Cancun Calling

12 more days...I keep telling myself, "only 12 more days!" Seriously, I cannot take this winter anymore. Had I been in Gobblers Knob when good ol' Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow I may have led the crowd in a rush to strangle his furry little ass. This morning, my need to get out of this ever-growing snow drift of a state was made all the more clear by my iGoogle homepage. That's right...not only is it snowing here but it's 81 degrees colder than in Cancun. *sigh* 12. More. Days.

There is a sanity saver in my near future, however.

Cancun! Specifically a 5 night, 6 day adventure with 18 other people at the Golden Parnassus resort! Ahhh, I feel better just looking at the photo! It's apparently a smaller, older resort but very clean and smack in the middle of the hotel zone. That's fine by me!

This is my first rodeo when it comes to not only Mexico but an all-inclusive resort and I'm excited! I'm also worried that my pale ass will burst into flames that close to the Equator but that's why I loaded up on copious amounts of sunscreen for this trip. I even have my friends on "burn watch" so then can tell me to go hide inside for a while if I'm starting to look pink. Burn watch may be derailed by the free flowing booze, however, so I'm best to rely on my own paranoia when it comes to reapplying the SPF 100 (seriously).

I really didn't have to buy too many new things for this trip, but I got a few. I bought a new camera because mine just wasn't cutting it anymore. After lots of research and standing behind some dude at the U2360 show in Chicago that was taking sweet pictures I decided on the Canon SX200IS. I got it in plenty of time to practice, but I still think I have a lot to learn. I think it'll do a great job with the beach photos and the nighttime scenery photos that I've always had a hard time with before. And if my camera doesn't do a great job there will be 18 others in our group that will hopefully capture a few good ones! And probably some unflattering ones of me in swimwear so I hope we get veto power over each others photo sharing. :)

Aside from the camera I got a few assorted summery pieces of clothing, some camera accessories, and as mentioned before, copious amounts of sunscreen. Behold, the stash. I did some research and found that La Roche-Posay does a great job blocking both UVA/UVB and has a slower rate of breakdown in the sun. It's also kind of on the pricey side. So, I got a deal on two of those on Amazon and then got my old standby of various Neutrogena products. I've decided I'm only bringing one of the expensive ones and the other I'll save for Mexico trip #2 in June (more on that later)! I also have a bottle of biodegradable sunscreen on the way for a trip to Xel-Ha. Not exactly something you find at the pharmacy in Iowa in the dead of winter. I went with the BurnOut brand after reading several comparison reviews. Sounds like it'll do the trick without going on chalky and making me look even more pale than I already am!

Even if didn't have 5 sunscreen bottles I'm taking with me I doubt I'd be able to travel carry-on only, but it's always the sunscreen that does me in. I would rather not buy a new bottle every time I go somewhere and I most definitely need more than 3oz for more than a day of sun exposure so I'm always doomed to check bags on vacation. And anymore that means checked bag fees (bastard airlines). After having a lost luggage experience a while back I'm always paranoid I won't get my bags back once I hand them over to the person behind the desk.

Anyway, that's enough for now! I tend to ramble...I'm wordy, I can't help it! Stay tuned for the next post where I'll brag...ehm...share about my travel experiences as Mexico virgin!