Mean Ole Dean and our Blissful Akumal, Mexican Get-A-Way

Daddy Stitch, Lil Stitch and I had planned to leave for Mexico yesterday for a little Caribbean family fun. But a little ole Cat 5 named Dean convinced us to leave early last week with hopes of returning before the storm's expected arrival in Cancun yesterday. We landed safely in Houston Monday while our fellow Akumal Beach Resort guests were evacuated to a hotel in Merida. We are of course so relieved that this beautiful little beach village was not destroyed though damaged from the storm. We want to go back tonight. It was the best vacation we've ever had!

Cordelia and Esmerelda joined us for a much deserved girl's trip! They had many fans watching their poses and photo shoots.

Beautiful beaches of Tulum. I think in a hurricane, I would like to stay in one of these Mayan temples. They're pretty tough!

Lil Stitch snorkeling her first reef in Akumal Bay! Daddy stitch and I adore diving but this trip was all about snorkeling with her. We saw the famous "wall of fish" in the bay, a cloud of thousands of slivery fish that swim together in near the same spot. LilStitch wanted to dive down into them but i was nervous as I who've dove to 100ft have never seen such a massive swarm of fish! The fish parted revealing the biggest baracuda we've EVER seen as well. I thought it was a shark he was so big. Baracuda are normally harmless in clear water as long as you don't mess with their food. We left the wall of fish.

Akumal is the village of turtles and the locals take great care of the wildlife. In August, baby sea turtles hatch in their nests on the beach and run for the ocean. On our last night we were treated to hundreds of babies saved by the resort staff and brought to the ocean. The turtles get confused by the restaurant lights and run toward it! The staff surrounded and gathered the turtles in baskets. One of them was wearing a chef's hat which prompted my daughter to shout, "Mommy! Are they going to cook them?"