Kaki's GPR Trip Report - With Some Classic Playa Mixed In

[kaki321]

Day 2 Continued....

I don't remember Dinner on Day 2, but I think it was at Albatros. I do know that we headed out right after to 5th avenue.

It was so much fun soaking in the familiar sights & sounds and the familiar "vibe" for the first time in 4 years. The first time the boys visited Playa together (Grant had been to Mexico with us solo at least 2-3 times before Jackie was born) - - about 6 years ago or so...Jackson was 14 months old and in a diaper! Ok, I will post the pic...



I think I did a mini trip report somewhere here, but we stayed at the Xcaret for a week. Good Memories...but lots of poopy diapers.

Back to our first night on 5th.

The boys were jocking me all day for souveniers. Grant had an idea that he wanted some bling, necklaces...many of them...shark tooth necklaces. I obliged. The boys got a little something each time we went out. You will see the progression of various necklaces on Grant's neck as the week goes by.

After walking a little while we ended up at the Tequila Barrel for a quick drink. $15 US for two beers , but what the hell. People watching has a price, right?



Do you think he looks like me at all? I hope maybe he does just a little. I DID birth him afterall!



I love this sign. Please no throwing of the paper in the bathroom, ok??



The boys were so BORED! We had to drink up quickly and get back to the business of shopping.



Miles was going after Jelly Fish lamps this trip. We have 4 at home now, 3 on the front porch, 1 over the fireplace. He was exploring the idea of candle holders, or a table top lamp. He browsed all of the Jelly Fish locations all week. In the end, he was highly successful and made some nice purchases.



Jackie really liked this one...



End of Day 2 - - I am sure we hung out at the lobby bar, the 24 hour service area or somewhere for a few nightcaps, but like the night before and all nights to come, we were in bed by about 11pm.

Another Day in paradise over.

Day 3 was the day it rained. And rained. And RAINED. But we had some fun. There was a wild wedding at the hotel and I have a short video I will try to post. Some pics too. And comments about everything you ever wanted to know about what to do at the GPR when it rains for 24 hours straight.

Back for Day 3 later.

[miles321]

I am commenting because my wife is sitting next to me and telling me to comment. I had a wonderful time and she planned an excellent trip! Love you All for reading this! Stay tuned for more from her on our adventure!

[dori]

Loving your report! Your boys are so cute. Looking forward to more. I miss Playa!

[zelda]

Originally Posted by miles321

I am commenting because my wife is sitting next to me and telling me to comment. I had a wonderful time and she planned an excellent trip! Love you All for reading this! Stay tuned for more from her on our adventure!

Love this:
Join date Dec 2006
First post Jun 2011

[janied]

LOVING your report and pics! Your handsome sons sure have grown since your last trip report.

We were at the Gran Porto the end of April, and we really enjoyed it.

Please continue ...

[kaki321]

Originally Posted by zelda

Love this:
Join date Dec 2006
First post Jun 2011

I know right?

He joined after our last trip but never posted. I logged him in tonight so he could view the trip report without seeing the ads.

It's probably his first and last post.

[kaki321]

Originally Posted by janied

LOVING your report and pics! Your handsome sons sure have grown since your last trip report.

We were at the Gran Porto the end of April, and we really enjoyed it.

Please continue ...

Thank you! I loved your slideshow.

[policegirl]

lol.. i love your pics. Your boys are adorable!!! We would also take boxes of cereal (even though we didn't have any kids with us lol) and we would take a few pieces of fruit and bread everyday, lol..I know we probalby look like idiots but we enjoyed feeding the seagulls and pigeons every morning with the bread and the fruit and cereal were great snacks when you are walking throughout the day!

Originally Posted by kaki321

I am going to keep going here while my day-by-day memories are still in tact. Can't say I will be able to sustain them through completion of this trip report, at some point I bet the days will start to flow together...

Day 2 - Our first full day!

We woke up around 7am and everyone was well-rested, excited, and extremely hungry. Perfect time to check out the breakfast buffet.

I didn't get any detailed pictures of the Albatros buffet restaurant, but it's an open-air restaurant with hot stations, cold stations, and "show" cooking. Breakfast was by far the best time to go food-wise (in my opinion). I loved the omelette station and the boys loved the pancake station - - both areas they make eggs and pancakes made to order. Lots of sides (great breakfast potatoes), many breads to choose from, bacon, sausage, and tons of fresh fruit. They also had cereal, yogurts, etc...

TIP: Bring a small hand fan to use in the Albatros buffet area, it's not air-conditioned and it gets very hot eating in there. I brought a little electronic/battery operated fan and didn't care if I looked like a dork. At least I was cool. Also, if you have kids with you, grab a few boxes of cereal on your way out of the buffet in the morning, my kids snacked on frosted flakes and fruit loops while at the pool. Sure beats paying $5 at the gift shop for a bag of Cheetos!

After breakfast it was all about the pool! At least until 11:30 when it was time to switch rooms.

A few shots from the first pool day.

Jackson...



Grant...





Having some time yet until room switching we decided to explore the north end a little and see what the swing bar was all about. We didn't come back again for a few days after this, which I regret now, but it's a great area to hang out. There is a very strong, welcoming and comfortable breeze there, many weddings are held in this area too...






Finally it was time to switch rooms! It was a bit of an ordeal. But the conceirge and housekeeping kept up to their end of the bargain with about a 90 minute delay...but I was expecting more, so it was what it was.

We got into room #147 - Ocean Front Walk-Out suite...two double beds...and this was our view from our patio for the week!



This was our designated cabana...and yes, that is our room right behind it.


This is the view while lounging on the cabana...


This is my faithful and ever-present cabana buddy Jackson...



I didn't get any detailed pictures of the room (can't believe I forgot! ) but I did take plenty of towel animals shots which will give you a sense of the size of the room.



We did end up asking them to bring in a rollaway after the first night of the 4 of us trying to sleep in the 2 very small double beds (what the heck? why so small??). Especially after Miles complained of not getting any sleep and Jackson falling off the bed 3 times in the middle of the night. The walk out suites are about 75 square feet larger than the regular Junior suites and were able to accomodate the 2 double beds plus the extra rollaway with still plenty of floor space to spare. Next time around I think we would be more comfortable in a family suite with the king bed and bunk beds, but then we wouldn't have had the awesome ocean front walk-out experience. It was very convenient in many, many ways.

I will continue later with our trip to 5th avenue - which included a quick drink at Tequila Barrel and the first of many days of shopping and ice cream

[Lemarier]

Loving your trip report. Your boys are adorable!!!

[Sol]

Love your trip report! I can't wait to read more about your trip.

[angelhouston819]

Kathleen....love seeing pics of you, Miles, Grant, and Jackson. looks like you all had a great time. miss you all mucho!! wow have the boys grown up. i wonder if they would remember me?? keep the report coming!!

[kaki321]

Originally Posted by angelhouston819

Kathleen....love seeing pics of you, Miles, Grant, and Jackson. looks like you all had a great time. miss you all mucho!! wow have the boys grown up. i wonder if they would remember me?? keep the report coming!!

Thanks A'! They sure do remember you!! We always look at the pics from 2006 and Jackson always talks about you and how your bathing suit matched theirs

I was just about to post another installment. Hoping I can get a YouTube video to work.

[angelhouston819]

Originally Posted by kaki321

Thanks A'! They sure do remember you!! We always look at the pics from 2006 and Jackson always talks about you and how your bathing suit matched theirs

I was just about to post another installment. Hoping I can get a YouTube video to work.

yes...that was too cute how we were matching!!! looking forward to the next installment...

[sueann]

Thankyou so much for you trip report! As the Mom of two sons myself I know how much fun they are, and yours are so cute! I'm only sorry my boys were just about adults before we got to Playa as a family, but that's how it goes. lol

[kaki321]

Day 3

Woke up to overcast skies, but hoping they would clear. Breakfast at the Albatros, then straight to the pool – we were establishing a very comfortable routine.

But the skies didn’t clear, in fact it became darker and darker outside. Here are a few pics at the pool just before the rain hit.









We met the Day’s at the pool that morning (more of Shammy’s clients), and spent some time singing her praises and plotting on how to get her to come into town for drinks. Great group of people from Texas!

Then is started pouring. And I am not talking sprinkling, drizzling, or anything else…but straight up POURING!

Soaked to the bone we ran back to the room laughing and feeling kid-like again. Something about getting caught in the rain in Playa sorta felt “good” if you know what I mean…

The boys hadn’t gotten enough rain and went out to the balcony / beach to do a little rain dance or two. Sufficiently soaked, we all showered and changed and hunkered down under the covers for a bit.

During this time I took the opportunity to unpack a bit and organize some of our things…the boys watched a Star Trek episode…around noon, my mindset was “A rainy day in Playa is better than any day in the office!” I think I even posted that here real-time.

Miles was dozing off so I took the boys out of the room to let him nap. The entertainment staff had moved some things indoors, and they were gearing up to keep the natives from becoming restless.

The boys made bracelets, played BINGO, checkers, chess and ENDLESS games of Air Hockey. At 10 pesos a game I went back to get change 3 times. I think they played at least 20 times.





We hung out patiently, but the mood in the Lobby bar area was starting to thicken with frustrated guests and dashed vacation beach dreams. Getting drunk seemed to be an answer for some , while wallowing in the depression of the rain seemed to work for others. I think I was somewhere in between the two at this time - - steadily sipping on my new-found friend, the blended Mojito.

By about 2pm my mood had shifted drastically, and all I could think about was the rain and all of the wonderful things it was preventing us from doing. I wanted to let Miles sleep a little longer so we hung out, and hung out, and hung out in the Lobby bar area.

A band came in around 3pm and livened things up a bit, good move on the resort’s part! I also have to give it up to the Entertainment staff as every single one of them was engaged with the guests…playing cards with them, board games, etc…In general - - for the whole stay - - they SPOILED my kids with attention, it was really so sweet.

Here is a picture of Karina…



And one of Victor – who goes by the name “Chicken”



By 4pm I decided Miles had slept long enough and needed to get away from the Lobby Bar area, so we headed back to the room. I took a few pics of the rainy day.



To my surprise, there were many people swimming in the downpour! Check out this one couple in the ocean. I hope my zoom caught this shot ok.



After much more hanging out and watching TV we decided to go to dinner, with the plan we would hit 5th avenue afterward (which never happened, damn rain ).

There was a WILD wedding at the resort that night. There were actually 2-3 weddings a day, but this one had to get moved inside due to the rain. We were seated near them in the Albatros and had a front row seat! They were having a total blast, rain or not. They had all kinds of props too…balloons, masks, glow sticks, etc….they even threw a few things to the boys.






Here is a short video of the wedding guests throwing down…




After dinner, we peeked outside only to see hard, thick, sideways rain and elected to stay indoors. Where else, but the Lobby Bar - - with all of the other disappointed guests and also the crazy wedding party (who all spilled out after the reception).

The hotel had set up Casino night, so many people were taking part. Another smart move on their part.

The Dallas/Heat game was on and there was an enthusiastic crowd engaged in the game. I grabbed my iPad from the room, the boys grabbed their DSi’s, Miles watched the game and we just chilled in the Lobby Bar for the night.

Earlier that day I had spoken to the front desk as we hadn't seen one towel animal in our room yet! The boys were disappointed. This is what we found waiting for us that night though.




Bedtime was early, 10ish. We all prayed that the rain would stop, and went to bed with high hopes for a sunny Day 4.



Day 4 did start out rainy, but by about 2pm we were back at the pool! Also coming up on Day 4 – Carboncitos for dinner!! Day 5 we went to Akumal and Tulum. Kaki pays a visit to the medic (appropriately nick-named "Baywatch"). Stay tuned.