Chichen Itza

One of our destination locations is absolutely Chichen Itza. It's a 2-3 hour drive from Cancun so it will make for a fun day trip. It's one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The new camera will come in handy. I am really looking forward to seeing all of the Mayan symbols. I am sure they will have a handout with the translations of what they all mean on in, but I am gonna print one of my own out anyways.

More info on Chichen Itza

I am going to try to find one with more symbols on it. I will share when I do.

As far as cost goes, we are looking at gas money, a dollar for parking, and about $10 per person to enter.

Xel-Ha Aquatic Park

CAN NOT WAIT TO BE ON THE BEACH!
Found this really awesome natural aquarium park in Cancun.. I think it is a must to add to my wish list. Absolutely excited about visiting this park. A little pricey, $71.10 all day admissions, but that includes food, unlimited drinks (already paying off), snorkeling equipment, and more then 20 activities and attractions!! I have a good friend that went during one of her visits to Mexico and she said it was worth the money. Check it out : Xel-Ha Aquatic Park

New Idea

Originally our plan was to drive to Cancun and back...So while crunching numbers I decided to try out a few alternatives with our planning. I planned out the financials of flying from Hermosillo to Cancun, renting a car there, and rent for a month. Excluding gas and food it came out to $2000, which is A LOT less then it would have cost to drive there and back.

The down side to the plan would be missing out on all of the places we wanted to stop in between, but we could always do our own trip down the west coast afterwards and avoid that drive across the country twice.

I like the idea of renting a car so we don't have to worry about ours breaking down or having any problems along the way. So now we just have to weigh the pro's and con's and make a few decisions.

Tampa to Mexico Ferry??

There are all sorts of posts on the web referring to a Tampa Progreso Ferry or a Tampa to Cancun Ferry! This would be one of the greatest things imaginable to happen to my trip if it were true. Unfortunately everything I am finding out about it is making it seem less likely that it will be up and running early next year. So far my plans to get to Cancun are working their way to being planned out, but the plans home are still blurry. It would be so great if we could just hop a boat to Tampa and drive home through the United States. If anyone knows more about this rumor and if it really going to happen I would love more information!

Note to Self

Note to self: Get a video camera!!!!

I love love love making videos and what better way to share then to take everyone along for the journey. It's funny I am even writing a blog because I have never been great at writing anything, but I can take some lovely photographs and edit videos fairly well. Once this trip actually gets planned and begins I want less writing and more showing. Make it a point to check back in once the planning ends and I hit the road.

Travel Young

This article got me pumped to do some traveling!!
http://convergemagazine.com/featured/travel-young/

I have been pretty privileged in my lifetime. I was born in New Jersey, but my family moved to Florida when I was young. Early on we would vacation to see family up north, but it wasn't until I hit high school that I started to travel on my own. My family absolutely did not have funds to support my travels, but I was blessed with friends that would take me along and a school that would find sponsors to pay your way on class trips.

Two of my really good friends and I would do summer road trips or winter ski trips up the east coast. Usually we headed to New Hampshire or Massachusetts and would just hit fun landmarks along the way.

We drove up Mt. Washington, took in all the beauty of Washington, DC, sat in awe as we stood at the railing on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, and watched hundreds of people pile out of bars in downtown Boston on New Year's Eve to cheer as the clock strike twelve. 

School was equally as rewarding. I attended the Business Academy in my high school, which would find sponsors for students who did not have funds to attend their trips. Thanks to local businesses in my home town I was able to explore both N.Y.C. and Seattle.

From watching Wicked on Broadway to throwing fish at Pike's Place Fish Market, my school handed me some memories that will stay with me forever. I got travel fever by this point...

I even joined a local youth group that took an annual ski trip. We would raise the money throughout the year so basically all of the money I saved went towards a spending account for my trips.

My senior year after graduation my oldest friend and her family gave me the privileged of joining them in Costa Rica. 

Costa Rica is breath taking. From the jungle to the ocean, zip-lining by monkeys to repelling down waterfalls, sitting in hot-springs to fishing for marlin. I never wanted to come home. So when I finally came home, I had to get away. I jumped on the first opportunity that came my way, and it turned out to be rooming with a close friend in Tucson, Arizona. 

So here I am in Tucson. Life took over with bills and rent. A job that requires 40 hours a week of my attention and school when I can fit it in. A class here and there. Six years have past. I was ready to go and here I am six years later. Don't get me wrong, I have done a lot that I am proud of and have a life to call my own, but that spark to travel still sits deep inside me waiting to explode. 

Last year I took my first trip out of Tucson that didn't involve going home to Bradenton, FL. My boyfriend and I went to Rocky Point in Mexico. I swear if I could I would have made that one week last a lifetime. 

This place made me happy. After working all the time a week of beachfront t property and no obligations was more than anyone could ask for. The beauty of Cholla Bay is really a site to see. Mexico is my destination because it's the first thing I could grasp in a long time that made me feel free.

After this trip I will have to get on with life and back to my bills, so this will be the journey I have been waiting for and will be the inspiration for my vacation jars in the future. So there is a little insight to my life. :)

Lists, Lists, Lists, Lists

I make lists for everything, which is why I am probably a little overwhelmed by lists at the moment. This trip may mean leaving work for a good chunk of time, narrowing down my bills to only the necessities, finding someone to rent or watch our home while we are gone, and leaving the country for an adventure to another country. It is absolutely overwhelming some days to think about, and others I feel alive and excited! The fact is I am on board and truly feel like I will be taking this opportunity and running with it. We are thinking early next year, so my lists are getting longer and more unorganized by the day. I need to set some sort of method to my madness. I guess that is why I started a blog.

Housing Situation

After a little research on Vacation Rentals I have come to find out that renting a room by the month is more cost friendly than renting a room by the week or night. I need to start crunching some numbers and get an overall budget for this trip.

Intro

When I look back on my life 10 years from now I don't want to have regrets of not taken advantage of the "golden years". Every song I hear is about being young, wild, and free, and I work rotating shifts that usually land me in bed by 9 P.M. (if not earlier). I don't think I have a bad life. In fact, I LOVE MY LIFE. I just want to scratch a few things off the bucket list before I settle down for good.

I am sick of looking at my friends lives with envy of where they are going or what they are doing. I decided it was time for me to figure out what my next step was in life. This past December I got both my associates degree and a decent promotion at work. The next step for most people would be to take out a student loan and continue on with an education while working toward their next promotion. At 23 I am doing well for myself and this sounds logical, but I am not exactly ready to take that leap just yet.

My plan is to put all of my effort towards planning an epic trip that takes me far away from my comfort zone. I want to experience life and all it has to offer me. Let the planning begin...... 

Destination..

All work and no play...

Maybe it's time for all play and no work..

I am thinking Mexico.