We had a long weekend a few weeks back, so we headed to the beach. We have some truly phenomenal beaches within driving distance — the sort of places where celebrities splash around. The famed Puerto Vallarta. The surf bum haven of Sayulita. The popular cruise ship stop of Mazatlan. We plan to visit those and more (short flights open up our options substantially) in good time, but this time around we opted for somewhere a bit closer: Manzanillo. It’s a port city without much of interest, which is why we chose the nicest all-inclusive in town and didn’t once leave.

Before the Foreign Service, an all-inclusive resort would have sounded like a nightmare to me. “Why even bother traveling overseas if you’re just going to sit around in a resort that you could find back home?” I can imagine my former self saying. Funny how your perspective changes when your entire life is navigating another culture.

I ate exclusively seafood, which I don’t get much of home because Andy won’t touch it. The food was great. Although the one meal I scheduled for all of us at a fancy sit-down restaurant — a sushi joint — was a bust. It was kind of all downhill from the moment when Flynn realized chopsticks fit perfectly in his nostrils. And… back to the family friendly buffets we went.

The boys were  both sick, so much so that one day at 10 a.m., while swimming, Flynn actually asked if he could go back to the room to rest. But they managed to have some fun anyway.

Flynn made good use of the rule that boys with sore throats can eat as many ice cream cones as they want.

Our next weekend getaway is coming up next week. Where to? Stay tuned.