A Mexican Thanksgiving 2011

I have wanted to go the Yuccatan Penninsula and the Mayan ruins forever.  We went to Cancun for the Thanksgiving break and got to see lots of amazing things.  The weather was perfect and Ryan even got us all to play beach soccer.  After last years terrible Thanksgiving dinner at the top of the Palm Springs Tram, this year we played it safe and went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  It was terrific!

We explored Chichen Itza and had a fantastic guide.  He was easy to understand and had a lot of his own insights that he told us about.  He showed us pictures of the things we couldn't see on his iPad and had pictures of himself with Jennifer Lopez when she filmed a video there.  We had perfect weather for walking around.

I loved looking at all the handpainted pottery and stalls of authentic Mexican things.  We tried to go to Ek Balam afterwards but got there just as they were closing.  Maybe next trip!

I wanted to experience some real Mexican culture so we found a little roadside restaurant.  It was just a husband, wife, and their young daughter with a tiny kitchen and 4 little tables.  We were the only ones there (the man had flagged us down on the street!)  It was fun to be adventurous and the food was really delicious.

 

We were serenaded at the restaurant by our hotel and the singers put the huge sombrero on Becca and Ryan.  We had great food the whole trip, and that says alot coming from no-spice eating, picky kids.

 

We played tennis on the rooftop courts, and only lost a few balls over the edge.

On the last day, Dave and Ryan were on a different flight so they dropped Becca and I off at Playa del Carmen to do some much needed shopping.  The pottery was beautiful.  "Tropical" was the best restaurant in the world (Becca wants to go back to Cancun just to eat there again and I have already tried to recreate our meals since we've been home.)  We missed Alaina but will definitely come again with her.  Fun family times.