Trip Report Legoland and Cabo with a toddler! Updated 2/16 COMPLETE

[disgeek009]

Our friends had arrived just a couple hours earlier. We had a nice time catching up and introducing the kids to each other.


DH wanted to teach DD how to swim during this trip.


Then we went to the beach together to take a look. The waves were really rough and the beach was dotted with black (fatal water conditions) and white (dangerous marine life) flags to warn people against swimming. It was so turbulent that I told DD she should not even put her feet in the water.





It didn’t really matter though because she was only interested in digging a hole. We moved over to the beach loungers and DD and DH dug a hole. FS helped too. FH and I went to the bar to get some drinks at one point and I got a mai tai and FH got a mojito and we also got waters. We shared our waters and cocktails with our spouses.

Soon it was dinner time so we went back to our rooms to drop things off then met in the lobby. DH went to the excursions office and booked a dive trip for the next morning.

Since it was our first evening in Mexico, I thought we should try the Mexican restaurant. But when we got to the podium there was a sign for a dress code and the guys were wearing flip flops, which were not acceptable.

We tried the Spanish restaurant next door and it also had a dress code.


Too fancy for us.

DF mentioned a snack bar next to the pool but when we went there, it had closed at 6. Finally, we went to the Italian restaurant close to the beach. This time DF didn’t meet the dress code because she was wearing a coverup over a bikini and they didn’t allow bikinis? It was a strange rule since she was covered up but we sat down and she went back to change.

The seating was outside and I was immediately worried about mosquitoes. I was checking my arms and legs all through dinner. DH got a margherita pizza and later ordered a mushroom ravioli under pressure from the server. DD ate from the antipasti and especially loved the ‘stick breads.’ She ate at least a half dozen and we were going back for more and more all the time. She also shared some cheese pizza with FS. I got calamari and asparagus risotto. Everything was good but not amazing.

FS was getting tired by the end of dinner. Cabo was one hour behind for them, and one hour ahead for us. So they left before dessert. We had ice cream (strawberry for DD and chocolate for DH) and I had tiramisu.




Back in the room, DH arranged the sheets on the sofa bed and we gave DD a bath. She fell asleep quickly. We were all asleep by 11.

At 3:30 DD cried for something and DH went to her. She fell back asleep but DH and I could not. We noticed how hot and swampy the room felt and kept checking the air conditioning. Finally we turned up the speed on the ceiling fan and slept very poorly for the rest of the night.

NEXT: Hot temperatures continue

 

[disgeek009]

I hope everyone had a great holiday! Just a short update today to ease back into normal life.

DH got up early and left for his dive. I wanted him to cancel since we had slept so poorly, but he went anyway. The room was still sweltering when DD and I woke up around 8:15. We got up and put on swimsuits and a lot of sunscreen. I called to ask about fixing the air conditioning and apparently it was a resort-wide problem.

I texted DF before we left the room and we met in the buffet. The dining room was also very warm and we sweated through breakfast. The buffet had a lot of typical breakfast food and a few Mexican touches. DD had a red juice that she said was strawberry. (I think it was watermelon)


Judging my unhealthy breakfast.

After breakfast we went up to DF’s room. The kids played with Duplos for a while as the grown ups talked. The air conditioning seemed to start working again. After a while DD wanted to get her kitty toy so we all went up to our room and hung out some more.

FH went down at one point to get coffee and donuts for us. The kids made up a strange game with the curtains that they thought was hilarious and it lasted for quite a while. I got jostled and some coffee spilled on my dress. I went to clean it up and when I came back I heard DD telling DF and FH about a roller coaster we rode that was so fast her ‘hair almost came off!’

Since the kids had so much energy we thought we should go to the pool so we went down to the kids pool. We brought our sand toys and the kids played with them in the water. A server came by and took drink orders. I got a pina colada and DD got orange juice.





We stayed until 12:30 then went to the snack bar for lunch. I got a fish taco and DD got a chicken quesadilla but FS got a half a hamburger with fries and they brought out two servings so DD ended up eating that instead.


My fish taco, and DD ignoring her quesadilla.

After lunch DD and I went back to the room for nap time. We read a new book from DF. There was a party at the adult pool below us which was very loud but DD managed to fall asleep. DH came back and we had a quick whispered conversation about his dive before lying down for a nap too.

NEXT: Swimming in the big pool

 

[disgeek009]

DH and I woke up and DD was still napping. We hung out until she woke up at 4:30. Then we got dressed in swimsuits and put on more sunscreen.

We stopped by the cafe and got some sweets. We had macaroons and DH ate some pastries. Then he stopped by the excursions office to tell them about the dive trip. When he came back we went to the main pool.





DF and her family had gone for a walk and they met us at the pool when they came back. DH tried to teach DD how to swim and she was so proud of herself and her furiously kicking legs. She wore a floatie and DH held her hands while she kicked her way around the pool. I swam with them for a while then got out to talk with DF. FH and FS also played in the pool for a while.

At 6:30 we got everyone out and we went up to dress for dinner. We went to the Mexican restaurant. This time our attire was acceptable and we were seated. They introduced the buffet and took our drink orders (water for everyone but DH who got Diet Coke).





The spread was really nice and they had a variety of Mexican food that I never tried before. DH was really happy they had good shawarma and DD was excited about more ‘stick bread.’ DF, FH and FS left early again.



After dinner we walked to the beach to look at the stars. There was a couple having a romantic dinner lit by candlelight. But after I brushed bugs off of me three times in two minutes I jumped up and said I was ready to go back. DH and DD came with me.


They had these boxes for donations, which was nice and convenient. We left some swimsuits before we left.


We gave DD a bath and put her to bed. It took her a while to fall asleep since she napped for so long in the afternoon. Later, I discovered a mosquito bite on my leg.

 

[disgeek009]

We woke up around 8 this morning and tried to stretch out the morning process for as long as possible. When we started getting dressed, I got a text from DF asking if we wanted to meet at the buffet for breakfast. So we hurried (which didn’t feel very fast) and met them in the restaurant.



Breakfast was really good again. DF and I even had mimosas which were nice and sweet. We talked about our plans for today which were to go to a local beach for snorkeling.

After breakfast we went to gather our stuff. Then we went to DF’s room. DF decided to stay at the resort with FS since he seemed grouchy and tired. But FH still wanted to go snorkeling and he would drive us.

We drove about 20 minutes to Chileano Beach, which we read was a public beach with nice snorkeling. The beach had nice facilities with public bathrooms and a large boardwalk to the beach. The sun was really strong, though, and we had to keep our shoes on when walking on the sand.



We asked about umbrellas at the information booth and they rented one to us for $10. It was totally worth it because it was so hot, And we were able to sit and relax a bit with the umbrella.



FH didn’t have snorkel gear so he borrowed my mask and snorkel, but the fins didn’t fit. And he and DH went out first. DD and I collected rocks and shells at the edge of the water. I tried to convince her to put on her floatie so we could swim a bit, but she was too interested in collecting rocks.



FH came back quickly since he couldn’t go very far without fins. The current was pretty strong. But DH soon came back and FH borrowed his gear for the next round. I went out with FH and we saw a variety of fish but no anemones and very little coral. We forgot to bring the GoPro, so no pictures of the fish. We were also terrible at identifying the fish we saw, "Did you see the one with the yellow stripe? And the purple one about this big?" We really needed a fish-spotting guide.

DH took DD out to swim for a while and then she wanted to play in the sand. So FH and I chatted while DH dug a big hole for DD. Later, I asked DD if DH dug a good hole for her and she said no. Apparently, DH wasted a lot of energy because she thought the hole should've been smaller. (About as big as her two hands together.)




After the hole was filled in, FH, DH and DD went out to swim some more.

Around 1:30 we packed up and returned to the resort. We went to the buffet again for lunch and DF and FS joined us. DF reported that they had a quiet morning and FS mostly laid down to rest. DF was able to sit on the balcony for a while.

After lunch we went straight to the main pool and DD put on her floatie and DH took her all around the pool. She was getting better at ‘swimming’ and DH didn’t have to hold her hand anymore.



I sat on a lounger and dozed off for a bit. DF, FH and FS joined us and FS had a big floatie that looked like an ice cream cone. We all swam around with our kids and traded floaties occasionally.

I went to the bathroom and passed by a table set up with fresh fruit and a man was cutting whole mangoes into roses. I got one to share. DD loved it and kept asking for more and more.



DF, FH and FS got tired of the pool earlier than DD so they went back to their room. I watched DD and DH swim for a while and then pulled out my watercolor sketchbook and paints for a quick painting.



We finally left the pool when it was almost 6. We quickly changed into dry clothes and went down to meet DF and her family. But FS had fallen asleep so FH stayed with him and ordered room service. DF joined us for dinner at the beach grill, which was a steakhouse.



I got grilled catch of the day (sea bass) with a side of mashed sweet potatoes, DH got filet mingon and also mashed sweet potatoes. DD got grilled chicken with rice and fries. We were all happy with dinner and DD ate pretty well, which was surprising considering how much mango she ate at the pool.

For dessert I got flan, DH got cheesecake and coconut ice cream and DD got vanilla ice cream.

We went back to the room and gave DD a bath. We read Pinkalicious Halloween and she fell asleep almost instantly. I took a shower and worked on the trip report before going to sleep too.

 

[disgeek009]

We just returned from our Disneyland vacation! It was really fun and so tiring. Still undecided if I will write a trip report for that one, but here's another installment from this trip, which I am determined to finish.

DD was so tired from all the activity yesterday that she didn’t wake up until 8:30 today. We slowly got dressed and went down for breakfast at the buffet.

Our friends were already there so we sat with them. After breakfast we went back to the room for a while then DF texted asking if we had a USB-C cable they could borrow. We had one for DH’s phone so DD and I brought it down. The kids immediately got to work playing with trucks and legos.

DH came down later and we decided to go to the kids’ pool together. The main pool was in full sun and we thought the kid's pool would have more shade. We got there just in time for a foam party.


So inviting, but it was blazing hot. Like 'instant sunburn' hot.


Foam party!

DD played a bit with the bubbles, mostly just gathering up handfuls and using them to ‘clean’ me. She also played a little on the play structure and went down the slide. Then FS wanted to go back to the room to play with his trucks and legos and DD wanted to swim in the main pool with DH so we all moved.

At the main pool I swam with DD and DH for a while then sat in a lounger. A server came by and I asked for a pina colada, which I shared with DH.



Around 12:30 we went back to the buffet for lunch. It was relatively empty so I got to take pictures of all the stations.








Note the bags that encourage you to take candy to go. So thoughtful and so sinister.

After lunch we went back to the room for nap time. There was a foam party at the adult pool now and we could hear the music. But DD still fell asleep around 2:30.

NEXT: The rest of our day (more swimming, I think? Probably more swimming.)

 

[disgeek009]

She woke up just a little bit before 4. And I thought we should try to cram in as much pool time as possible but when I asked if she wanted to go swimming she said no! So we compromised and I dressed her in a swimsuit but we went downstairs for a snack and walk on the beach first.

At the coffee shop DH and I both got iced lattes and we tried some chocolate cake. DD saw an apple right at her eye level and started taking bites from that. She also saw the display case and asked for a chocolate truffle and blue macaroon (which I ate in the end).



Caught in the act!

I was texting DF to keep her updated on what we were doing, and they were at the pool. We saw them as we were going to the beach, and they were just returning to their room. FS had enough of the pool and just wanted to go back to his room to play with his toys again.

We went to the beach and the waves were still really rough. DH thought it might be calmer farther down so we walked a while but it never got gentle enough for us to feel safe having DD next to the water so we turned back. DD said we should go to the pool, so I guess the walk made her ready for more swimming.




We got towels and found loungers by the water. I swam with them for a while and then got out to do some painting. DH and DD played in the water until it was time to get dressed for dinner.




I texted DF to see if they wanted to join us for dinner, but just like yesterday, FH and FS had both fallen asleep so she would join us on her own.

We went back to the room and laid things out on the balcony to dry, then changed into dry clothes for dinner. We went to the Spanish restaurant tonight and it was really nice.

We ordered the tapas sampler to share and I got a shrimp appetizer and seafood paella for my main course. DH didn’t order an appetizer and got ox for his main. I also got a sparkling wine. DD got milk and mac and cheese. We also asked for some breadsticks, which our server brought with some cheese and bread. We also asked about the black rice and the sever brought out a serving for us to share.






We all loved our food. DH said his steak was far better than the one he had at the steakhouse yesterday. And the black rice, which was black from squid ink, was deliciously rich and buttery. For dessert, I got pijama which was flan on a shortbread cookie. And DH got custard and ice cream. DD also got ice cream. I was stuffed by the time we left. It was a great last dinner.



We said good night to DF and agreed we would try to meet tomorrow to say goodbye. Then we went back to the room and DH immediately started packing. We gave DD a bath and finished packing our things.

It was Friday night and we heard a party going on downstairs but it was quiet by 10.

NEXT: The last post. Traveling home!

 

[disgeek009]

We set the alarm for 7:30 this morning and DD started to make sounds a couple minutes before the alarm. We got dressed and finished packing. DD, who had been telling me she missed our house throughout our trip, suddenly started saying she would miss the fun we had here. She asked to go to the pool, which we had to deny. I was actually looking forward to going home since I was kind of tired of the heat and humidity.

DH called to get help with the luggage and I texted DF to let her know we were ready to go. We ran into them just as we got to the elevator.


Ready for pickup.

We said goodbye, with some tentative comments about doing another joint vacation next year. They were staying until Monday.

We ran into the buffet for a super quick 10 minute breakfast. We grabbed a small box of Fruit Loops just in case.

In the lobby, I checked out and our ride was waiting for us. It was an easy drive to the airport. At the airport we got in line to check our luggage and get boarding passes. This was the longest we waited and it was about 15 minutes. We saw a woman with a few dogs and crates labeled Mila's Mutts. I looked it up and it was a rescue group that brought dogs from Mexico to the Pacific Northwest.



We went upstairs for security and it was mostly empty and we were through in minutes. At the gate we took turns visiting the bathroom and changing into warmer clothes for the flight. While DH was changing, I looked up Priority Pass and saw that we could go to the lounge.


Pointing out the fake cactus.


My favorite of her new poses.

Downstairs at the lounge was pretty crowded so we went upstairs and there were plenty of seats. DH got a Diet Coke, DD got an apple juice and I got mint tea. They also had some warm food and DD loved the latkes.




We boarded on time. I filled out our information in the Mobile Passport app but waited until we landed to submit everything.



The flight was smooth and I watched Better Call Saul while DD played with her iPad. When we landed I submitted our mobile passport information and received some receipts. Then we walked and walked to get to baggage claim. As we were waiting for our luggage I asked where the mobile passport line was and was told they don’t use it here!

It didn’t matter because there was no line at all for customs and we were through quickly. Right outside of customs they had a luggage recheck station and we dropped our luggage there. Then it was a long walk to get back to the terminal.



We had to go through security again but we all had TSA precheck so it was really fast. The agent checking tickets was very appreciative that DH had put each person's boarding pass in the picture page of the passport.

Our gate was just at the other side of security and DH checked how long we had until boarding began. Just 8 minutes.

We went to Jack in the Box and I took our bottles to fill at the filling station. DH got fries and a hamburger. They were boarding group A when we got to the gate so DH ran to the bathroom and got back just in time for our group. For reference, we had about an hour layover, and it was just BARELY enough (and that was with no wait at customs and TSA precheck).


Playing with the 'broken' machine.

It was a smaller plane and the seats were in a 2-2 configuration so DH and I were sitting at the aisle. DH was lucky and no one took the window seat next to him. I watched more Better Call Saul on the flight and then Black Mirror.

DD played with the iPad until she was tired of all the games and I showed her the shows I downloaded for her. She was so absorbed watching Cat in the Hat that she didn’t even notice when we landed. I told her we had to put the iPad away and she was so happy to hear that we were almost home.

My father came to pick us up. It was much colder here and we had to put on jackets. My parents stayed at our house to watch DD while DH and I unpacked and they even ordered Chinese food for dinner!



We spent Sunday doing laundry, cleaning up the garden, and watching football. It was a gentle re-entry to our regular life.

And that's the story of our trip to Legoland and Cabo. Thanks for following along!

 

[LilOahu19]

Thanks for the detailed write up. I've been reading your trip reports since we're doing the same destination at the same age point (Aulani & DL). Your daughter has gotten so tall and gown for each vacation.

 

[disgeek009]

Thanks for the detailed write up. I've been reading your trip reports since we're doing the same destination at the same age point (Aulani & DL). Your daughter has gotten so tall and gown for each vacation.

Oh, you'll have so much fun! I was thinking of going back to Aulani this year, but DH liked the ease of the all-inclusive resort so much I'm not sure he'll agree.

Thanks for reading and commenting!