Renaissance Fair Part 2

Everyone who knows me probably knows that I love a good Renaissance Fair.  This year was fabulous, complete with jousting, fire performance, armored combat, and homemade cream soda.  But the overall highlight had to be the ax and knife throwing place.  

Turns out, I'm awesome at ax throwing (which was very invigorating), but knife throwing is a bit harder.  My friend may have hit the target more than me when it came to the knives.  So, I immediately insisted we wait in line so I could reclaim my title.

What can I say? I'm not competitive at all when it comes to medieval weapons.

Also, my favorite overheard lines are from when we went to use the restroom, which had about ten stalls in it.

Mom: "Are you in the bathroom?"

Daughter (who's pretty young): "Yes."

Mom: "Do you need help?"

Daughter: "Yes."

Mom: "Where are you?"

Daughter: "In the bathroom."

Me, dying of laughter, internally thinks: Aren't we all...aren't we all...

Library Humor

Because I work in a library and someone put this on our mirror in the back room.

"Self Check Out"

You know you spend too much time at the library if you get this.

Mision San Francisco Javier, Loreto

"We're in a desert, but you can see that this is the perfect example of how you can transform your
reality.  It' s a challenge, but it's worth it."  
-Guide who's name I'm thinking was Moses, but can't really remember...

While in Loreto, we took a tour to Mision San Francisco Javier.  The mission is located up in the mountains, about 30 minutes outside of Loreto.  The drive itself was really beautiful, as you get wonderful views of the rugged mountains and desert scenery.

The mission was built back in the 1700s (I'm blanking on the exact year) and has architectural influences from the Jesuits and Dominicans.  The Jesuits had brought several olive trees over and planted them, so there's a grove of olive trees behind the mission.  In that grove is the largest olive tree I've ever seen, though to be fair my experience is pretty limited.  Basically, it's just a beautiful mission and the surrounding town is wonderfully quaint.  There's a little restaurant near the mission that offers authentic food.  They had delicious homemade cheese and a mango jam that the memory of makes my mouth water.

 

My point is, if you're looking for something to do that's outside the water activities that Loreto offers, this is the stop I would recommend.

Loreto, Mexico

About three months ago I got a that urge to travel...and impulsively jumped on the bandwagon of  using my parents timeshare.  It turns out that their timeshare is only good for a couple cities in Mexico and we ended up with flights to Loreto, a little city that we knew nothing about.

Despite my excitement to be leaving the country, I put off researching Loreto until a week before. All the sites and blogs that came up were super positive, so I was pretty stoked so for this trip.  I mean, beautiful beaches, whales, whale sharks (a personal life goal for me), sea lions, dolphins, snorkeling, culture, and good food.  What could go wrong?

Well, it turns out that most of those blogs and sites are people who were paid by the resorts (actually, there's one main, giant resort) to come and stay for free, then write about Loreto.  Now, I'm not saying those blogs are lying, but they don't give great information.  So, here's some unbiased information about Loreto, and it will be particularly useful for people who are staying at THE resort (you know the one I'm talking about, the giant huge resort with five pools).

1. Don't go in the summer.  Really, don't go in the summer.  Those whales, whale sharks, sea lions, and dolphins you were promised?  Yeah, turns out there's such a thing as migration.  If you want to go to Loreto and fulfill your life dream by seeing whale sharks, go during whale season (approximately January to April).  Also, it's SO HOT in the summer.  Like you'll want to hide in your hotel room because there's air conditioning in there hot.  Of course, all that being said, we still saw an octopus while snorkeling, so that was AWESOME.
   
2. If you're staying at THE resort, be aware that it is very far from the actual city of Loreto.  Like 30-40 minute drive far.  If you want to go into town, you'll have to both hire someone to take you to town and also someone to bring you back.  There is no walking.  This means that you're going to spend a good chunk of your time at the resort.  Now, the bright side of this is that they have a fantastic buffet (hello my old friend, the international buffet) and also there are little shows at 8:00 PM so you'll still get some entertainment, etc.  

   

   That weird moment when the performer steals your phone and
   takes a selfie with a stranger

3. Speaking of how difficult it is to leave the resort, let's just recognize that if you are not specifically leaving on some kind of excursion, it really is next to impossible to get out of that valley/bay.  Rent kayaks/paddle boards - can't leave the bay.  Hikes - don't leave the valley.  Of course, the valley/bay area is beautiful.
   
4. Before going, try to set up to do an activity every day, or at least have a game plan for what activities you want to do and then make sure to set them up ASAP when you land.  Actually, even if you have stuff set up, it's a good idea to double check and make sure that it is actually set up, so check with the resort/hotel staff to ensure it is going to happen.  We had a pretty not so great experience where we had set up a kayaking/snorkeling tour before we went and we didn't double check it when we got there...and day of, found out we weren't on the list.  That being said, there are a TON of really cool things to do.  Some favorites were snorkeling/diving, a boat island tour,and  a tour of Mision San Francisco Javier.  You can also rent kayaks, paddle boards, and snorkeling gear at THE resort, but be aware that they won't let you leave the bay.
   
5. Go with good friends and/or family.  There are some trips that you can take by yourself and still have a really enjoyable, fantastic time.  I'd say this is not one of those.  There's so much down time, even while you're out doing a boat tour or driving to the Mision that you'll want people there to talk and laugh with.  Even the activities are more fun with people you like around.  Yes, you can paddle board by yourself, but it's way more fun to have people there who will laugh when you fall off while trying to do yoga or a headstand on the paddle board.  I'm just saying that my own trip to Loreto wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable without people I cared for there.

   

   Because I was a sea lion in another life

   

   You can't see it, but there's sweat dripping down my back...it was
   about 105 degrees that day.

   

   See?  Aren't we cute? Much better to travel with people you love.

6. Lastly, take a camera, but don't rely on the camera.  This is probably the piece of advice I wish I could give every tourist for every destination.  There are going to be amazing views that you need your camera for.  Take it and take the pictures.  BUT, don't rely on your camera to make memories for you.  YOU have to make memories for yourself.  Take a picture of those beautiful sunsets.  Then sit in those comfy rocking chairs and actually enjoy that sunset, because there's never going to be another sunset just like that one.