... it was fairly dark... and so very quiet.  It was easy to forget where we were and we just enjoyed the quiet floating.  It was pretty magical.  You know we were relaxed when even the bats hanging over head didn't bother us.  The activity wraps up with a swim into the center of a circular waterfall.  We joined together in the middle and just giggled with glee as we looked overhead at the sky above and the falling water.  It was perfect!

Next we headed to the intro course on the amphibious vehicles.  It was a little less than thrilling when we all got hung up behind a very cautious driver and had to drive the remainder of the course slow and steady.

However, the slower pace did allow us to see this crazy animal up in a tree.  It's called a coati and looked like this...

After we wrapped up there, we stopped for lunch because its all-inclusive and a buffet and who says you cannot eat lunch twice in one adventure-packed day?  Next we did the zip-hammocks and had a great time splashing down into the water.

Then we headed back underground to the paddle boats.  Less than 5 minutes in, Sammy announced she didn't like the paddles so I would be on my own for our boat.  But she stuck with it and although not her favorite, we did alright!  The long route took about 30 minutes and was quite a workout.

Next we headed back to the amphibious vehicles but this time were allowed to take a longer route.  I decided to drive separately this time so Scott and Tyler led the way, followed by JC and Mary, with Sammy and I taking up the rear.   This route was much longer... definitely more fun... and allowed us to go fast and bounce and slide around curves.  It was loads of fun.

Along the route Tyler spotted a pretty big iguana and as I was pointing it out to Sammy, we may have hit a tree.  I don't mean we grazed it, I don't mean we clipped it.  We full on hit a 4-inch diameter tree.  I had to put it in reverse to move on.  I COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING!  I was super embarrassed but there was no one there to see it.  I should never have mentioned it but it was just too funny not to share.

We had just enough time for one last activity and decided on the river swim.  A great way to finish our day and cool down before the ride home.

Needless to say, we had a blast... when we returned home at 5:00 pm we had logged over 15,000 steps and were exhausted.

As we arrived at the lobby, I decided to grab a Starbucks because I thought I'd want a dessert later and didn't want to walk the steps twice.  We all ordered a drink and then paced ourselves for our final stair climb of the day.  Imagine our surprise and sheer delight when we rounded the corner only to see the signs were taken down.  Wow!  I was so excited I literally laughed out loud.

We started on supper right away for two reasons:  1) we were hungry after all that exercise and 2) I knew if I sat down even a minute I wouldn't want to get back up.  Luckily though we had lots (and lots) of leftovers from our meal with Francis and Maria and just needed to microwave to prepare.

We filled up on chicken and shrimp fajitas and quesadillas and chips & guacamole.  Then watched as the eyelids got heavy.  We sat out on the balcony for just a bit and enjoyed the evening breeze and another gorgeous sunset.

Then it was off to bed for everyone.