Oh, and just a heads up...we ate. A LOT. That's one of the best things about being on vacation, right? :)
Once we got to the hotel and got checked in, we found our room {no small task in this *giant* hotel} and immediately opened the balcony doors to check out the view. We loved it so much that our balcony doors pretty much stayed open all the time unless we were sleeping.
The first night, we stayed at the hotel {you never really have to leave} to eat dinner.
We ate first {yes, there were two dinners involved} at the Mexican restaurant and had their famous guacamole, and then a few hours later we ate at our very favorite restaurant in the hotel, Wasabi's. I was so excited to have some sushi. It was cooked, of course. :)
Later, we stopped by Bravo Gelato for some dessert. So, so yummy! Then we just walked around the hotel to enjoy all the scenery {and so Daniel could take 378 pictures that I later had to sort through}.
The next morning, we got up and had breakfast at the little coffee shop in the hotel. They call it The Cocoa Bean, but it's basically a Starbucks. Even the cups have the Starbucks logo.
The view is just as beautiful in the morning.
Once we got ready for the day, we went to another section of the hotel that has more restaurants and cute little shops.
We ate lunch, did a little shopping, and then headed to the *huge* outlet mall right next door to the hotel.
I've heard people say that once you have kids, you really don't shop for yourself anymore. That's definitely proving to be true! Everywhere we go now, we see things for the baby that we want to buy! We got some adorable little outfits at the Carter's outlet! Daddy was taking it pretty seriously, too. I love this. And no, that's not a purse...it's a camera bag. ;)
After a LOT of shopping, those mall massage chairs were calling my name. I've never actually used one before, but oh my goodness, it was wonderful! Those leg squeezy things were so nice! And of course, no trip to the mall is complete without a visit to Cinnabon!
Once we got back to the hotel, we got ready for dinner and headed out to one of the "fancier" restaurants in the hotel.
We ended up going to Ravello, an Italian restaurant. Umm, let me just go ahead and save you some trouble here...not worth it. It's really pretty and has a great atmosphere, but it was overpriced and just not delicious. :(
Oh well, there's always the second dinner! ;) We walked around for a little while, taking more pictures of the scenery. This place really is just so gorgeous at night.
Then it was back to Wasabi's for one last try at dinner. It didn't disappoint, as usual.
The next morning, we woke up much earlier than we planned {I was feeling *awful* by this time!}, ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed back home. We can't wait to take Emery with us someday!! :)
**Oh, and teacher friends, don't forget that the hotel offers a teacher appreciation rate of $99 a night!! You just have to call a couple of months ahead. :)
