Long Live

Last night we went to the Taylor Swift concert. Hunter actually surprised me with tickets on our anniversary in Mexico. Not only was I surprised that I was getting a gift on top of a vacation, I was surprised that he was able to get tickets at all. We had talked about going at the beginning of the summer and by the time we had gotten around to looking at tickets (the beginning of June at the LATEST) they were already sold out. Apparently Taylor Swift is just a little bit popular. 

Here is a picture of the arena - Energy Solutions Arena - almost completely full. At the start of the concert she mentioned how there were 14,000 people there. I would believe it - almost every single seat was occupied.

Again, you can see the massive amounts of people in this one. The cooler part of this photo though is the balcony like structure in the middle. Yes, Taylor Swift is in it, being whisked around the arena. 

This is a little closer up version to help you get a better visual. She had incredible stunts like this the whole way through. This particular stunt was for Love Story, which was the last song she sang.

She was waaaay fun to watch in concert. She talked, laughed, sang (obviously), and seemed to be having a really good time which made it so that we were all having a really good time too. Also, she uses the pretty long blonde hair of hers. She flipped it around so many times. haha. 

They had a screen that you could text messages to and it would enter you to win pit passes (too bad we didn't win...) and this is a picture of it. Every one was intently watching to see if their messages would come up before the concert started when the following came up. Every time it switches color it is a different message and so comes up at a different time. Needless to say, the crowd went WILD! I don't know if I have ever heard a crowd that loud - and I have been a member of many a crowd. And that was only the beginning...the incredibly loud noise continued throughout the whole concert. I'm pretty sure every one of us 14,000 sang along to every song. When we left and it was quiet again, my ears felt confused - they had been overwhelmed with so much noise to process for hours straight and then suddenly it was quiet and they weren't quite sure what to make of that. haha. 

I'm pretty sure it took us 10 tries to get an acceptable picture like this. 

We decided we had to join the throngs of girls getting their picture taken with Taylor Swift. Since we didn't see her up close for reals, we figured this was a good substitute. 

Here is a video of Haunted. It will give you a little taste of just how awesome her whole concert was. 

And just because I thought it was funny...

However, it is very fitting seeing as there were probably 5 women for every man there. 

Moral of this post: if you ever get the opportunity to go to a Taylor Swift concert do not, I repeat, DO NOT pass it up. She does not disappoint in any way, shape, or form. 

As a side note, we left this little dog home alone with free reign of our apartment. By the time we drove downtown, ate dinner (Happy Sumo...yuuuuummy), partied at the concert, and drove home it had been about 7 hours. We were both a little worried that our couches would be chewed up and there would be pee puddles on the floor, but neither happened. She behaved herself very well and didn't make any messes at all! Way to go Ameya! I guess this means we are going to have to start trusting her home alone a little more. haha.

Side note #2: Taylor Swift writes all her own songs about her own life stories. Here is an interesting article dissecting her current album, Speak Now, and who all the songs are about. 

Swimming with Dolphins!

My answer to the popular question "What animal would you be?" has always been a dolphin. They get to swim around all day, are very smart, and who doesn't love dolphins? I think that would be the life. So, when we saw that swimming with dolphins was something we could do in Mexico, there was no hesitation. This was easily our favorite activity of the whole trip.

The place that we did it through was called Dolphin Discovery. They had a few different aquariums, but the one that we were in head 9 dolphins in it. There were multiple trainers and vets in the aquarium.  We learned that all the dolphins were either rescued or born there. Our particular trainer was working with 2 dolphins. Because it was the off season, we were the only ones in our group which worked out wonderfully for us. 

The first pass the dolphin made was just to say hi. This first dolphin we worked with was a 32 year old female that was rescued. Interesting side note: dolphins can live to be about 50 years old under human care.

The next time, we got to touch the dolphin for the first time. Despite the look on my face, I was really enjoying myself.

Then we got to hug the dolphin. Basically, we put our arms out like we were carrying a stack of wood and the dolphin swam right into our open arms. It was way cool.

Hunter seems to be far more photogenic than I am. haha.

Then we put our arms straight out and the dolphin swam up, put it's nose on our hand and swam around in a circle so we were spinning like clocks. Also way cool.

Again with a basic touch, keep the dolphin feeling safe and comfortable.

Then the dolphin got to show off a little bit more. This is where the second dolphin started participating as well. He was a 3 year old that was born there.

The dolphin kiss. We put our hands out in a cupping position and the dolphin swam right up and put it's head in our hands.

It is amazing to me how calm and well trained they were. Again, dolphins are super smart.

The handshake - only dolphins are cooler than humans and shake both hands at once.

And the ball. These pictures only show them touching their noses to it. What it doesn't show is that they know how to play basketball. There was a little hoop on the edge of the aquarium that they would bounce the ball into.

With very simple hand motions they knew exactly what they were supposed to do. 

This is where it starts to get so much more exciting! The trainer had us float in the water with our arms straight out then he sent the dolphins to us and they swam up, one on either side, and we grabbed their dorsal fins and they swam back to the trainer with us holding on.

One dolphin was a lot stronger than the other and, consequently, was able to swim a lot faster.

After that, he had us lay superman style, with our feet out behind us, and sent the dolphins again. This time they put their noses on our feet and swam back. The faster they went, the more out of the water we got. 

When it was Hunter's turn I was waiting with the trainer and the dolphins on the other side of the aquarium. It took the trainer several times to get both dolphins to swim to Hunter at the same time. He said this was because of dominance issues. The older and more dominant one, would tell the other one what to do and that often resulted in him swimming back to the trainer long before he ever got close to Hunter.

Because we were the only two in our group we got to experience most of these activities multiple times. As I said earlier, this was easily our favorite activity of the whole trip. It was such a cool experience. Water, dolphins, fascinating facts, and fun swimming activities? It doesn't get much better than that.

Living 'la vida loca'

I know it has taken me a few days, but here is our report on our Mexican adventure!

We left Salt Lake on a red eye flight early Tuesday morning, and by early I mean 12:55 am. After a lengthy layover in Atlanta, we arrived at the Cancun airport shortly after noon. For the rest of that day we made sure our plans for the week were set and explored our resort, pool, and beach. Our resort, by the way, was incredible! There is a reason it is called all-inclusive. I'm pretty sure you could easily spend a whole week there without ever leaving and never get bored.

One thing we learned very quickly is that Iguanas are EVERYWHERE! They come in all sizes and seem to have little fear of people. They walk around right in the side walk and only shuffle over a little when people come close. This is a picture of the very first one we saw. See how close Hunter is?

I'm pretty sure that these pictures were taken a couple days in, but I'll give a blurb about the food now. We decided that at an all-inclusive resort they give you as little food as possible. The first day we ordered an appetizer, main dish and dessert each. We definitely did not leave full. Everyday after that we ordered WAY more food. haha. We always got at least 3 or 4 appetizers for the two of us as well as a main dish a piece (and sometimes another one to share) and a dessert.  Multiple times we ordered room service a few hours later. I decided that we eat A LOT of food or alcohol is a lot more filling than I expected - which decreases everyone else's need for food.

These were the desserts that we got at the Mexican restaurant. The first plate has 2 desserts on it. I think it is almost mockery to give only a taste and then it's gone before you can really enjoy it.

Everything was always plated beautifully, and these two desserts are no exception.

Day 2: This day was filled mostly with swimming with dolphins. We loved this activity soooo much that it deserves it's own post. Be excited for when I get time to do that. haha. 

Day 3: Our Tulum adventure and Xel-ha

This picture is of the little shops in front of the entrance to Tulum. This was my first real introduction to street vending and bartering - an experience that I found more stressful than anything else. They seriously chase you down and try to suck you in to purchase whatever they are selling despite the fact that you are purposefully ignoring them. Then the bartering? Why can't everything just be priced at what it should sell for instead of doubling the price so that maybe, just maybe they can rip some tourists off. haha. Luckily for me, Hunter is an expert and we never paid full price, getting at least 25% off every time. Sometimes closer to 50%.

This is the main temple in Tulum. I find ruins so fascinating! I am no history buff, but actually seeing they way people lived and built things is so interesting.

The Mayans were very short people. We were told that they would have no problem walking through this tunnel, but I was very bent over trying to get through.

Awe, the beach. Isn't it beautiful? Are you jealous a little? Because you probably should be.

Another iguana. I think Hunter took as many pictures of iguanas as he did us. haha. We never completely got over seeing them everywhere. We did, however, get to the point that we started looking for them and were slightly disappointed when they weren't there.

This picture is in Xel-ha. Xel-ha is basically a natural aquarium. It starts at a river and ends in the ocean. We snorkeled the whole way through and were able to see multiple eco-systems along the way. There were also places to cliff jump, rope climb, and zip line (all of which we participated in). While we were there, we also had the opportunity to bike a little through the jungle and hike around.

After snorkeling for 3 or 4 hours, biking, and hiking we were pretty exhausted. They were prepared for that and provided plenty of hammocks. 

Side note: they had people taking pictures there that you were able to buy afterwards (for more money we were willing to pay). We had pictures taken zip lining, holding an iguana, a parrot, and a toucan. When we were holding Toucan Sam he peed right on our hands! I didn't even realize that birds peed until that moment.

Later that night, we were walking through our resort and along the beach. 

This picture should probably be entered in a photo contest. Hunter did a great job with it.

Even though we were slightly disappointed that the camera couldn't capture exactly what we were seeing (which was very serene by the way) we were still able to get some good ones. 

Day 4: Chichen Itza and a cenote

Aptly named one of the seven natural wonders of the world, Chichen Itza definitely didn't disappoint. Again, my fascination with ruins was fed very well. We opted to have an LDS tour guide so we could get a Book of Mormon perspective. We thought that was appropriate for exploring Lamanite lands. Our tour guide was excellent and if anyone is going to the area soon and would like to take an LDS tour of the area, here is the link to his website.

This particular picture is of a burial site for a wealthy, higher class citizen. Their burial tradition for everyone else was to be buried under a tree so they would be able to go back to what created them. Our tour guide is also in this picture.

This is a picture of the Observatory. The door is off center because of true north and magnetic north. It is amazing how much the Mayan people knew. Another thing that was really interesting was that in this field if you clapped it created an echo that seemed to be circular so that all around could hear. 

And this is the classic Chichen Itza picture. We were sad that we didn't go a week later because on March and September 21st the sun lines up just right that it creates triangles of light that line up perfectly with the sides. I realize that doesn't make any sense, but I'm not sure how to explain it without a picture of it. Just know that March and September 21st are very important days. haha.

Another iguana - hanging out in the sides of a ruin. 

This picture is when we arrived at the cenote (a natural well filled with fresh water). Early Mexican cities were built around these cenotes so the people could have fresh water. I think our tour guide said there are about 11,000 cenotes on the Yucatan Peninsula. 

Cliff jumping into the cenote. There were soooo many cat fish!

This picture was taken right before Hunter pushed me in. I tried so hard to pull him in with me, but it didn't work out. He felt bad though and jumped in shortly after. The lifeguard came running and everything, it was great. haha.

On the drive back to our resort, we drove through today's Mayan cities. It was so interesting to see how these people live. Most houses were built out of wood in such a way that you could see right into the house. They seemed to be mostly one room and there were only hammocks. The people don't have beds. It is such a different lifestyle than the one I have always lived. 

Day 5: Our last full day in Mexico

We spent all of Saturday relaxing. The morning was occupied with playing on the beach and swimming in the ocean. This was the only day there was anything that resembled surf. All the previous days the water was barely lapping at the beach. There must have been something brewing out to sea this day though because we had decently sized waves to play in and body surf on. 

Our afternoon was filled first by massages and then by a trip to Playa del Carmen which included shopping and eating at an authentic Mexican Restaurant.

Day 6: The flight home

There wasn't anything super exciting that happened this day as we left for the airport shortly after 9 am. One interesting thing though is that the biggest plane we were on was the one from Atlanta to Salt Lake. I thought that was strange seeing as how we took international flights. 

And that concludes our first anniversary trip! I can't believe that we have already been married for a year! It seems like only yesterday that we were getting home from our honeymoon. Spending a week in Mexico was the perfect way to celebrate :) I love you Hunter Paddock! Happy Anniversary to us!