Can you guess my favorite part of vacation?
Believe it or not, it’s not the fruity cocktails or sunshine. It’s not the poolside chips and guacamole, nor the massages. It’s not the uninterrupted sleep, gourmet meals, or the lack of household chores (though those are all nice perks).
It’s the people.
It’s admiring the tattoos on my new friend Rachel, and asking her if I can take pictures for inspiration. (She shared her artist with me and ironically it’s feasible to get to him. I feel a short road trip coming on).
It’s learning about Emily’s job traveling across the U.S. while her husband is on Active Duty Air Force and how she joined Planet Fitness for the tanning beds and not necessarily the gym membership.
It’s conversing with Alejandro- practicing and perfecting my Spanish and helping him with English pronunciation.
It’s learning about our shuttle driver, Luis, who was born and raised in Cabo. He has a wife and two teenage girls, and loves his job, but is worried about the sustainability of their lives here due to the rising cost of living.
It’s McKenna and I swooning over pictures of our beloved dogs as she shares her and her husband’s journey to become parents via surrogacy.
It’s asking total strangers to join us for dinner, then finding out it’s their Anniversary and swapping too-funny-to-be-true stories of how we met our partners, then having the time of our lives over drinks in the lobby bar.
It’s “buying” a drink (at an all-inclusive resort) for the 80-year-old couple after they “bought” us shots at the bar, then instead of a quick ‘thank you’, finding ourselves pulling up a chair and chatting for over an hour about our lives in Iowa and theirs in Michigan.
it’s meeting a couple vacationing from L.A. with their 12-month-old, and blowing their mind when we tell them we have four kids at home. They don’t know anyone with four kids.
Ariel lost her husband suddenly last year but was savoring this vacation with longtime friends. She introduced me to them and their three kids and they agreed to let me take their family photos on the beach for fun.
Rolly and his wife reside just south of the US border and shared how they raised their now-grown kids part-time in both countries. They have dual citizenship and are successful business owners and homeowners in both countries. They beamed with pride as they talked about their successful adult children and their lives.
Ray changed my mind about my dislike for Tequila. He told me it was meant to be sipped not taken as a shot. He pulled out a bottle of something from “off the menu” and told us to keep it a secret between us. Ray then poured a sizeable amount of "Don Julio 1942 Ultimate Reserve Extra Anejo” in a champagne glass. We later discovered that glass probably cost more than my plane ticket.
It’s Salvador teaching us how to say “Cheers” when among friends in Mexico: You say “¡Arriba!” [raise your glass], then “¡Abajo!” [lower it], then “¡Al centro…!” [stretch your arm and drink towards the center of the table or circle of friends], and then shouting “¡Y pa' dentro!” and drinking, if possible, the entire shot.
It’s learning that this world is a lot bigger yet more connected than divided. It’s a reminder that humans are more good than not. I am so grateful for the opportunity to travel abroad, and I wholeheartedly encourage you to travel regularly. If you’re not sure where to start, I’ll help! Send me a text, email, whatever- This week was so overwhelming full of glimmers- beautiful moments with beautiful people, that I couldn’t even begin to capture it all with words and I can’t imagine not experiencing it at least once in a lifetime.
