I woke up early, not sleeping very well for my first night in a strange room, and put in my contacts and got ready for the day. Both Eliza and I had early plans – her with a snorkeling adventure she had booked and me with a massage, my first-ever massage from another human being, at the resort’s spa. I had booked a “cranial & shoulders” massage, hoping I wouldn’t have to get fully into their clothing to do so… but sure enough like many spas around the world you do, in fact, have to use their clothing and so after a failed attempt to change into one of their robes (I’m rather a big guy) they gave up and let me wear my shirt and shorts as I had requested from the start.
There’s going to be a lot of this over the next few days I bet….
I don’t have any photos from the spa to share mostly for others privacy, but if you come here I would encourage it. Overall it was a relaxing and calming… even if it was a heat-based. I had a great experience and while there were some blips here and there because of my weight the therapist was calm, collected, and dependable throughout.
Meanwhile Eliza was sending text updates from her trip. I was done with my 50-minute massage before she ever saw the ocean, but once they got to the marina and out the snorkeling was…. well mediocre for fish (she said she only saw a handful) but really, really fun on the boat itself. Th people were friendly, the staff was accommodating, so Eliza did what Eliza does and she brought the party to them – shots, singing, and dancing to the music as they rode the seas!
I got back to the room long before Eliza, and elected to hop into our room’s pool for fir first time. I don’t know how long it has been since I was in a pool but… I’ve forgotten entirely how much I like the feeling! Eliza had told me “You know I think once we get you in the pool you’re never coming out again” – after about thirty minutes I let my hands dry off before writing her, from the pool, “you were right – there is only Pool Brad now”.
I swam an swam, swam most of the day away. I ordered in-room pizza and beer for lunch and swam after that some more! Eliza came, and it was time to band photos but… we didn’t want to leave – I didn’t want to leave. Besides… we’d have chances with the band tomorrow why not just enjoy the nice pool weather?
Live music poolside
Beer n’ floating around
Dinner reservations and promises of a concert finally did drive me inside, and both needed time to shower and prep and dress for dinner since the dress code for the steak restaurant was not as casual as the rest of the resort – I actually had to put on pants! I did though, and we had one of the most fantastic steaks of my life – though I’ll admit Eliza’s, with a mole sauce for a base, was rounds better than my ribeye just down to sauce flavor alone. I never knew mole could pair with a steak… but this one was delicious! This place gets some honorable mentions too for their delicious tuna tartar and amazing, real-sugar ice cream.
My Ribeye
By the time we finished dinner, the concert had already started by two full minutes and we learned a lesson – there are no free seats in this game! We ended up sitting on a sidewall, then some Adirondack chairs that eventually emptied as the concert continued. The band hit all the big ones, from old stuff to I Hope You’re Happy as well as new ones like “Hot Stuff”. It was a great concert, and we were tired. I have a feeling that is going to be a theme of this week – Happy, but tired.
After the concert? We went right to bed.
