On our first family vacation in over five years, my parents surprised us with an all-inclusive trip to Loreto, Mexico. We stayed at Villa del Palmar Loreto. It was so much fun that my husband and I went back with our parents after we eloped to Bora Bora.
Loreto is a quaint little fishing village about 3 hours north of La Paz on the Baja peninsula. Once you arrive at the airport, you are greeted by the friendly staff from Villa del Palmar. A perk of the resort was the affordable airport shuttle service.
Once you arrive at the resort, you are greeted with hibiscus tea, and the lobby looks out onto the luscious gardens and the ocean. You’ll want to make sure you book for the all-inclusive and grab your bracelets at check-in. Our first trip with the family we had three couples, so we stayed in one of the 3-bedroom suites. The suite was insane all the bedrooms had an on-suite bathroom, lanai, and view of the ocean. When we went back for the second time, we had a one bedroom, and it was fantastic with a full kitchen, laundry, and a soaking tub. With a lanai and a view of the ocean.
Here is mine and my husband’s favorite smoothie for our mornings before work, or any time of day. The best thing about this smoothie is that the base of it comes from my husband’s naturopath doctor. I’ve added some of my favorite superfoods to make it that much better. Plus the acai or the gogi powder make it colorful and fun, perfect for Instagram pics.
I am not a morning person, and I haven’t been my entire life, well at least according to my parents. This year I want to get into the routine of working out in the morning before work. That way I have no excuse for not getting in my work out. So far not off to the best start but I have found one trick that at least gets some movements in, in the morning.
My easy leg day workouts for the days that I know I won’t be able to get in a full workout. On these days I like to get a quick leg workout in while I brush my teeth either in the morning or right before bed. It’s going to sound weird, but I use my electronic toothbrush beeps for when I need to change the area of the mouth, for when to change my movement. This is a great way to wake up and feel energized. I tell myself I’ve at least moved and worked those muscles I wouldn’t otherwise while sitting at my desk all day.
Here are some examples of my favorite moves you can do while brushing your teeth. Multitasking at it’s best!
My husband and I eloped to the island of Bora Bora to have a private ceremony and explore the island.
When we decided we were going to elope we knew it had to be a once in a lifetime place, so obviously Bora Bora. An added bonus is that it was not as far away as many people think, it was only 8hrs from LA.
We ended up with a top 5 excel spreadsheet because I am a nerd at heart and have to make pro/con lists and map everything out. (I will share my excel spreadsheet on the blog soon!) In the top 5 were the usual suspects, the Four Seasons, The Ritz, Le Meridian, Sofitel, and The Intercontinental Thalasso. With our list together we set out a budget and immediately a few came off. It was down to the Intercontinental and Le Meridian. What sold us on the Intercontinental was the size of the huts over the water and the newer modern finishes, plus we got one of the new huts with our own swimming pool, figured it was worth the splurge since it was our wedding and honeymoon. We also preferred the InterContinental’s wedding package as well. It was very easy to customize and on the day of they had everything planned out we didn’t have to worry about a thing.
Let me just say this resort did not disappoint it was everything a 5 star resort should be (although it was our first time staying at one). There were kayaks, paddleboards, snorkeling, and they would book any other excursions you wanted. We literally didn’t have to lift a finger if we didn’t want too. The staff was so sweet and beyond helpful. All of the restaurants were very good. Our favorite meal was at the Reef restaurant, they had a braised lamb shank that was to die for and they paired it with a bottle of amazing red wine. We loved it so much we had it twice while we were there. The happy hour at Bubbles bar was so much fun they had great craft cocktails and appetizers with the perfect atmosphere.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from our honeymoon in Bora Bora. Working on my nature photography!
Hi, I’m Jessica, and I love all things related to travel, fitness, and photography. Why the name Palm Tree Dreaming, because I have always had the wanderlust to travel the world, so far, my favorite places have been those with palm trees, white sands, and blue water.
What you’ll find on this site is lots of fun tips and tricks for traveling, staying healthy and taking pictures of all those fun vacations. I have played soccer and ran track my entire life, so staying active is a no brainer. Now I do it to stay healthy and ready at any moment for the next beach vacation.
I have a love of photography; although I may be an amateur photographer, I am excited to share all of my photos with you, from travel, food, and fitness. As well as my journey of learning to take better pictures along the way.
Currently, I’m a project manager and going to school for my masters. I’ll be posting twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays!
HI, my name is Kowboy! Let’s talk about my winter essentials. I live in the Pacific Northwest, so it’s cold and damp in the winter time.
My favorite for cold days are sweaters and scarfs, we found ours at our local garden center and Home Goods. If it is raining I usually get suited up in my rain gear, which is very similar to a horse blanket, we found ours at our local garden center.
