Goin' Coastal

Summer's official arrival may be June 21st (ahem, also the arrival of yours truly back in 1982), but the Brown house is already in summer mode.  Our boots have been replaced with flip flops, I can go longer than normal in between highlights thanks to long days in the sun, and I contemplate on a daily basis how to get housework and schoolwork done while also sneaking off to the beach for a few hours (haven't quite figured that one out yet, but I'll let you know when I do!).

There is no such thing as too much coast.  Too much sun, yes.  Too much of a good thing, sometimes!  But never too much of the coast. Thus the reason for my blogger's block! Our past month in review: honeymooned on Mexican coast, sang along to "Another Beer in Mexico" with Kenny Chesney at his Goin' Coastal tour, and spent some time exploring the coast that is now our home in Beaufort and Hilton Head.  Time to get my head out of the water and back onto land!

                                      

Best idea we've had in awhile...leaving for our honeymoon the Monday after the wedding.  It gave us time to unwind, do laundry, and repack before leaving the country.  Enjoying some time in Savannah pre-departure.  

And we're off!

Adding another stamp to my passport!  Joseph's got it's very first stamp this trip.

Bienvenidos!  

I did a WHOLE LOT of painstaking research before deciding on going south of the border for the big honeymoon.  Looking back, it didn't need to be so labor-intensive!  Still, we stayed at the Grand Velas resort in the Mayan Riviera, which I highly recommend as a fabulous vacay spot.  

Cheers!

Just as on every trip we take, I insist on taking an obnoxious amount of room pictures.  Our favorite part (other than the private porch with plunge pool) was the jetted tub overlooking the tv!

We spent most of day 1 doing a little exploring.  And having some authentic Mexican at Frida's on the property!

Authentic margos...nothing better!  Except for maybe these mixed nuts, which Joseph and I craved for several weeks after we got back home.

We finally got some beach time Tuesday morning after a little brunch on the coast!

My entertainment for the trip.  This was a great read...it even had Joseph guessing who Dex would end up with!  Considering it's about a girl who cheats with her best friend's fiance, I'm kinda glad I picked this one for after the wedding. :)

More scenes from Tuesday...

My romantic hubby thought of everything...roses in the bathtub (which we actually were afraid to even breathe on since it looked so pretty!), champagne, and chocolates!  Toasting Tuesday :)

We stuffed ourselves this trip.  Nothing which the past few weeks of back-breaking yard work and being short-staffed in the NICU couldn't fix!  We savored Italian...

...enjoyed French...(escargot EWWW)

...chowed down on some real Mexican...

...ordered room service...(my first time!)

...and ended with an obnoxious amount of nachos from Margaritaville that I'd be lying if I said sat well with me. :/

Joseph's not the world's biggest beach bum unlike his wife, so we spent Wednesday of the honeymoon exploring Tulum, the Mayan ruins, and the cenotes.  People asked if we felt safe in Mexico during our time there.  We absolutely did!  To say we felt safe with some of the "adventures" on this excursion might be stretching it though!

Mayan tortilla maker! :)

Our great tour guide, Roberto, introducing our second great tour guide....also Roberto.  Muy convenient.

The ruins were INCREDIBLE!  I have traveled out of the country a few times and done a lot of neat excursions, but I had not seen anything like this.

The sea air and my hair did not get along this trip!

Picture-perfect coast!

Joseph found a friend :)

View from the top!

And then the view from the bottom after arriving in the "rainforest." Yikes.  Believe it or not, we ziplined across the trees from this thing!  My second time doing it and Joseph's first.

We rappelled, snorkeled, and ate the best burritos I think I've ever had to finish out the day.  More pics of our adventures to come!  

And a collection of shots on our last day and night before heading back to the coast we know as home.

But before our feet touched South Carolina soil...Joseph's touched the cold hard floor of the Mexican airport.  I couldn't resist posting these pictures and sharing the story.  Signs the size of me were everywhere in customs informing us Americans who are used to throwing our boots, flip flops, boat shoes, and ballet flats into those grey containers to PLEASE KEEP YOUR SHOES ON.  Joseph somehow missed that.  Priceless.

A short week after the honeymoon was over, we visited the Laird clan in Spartanburg and traveled back to Mexico in our minds with Kenny Chesney in his Goin' Coastal tour.  I sure do love a parking lot tailgate!

Wedding koozies in!

Our group: the Arvanites, Lairds, and Browns

We had a bird's eye view, but the music was loud and clear!  Enjoying our first concert as a married couple!

Our new favorite hobby other than making a trip to Lowes and/or Home Depot twice a week is being tourists in our own town.  It's great!  We ventured out to Beaufort and Fripp a few weeks ago and found one of our new favorite restaurants...

...spent a day in downtown Beaufort (mini Charleston as I like to think of it) with mom over Memorial Day weekend...

And took an almost three hour boat tour along the shores of our backyard in Bluffton.

Cue the dolphin...

And the pirate ship.

Cruising through Harbor Town

Beautiful Bluffton sunset!  Come visit us friends!

There's always a friendly face.  Take our greeter at the end of the tour, for example.

We southerners have a way with words, don't we??

So to recap, we have spent some fun times in the sun and on the water over the past month.  And just when I thought the wedding stuff was done, I remembered that the thank-you notes weren't going to write themselves.  More from me but not until I've made Emily Post (and my mom) proud!