Dia de Gracias - Giorgianis en Mexico

Contrary to our previous Thanksgiving trips - Akumal Beach, just south of Cancun, proved to be just as warm and inviting as we hoped. No jackets on this trip! Just beautiful sunshine, water, sand and family. It was fantastic.  

The house we stayed at was unreal; 7 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 2 pools, a hot tub and touched the beach. We could sit on the porch and know that we were only steps away from the pool, the kitchen and the ocean. 

That's before you factor in that there was a staff on site that would shop, cook, serve and clean. They kept us full of margaritas and free of sand the whole week long. 

As cousins often do, they fell in immediately to playing together and pairing off when their interests differed. Peityn and Gretchen are happily chatting in the pool while the three little gingers play with water and buckets on the side. A little something for everyone.

When we travel together, we have a big crew, so it was ideal to have space to spread out, enjoy a quiet book on a covered rooftop, there was a space to exercise including rustic dumbbells made from tree trunks and hammocks to lay in while listening to the ocean and watching the tiny sand crabs dig. There was also a bar a few houses down on the beach - really an ideal spot. 

Mom and Dad celebrated 46 years of marriage while we were there. A little bonus celebration beyond the holiday. 

We're all so thankful for another healthy year for Mom. She has to work hard at it, but she is staying cancer-free!

We discovered cenotes! None of us knew what they were, but they are basically sinkholes that expose the water beneath. Watering holes of all different shapes and sizes - and temperatures! The kids were brave, one of the moms was braver (she is pictured here, and it's not me). 

It was slippery. There were bats. The water was cold. 

The kids all snorkeled, and jumped off of rocks and enjoyed searching for hanging pods of bats. And we all laughed at this poor woman who was there with another family who kept mistaking us for her group as she tried to get in on our family photos.

On our last full day in Mexico, we were down one family. We decided to try out the Akumal Animal Sanctuary and it didn't disappoint. This was no ordinary animal tourism stop, every animal in the sanctuary was recovered from some kind of terrible living condition. These animals have been found in luggage, recovered by border agents and removed from horrific conditions to be given proper food and medical care best rehabilitate them from trauma. 

We had perfect weather, even when we could see rain spouts way out in the ocean. A great place to vacation, highly recommend. 

Camp Fimfo!

Way back in March, our friends told us about this amazing property way out in New Braunfels that offered the experience of camping, with a little bit of the comfort of home. You can come out and stay in nature, but you don't need to pack the kitchen sink to be comfortable. You can bring your own RV, pack it all and come tent camping, or stay in a cabin - which is what we did. We booked adjacent cabins with 2 other families and Labor Day weekend was planned!

Camp Fimfo is an awesome place with a strange name, and it made us all happy for the weekend. 

This is about a 3.5 hour drive from where we live so we left Friday afternoon, hit a whole bunch of long weekend traffic, and arrived around sunset. Quick dinner, unload and then we went exploring.

There is a concert venue right next door, so we took in about an hour's worth of a free show, then stopped at the jumping pillow and returned to our cabin for the night. 

The next day started with fishing for the boys (and one very patient adult) and jogging for the adults. It is in hill country, and the hills felt like mountains, but it was beautiful outside with less humidity and it was nice to get out in the fresh air. 

The property is gigantic, and those that knew what they were doing rented golf carts to get around. All 400 golf carts were rented when we arrived, so it became pretty obvious that we were there with a crowd. It became even more obvious when we got to the pool and waterpark, the place was PACKED. 

There were so many things to do, but the crowing jewel was the alpine coaster! We had these cute little cars with a hand brake that we had complete control of, you had to push down to keep moving, if you let go your car stopped. It was a blast! Despite nerves (mostly from my & Graham's car), we immediately wanted to ride again. This was super fun, and a great view, but a little too pricy to go more than once in a single weekend. 

Graham and I got to be riding buddies because riders under 9 go with a friend.

Our final day activity was a float on the Guadalupe River. We started all smiles and sunscreen and ended with some valuable lessons learned. Tying tubes together is a good thought, but bad idea. The water level is actually more dangerous low than it is high. The ages of the kids we went with is the youngest I would ever take. Black inner tubes get super hot in the sun. Always bring a hat that you're willing to lose. 

Otherwise, our weekend was filled with the outdoors, fun group dinners made in our little cabin kitchens, hanging out late enough that sleeping 5 to a cabin was a breeze and just general silliness. S'mores ares still possible, even during a burn ban. 

Camp Fimfo was a blast. Worth the drive and the wait and even better with friends. We would recommend and return, maybe skip the tubing. 

South Central Italy

 The town that Gran and Poppa have a house in is extremely small, and in a pretty remote part of Italy. This makes it a bit more complicated to access, but opens up a door to parts of the country that didn't make our original vacation list. We were able to get out and see a whole part of the country that we wouldn't have gone to otherwise, and it was stunning!

Close to Pietracupa in Agnone was the Marinelli bell foundry. I was skeptical that the making of bells would keep everybody entertained for the duration of the tour, but I was surprised at how interesting it was to see how bells are made. Like big church bells - which they have in abundance in Italy. Historic bells like the last bell to be rung in the leaning tower of Pisa, or the Jubilee bell presented to Pope John Paul II that hangs in St. Peter's square. If you think about it, bells are present for many important events, the most common of which is telling the time. 

Jon and I were able to go exploring on our own for a weekend while our kids stayed with their grandparents. We took the opportunity to go to Sorrento, Positano and Capri, all three places were truly beautiful, mountains like I've only seen in photos, gardens and greenery galore and clear blue water. They were also HOT. We explored the cities as best we like to, on foot, so we logged nearly 10 miles each day. We earned our aperol (or lemon) spritzes. 

We were on a boat! With a super skilled captain who either gave us a deal, or stole us from one of his captain co-workers. Probably both.  

Panorama Capri, it took work to get there, but was an outstanding place to catch lunch.

We are on the side of the road here. This is the view from the road!

Juliana recommended this restaurant, O'Parruchiano for dinner in Sorrento. Reservations are full weeks in advance so we stalked the staff at opening and were first in line for a table for two. The land started as a lemon grove and they decided to build a restaurant on top. Or, better wording, throughout. The tables were amongst the lemon trees, flower and herb gardens.

It was a unique place to have a meal after a really incredible day. 

Italy - Cascate di Caprinone

 We had a full night of rain, which very temporarily lowered the temperature enough to inspire us to get back outside. We found an attraction called the Cascate de Carpinone that was less than an hour from Gran and Poppa's house and decided to check it out. Once we found the town, just about every sign pointed (literally) to the entrance for the waterfall hike. The trail was well maintained and perfectly marked, but extremely muddy from the previous night's rain.  After every 100 steps it felt like I was wearing platform shoes made of concrete, so I'd stop and scrape off the mud, and continue on the next 100. This made the hike slower than it usually would be, but a small price to pay for some cooler air. 

The waterfalls were beautiful and serene! There were so many rocks just waiting to be skipped! We were the only people around, so we could explore the area to our heart's content while taking a break from the mud. 

I was really surprised at these sweet little spots that we found, they were not at all what I had in my mind as what Italy would look like. It's nice to be pleasantly surprised on vacation, it felt like we found a hidden gem that got us moving, and kept us cool in the very warm summer.