We took a vacation to Tulum, Mexico with kids over spring break. It was part of a larger trip that included visits to some famous Mayan ruins and would end in Cancun. To say Tulum wasn’t what I expected is an understatement. It’s not a sleepy village anymore but has bloomed into fascinating beach town. Now, let’s into all the awesome things in Tulum!
It’s time to honor our moms, travelers or not. I’m a mom and I appreciate gifts that are thoughtful and practical. Sure, I’d love a box of chocolates or flowers for a random daily surprise. However, putting some thought into it and finding an unique Mother’s Day gift shows that I’m appreciated for the things I do for the family. Here are the best travel gifts for mom, from my viewpoint as a traveling mom!
One of the biggest reasons I wanted to visit the Yucatan peninsula was so we could take the kids to Chichen Itza. Tours are so daunting – spending several hours on a bus, arriving at midday to the ruins, and potentially having a tour with a large group. No thanks. I wanted to do Chichén Itzá with kids as easily as possible, but preferably without doing a day tour from Cancun. Here’s how we did it!
Happy 2nd birthday, Blissmersion!
When I started this blog and chose the name Blissmersion, a combination of bliss and immersion, I knew it would be a difficult name for people to remember. I chose it anyway. I knew when I started blogging that for most people it is a labor of love. The successful bloggers warned there was little-to-no money earned and many expenses (and are they ever right!) I chose to do it anyway.
Also, I knew traveling with a family of four, including two young kids, would be difficult and often expensive. We do it anyway. Two years ago, I didn’t know we’d become expats in Mexico. We did it anyway.
However, when it came time to write a post about two years of blogging, I almost didn’t. My desire to write had almost dried up to nothing and my sense of self was shaken by it. Even in the bad times, I’ve learned a lot about blogging, traveling, and myself.
“The hotel isn’t in Valladolid,” my husband said. “It’s really far out.”
“I know. It’s the second closest one to the Ek Balam Ruins,” I responded. By then, one kid was awake and needed to use the restroom. So, we stopped at a decent looking open air food court place and my husband and son went to use the facilities. By the time they returned, my daughter was awake, so the two of us headed in, too.
When I returned, I was putting her into her travel safety vest. We’d just started using them for traveling and while the learning curve wasn’t steep, my speed of buckling the children was much slower. As I bent over her seat and wrestled with the seat belt and her vest, my husband started yelling. In that moment, I felt a finger touch the sliver of exposed skin on my back.
Mom travelers, well, any menstruating traveler, this post is for you. It’s all about my personal favorite travel accessory: the menstrual cup. If you’re a menstruating person, you will have to figure out what works for you during travel. Cups are reusable and work well for traveling and daily life. They are much easier than taking up valuable luggage space with period supplies.
So if you’re looking for an alternative to tampons, let’s check out period cups!
While I was in the US, I took a break from Spanish. And when I first got back here I thought that maybe that had been a mistake because I was really struggling to remember anything in Spanish. Oh no, what have I done?! I thought. My brain broke! A mere week later, I realized the rest did a body brain good. Immersion language learning benefits extend to adults, too!
I considered having my wedding at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens Palm House on some Friday afternoon in April. It would’ve been beautiful. However, my husband and I ended up eloping on April Fool’s Day. Instead of wedding pictures, I have many photos of our kids playing at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Garden. I still love visiting there and now I bring the kids.