Well we found out yesterday our marriage wasn't legal.
I was saddened at this news, obviously. Our pastor simply misplaced the signed marriage certificate, so it was never mailed to the county court system. We were waiting and waiting for the official marriage abstract to be sent back to us, and then realized they couldn't send it back because they had no record of our marriage.
Problem solved today, so we're officially and legally married! :) And as of August 8th, so no worries.
I'm still glad James is my husband, and legally too.
...and baby makes THREE
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Honeymoon
This is long and detailed... so don't read it if you don't want to, but we thought we would share some of our honeymoon with you. We have pictures of many of the things we talk about in here, but I am not going to load them up in here. if you would like to see some please e-mail me and tell me what you would want to see and I will send one if we had one.
Monday, August 10th, 2009
[Tiffany’s Point of View] James and I flew out VERY early from CMH to Memphis. From Memphis we flew into Cancun. Finally a flight I didn’t feel very nervous on! I think I was so excited to get here that I didn’t mind the turbulence or even sitting at the back of the plane. We arrived into Mexico and waited in a long line to get through Customs. Finally we had our bags and started the down the long hall of all the tour guides trying to make a buck. We found our driver and loaded up with a few other honeymooners on our way to the El Dorado Royale.
We were welcomed with a glass of champagne as we were directed to the special area to learn how to check into our special Casita suite. We never touched our bags from the time the taxi dropped us off until they were in our room. We were taken by golf cart on a quick tour of the resort. BEAUTIFUL! This place is a tropical paradise. We were taken to the Casita section’s conceierge, where we booked our candlelight dinner, massage, and learned about our special privilages for having a Casita suite. We are the only ones who can make dinner reservations, we have access to private beach beds, and are on a more secluded area of the resort.
We headed up to our room finally. Our suite is a second floor with vaulted ceilings, outdoor roofless shower, thatch roof… The list goes on and on. Our Jacuzzi is surrounded by windows looking out to the ocean. Our balcony has an outdoor bed that also looks out to the ocean.
We are about 200 feet from the water. The sound of the waves crashing is so relaxing. Our bed had a swan made from towels with the local red flower as decoration. The bed also has a canopy, very romantic! Our fridge was stocked with beer, Coca-cola, water, juice, and other sodas.
When we arrived in our room we quickly filled up the Jacuzzi tub with bubbles and popped the cork to the chilled champagne waiting in our room. We were covered in bubbles just laughing and laughing when the concierge came to our room to see if we needed anything. It was a little embarrassing!
We then threw on our swimsuits and went down the pool right outside our suite. We headed to the swim-up bar and had ourselves our first pina-colada in the Carribean. We started meeting other honeymooners, all that were married the same day as us.
After a shot with some honeymooners we headed back to shower for our first dinner, at Fondue. James ordered the veggie plate and I the seafood. We had a dark chocolate fondue with fruit for dessert… Absolutely delicious. We plan to go back for our last dinner on Saturday.
We then went back to our room and put in our order for 6:00 am room service breakfast before going to bed.
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
We were woke up this morning at 6:00am by our breakfast being delivered at 6:00 am. The sun had not yet risen, so we took our omelets, coffee, toast, and hash browns out onto the balcony. We enjoyed our breakfast as we watched a beautiful sunrise over the Caribbean.
After breakfast we showered and dressed for our long trip to Chichen Itza. In the lobby we met a couple from Baltimore, Maryland also honeymooning. April and Ryan Sigmund were married the same day as us.
We talked with them a bit before boarding the bus. Our tour guide, Enrique, was one of the most intelligent people we’ve ever met. He spoke 4 languages fluently, and even some German. So English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German. He narrated the entire 3 hours out to the ruins, translating between each language. We traveled through Vallavoid(?), a Mayan Village. We then visited a cenote. It was a huge sink hole with fresh water. I jumped in while James took some pictures. It was a little intimidating, we were told it was over 120 feet deep. 
There were tons of other people jumping in, and tons of little black fish swimming all around. While at the cenote, we purchased a Mayan symbol pendant (cartouche) with our name “Garcia” spelled out. We then headed to a village where we had some very, very good authentic Mexican food. Complete with fresh, hot tortillas for James. Beans and rice, and noodles were the best part of this lunch, as well as the bottled Pepsi.
We FINALLY then arrived at Chichen Itza.
The ruins were amazing. The acreage that was covered by so many different artifacts was impressive. We spent about 3 hours, 1 ½ with our tour guide (smartest man ever, and fastest) and 1 ½ on our own. It was blazing hot, about 93 degrees with no breeze. We took probably over a hundred photos of the ruins.
On our way back we were shown a video about the ruins and our possible demise the Mayans predicted for December 21st, 2012. I guess we’ll find out if that’s true soon enough.
When we returned back to the resort around 7:00pm, we decided to hit up the Japanese restaurant (Kampai) with April and Ryan. We had a good meal (not as good as Fondue though) with an amazing dessert. After dinner James and I laid out on our balcony bed and ended up falling asleep. I woke up worried about being eaten by bugs and we finally went to sleep after a long day.
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
James and I woke up on our own terms this morning, but still early, around 7:30 am. We traveled to Cocotal for the infamous buffet breakfast we had heard about. The extensive buffet was very impressive, complete with a full open bar for those needing some alcohol in the morning (and even champagne). We stuffed ourselves silly.
This was our first day to just relax at the resort, so we went back to our rooms and threw on our suits for the main pool. There we ran into April and Ryan again. We swam for a bit, laid on the beds by the pool, then went off in search of some snorkeling equipment. We snorkeled by the shore for about 20 minutes, where we both ended up getting fried. I had SPF 45 on, which apparently does nothing. James had no sunscreen, and burnt his lady tattoos pretty good. We saw some pretty cool fish and got familiar with the equipment before our big trip on Friday.
We then headed for the Health Bar for a couple of fruit smoothies. Then back to the outdoor pizza and burger place for some cervazas and pizza. After we ate we walked down to the Casita beds on the shore. I laid down and enjoyed the breeze, living my own little Corona commercials, while James roamed the beach furthering his sun burn.
After about an hour we returned to the room. I took a nap while James went to Guycamayas bar to watch the Mexico versus USA soccer game. When he returned we both showered and dressed to head to Italia for some appetizers. We had some awesome vegetable bruschetta and caprese salad with wine to tie us over until our candlelight dinner. We again ran into Ryan and April who were enjoying their Italian dinner as well. We hoped at that point they didn’t think we were stalking them!
After our snack we wandered around to the other gift shops. We found an awesome Rivieria Maya photo album to show off all of our honeymoon photos.
After killing a couple more hours at a few of the bars, and meeting some more honeymooners, we dressed up and headed to our candle light dinner. Dinner was VERY romantic.
Right on the beach, complete with a saxophonist. Our waiter was great. James had a mushroom quesadilla with guacamole, and I had the Lobster “cappuccino” and salmon with mushrooms. Our dessert was 2 small cakes on a plate decorated in chocolate reading “Happy Honeymoon James & Tiffany.” 
After dinner we both headed to the Guycamayas bar where there was a limbo competition going on. We met up with Ryan and April again who were sharing a swing by the bar. We found our own and enjoyed a few drinks and stories before calling it a night. We drank more than we had yet and both passed out.
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
We slept in a little this morning, until 8:30am. Enjoying Central time zone. We went just downstairs to the Japanese restaurant for breakfast. James had macadamia nut coconut infused pancakes served with cantaloupe and mango sauce. I had waffles with blueberries and whipped cream (which I don’t usually like, but this was special). I also had a bagel with grilled vegetables. The food here is all 5-star quality, as well as the service.
After breakfast we dressed for parasailing and headed to the lobby. Another long walk, we never seem to catch the shuttle. Ryan and April were there waiting for the same shuttle for their wave runner/snorkeling excursion. We planned a trip to Playa Del Carmen for some shopping for this evening, but delayed it until tomorrow (Friday).
At Maroma Marina we met up with a couple from Missouri who were going to be parasailing with us. They offered to take pictures for us if we took some for them. Parasailing was pretty scary at first,
we must have been at least 150 feet up. The water was crystal clear. We saw a ray swimming which was amazing. We couldn’t tell if we also saw turtles or rocks, but either way, the view was amazing. [Start James Point of View] On the way down our guide dipped us in the water (after we had to ask) then brought us back on board. After a timely wait for our shuttle back to the El Dorado Royal we made our way back and had lunch delivered to our room. The In room menu wasn’t very vegetarian friendly, and after I walked around to see if we could just get some food to go from one of the restaurants he stopped at our concierge and he had a spread sent up. We were given a noodle and grilled vegetable dish, Pasta and Cheese dish, a large fruit plate, and a garden salad.
After our late lunch we laid around for a bit, then headed down to the main pool. It was extremely hot and we were looking for a place to cool off, but all of the pools were in the 90’s and not very refreshing. After a while we made our way to a beach bed to relax on. After we finished the cervezas I headed to the nearby swim-up bar to get us another round of drinks. On the way there I ran into a couple getting out of the outdoor Jacuzzi and they let me know that it was a cool water Jacuzzi and that it was pretty refreshing. So I jumped in for a sec to check it out. After I went to the bar to get our drinks. We had just been talking about the fact that we had been hearing about people from Ohio all week, but yet to have met any, so I asked a random couple at the bar where they were from and, low and behold, they were from Columbus, Ohio. I got our drinks and grabbed Tiffany. We sat in the cool outdoor Jacuzzi for a bit, then headed down to the swim-up bar to chat with our fellow buckeyes. It turned out that he went to ONU (Tiff’s alma mater) and grew up in the same, very small town, as others that she knew. She went to OU and when they graduated they moved to Grove City.
After relaxing and drinking in the pool with them for a bit we went upstairs to get cleaned up for dinner. We decided, after seeing Ryan and April’s dinner, that we would head out to the Italian restaurant “Italia”. I ordered the Caprese salad again along with the mushroom soup. For my entrée I ate two helpings of the Cajun gnocchi. Tiffany ate a bunch of seafood. This again was another amazing dining experience. For dessert I ate a caramel ice cream thing, but Tiffany was too full for dessert. After dinner we again headed out the Guycamayas bar for the El Dorado Idol competition. We got there right when it started. It started off pretty well, most of the people were very good. But as the night wore on, and people drank more, the performances got worse. The winner was a guy from the UK who sang That Lady is a Tramp, by Frank Sinatra, and he did a very good job singing it. We then went to our room and called it a night.
Friday August 14th, 2009
We woke up early to the arrival of our in room breakfast again. This breakfast was a bit simpler with scrambled eggs, potatoes, grilled vegetables, juice, coffee, and toast. After breakfast we packed up our things and got ready for our snorkeling adventure.
We left about 7:45 am for the first stop of our adventure. This was a cenote right off the main highway. There were three options on how to enter the water, a 25 foot drop, zipline, or climbing in. I tried all three,
(you can't see but I am jumping in the cenote in this picture) but Tiffany just used the ladder. This freshwater centote was beautiful, although because it is freshwater filled from underground rivers it was very cool (or refreshing as our guide called it) and not as much fish life. We were able to see many catfish. From there we went over to a small underwater cavern adjacent to this cenote. While the temperature is the same there is no light, so very little life in these caverns, but we were able to see a baby snapping turtle. We also got a great view of the stalactites, stalagmites, and other features of this cavern. As well as an absolutely breathtaking view of the cenote entrance next to us. (this picture doesn't do it justice) 
Our next stop was to a much bigger underwater cavern. There were parts of this cavern where you could put your feet down and two feet later it was 65 feet deep. There were also underwater scuba adventures that left from this cave that went on for miles into unlit underwater caves. Again we saw amazing images through out this refreshing trip.
After our second stop we had lunch served to us from the people who lived on this property. Barbecued chicken (which we didn’t eat) rice, black beans, fresh handmade corn tortillas, chips and salsa, and of course Pepsi Light. Tiffany and I sat next to the window and watched two chickens cluck at each other.
Next we went to the lagoon to snorkel. Here we were finally given flippers, and in warmer water, although the temperature was not constant because we passed many areas where the underwater rivers entered the sea. On the way out Tiffany and I discovered that we were better off by ourselves rather than swimming with the group (after getting kicked or bumped into one too many times). We were able to see a very big ray (at least 3 feet in width)
and I was able to swim right on top of it. We were not able to identify it as a sting, manta, or otherwise, but it was remarkable. Later we were able to see a large barracuda, but I was not able to get close enough to it to take a picture. We swam out through many different coral groups, but did not see as much fishlife as we would have hoped. After a while we turned around and began to head back to our starting point. About the last 1/3 of our trip back we all of the sudden were swarmed by hundreds of beautiful tropical fish, And I had already used up all of the film on our underwater camara .
After we got done snorkeling we headed back to the resort and relaxed for a bit before heading out to La Isla for dinner (one of our only options). At dinner we ordered an $85 bottle of wine. We both ate the Artichoke and garlic cream fettuccini with an Onion soup for an appetizer (2nd time this week).
Saturday 15 August 2009
We woke up for our Ocean Side “Sky Massage”. We both discovered that our zeal to protect the coral was outmatched by the rays of the sun (the Biodegradable sunscreen didn’t work). So our skin was a little burned. We were both nervous that the burns would make it so that we couldn’t enjoy the massage, but to our delight they are used to dealing with this, and our massage therapists were prepared with aloe and a gentle touch. After an extremely relaxing session, we ran back to our room to clean up, change and meet Ryan and April down stairs for breakfast before they took off for Baltimore. We met at Kampai where we both at the stuffed French toast. Again, with lack of surprise, it was a five star meal served. After breakfast we headed out side to get a good picture of our new friends and us, and said good bye.
We then got ready and headed out to Playa Del Carmen, finally. We got a taxi from the front desk, and despite our first major language barrier of our honeymoon (our taxi driver), we were able to make it to the city without a hitch. (Getting back wasn’t as easy). We were both on a mission to get something personal for each of us, something for the house, and a good bottle of Tequila.
With a little searching, and a lot of bartering we found some pretty good deals. I bought a pretty cool pipe as a souvenir… not that I smoke, I talked him down about $20. Tiffany got the deal of the week however. She found a bracelet that she really liked and we talked down from the sticker price of over $700 USD to $120 USD. We also found a pretty cool light for the kitchen, and of course I found a great bottle of Tequila that is only sold in the Riviera Maya region of Mexico. We also stopped at a Mexican restaurant for some Dos XX (cervezas) and Nacho’s.
As we got ready to leave we realized that we didn’t quite understand our taxi driver on where to meet her until we were 15 minutes late and many blocks away. We sprinted back to where she was and with a breath of relief she popped out and waved at us from her cab. In what English she could muster she tried to explain to us that her shift was over and that her friend was going to drive us back after he dropped her off at her house. The big problem was that he spoke no English, and wasn’t quite sure where our resort was. This made for a nervous but entertaining drive back. In the end we did make it back to our resort and room in plenty of time to head out for our only bad experience at the resort for lunch.
We decided to head out to Jo Jo’s seaside restaurant. We had passed it many times, but knew that they didn’t have much on their menu for us to eat. But we wanted to eat there anyway. Our waiter wasn’t very thrilled to be there and it showed. I ordered a salad, an appetizer, and the Cucumber gazpacho. As did Tiffany. This was supposed to be a quick meal and took over 45 minutes before we got our soup, but instead of the gazpacho (cold soup) we ended up with the Fish Chowder (Very hot soup) since neither one of us thought to blow on it, we both burned our lips. Needless to say we got up and left (first time we didn’t tip).
We went back to our room and gathered a few things and made our way down to some of the pools. The first one right outside of our room had a group of people celebrating their last day there, and one nice lady gave us a floating mattress to use in the pool. But after a while they were a bit too loud for us so we moved down a bit before we decided to lie on a beach bed. I found out that we still had a gift certificate good for either a couple’s massage, candlelight dinner on the beach, or $200 in wine or tequila. Since we didn’t have time to schedule the first two in, I met with my concierge and arranged to have their two most expensive bottles of tequila sent to my room to bring back to Ohio with me.
Finally that night we went up stairs and got ready for our last dinner at the resort (shedding a tear right now). We decided early on that we were going to the La Fondue again. We wanted to wait until they could set up the table we sat at before so we had a few minutes to kill. The head waiter decided that this would be a good time to take our picture at every possible place in the restaurant. It is a shame that the one from that nice couple’s lap didn’t turn out. Finally after the wait and six pictures we were able to sit in the same place. We both ordered the same thing we had before, me with the vegetable plate and Tiffany with the seafood plate, and I gave her one of my mushrooms again. For desert we decided to do the white chocolate fondue this time, which came with cookies, bananas, strawberries, and cantaloupe. Very good, but I think I liked the dark chocolate more.
Sunday August 16th 2009, (the day we came back to reality)
Tiffany and I woke up early and walked down to get our last free meal at the Cocotal breakfast buffet again. Just like before the spread was pretty amazing. It made us wish that we could stay there forever, but we both also truly missed our dogs by this point and really wanted to sleep in our own bed. We both got a pretty wide variety of food, and left feeling stuffed. We both were looking forward to good ol’ fashioned American food at this point too.
We went down to the lobby with our bags at 10:30, luckily too, because even though we were told that we would leave at 11:40, the shuttle was there waiting for us at 10:40 (apparently we weren’t the only one’s given the wrong time since some guy was about to test out the Mexican jails over his miscommunication) But no harm no foul we were off to the Airport back to Ohio. We went through baggage check, and then the duty free shop (which you have to walk through… go figure) but the only thing we bought we should have bought a ton of – a Mexican candy called “amaranth”. That stuff was delicious, like their version of a granola bar. We also found a dominos at the airport and were more than willing to eat some greasy cheese pizza for our lunch. Thanks to NorthWest Air we had to barter our seats with other passengers to sit next to each other for our leg from Mexico to Memphis, but we got there safe enough. Our second leg to Columbus was not very much fun as we had about a 45 minute to an hour delay because they couldn’t get one of the engines to start. Then after taxiing out to the runway they turned around with no explanation. Tiffany at this point is understandably a bit nervous, but we finally did take off. Before the 10,000 foot limit is reached we both broke out our MP3 players to take our minds off things, and no sooner did we do that that the stewardess came over and lectured us (her) about how dangerous it was because it interferes with the communication between the pilots and the tower. I wanted to tell her that not only have we both taken physics classes and learned about how radio frequencies work, and that the EM field of an iPod wouldn’t even come close to disrupting that, or that my mom and dad were in the FAA and that I have had conversations with them about this subject, and that I watched a Myth Buster’s episode where they debunked this, but I was also just not an idiot… apparently they don’t teach you to think in sky waitress school. I know you are going to delete this rant Tiffany, but I thought it was funny. [I’m not going to delete it, because I just wanted to punch her as well and tell her I turned it on before we were allowed to because they pilot scared the heck out of me taxing and then returning to the mechanic and taxing again with no explanation!]
We finally made it back to O-HI-O about 10:45pm and found our car, that my sister left when she flew out 5 hours before hand, without a problem. We made our way home and laid with our dogs for a while and just unwound from the trip before hitting the hay. I love you doll.
{Posted by James}
Monday, August 10th, 2009
[Tiffany’s Point of View] James and I flew out VERY early from CMH to Memphis. From Memphis we flew into Cancun. Finally a flight I didn’t feel very nervous on! I think I was so excited to get here that I didn’t mind the turbulence or even sitting at the back of the plane. We arrived into Mexico and waited in a long line to get through Customs. Finally we had our bags and started the down the long hall of all the tour guides trying to make a buck. We found our driver and loaded up with a few other honeymooners on our way to the El Dorado Royale.
We were welcomed with a glass of champagne as we were directed to the special area to learn how to check into our special Casita suite. We never touched our bags from the time the taxi dropped us off until they were in our room. We were taken by golf cart on a quick tour of the resort. BEAUTIFUL! This place is a tropical paradise. We were taken to the Casita section’s conceierge, where we booked our candlelight dinner, massage, and learned about our special privilages for having a Casita suite. We are the only ones who can make dinner reservations, we have access to private beach beds, and are on a more secluded area of the resort.
We headed up to our room finally. Our suite is a second floor with vaulted ceilings, outdoor roofless shower, thatch roof… The list goes on and on. Our Jacuzzi is surrounded by windows looking out to the ocean. Our balcony has an outdoor bed that also looks out to the ocean.
We are about 200 feet from the water. The sound of the waves crashing is so relaxing. Our bed had a swan made from towels with the local red flower as decoration. The bed also has a canopy, very romantic! Our fridge was stocked with beer, Coca-cola, water, juice, and other sodas.When we arrived in our room we quickly filled up the Jacuzzi tub with bubbles and popped the cork to the chilled champagne waiting in our room. We were covered in bubbles just laughing and laughing when the concierge came to our room to see if we needed anything. It was a little embarrassing!
We then threw on our swimsuits and went down the pool right outside our suite. We headed to the swim-up bar and had ourselves our first pina-colada in the Carribean. We started meeting other honeymooners, all that were married the same day as us.
After a shot with some honeymooners we headed back to shower for our first dinner, at Fondue. James ordered the veggie plate and I the seafood. We had a dark chocolate fondue with fruit for dessert… Absolutely delicious. We plan to go back for our last dinner on Saturday.
We then went back to our room and put in our order for 6:00 am room service breakfast before going to bed.
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
We were woke up this morning at 6:00am by our breakfast being delivered at 6:00 am. The sun had not yet risen, so we took our omelets, coffee, toast, and hash browns out onto the balcony. We enjoyed our breakfast as we watched a beautiful sunrise over the Caribbean.
After breakfast we showered and dressed for our long trip to Chichen Itza. In the lobby we met a couple from Baltimore, Maryland also honeymooning. April and Ryan Sigmund were married the same day as us.
We talked with them a bit before boarding the bus. Our tour guide, Enrique, was one of the most intelligent people we’ve ever met. He spoke 4 languages fluently, and even some German. So English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German. He narrated the entire 3 hours out to the ruins, translating between each language. We traveled through Vallavoid(?), a Mayan Village. We then visited a cenote. It was a huge sink hole with fresh water. I jumped in while James took some pictures. It was a little intimidating, we were told it was over 120 feet deep. 
There were tons of other people jumping in, and tons of little black fish swimming all around. While at the cenote, we purchased a Mayan symbol pendant (cartouche) with our name “Garcia” spelled out. We then headed to a village where we had some very, very good authentic Mexican food. Complete with fresh, hot tortillas for James. Beans and rice, and noodles were the best part of this lunch, as well as the bottled Pepsi.
We FINALLY then arrived at Chichen Itza.
The ruins were amazing. The acreage that was covered by so many different artifacts was impressive. We spent about 3 hours, 1 ½ with our tour guide (smartest man ever, and fastest) and 1 ½ on our own. It was blazing hot, about 93 degrees with no breeze. We took probably over a hundred photos of the ruins.On our way back we were shown a video about the ruins and our possible demise the Mayans predicted for December 21st, 2012. I guess we’ll find out if that’s true soon enough.
When we returned back to the resort around 7:00pm, we decided to hit up the Japanese restaurant (Kampai) with April and Ryan. We had a good meal (not as good as Fondue though) with an amazing dessert. After dinner James and I laid out on our balcony bed and ended up falling asleep. I woke up worried about being eaten by bugs and we finally went to sleep after a long day.
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
James and I woke up on our own terms this morning, but still early, around 7:30 am. We traveled to Cocotal for the infamous buffet breakfast we had heard about. The extensive buffet was very impressive, complete with a full open bar for those needing some alcohol in the morning (and even champagne). We stuffed ourselves silly.
This was our first day to just relax at the resort, so we went back to our rooms and threw on our suits for the main pool. There we ran into April and Ryan again. We swam for a bit, laid on the beds by the pool, then went off in search of some snorkeling equipment. We snorkeled by the shore for about 20 minutes, where we both ended up getting fried. I had SPF 45 on, which apparently does nothing. James had no sunscreen, and burnt his lady tattoos pretty good. We saw some pretty cool fish and got familiar with the equipment before our big trip on Friday.
We then headed for the Health Bar for a couple of fruit smoothies. Then back to the outdoor pizza and burger place for some cervazas and pizza. After we ate we walked down to the Casita beds on the shore. I laid down and enjoyed the breeze, living my own little Corona commercials, while James roamed the beach furthering his sun burn.
After about an hour we returned to the room. I took a nap while James went to Guycamayas bar to watch the Mexico versus USA soccer game. When he returned we both showered and dressed to head to Italia for some appetizers. We had some awesome vegetable bruschetta and caprese salad with wine to tie us over until our candlelight dinner. We again ran into Ryan and April who were enjoying their Italian dinner as well. We hoped at that point they didn’t think we were stalking them!
After our snack we wandered around to the other gift shops. We found an awesome Rivieria Maya photo album to show off all of our honeymoon photos.
After killing a couple more hours at a few of the bars, and meeting some more honeymooners, we dressed up and headed to our candle light dinner. Dinner was VERY romantic.
Right on the beach, complete with a saxophonist. Our waiter was great. James had a mushroom quesadilla with guacamole, and I had the Lobster “cappuccino” and salmon with mushrooms. Our dessert was 2 small cakes on a plate decorated in chocolate reading “Happy Honeymoon James & Tiffany.” 
After dinner we both headed to the Guycamayas bar where there was a limbo competition going on. We met up with Ryan and April again who were sharing a swing by the bar. We found our own and enjoyed a few drinks and stories before calling it a night. We drank more than we had yet and both passed out.
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
We slept in a little this morning, until 8:30am. Enjoying Central time zone. We went just downstairs to the Japanese restaurant for breakfast. James had macadamia nut coconut infused pancakes served with cantaloupe and mango sauce. I had waffles with blueberries and whipped cream (which I don’t usually like, but this was special). I also had a bagel with grilled vegetables. The food here is all 5-star quality, as well as the service.
After breakfast we dressed for parasailing and headed to the lobby. Another long walk, we never seem to catch the shuttle. Ryan and April were there waiting for the same shuttle for their wave runner/snorkeling excursion. We planned a trip to Playa Del Carmen for some shopping for this evening, but delayed it until tomorrow (Friday).
At Maroma Marina we met up with a couple from Missouri who were going to be parasailing with us. They offered to take pictures for us if we took some for them. Parasailing was pretty scary at first,
we must have been at least 150 feet up. The water was crystal clear. We saw a ray swimming which was amazing. We couldn’t tell if we also saw turtles or rocks, but either way, the view was amazing. [Start James Point of View] On the way down our guide dipped us in the water (after we had to ask) then brought us back on board. After a timely wait for our shuttle back to the El Dorado Royal we made our way back and had lunch delivered to our room. The In room menu wasn’t very vegetarian friendly, and after I walked around to see if we could just get some food to go from one of the restaurants he stopped at our concierge and he had a spread sent up. We were given a noodle and grilled vegetable dish, Pasta and Cheese dish, a large fruit plate, and a garden salad.After our late lunch we laid around for a bit, then headed down to the main pool. It was extremely hot and we were looking for a place to cool off, but all of the pools were in the 90’s and not very refreshing. After a while we made our way to a beach bed to relax on. After we finished the cervezas I headed to the nearby swim-up bar to get us another round of drinks. On the way there I ran into a couple getting out of the outdoor Jacuzzi and they let me know that it was a cool water Jacuzzi and that it was pretty refreshing. So I jumped in for a sec to check it out. After I went to the bar to get our drinks. We had just been talking about the fact that we had been hearing about people from Ohio all week, but yet to have met any, so I asked a random couple at the bar where they were from and, low and behold, they were from Columbus, Ohio. I got our drinks and grabbed Tiffany. We sat in the cool outdoor Jacuzzi for a bit, then headed down to the swim-up bar to chat with our fellow buckeyes. It turned out that he went to ONU (Tiff’s alma mater) and grew up in the same, very small town, as others that she knew. She went to OU and when they graduated they moved to Grove City.
After relaxing and drinking in the pool with them for a bit we went upstairs to get cleaned up for dinner. We decided, after seeing Ryan and April’s dinner, that we would head out to the Italian restaurant “Italia”. I ordered the Caprese salad again along with the mushroom soup. For my entrée I ate two helpings of the Cajun gnocchi. Tiffany ate a bunch of seafood. This again was another amazing dining experience. For dessert I ate a caramel ice cream thing, but Tiffany was too full for dessert. After dinner we again headed out the Guycamayas bar for the El Dorado Idol competition. We got there right when it started. It started off pretty well, most of the people were very good. But as the night wore on, and people drank more, the performances got worse. The winner was a guy from the UK who sang That Lady is a Tramp, by Frank Sinatra, and he did a very good job singing it. We then went to our room and called it a night.
Friday August 14th, 2009
We woke up early to the arrival of our in room breakfast again. This breakfast was a bit simpler with scrambled eggs, potatoes, grilled vegetables, juice, coffee, and toast. After breakfast we packed up our things and got ready for our snorkeling adventure.
We left about 7:45 am for the first stop of our adventure. This was a cenote right off the main highway. There were three options on how to enter the water, a 25 foot drop, zipline, or climbing in. I tried all three,
(you can't see but I am jumping in the cenote in this picture) but Tiffany just used the ladder. This freshwater centote was beautiful, although because it is freshwater filled from underground rivers it was very cool (or refreshing as our guide called it) and not as much fish life. We were able to see many catfish. From there we went over to a small underwater cavern adjacent to this cenote. While the temperature is the same there is no light, so very little life in these caverns, but we were able to see a baby snapping turtle. We also got a great view of the stalactites, stalagmites, and other features of this cavern. As well as an absolutely breathtaking view of the cenote entrance next to us. (this picture doesn't do it justice) 
Our next stop was to a much bigger underwater cavern. There were parts of this cavern where you could put your feet down and two feet later it was 65 feet deep. There were also underwater scuba adventures that left from this cave that went on for miles into unlit underwater caves. Again we saw amazing images through out this refreshing trip.
After our second stop we had lunch served to us from the people who lived on this property. Barbecued chicken (which we didn’t eat) rice, black beans, fresh handmade corn tortillas, chips and salsa, and of course Pepsi Light. Tiffany and I sat next to the window and watched two chickens cluck at each other.
Next we went to the lagoon to snorkel. Here we were finally given flippers, and in warmer water, although the temperature was not constant because we passed many areas where the underwater rivers entered the sea. On the way out Tiffany and I discovered that we were better off by ourselves rather than swimming with the group (after getting kicked or bumped into one too many times). We were able to see a very big ray (at least 3 feet in width)
and I was able to swim right on top of it. We were not able to identify it as a sting, manta, or otherwise, but it was remarkable. Later we were able to see a large barracuda, but I was not able to get close enough to it to take a picture. We swam out through many different coral groups, but did not see as much fishlife as we would have hoped. After a while we turned around and began to head back to our starting point. About the last 1/3 of our trip back we all of the sudden were swarmed by hundreds of beautiful tropical fish, And I had already used up all of the film on our underwater camara .After we got done snorkeling we headed back to the resort and relaxed for a bit before heading out to La Isla for dinner (one of our only options). At dinner we ordered an $85 bottle of wine. We both ate the Artichoke and garlic cream fettuccini with an Onion soup for an appetizer (2nd time this week).
Saturday 15 August 2009
We woke up for our Ocean Side “Sky Massage”. We both discovered that our zeal to protect the coral was outmatched by the rays of the sun (the Biodegradable sunscreen didn’t work). So our skin was a little burned. We were both nervous that the burns would make it so that we couldn’t enjoy the massage, but to our delight they are used to dealing with this, and our massage therapists were prepared with aloe and a gentle touch. After an extremely relaxing session, we ran back to our room to clean up, change and meet Ryan and April down stairs for breakfast before they took off for Baltimore. We met at Kampai where we both at the stuffed French toast. Again, with lack of surprise, it was a five star meal served. After breakfast we headed out side to get a good picture of our new friends and us, and said good bye.
We then got ready and headed out to Playa Del Carmen, finally. We got a taxi from the front desk, and despite our first major language barrier of our honeymoon (our taxi driver), we were able to make it to the city without a hitch. (Getting back wasn’t as easy). We were both on a mission to get something personal for each of us, something for the house, and a good bottle of Tequila.
With a little searching, and a lot of bartering we found some pretty good deals. I bought a pretty cool pipe as a souvenir… not that I smoke, I talked him down about $20. Tiffany got the deal of the week however. She found a bracelet that she really liked and we talked down from the sticker price of over $700 USD to $120 USD. We also found a pretty cool light for the kitchen, and of course I found a great bottle of Tequila that is only sold in the Riviera Maya region of Mexico. We also stopped at a Mexican restaurant for some Dos XX (cervezas) and Nacho’s.As we got ready to leave we realized that we didn’t quite understand our taxi driver on where to meet her until we were 15 minutes late and many blocks away. We sprinted back to where she was and with a breath of relief she popped out and waved at us from her cab. In what English she could muster she tried to explain to us that her shift was over and that her friend was going to drive us back after he dropped her off at her house. The big problem was that he spoke no English, and wasn’t quite sure where our resort was. This made for a nervous but entertaining drive back. In the end we did make it back to our resort and room in plenty of time to head out for our only bad experience at the resort for lunch.
We decided to head out to Jo Jo’s seaside restaurant. We had passed it many times, but knew that they didn’t have much on their menu for us to eat. But we wanted to eat there anyway. Our waiter wasn’t very thrilled to be there and it showed. I ordered a salad, an appetizer, and the Cucumber gazpacho. As did Tiffany. This was supposed to be a quick meal and took over 45 minutes before we got our soup, but instead of the gazpacho (cold soup) we ended up with the Fish Chowder (Very hot soup) since neither one of us thought to blow on it, we both burned our lips. Needless to say we got up and left (first time we didn’t tip).
We went back to our room and gathered a few things and made our way down to some of the pools. The first one right outside of our room had a group of people celebrating their last day there, and one nice lady gave us a floating mattress to use in the pool. But after a while they were a bit too loud for us so we moved down a bit before we decided to lie on a beach bed. I found out that we still had a gift certificate good for either a couple’s massage, candlelight dinner on the beach, or $200 in wine or tequila. Since we didn’t have time to schedule the first two in, I met with my concierge and arranged to have their two most expensive bottles of tequila sent to my room to bring back to Ohio with me.
Finally that night we went up stairs and got ready for our last dinner at the resort (shedding a tear right now). We decided early on that we were going to the La Fondue again. We wanted to wait until they could set up the table we sat at before so we had a few minutes to kill. The head waiter decided that this would be a good time to take our picture at every possible place in the restaurant. It is a shame that the one from that nice couple’s lap didn’t turn out. Finally after the wait and six pictures we were able to sit in the same place. We both ordered the same thing we had before, me with the vegetable plate and Tiffany with the seafood plate, and I gave her one of my mushrooms again. For desert we decided to do the white chocolate fondue this time, which came with cookies, bananas, strawberries, and cantaloupe. Very good, but I think I liked the dark chocolate more.
Sunday August 16th 2009, (the day we came back to reality)
Tiffany and I woke up early and walked down to get our last free meal at the Cocotal breakfast buffet again. Just like before the spread was pretty amazing. It made us wish that we could stay there forever, but we both also truly missed our dogs by this point and really wanted to sleep in our own bed. We both got a pretty wide variety of food, and left feeling stuffed. We both were looking forward to good ol’ fashioned American food at this point too.
We went down to the lobby with our bags at 10:30, luckily too, because even though we were told that we would leave at 11:40, the shuttle was there waiting for us at 10:40 (apparently we weren’t the only one’s given the wrong time since some guy was about to test out the Mexican jails over his miscommunication) But no harm no foul we were off to the Airport back to Ohio. We went through baggage check, and then the duty free shop (which you have to walk through… go figure) but the only thing we bought we should have bought a ton of – a Mexican candy called “amaranth”. That stuff was delicious, like their version of a granola bar. We also found a dominos at the airport and were more than willing to eat some greasy cheese pizza for our lunch. Thanks to NorthWest Air we had to barter our seats with other passengers to sit next to each other for our leg from Mexico to Memphis, but we got there safe enough. Our second leg to Columbus was not very much fun as we had about a 45 minute to an hour delay because they couldn’t get one of the engines to start. Then after taxiing out to the runway they turned around with no explanation. Tiffany at this point is understandably a bit nervous, but we finally did take off. Before the 10,000 foot limit is reached we both broke out our MP3 players to take our minds off things, and no sooner did we do that that the stewardess came over and lectured us (her) about how dangerous it was because it interferes with the communication between the pilots and the tower. I wanted to tell her that not only have we both taken physics classes and learned about how radio frequencies work, and that the EM field of an iPod wouldn’t even come close to disrupting that, or that my mom and dad were in the FAA and that I have had conversations with them about this subject, and that I watched a Myth Buster’s episode where they debunked this, but I was also just not an idiot… apparently they don’t teach you to think in sky waitress school. I know you are going to delete this rant Tiffany, but I thought it was funny. [I’m not going to delete it, because I just wanted to punch her as well and tell her I turned it on before we were allowed to because they pilot scared the heck out of me taxing and then returning to the mechanic and taxing again with no explanation!]
We finally made it back to O-HI-O about 10:45pm and found our car, that my sister left when she flew out 5 hours before hand, without a problem. We made our way home and laid with our dogs for a while and just unwound from the trip before hitting the hay. I love you doll.
{Posted by James}
We're Baaaaaaaaaack!
We're officially Mr. and Mrs. James Robert Garcia!
Two weeks have passed and we STILL love each other! Hooray! Just kidding, we're really happy and getting settled into our married life. We decided to combine into one blog to keep all of our families and friends up to date on important and not so important happenings.
We hope everyone feels free to comment on anything, you don't have to be a member or have a Blogger account to do so.
Officially under 2 weeks until Ohio State football seasons begins! Our next exciting chapter in life. :)
Two weeks have passed and we STILL love each other! Hooray! Just kidding, we're really happy and getting settled into our married life. We decided to combine into one blog to keep all of our families and friends up to date on important and not so important happenings.
We hope everyone feels free to comment on anything, you don't have to be a member or have a Blogger account to do so.
Officially under 2 weeks until Ohio State football seasons begins! Our next exciting chapter in life. :)
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