Weddingbee

It’s back to reality here at work. Sad face. Just as Mr. Penguin and I were getting used to the slow and steady seep of alcohol into our bloodstream, we’re both back home.

But ahh, the memories! We spent our honeymoon at the less-than-one-year-old Excellence Playa Mujeres Resort, 15 minutes north of Cancun, Mexico. It was all kinds of excellence, all over the place.

We headed out to the airport on Monday morning after the wedding. I use the term “morning” loosely, as there is no good reason to call 4AM anything other than the hour of the dead. But we were 50% awake and 100% excited to get our booties to the airport!

We were the most haggard looking couple on the plane. The bags under our eyes were so big from lack of sleep the few weeks leading up to the wedding.

We arrived to some pretty nasty thunderstorms. Cancun weather in June is spotty, at best. But it was always hovering in the mid 80’s, rain or shine, and we only experienced rain a few days out of our 10 day stay, the first big storm being on the day of our arrival, and the second big storm being on the day we left. So that was very fortunate. But, rain or shine, since the weather was warm, it didn’t really put a huge damper on our vacation.

Poppin’ the bubbly upon arrival!

Our first full day there, in the eyes of Mr. Penguin, was a “total mess.” He was poised and ready for vacation. I, on the other hand, was still in fully functioning bridal mode. My brain had yet to wind down, so I woke up at 8AM, went to the gym, returned to the room and shook Mr. Penguin awake, claiming that we’d miss breakfast if he didn’t get up. Nevermind that the resort boasted free room service that included a full breakfast menu, 24 hours a day. He grudgingly got up, and we headed down for breakfast…

…where I decided that I’d be healthy, and ordered oatmeal and coffee. Mr. Penguin wondered how long I would keep this “healthy” crap up. It lasted till lunch that day :). Then we headed to the beach, where after a short hour of lounging with a book, I decided that I couldn’t stand sitting still any longer, and that I wasn’t quite sure that “10 days of doing nothing” was going to work out for me. You could almost see the steam seeping out of poor Mr. Peng’s ears. He distracted me by ushering me to lunch a full 2 hours after we ate breakfast and prayed I would take a nap after being distracted by 700 calories or so. Worked like a charm. I zzzz’ed through the rest of the day until it was time to eat again.

By day two I was getting the hang of doing nothing. The steady stream of alcohol from sunup to sundown killed the adequate amount of brain cells necessary for me to relax. Days two through ten followed an easy-to-follow pattern:

Awaken. Eat. Go to the beach. Drink. Read. Eat again. Go to the pool. Drink. Read. Nap. Drink. Eat Dinner. Drink. Enjoy one of our two balconies. Sleep. Repeat 9 times.

Witness below…

My typical noon view. Staring up at an umbrella on the beach in-between books.

Checking out my battle wounds from the wedding (I am clumsy. Good thing the dress was long.)

Champagne brunch on our balcony

Hanging out in our private pool

A great view from the back of our upper balcony

Our lower balcony during the day…

...and at night.

The mirrors in our bathroom were kind of high for this little Asian. I had to wear high heels to put on my makeup.

Every night the staff left us a towel animal that I hoarded and refused to use. One night we were low on towels, but I dried off with a wash cloth. I did not want to disassemble my cute-as-pie turkey. The little guy had eyes! Ripping him apart would be tragic!


Floating on the lazy river

Mr. Penguin braving the Mexican waters. I am deathly afraid of sharks, salt water, creatures that swim, seaweed that looks like creatures that swim, foreign waters, jet skiiers, and overly affectionate couples invading my swimming space. Nevermind that there are no sharks in Cancun, or that seaweed is good for your skin.

We dressed up for dinner every night! Look how my posture had gotten so bad over the past few weeks before the wedding, because my back was all knotted up. A quick trip to the resort’s spa for a signature massage fixed it all.

Mr. Peng and I at the bar at night

Mr. Penguin Flambeed!

The fruits of his labor. Bananas Flambee with ice cream…what a man! And now that he’s got the technique down, I hope we’ll be having this at home?

Glorious food. One dish I ate was some manner of lobster covered in cheese. My heart hurt after I ate it.

We ventured out of the resort for one day and headed to Cancun for a day of shopping and a quick drink at Senor Frogs Cancun, where Mr. Penguin had spent many a night on his High School Senior trip. I sipped my Palm Tree drink and smiled and nodded as he relived his trip.

Our sad last morning on the beach. Don’t believe that fake smile. I was crying on the inside.

We flew Frontier airline, and they’re known for having a different animal on the tail of every one of their planes. Believe it or not, we returned home on Frontier’s penguin plane! Mr. Penguin and I got a huge kick out of that. Then he asked me when I was going to retire from blogging. Then I kicked him square in the balls and asked him when he was going to quit watching sports. “Never,” he said. “Ditto,” I said.

Next up, a full review of the resort…stay tuned!

• Spreading the Love
• Wedding Favors!