Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

So. A crazy thing happened. Back in 2015, Jake found out that he was invited to go to Puerto Vallarta on a rewards trip with all the Megaplex Theaters management. He fulfills all the sponsorship contracts for the Larry H. Miller owned Megaplex Theaters in Utah, so since they met all their goals for 2015, they invited him to go along. And he was was invited to take ME! Wooo hoo! We found out, couldn't believe our luck, and then looked at the calendar. LUCKILY, it was 2 weeks after our planned cruise and trip to CA. UN-luckily...it was only 2 weeks after our planned cruise and trip to CA! Those are two big vacations almost back to back! Crazy. But we were stoked, and super glad for the opportunity.

So, we arranged for Grandma and Grandpa Yospe to come to our house and stay with Cami and Lex while we ran off to Mexico (again) for 6 days. Thank goodness for loving, willing and able parents! We didn't even really unpack from our cruise, because we knew we'd just have to pack it all up again. So we left on Saturday, February 6th from Salt Lake, and flew to Puerto Vallarta on Delta, arriving in the afternoon at the small, cramped airport. It was CRAZINESS. We got off the plane with our customs forms, and were herded like cattle down to baggage claim where we found our bags, and then found the end of a very very VERY long snaking line to get through customs and security. Chaos and ridiculous confusion ensued. Mexico needs help with their airport dealings! However, once we finally got through and found the guys that were holding up big Megaplex- Hard Rock Hotel signs, things went smoothly. We hopped on a bus with the 30-40 or so other employees and their spouses or friends, and drove to the impressive Hard Rock Resort.
                   
It was awesome! I've never been to Puerto Vallarta, by the way. Jake and I went to Cancun on our honeymoon in 2008 and stayed at an all-inclusive resort, which we loved! It was so nice not having to worry about where to stay and eat and what to do. Resorts are the way to go, for sure. So we knew this trip would be awesome, because not only was it an all inclusive resort, but it also had resort CREDIT for us to use on activities!! $1,500 worth of resort credit to spend on excursions, upgrades, and salon and spa services. BOO YAH.

When we got there, Megaplex had set up a nice welcome reception with chips and guacamole, salsa, fruit and other food and drinks to have while we were getting checked in. Then we sat down and met with the excursion people to book the things we wanted to do during our stay. We checked into our room next, which was pretty cool with a rock n' roll vibe.
                   

Giant in room jacuzzi! Yesssss.

The view was beautiful- palm trees, pools, and beach!

That evening, Jake and I explored all the different restaurants at which we could choose to eat our meals. There was an Italian restaurant called Ciao, an Asian, a Brazilian, and a Mexican restaurant. There was also a pizza oven out by the pool to grab a pizza anytime. So many choices! We looked at all the menus and noted what the gluten free and dairy free options were. They all, luckily, had several options I could choose from. I was really relieved about that, and thankful that they were marked. The wait staff were all very nice and helpful, even if some of them didn't speak hardly any English. We chose to eat at the Italian restaurant that first night. Jake ordered a big ol' steak and potatoes. Mmm.

And I ordered a super yummy flaky salmon with tomato gnocci and veggies. It was so good- I'm craving it right now! I can't believe I didn't go back and get this salmon again!

Presentation was very elegant and attractive. I loved having dessert options, too! This was a dark chocolate and orange cake, and a strawberry gelatin. :)

We loved the ambience of that restaurant, because it was candlelit and out in the open air next to the beach. Very peaceful and romantic. We even caught some fireworks that night when someone was getting married and having a wedding reception on the beach.

And this isn't a good pic at all, but it shows Jake's happy smile as we walked into the ocean at night in the dark!

That night, the entertainment in the outdoor theater was a fire dancing show! It was pretty mesmerizing and impressive.

Aaaand then that night in our room, I decided I wanted to take advantage of that jacuzzi. Why not?? So I started filling it, and since it is HUGE, it took a long time to fill. But it was nice and hot, and the bubbly jets made it like a real hot tub- relaxing and cozy. At about midnight, we were ready for bed and started to drain it, and then Jake got up to go to the bathroom. I was sitting on the bed, when all of a sudden I heard a splash, and I saw Jake's body SLIP on the floor, fall backwards onto his back, and skid and SLAM his shoulder into the closet. What the?? We looked aghast at the floor which was covered in about an inch of water, from the jacuzzi all the way to the bathroom and down the hall to the front door. AppARENTly, the jacuzzi had flooded and wasn't draining properly, and even the even-floored shower wasn't draining. Uh ohhhh. We called the front desk to report a slight flood, and sat and waited for someone to come and check it out. Ha....I got this picture of Jake waiting in the bathrobe, pretending to be distraught. He really had laughed, though, as soon as he fell. It was like a completely shocked, confused giggle. Although he did get a nasty bruise on his shoulder where he banged the closet.

I felt guilty cuz I thought it was somehow my fault for filling the jacuzzi and maybe not waiting until the water was high enough before turning on the jets? Who knows. Jake said nope, it was just the faulty drains.

Two guys came up with towels and mops, and quickly realized this was a little more than a slight puddle of water. So the front desk gave us a new room to sleep in that night, but it was on the other end of the hotel, and we had to wheel our luggage across the loud halls at midnight to get there. We were ready for bed and for a fresh start in the morning! We went to breakfast, which was a lovely buffet we could choose which restaurant to eat from. I had fruits, gluten free bread, boiled egg, juice, smoothie, etc. When we came back, this cute lil' guy was waiting for us.

It was Super Bowl Sunday, and we thought about catching a taxi and trying to find the nearest ward building to attend church. But that would've been a lot of work, so we stuck around the resort. A morning beach walk was a great start.

And then we got to use our first resort credit! We went to the salon, and I got a pedicure, and Jake got a haircut. :) I loved being able to sit and get a foot rub while peering out at the ocean! Perfect view.

This is a view of the resort when you walk out of the salon. Lots of trees, flowers and pools.

I loved these gorgeous magenta flowers!

We walked over to the kids camp building, which was just finished like the month prior, and it looked SO fun!

The girls would love this Ballerina Angelina themed room, and we said we MIGHT have to bring them back here someday.

There was a garden outside where the resort grows different herbs and foods, including this awesome papaya tree. Mmmm I love papaya. At breakfast every morning, they had the most delicious, ripe, sweet juicy papaya.

Since it was the Superbowl, I tried to show my support to the Broncos by wearing orange and blue. :) It was fun to see all the die hard fans of both Ravens and Broncos walking around the resort that day.

We walked down to the beach again, and laid out on beach chairs and took advantage of the endless free drinks they bring you! Jake's favorites were lime margaritas and strawberry dacquiries (non-alchoholic, of course). I enjoyed a good drink every now and then. This time I went for a walk along the beach and looked for cool shells. Found a few!

And I also found these super weird little squiggly piles of sand everywhere! They looked like worms and poop. I nudged one with my toe, and it was just sand. Isn't that super weird? I think maybe they were made by little crabs, or sand that went through holes in shells? I dunno. Pretty funny though.

That afternoon, it was finally time for the big game. The Megaplex people had said they were going to have a get-together at the casino across the street from the resort to watch the game. We went out front and stopped to get a pic with the signature guitars.

When we got to the casino/bar, there were only about 10 Megaplex people there, and what'dya know- they were all the drinkers! They had ordered a bunch of rounds of beer, as well as nachos and other snacks, and were doing a betting game called squares. Uhh it was a little awkward. We sat and watched for like 15 minutes, and then peaced out and went back to the resort.

Our question was- why would they pay for beers and snacks when they could have all they want for FREE at the resort? We found when we got back, that the cute Mexican resort staff who couldn't probably care less about the Superbowl, had planned a HUGE party for the big game. They wanted to please all the American football fans! There were huge screens in a big conference room, with superbowl snacks and burgers, churros, tacos, food galore. Oh and they had tablecloths and balloons in the team colors. Super nice.

Jake made a dog out of a balloon. :)

We watched the whole game, and were pleased that the Broncos won! Not that anyone was hungry after the game, but then it was time for dinner! The resort staff had actually moved us rooms one more time that day to a super awesome ocean view room because they felt bad about the flood. They also promised to give us a steak and lobster dinner Sunday night as further consolation. We said it wasn't necessary, really! But they insisted. We sat down to our romantic dinner of steak and lobster.

It wasn't the best meal. :) The lobster was way overcooked, so dry and rubbery. Bummer! But they tried, and that was nice.

More dessert!

The entertainment that night (yep they had a show every night, which was really cool!) was a Michael Jackson show. The guy who played him was pretty impressive and talented!

They sang and danced to tons of songs, including this zombie filled Thriller. I got exhausted just watching the dancers- they never stopped!

Costumes and moves are a bit more....risque in Mexico. It's interesting. But they did a good job. Another fun day we had had, and we were super excited to go on our first excursion on Monday! Stay tuned!