The Greatest Vacation Ever!

I just got back from Beaches Turks & Caicos and it was without a doubt my best vacation ever. I have been on cruises, to Greece, to Mexico blah blah blah, but this was 100% the best vacation I have ever gone on.

To begin with, the non-stop flight was less than 3 hrs long, the property was beautiful, landscaped and perfectly clean. Turks and Caicos has the most amazing water I could have ever imagined in my entire life, but none of that was what made it amazing.  I ate out 3 times a day and the food was fresh, fabulous and not at all "all inclusive" caliber. There are 16 different restaurants on the one property...great great great... but that's not even what made it the best vacation ever.

What made this the most amazing vacation ever was that everyone at Beaches knows it is a kid/family vacation. The staff likes kids and they are focused on your kids AND YOU having a great time!! Everyone that worked there was perfectly happy to have kids there because that is the way the resort is suppose to be. No, there isn't "Its a Small World" playing in the background while you eat, and no, the pool towels don't have Cookie Monster on them, but when you are out to dinner and your 2 year old gets spaghetti on the floor, the wait staff smiles, calls her Princess, slaps her a high 5 and doesn't care one bit! They have crayons and paper and pancakes and sundaes. They have a set of miniature couches and chairs and tables in the foyer with chocolate chip cookies. They have rum punch and regular punch and teen cruises and adult cruises. They have kids club for every age group from newborns to teens!

I am a stay at home mom. 24/7/365! I don't get a day off from anything, ever and I actually got a vacation. I figured we would take the baby to Camp Sesame 2-3 times while we were there, yeah, not so much, she went every day! She loved it, she cried when we picked her up. They had sand time and pool time. The entire 12-24 month group "lunched" together everyday! NO SERIOUSLY, they "lunched!"  You would walk by restaurants and see entire groups of kids all lunching together!

Beaches treats kids with respect. There are "kids foods" and "kids restaurants" but they can order a steak, they can have a non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri at the swim-up bar and the bartender treats that kid like he is the most legitamate customer he has.  Everywhere you go you see nannies from the resort pushing kids around in car strollers, walking to dinner, going to the pool. And while all of this nannying and such is going on there are moms and dads walking around with smiles on their faces enjoying themselves.

Moms and dads are actually able and allowed to enjoy each other, eat lunch together and sit in the pool without their kids and actually know their kids are having fun because at that very moment, the kid is having a birthday party with Elmo and Big Bird and the whole darn afternoon is brought to them by the letter "E!"

I am usually ready to go home by the end of a trip...Not this time! I actually went to the front desk and begged them to let me stay a little longer! I have my trip booked for next year and looked into going back in November!

I want to go back to the place that lets everyone feel at home. I want to go back to the place where I don't have to apologize when my 2 year old acts like a 2 year old and my 11 and 14 year olds can enjoy themselves in a safe, fun environment without computers or TV.  I want to go back to the place where everyone gets me when I say "I haven't seen my kids all vacation" and they smile and say "this is our third year here!!"  I want to go back to where I don't care if my kids order chicken nuggets or a 40 oz steak and "sure get two desserts."  I want to go back to the place where I DON'T have to tell them to "eat all their lunch."

I kept wondering if anyone was keeping track of how many times I took the baby to Camp Sesame? I kept wondering if they were charging extra for every moment I spent enjoying myself and I was oddly suspicious of all the staff who smiled at my kids, loved and hugged them and gave "high 5's" as we moved through the resort.

I can't wait to go back. I know I have found my true vacation destination.  A place where even a mom can have a TRUE vacation. Did I mention they even have Camp Sesame at night?! Included!  There is no place more heavenly than Beaches. It is heaven on earth. A little of your kids and a little of "no kids."

Don't misunderstand me, I love my kids and I love spending time with my kids and that is why this place is so great! You can spend all the time you want together but you can also enjoy your spouse!  I love that there is a place on this Earth where a 2 year old, an 11 year old, a 14 year old and 2 adults can all equally enjoy themselves at the same time.

We are home now. Everyone has to eat their lunch again and I care if they have two desserts. Jaque isn't here to teach my son how to DJ, Emily isn't here to show my daughter how to scuba and Cookie Monster is busy making cookies with other babies... Maybe that is why Beaches is heaven? Maybe it is because it was all off of my shoulders for 7 whole days?

I am not sure exactly why Beaches is better than any other vacation destination.  All I care about is that I can go back. I guess just knowing that there is a place where every day is brought to me by a new letter and where everyone tells me my kids are great will keep me going till next year ....because next year, God willing, I'm going back and Jaque, Emily and Cookie Monster can take over again for seven days and all will be right with the world.