On Saturday, we woke up and had another fantastic breakfast at the Mayan Mountain Lodge.  Really, I can't say enough about how fresh and delicious their breakfast offerings were!  Susan and I had the Mayan and Mestizo dishes this morning and the kids had a bowl of yogurt with granola and fresh fruit.  After breakfast, we packed up and said goodbye to the Mayan Lodge and set out for the Nohoch Che'en Caves to do some tubing.

The cave tubing was amazing and one of the highlights of the trip.  We had a relaxing yet adventurous float down the Caves Branch River, floating through a series of caves.  The kids (and us too!) loved the adventure and hopefully created some life-long memories. 

After tubing, we grabbed a quick bite to eat along the road back to Belize City and from there ferried over to the island of Ambergris Caye.  The jungle portion of the trip was over and we'd spend the rest of the trip in/on the water. 

We kicked off Friday with a big cultural breakfast at the lodge.  I had the Mayan, Susan had the Creole, and the kids all went with the pancakes.  The lodge had some of the best food we had on the trip!  Once our bellies were full, we loaded up in the van with our guide for the 2 hour trip to Tikal,  an ancient Mayan citadel in the rainforests of northern Guatemala.

The drive to Tikal was interesting.  We stopped at the Guatemalan border, crossed over on foot, then switched vehicles as a Guatemalan guide would take us the remainder of the way.   The ruins at Tikal were impressive, containing 12 major pyramids built between 600 and 900 AD.  So impressive, it served as the home for many scenes in the Star Wars movies. (Colt was very impressed by this!) 

Exploring the Tikal grounds involved a good deal of hiking, which the kids mostly handled well.  We ate lunch on site as part of our tour package before making the drive back to Belize.  Once back at the lodge, we spent some time relaxing at the lodge grounds before having dinner at Erva's, which was well recommended.  Our experience was not good, however, they were out of a number of menu items, food was average, and service was sub-par. 

Tikal was a great day trip and one that I and hopefully the kids will remember for a very long time!  Check out the pics!

Belize has been on our travel wish list for some time, and in 2019 we finally got the change to go!  We decided to split our time in Belize, spending the first part of the trip inland exploring the jungles and Mayan ruins, then spend the remainder of the trip in the beautiful waters on Belize's coast.

We had a pretty easy flight down.  Leaving from Atlanta, it's a short 2 hour flight to Miami, followed by another 2 hour flight from Miami to Belize.  We left Thursday morning and were in Belize City by lunchtime. 

From Belize City, we had a 2 hour bus ride to the town of San Ignacio, in western Belize close to the Guatemalan border.  We arrived at the Mayan Mountain Lodge mid-afternoon and our first order of business was to relax.  The kids alternated between the pool and the hammocks most of the afternoon as we explored the grounds of the lodge. 

For dinner, we took a short taxi ride into town and ate at Hannah's, a popular local spot.  The food, especially the pork tacos, was delicious and the whole meal for a family of 5 only set us back $26!

The first day was a success - mostly a travel day but we got settled at the Lodge, explored the town of San Ignacio, and had a great meal.  Day 2 would take us into Guatemala to visit the Mayan Ruins at Tikal - see that trip in the next update!

Colt's class put on a special program for Veteran's Day, honoring the troops. Colt designed a poster honoring our service members and had a speaking part in the program.  Check out the pics above and you can see a clip of his part below.  Enjoy!

We had a great Halloween this year.  Colt went as a gladiator, Sadie a firefighter, and Finley was Wonder Woman.  Mom and Dad are still enjoying the candy!  Take a look at the pics!