How to Spend Your Birthday, Guyan-Style

For Guyan's eight birthday on Friday, January 30th, we wanted to do something really special. We planned our whale watching and snorkeling cruise for that day, and it definitely delivered. Mom and Dad came along too, and Deke, Debby, and Dory decided to join us at the last minute.



So we started our three hour tour (don't worry, it ends well) with some pictures...





...and drinks...



...and more drinks...

...and, well, yeah, more drinks...

And then we were ready to speak whale. You know, to attract the whales and all.

And boy did we attract some! Some were very close...

...while some were not so close, but were very active. There were about three whales off in the distance jumping for a few minutes. Very impressive!

So after watching the whales for a while, we let loose (or would that be "let looser," given that we had lost count of the margaritas?) and boogied.

I don't even know the name of this man...

...but I do know the name of this one. Isn't he cute?

So after all the dancing (I think...I can't remember the chronology too well--I don't think you blame me at this point in the margarita count), we stopped at the snorkeling spot. Almost everyone donned the flippers and at least attempted. Sean and I were pretty impressed that the boys got in the water, given that we had seen about 15 whales in the past hour or so. Actually, Guyan was not going to do it at all...until he saw his four-year-old brother in snorkel gear. Aw, filial/peer pressure at it's best.

Mom and I...

...Owen taking the dive into Dad's waiting arms in the water...

...and Guyan making one last check for whales...

After a few minutes, the boys decided that snorkeling was not all it was cracked up to be. Or maybe the images of the whales won out.

Yeah, I think it was the images of the whales imprinted on their psyches.

But on the return trip, the monster whale images were forgotten when the entire boat sang Happy Birthday to Guyan.


As a final parting gift (along with one hell of a hangover for one of our lucky group members) a crew member fascinated Owen with the old dismembered thumb trick. Probably got a few of us slightly (ha!) tipsy adults with the trick, too.

Jesus provides transport to Lover's Beach

Oh vey. How do I remember it when it's over two months ago? Debby is probably thankful...but some things I'll never forget. However, some things won't go into the blog (as promised).

We started out Friday morning in Mexico with a trip to Lover's Beach. We knew it was going to be a good day when a nice clean taxi van pulled over and offered us a ride for cheaper than the bus fare. At least, in my book, that meant it would be a good day. Our very nice taxi driver also set us up with a very cool water taxi guy. If you're ever in Cabo, say "hi" to Jesus for us--"Chooey" for short (did you ever know Jesus had a nickname?).

Chooey took us over to the arches to get a few pictures. I think I took about 30...in a five minute interval or so. It was such a sunny day that most the pictures on the water taxi have awful lighting....boohoo, I'm whining about the sunshine. Good thing you can't throw things at me over the internet.

Then Chooey dropped us off at Lover's Beach. A highlight for Guyan was Uncle Deke, Sean and I burying the kids in the sand--Guyan was a squid, Dory was a mermaid, and Owen was (very briefly, before he couldn't lay still anymore) a manta ray.

The kids, Sean and I also found thousands of tiny crabs (about your thumbtip in size) in the rocks. Awesome. Creepy.


After the Lover's Beach side, we had to go over to Divorce Beach. That was probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Blue blue ocean, beautiful churning surf, hills of sand...fabulous. Owen liked it too and posed for some cute pictures.

Later, he and Sean chased the waves. I tried to push away my nerves--the surf was CRAZY. Thankfully, they never went deeper than their ankles. I think Sean understands my anxieties well.

And next, the whale watching tour...