While the days here are going well, the nights are a bit painful. Between me snoring and keeping Amir awake, little people crawling into our bed and some less than fluffy pillows… this isn’t the best sleep we’ve ever had. Thankfully the days are exhausting, so you have no choice but to crash when your head hits that stiff pillow.

Today we ate all three meals at the buffet here at Sonesta Maho. The food is delicious, with a wide variety of local dishes as well as guaranteed to please toddler favorites like chicken nuggets and pizza. Last night we marveled at how they seem to have gotten a hold of the supplier for McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets which, if you’ve had them, you know are very distinct. And no where except McDonalds. And apparently Sonesta Maho.

This trip is a bit different than our usual adventures. This is not intended to be an exploratory mission of the island, rather a slow down and easy fun. We’ve gotten to know the pool, waterslides and swim up bar in great detail, but I don’t have too much to share on local culture and society. I started to feel guilty for like a half second and then remembered just how hard we work, and that the kids are perfectly happy eating pizza and ice cream at the same place every day. And I’ve yet to hear a complaint about the endless “slushies.”

Right now we’re looking at July for a two week trip. Iceland and a France are on the menu for consideration thanks to reasonable fares on Icelandic Air.

Mid afternoon we did make a new discovery – hidden behind the lush greenery by the pool is the kids club. Suited for ages 3-11, it’s a two story indoor/outdoor facility with art, legos, a two-story indoor slide, beanbag chairs, Xbox stations and an entire playground outside. It’s closed off from the rest of the resort and surprisingly quiet. We dropped the two oldest off for an hour to enjoy some independence for all. Amir felt guilty – I was kicking myself for only discovering the place at the end of the trip. The kids want to go back tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll cave.

– Steph

Ooof. This will be a short one. I’m sitting on our balcony listening to the steel drum band play Bruno Mars. I probably enjoyed the fruity drinks too much today.

Just after we made our hotel reservations, I went online and booked a Catamaran snorkeling adventure. We met the bus at 0845 and landed at the dock at 0920. Our tour wasn’t leaving until 1000, so we chatted with nearby friends and explored a few shops.

The catamaran has a max of 60 – we were pushing 51. The start was a little bumpy – delayed by the late arrival of some cruise ship passengers from Wonder of the Sea.

We stopped at two snorkeling spots, plus two beach spots. Lunch was impressive. I thought the tuna and hand and cheese sandwiches were the meal, but they turned out to be just an apperatife when the chef surfaced with grilled pork ribs and chicken with curry sauce.

Tomorrow is a big “?” We might rent a car and explore – we might hang at the resort and do the usual. The latter sounds fairly appealing right now, but I’m also exhausted.

– Steph