Arrival in and Day 1 of Mexico

On January 14, 2012  we awoke at 4:00am and didn't mind. Weird, weird, weird. We gathered our final things, picked up some McDonald's breakfast, and hit the road. Thank you so much to Sarah for getting up early to finish our drive to the airport for us. (Without her help, we would've ended up paying almost $100 for airport parking.) We got there 2 hours before our flight as requested and met up with my parents, Garrison, and Ryan & Angela.  Our crew for the trip was complete.

During the flight I couldn't stop watching the LiveMap as we got closer and closer to Cancun. I was picturing myself at the ruins and living on the beach; imagine my disappointment when we landed and experienced this:

Waiting for the shuttle.

In our rental van driving through monster puddles.

Big, fat, relentless raindrops. 

Our first night in Mexico we stayed the night in a hotel in Cancun. It might be the most beautifully landscaped hotel I've ever stayed in. 

Us being silly while getting checked-in.

We brought a lot of bags with us.

We had our dinner and breakfast out on the patio by the beautiful trees and water.

Our first full day in Mexico (January 15) was a Sunday and, luckily for us, the rain had ceased. We drove around Cancun looking at the 'sights' and visiting some of the places my brother lived while he was serving in that area. We then got to attend one of the wards he worked in where we got to meet some fantastic people and some of the missionaries he worked with.

My mom bossing people at the beach.

This is the picture Garrison's sending to his missionary pals to taunt them.

Mr. Mitchell giving me a Cancun smooch.

Me marveling at how little shade the supposed shade-provider provides.

Lots and lots of shops like this.

 The smallest gym ever - it looked like they had one of everything.

Family on a tricycle. 

One of the places Garrison lived.

The Poots - one of Garrison's families in one of his wards.

We showed up unannounced and they fed us all...and it was tasty!

Garrison and some of his fellow missionaries. 

One of the LDS church buildings in Cancun.

We went to church there. 

We went to the Cancun Costco to stock up for our beach house.

After Costco we drove about an hour and a half to our beach house, Villa Gummerson, in Tulum. We got there when it was dark, but that didn't stop us from jumping in the pool. I about froze, but it was a delightful frozen.

This video was actually taken after we'd been there for almost our full week, but pretend we're exploring it on our first night there.


End Day 1 of Mexico.