UnBelizable

Just prior to leaving for Costa Rica the Coach decided to plan another trip; this one would take place during his (and his BFF's) birthday.

He texted me and asked if I was open for these particular 5 days and after I checked with my assistant and my assistant's social assistant, I found out I was free.

Where are we going I asked? 

The Coach: Belize.

Suz: Belize?

Well, that came out of nowhere.

Turns out we were only flying INTO Belize. We were staying on a small island 30 miles off the coast of Belize.
I suppose that still makes IT Belize, but don't ask me anything about the country of Belize, because I really only saw the airport (small and nice) and this little island.

We flew into Belize City and from there we took a helicopter to our island.
Yeah, I was totally feeling like James Bond or Cher.

I'm not a fan of flying, but being in a helicopter is so much easier than a plane. So, yes, I'm requesting a helicopter for my next birthday.

Plus, the views were breathtaking.

The Belize great barrier reef is second largest coral reef system in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

And then you add seeing the Blue Hole  in person. 

WOWZA. It's a large sink hole that is popular with divers; it's over 400 feet deep and over 1,000 feet in width. 

Nope. We did not swim or dive in this area. We did however snorkel all around our little island and saw a lot of beauty.

 

Don and Kelly with a large starfish. We actually found a lot of these; don't worry, we only took one out for a pic and he was quickly put back in the sea. 

The view from our upper deck.

Our island was really small; actually smaller than our property at home. It held a small home with two bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a living area and dining/kitchen.

Kelly and I pretty much stayed on the island aside from one boat trip to another little island bar for a cocktail. The boys ended up going fishing and really enjoyed themselves.

We ate like (Island) Queens and Kings.

The front yard with a dock and helicopter pad. Not too shabby....Actually, it's UNBelizable.

 Fresh lobster caught that day.

 A Belizian sunrise.

One evening we had a rowdy game of Jenga.....the completion was fierce.

We had so much fun and we can't wait to go back.

The ONLY thing that I didn't love was ALL the litter that washed up to the island. Every.single.day. Kelly and I did have fun collecting all the different shoes/flip flops. (There was a dedicated staff member who cleaned up every morning though) BUT, the styrofoam was just endless and not fun to see. Ughhh....stop using styrofoam people. IT never goes away.


Coach's Bday.

We kayaked, snorkeled, ate, watched the porpoise play, drank, laughed and truly enjoyed ourselves.

The water was SO crystal clear I could hardly Belize My eyes.

Have any of you ever been to Belize? Going there we thought we'd have to use some of our terribly broken Spanish....turns out everyone there speaks English as Belize used to be a British Colony. Who knew?

#LasVegas

Just like everyone else on that early Monday morning, we were stunned, heartbroken and sad.

It was just a year ago that we were THOSE music fans, THOSE people out for a lovely weekend with good friends and good music.
We were them, but without the heartbreak, the pain and the sadness.

I couldn't bear to watch the news. It hurt too much.

Our group of eight had a text thread going that morning about how thankful we were that I'd just had that big birthday and that BIG trip....otherwise we would have without a doubt been in Vegas ourselves on that horrific night.

God bless those who've lost their lives and those who mourn their loved ones.

Something has got to change.

XOXO

Traveling and turning the big 50

I've been talking about my 50th birthday trip since I was.....um, around 46?
We've visited Costa Rica twice before and I knew it was where I wanted to return to for the big 5 0.

We started the trip details back in January along with 3 other couples.
We rented a fabulous house on the beach in Tamarindo; the house had all the creature comforts....ya know, many bedrooms, a gorgeous pool/spa, gourmet kitchen, a chef and housekeeper, a gym and golf carts for us to tool around town in.

 Unbeknownst to me, my friends brought along lovely decorations and more presents than I deserve!

 We even had our own custom made Yeti's for the trip!

We all enjoyed playing in the pool.....just give us a few beers and balls and we're kiddos again.

The view from the chickie hut looking out to the pacific was magical....we saw a few humpback whales while here. That was a first for all of us. 

And this guy visited us daily. Too bad iguana's aren't that cute, but I never let him know this....surely they have feelings too. 

 We had an excursion one day that included a beautiful Costa Rican lunch and then a boat ride along a river where we saw many crocodiles, howler monkeys and lots of lovely birds. Also, we stopped and saw this gorgeous waterfall. FYI: The Coach and I declared this was the most perfect meal...and it was cooked in an outdoor kitchen/grill.

My sweet friends arranged for a birthday dinner one evening prepared by a local Chef; it was
magical!

 They made a lot of these really cute caption cards for us to play with all week.

And they even created these lovely menu cards for my birthday dinner.
Please note, the date is incorrect because we had to move UP the special dinner because of IRMA!

Am I a little angry at Irma?

Why, yes, I am.

Do I love my husband and sweet friends? yes I DO! They made my birthday so special.

This is only the first part of our trip.....It was extended because of IRMA. (there I go, being angry again)

I'll post the second part soon because since I'm getting OLD, I may forget otherwise. 

XO

Hurricane Irma tried to steal my birthday Thunder

Hola!

A quick update.
First, thank you for all of you who've messaged/emailed me about hurricane Irma. We were in Costa Rica celebrating my birthday with 6 other peeps when she was approaching.
We weren't all able to secure 8 flights home, so some of us ended up staying for 12 days instead of 7.

Please know that we are all well. Our sweet little town may never look the same again.....but there were no lives lost in our area.

Our home has some damage, mostly landscaping and some of the newly (one week prior to Irma) installed fencing. Some roof tiles and facia/soffit work and a all screens on pool cage will be redone.
We've been cleaning up and are almost back to 'normal'.

I'm going to miss that tree!

Lindsay fled to GA, The Coach secured our home and fled to the East Coast, Lolo had to put in major overtime and work the entire storm, prior and post.

I'll share photos soon. I just got internet back this morning, so I've got bills to pay and things to do. ;)

Life is good and we are truly lucky. Praying for the people of Puerto Rico and those here who still don't have power.


XOXO