Kendall excursion 2009

Well, I'm totally stoked to say that I have officially booked the '09 trip. This years destination, after much debate and lively discussion, will be taking us to the Riviera Maya on the eastern coast of Mexico on the Caribbean Sea. The trip began as a way to celebrate the 20th wedding anniversary of some friends, then morphed when the guys dropped out and has turned into a GIRLS TRIP. So, my friends Holly, Jennifer, Leigha and myself will be hopping a plane south of the border for a week in August! There's nothing like some time away with other girls!

This ought to be good blog material too since Mexico is the #1 place NOT to go right now due to fighting war lords or something. Ah well, how amazing would that blog entry be? That's what I would like to know.
"Dear Diary, kidnapped by gun toting pirates while snorkeling this afternoon. Have made friends with one who calls himself 'Taco de la luna' and am attempting to negotiate a trade for Greg Oden. I am also offering to pay them 50,000 pesos to balance the loss in the trade deal. Here's a few pics of Taco and me on the jetski. More tomorrow."

Oh, sheesh, this is going to be so fun ;p

The Great Destination Debate

Our adventures in the Yucatan ended peacably, thank goodness, with no troubles on the return trip. We were exhausted and hungry, but had such a great time- and were relatively true to our promise not to go over budget.
But I have to say, I am an adventure traveler. Everyone knows by now that I can't just lay around by the pool. I want to see things and experience the local culture and treasures of the places I visit. So next time, I'd really like to be a bit more off the beaten path. Did you know that there's a route to Machu Picchu which takes four days on foot and for which you have to hire a porter to pack your belongings over the steep mountain paths?? You also get to spend the night at the last inhabited Incan village on the trail...you're camping, but still, that's cool. Machu Picchu is in the top 5 of things to do before I die...so when some friends announced a trip to Peru to work in a small Medical clinic in Lima, I thought, sweet! I can hop a flight over to Cusco, take the train to Agua Calientes and grab the tour up the hill to the ruins. Can't do a long hike by myself in Peru- I'm just too safety minded for that. But I could do the regular, run of the mill tour, absolutely! But it's not going to happen. I couldn't convince anyone else to go with me and Ryan couldn't go at that time of year...so, I'm being safe. And I HATE losing out because I'm safe, but that's the way it is this time...
but you know what? It gave me the bug. The travel bug. Here's what happened:
We looked at our calendar this year. And we looked at our bathroom which needs an update, and our basement which needs to be finished and my kitchen which needs new countertops and would look great with a breakfast bar. And we thought, We should really stay home this year. No trips for us in '09. This will be the year of finishing the house...or at least starting on the house.
However... after the Peru sadness and a trip to Venice with a buddy didn't pan out because said buddy got pregnant!! and decided not to go galavanting off in Italy with a big belly...I thought- that's it! I've got the bug. I've gotta go somewhere.
In travel discussions with friends we discovered that our good friends Steve and Holly were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary this summer. And of course, we said, "Reeeaaally???" and thus conversations about destinations ensued. Cancun was discussed, Jamaica was discussed, Cabo was discussed... AND THEN....Steve decides his motorcycle bug was bigger than his travel bug and Ryan decides his home improvement is more important than a trip and Holly and I are left going WHAT?!
Heh, heh...so we're going without them. And the destinations are pretty open at this point, which is where you come in...if, in fact, anyone reads this...and if you're just passing through and don't actually know me...go ahead and comment anyway- I like to hear peoples opinions.
So the question is: What are the places you want to see/experience before you die? Whats on your list?

Here's another one of mine:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ireland/skellig-michael.htm

It's a monastic outpost off the southern coast of Ireland. You can read all about it if you click the link. The pictures are incredible and it's just about as 'off the beaten path' as you can get. This also holds a draw for me as I just found out this year that I'm Irish. I had no idea. Apparently my great grandparents were imigrants during the potato famine. You learn something new every day, I guess, and frankly that explains a lot.

ok, so let me know what you think..