[Ritzbitz]

today i'd like to see a photo of you (could be with absolutely anyone! or a self photo or more than one!!!!!!) on vacation.. tell us where you were vacationing, and any other info you'd like to share!!!


Whenever DH and I get a chance to go on vacation, we usually escape to Mexico. His mom is a travel agent and gets us pretty amazing deals on top of line resorts. after several experiments, we usually now stay at a 6 star all-inclusive resort - Iberostar. There really is nothing more amazing! We lounge by the pool. enjoy the swim up bar, love the white sandy beach, and do a whole lot of nothing.. we usually indulge in a book or two and just lay around all week. we love seeing the shows the resort puts on in the evening after an evening of fine a la carte dining and then we sit by the bar, enjoy our fruity tootie drinks and listen to live music. Now thats a vacation!! hehe... we also enjoy jet skiing, we love going ATV'ing through the jungle, snorkeling and we love swimming in Cenotes, naturally created caves with fresh water that aren't deep but so refreshing! ugh, i want to go to mexico now!!!!





this photo is of me and DH on stage during one of the audience participation shows, called "ideal couple".. we had to do a lot of embarressing things, but we ended up winning the title against 4 other couples, were "crowned" the ideal couple and given a free bottle of champagne which we happily accepted! haha...

[~* Natasha *~]

Oops, I'm re-using a picture....



These are pics from the last vacation DH and I were able to take. We were in Pigeon Forge, TN. These pics were actually taken the day we went down into Cades Cove (it's sooooo beautiful!) which is between PF and Gatlinburg. With our work schedules, DH's school schedule, and my Mom's recent illness, we haven't been on a vacation since January of this year. But we hope to go back to Pigeon Forge with my Dad soon if nothing else!

[yrlilangel]

Shane and I have never been on a real vacation before. We have two dogs and I reallly struggle with leaving them behind. This pic was taken last Christmas in St. Augustine. It was a nice little day trip for us!

[aubers68]

My husband and I LOVE going on cruises. We have only been on 3 but they are our absolute favorite. We went on our first one in 2007 for my cousins Wedding. Then our second was for our Honeymoon and we invited all our family and friends to join because we had so much fun on my cousins group cruise. Then our last was for our one year anniversary together. Here's a few pictures from each since I can't pick my favorite and they are all somewhere in the Caribbean

2007....

^family at Carlos and Charlies Cozumel Mexico

^Margarittaville Cozumel Mexico
2010....

^Some of my BFFs at Carlos and Charlies Cozumel Mexico
2011...

^Jason and I lounging in the ocean at Half Moon Cay Bahamas (all time favorite place in the Caribbean so far, the most gorgeous sand and water I have EVER seen, the sand was so clean hardly any pebbles or shells, like powder sugar and the water was so clear and beautiful)

[Ritzbitz]

Aubers, dh and i went on a cruise 2 years ago, and i gotta say, we didn't love it. it felt a little restricted for us as opposed to being inland on a beach in mexico haha... I'm glad you had a good time on your trips!

[aubers68]

We've never been to an island resort, I'm sure we'd love doing that to, But I've never been able to find a resort as reasonably priced as the cruises we go on. Plus DH and I can get bored easily, so I think that's why we enjoy them so much. You're not stuck in one area too long, you can experience a little bit of each island, and most of the time (not always) you get just enough time at each place to explore or relax before it's time to "pick up" and head to the next place. I'm really glad you posted where you guys stay because I'm going to look it up! We've been wanting to go somewhere soon!




ADDING.... do you usually stay in Cancun??

[Ritzbitz]

its interesting you say you get bored easily.. we were soooo bored on the cruise.. there is not much to do and getting on and off the ship at the ports was such a hassle!!!!! at an island resort you don't need to carry your passport or id nothing! just a bracelet that id's you to the resort. plus, we stay at all inclusive resorts so drinks and meals are all included, no hassle like it was on the cruise where each drink is so expensive. $7 for a mojito? no thanks! FREE AT OUR RESORTS haha and limitless.. we had days where the bar would open at 10 am, and we'd be drinking til the following day haha! (FYI, drunk in the sun and swim up bar - not a good idea! hahaha)

We usually stay in Riviera Maya Mexico. We've traveled pretty much all around Mexico on excursions. Which by the way, mexico has so many of!! if you are active vacationers, you'll love this. (its not included, but decently priced) ... So we have gone snorkeling off of the coast of Cozumel... the most beautiful Reefs i've ever seen. It was like 100 per person and that included transportation, lunch, equipment and half day of snorkeling. It was truly amazing! We went jet skiing in the resort, it was like 50 bucks per jet ski for over an hour of fun! we have went ATV'ing through the jungle. AMAZING! like 125 per person but you spend all day on the ATV and you stop at these beautiful locations with underground fresh water caves called Cenotes, and explore. its so gorgeous!!! We have spent a whole day at X-Caret park. Which is a natural ecological park that is built on mayan land. So much to see and do there its too much to type out. You can get all this info online! we've done the pirate ship cruise in the evening at isla mujeres (women's island) included dinner, show, and some other stuff. we've gone shopping on "5th avenue"... a long strip of shops, and bars and restaurants in riviera maya. Cabs can take you there for like 10 bucks each way. so much to do! it really is a wonderful vacation idea..

We've stayed in IBEROSTAR mostly, because we love it! but there are other great resorts, Bahia Principe Coba was great. Riu Caribe was fantastic if you like the hotel atmosphere.. The other resorts have 3 floor villas. which we prefer. I'm telling you, its the best!!

[aubers68]

I looked the resort up... GORGEOUS... found what I thought was a pretty good deal. Always thought cruises were cheaper but after doing some math and searching I've learned... we usually pay(per couple) about $1200 for our cruise, about $600 in airfare and since we're not big drinkers about $400 for the bar tab. Totaling (roughly) $2200 for 7 nights. The resort I searched was IBEROSTAR in Cozumel for 5 nights, it was I believe $1200, then airfare, way expensive was $1000 per couple. So this grand total would be the exact same! Granted these are rough estimates and for both vacations excursions would be separate. Now I'm going to go look into Costa Maya

Out of curiosity, onn the topic of excursions... Have you ever visited Jamaica to climb the Dunns River Falls?? AMAZING. Jamaica wasn't that great of a place (the areas we saw) but let me tell you that was such a great experience

[Ritzbitz]

if you want more definitive prices, i can give you my mother in laws phone number, she is an amazing travel agent. Not saying it because she's my mother in law, but she has done numerous packages for so many people. she will never scam you out of money and will always try to make the best deal available. She's booked vacations for my sister who lives in Atlanta, via email nonetheless lol. she'll tell you like it is. some online prices are bogus because they screw you with the fine print, taxes etc etc. so just inbox me if you'd like her info. She really is awesome!

never been to Jamaica. I really want to try to make it out to Aruba at some point but honestly, Mexico is the best. There is not too much poverty outside of the resorts and when driving from the airport to the hotel its pleasant views not straw homes with chickens crossing the streets. Btw.... transportation to and from the hotel on arrival and departure days are always included in our package. We have a huge coach bus that picks us up from airport and takes us right to the hotel. Its fabulous! All inclusive vacations are generally cheaper than cruises so if you plan on vacationing soon, that is an absolute must. i know dominican republic has a ton of awesome resorts as well but their activities outside of the resort is very limited.

[*Manda*]

Aubrey, I did the Dunn's river falls and even though it was a really awesome experience I will never go back! I hated all the heckling in Jamaica! It was so dirty too. Ugh, not a fan! lol

I've been going between cruise or all inclusive resort this year. If we cruise in September we can get it pretty cheap. I just haven't honestly decided what I wanna do. My issue with all inclusive is, what if I get pregnant before the vacation? Then I've lost the ability to drink which is honestly one of the big draws to me(alcoholic much? lol) over a cruise.

So many choices!

[Sk8ermaiden]

This post is heavy on the pregnancy and kids. Sorry...






We are kind of "off the beaten path" vacationers - not really the kind to stay at resorts or the like. For our honeymoon it was between an all-inclusive or a history-packed tourist fest in Washington DC and Virginia and once we took a second to think about it it was DC no question!! (We are history people.)

We never, ever, ever stay in hotels. I find us B&Bs everywhere. It is so much cooler and every time is new! Plus, in every B&B we have ever stayed at, one of the owners has been an engineer, so now my husband thinks opening a B&B when he retires is our destiny, lol.

We just today got back from camping with friends. That's E on my shoulders at the Texas Renaissance Festival (a day trip while camping.)


In June we had to go to Michigan for my cousin's graduation, so we tacked a family vacation on the front end and also took a sleeper car in a train which was so cool. I found us a fantastic B&B on a lake in Indiana and E had a BLAST!


If we go in the wayback machine, this was our babymoon when I was 35 weeks pregnant. I carried for 7 more weeks and got a LOT bigger! We took a road trip through the Ozarks and stayed at another fantastic B&B on another lake! This was taken in Eureka Springs.


I can't find any pics of our honeymoon, eek!!

When/if we get pregnant with the next baby, we plan to take a second babymoon. We want it to be something really fun for Elizabeth, but us too. We were thinking a Carnival cruise, but it's so much money we're just not sure. A family-friendly all inclusive could be fun too, but they're just way out of the price range. We might rent a lakehouse, who knows...