Last week, we traveled with our local friends the Novaks to Cancun for a 4-night stay at the Royalton Splash Riviera! Readers of my blog will surely roll their eyes… another trip?! Well, yes. Despite the big summer Midwest road trip, and my recent boys’ trips to Kansas City and New Orleans, we had long ago booked this Mexico trip after an invite from the Novaks. Lauren also noted that, besides spring break, the family had not had a proper “vacation” in a while, by our standards. It would mean pulling the kids out of school for 3 days, which really gave John anxiety about falling behind in 7th grade.
For me, well, I had a 10-day break in my schedule between jobs. My last day at CA was October 30, and my first day at my new job was November 10, so I had some quality downtime built-in. It was just a happy coincidence that this trip took place during that downtime! If you want any more information on the new gig, you’ll have to ask me directly for the details.
The flight was smooth and we arrived at the resort nice and early. The resort was generally very good. It had a nice beach, great pool, swim-up bars, many restaurants, buffets, and the typical stuff. John and Edie had their good friends Wyatt and JJ to tag along with, and made their home in the pool with the swim-up bar where they repeatedly ordered slushies and smoothies and various kids’ drinks until they were dizzy with sugar. The adults found relaxing chairs and were never without a drink in hand with the top-notch service.
Among the highlights of the trip was Saturday, when the Novaks rented a 54-foot boat that took the eight of us out to sea where we snorkeled in crystal clear waters and docked for a while at Isla Mujeres for lunch and shopping. I also had a blast at one of the foam parties! There was a waterpark on-site and the kids rode the slides and lazy river to keep busy. One night we went to a Mayan themed dinner and show where I ate the surf-and-turf: steak and an octopus!
Among the lowlights were my big toe injury where I bashed it into a lounger, splitting my toenail which required medical attention. If that sounds familiar, I had to get medical attention the last time we were in Mexico in 2024 as well for a very similar injury! The four kids also got into some trouble knocking on random rooms one night, resulting in a late night visit from security. We also forgot our Nintendo Switch at the resort.
Overall, we had a great time relaxing and enjoying the perfect weather. I was probably not 100% myself on the backend of the trip—I was a little on edge that there would be travel complications on the way home and I wouldn’t get to the new job on time, even though it is fully remote. The only downside to this particular resort was their salesmen wandering the premises pressuring us into joining a special travelers’ club that sounded a lot like investing in a timeshare. Every hour or so I was approached by a friendly but pushy salesperson offering spa discounts or something to join this club. We declined.
We returned home on Monday the 9th, just in time for me to recover for an afternoon before starting the new job!
