"Life's a Beach"

"I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best."  - Frida Kahlo A few years ago, our family road trip took us through San Cristobal de las Casas in the state of Chiapas. The highlight of our time there was a trip to Na Bolom, the home of Franz and Gertrude Blom, now preserved as a museum and ...

One of the things that first attracted me to Rob when I was first dating him was his interest and appreciation of good food, good wine and quality spirits. At the time, I was selling wine for a very nice importer/distributor so we always had plenty of great wine on hand to pair with delicious food with my favorite restaurant accounts! Throughout ...

Our first full day in Mexico City was sunny and warm. Warm enough for shorts and flip flops but, having learned my lesson in Monterrey and Guadalajara, I knew that more formal attire would be expected. So, despite the weather, Rob and I wore long pants and closed shoes. While our scheduled trip to the zoo in Chapultepec Park would be a casual ...

In our eight years in Mexico we have never had the chance nor the inclination to explore Mexico City. In fact, the only time we have ever been there was for an overnight layover on the way to Acapulco for our honeymoon in 2001. I was so intimidated by the "idea" of Mexico City that I booked us into a hotel right at the airport and ...

If you have been hanging around the "Life's a Beach" blog for a while, you already know that we try to take one big road trip every year during the kids' semana santa break. We have explored Belize, Guatemala, Chiapas, Campeche, the Yucatan and pretty much anywhere we could easily reach by car. This year, no one was interested in ...

So, here's something you might not know about us. Every year, we (notice I said we) spend months talking about and planning our big family vacation. It never takes us long to decide on location as we know we will have a great time no matter where we end up. The actual trip planning falls mostly to me. I book the flights, investigate and ...

Every week, I answer dozens of emails from people interested in moving to Playa del Carmen. While I am always happy to give my point of view....my perspective on life here as a foreigner.....I thought it might be fun and informative for "Life's a Beach" readers to get to know some more of the folks who have made the big leap ...

Blissfully hangover free, I met up with the Tacos, Cindy and other assorted bloggers for another hearty breakfast at Estel's. My brother in law, Dave, another early riser, joined our group as we soaked up some sun and made plans for the remainder of the day. Lobsterfest booth preparations have been in the works for months now, with many ...

Not surprisingly, our first full day on the island was a lazy one. The kids were sent off on a fishing excursion and the grownups recovered from the night before. Breakfast and Bloody Mary's at Estel's, our favorite place in San Pedro, brought us back to life somewhat and we filled the rest of the day puttering around the island on golf ...

After thinking long and hard about poverty, the subject of Blog Action Day 2008, I find myself with more questions than answers. First and foremost is "What IS poverty?" and secondly "Who makes that determination?” Can we categorize poverty solely in economic terms? It certainly seems that our American politicians, on both ...