Adam discovered Crash My Playa several years ago, and he’s mentioned to me every year since that we should go! For the first couple years, we were in school or studying for Boards, but this year we decided we could swing it! This is one of the perks of traveling PT. If we know our vacation plans ahead of time, we can sign them into our contracts. So, in the spring of 2018, we searched for another couple to sign up for this awesome trip with us! My best friend from elementary school, Jenna, and her husband, Jake, were the two crazy enough to join us for an amazing adventure.
In great company! (Megan’s best friend since Kindergarten, Jenna, and her husband, Jake)
Delta Sky Club
We recently figured out that because Adam has a Delta Credit Card, we can use the Delta Sky Club areas for a fee. We won’t do this very often because the fee is $29.00 per person, but we had a long layover in Atlanta, so we decided to try it out. Once you pay your fee and enter the Sky Club, everything is included. They have a buffet, a bar, restrooms with showers, and plenty of sitting areas with plug ins and Wi-Fi. We felt like we got our money’s worth because realistically airport food is pretty expensive in the general terminal. Once again, we probably won’t make a habit out of this, but it was kind of fun to see how the Sky Club members live.
Our first Delta Club experience!
Barceló Maya
The four of us arrived in Mexico on a Tuesday afternoon and headed for our all-inclusive resort, the Barceló Maya. This is by far the biggest resort we’ve ever been to. The several miles of walking we did exploring the resort every day helped us avoid the well-known all-inclusive weight gain. The best part about this resort was that it was the host for Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa Year 5. The one downfall to this resort was that not everything was included in this “all-inclusive.” Surfing, arcade games, bowling, swimming with the dolphins, and certain drinks are a few examples of things that were available for extra cost. Other than that, this was a great resort. The buffets were decent, but the dinner reservation restaurants were pretty spectacular. It’s best to book ahead for these, but we had good luck with waiting at the door for other people to no-show. This resort was right on the beach with several pool areas to choose from and plenty of activities offered every day. Of course, we had to find a Mexican restaurant for our first night in Mexico, so we ate at Mexico Lindo, and then explored this massive resort!
Riviera Maya, Mexico
Barcelo Maya Resort
You can get everywhere under cover which was helpful during our rainy vacation.
So many pools!
The mall in the middle of the resort.
Several snack huts around.
Even cool on the inside.
Nature at the resort!
Mini Golf at the resort.
Dolphin shows at the resort!
Beach time!
Gotta love walks on the beach!
Riviera Maya, Mexico
Barcelo Maya Resort
You can get everywhere under cover which was helpful during our rainy vacation.
So many pools!
The mall in the middle of the resort.
Several snack huts around.
Even cool on the inside.
Nature at the resort!
Mini Golf at the resort.
Dolphin shows at the resort!
Beach time!
Gotta love walks on the beach!
The Proposal
We slowly woke up to the sun on Wednesday morning, as anyone should on their first full day of vacation. Once we all finally rolled out of bed, we challenged Jenna and Jake to a round of mini golf. Our putt putt went a bit long, so we were time crunched when trying to make our full day excursion. All-inclusive resorts are great, but it’s nice to get outside of the resort walls and explore a little bit, so we had signed up for an excursion about seven months before. I hurriedly mentioned I would head for the excursion vans, so they didn’t leave without us, and I sent Adam back to the room to compile our day pack. Little did I know that this delegation worked out very well in his favor.
Once Adam returned, we hopped in a van and just before we left one of the staff came up to van and asked if Megan McCarthy was present. I said yes, not thinking anything of it because I figured I must have forgotten to check in or something, but this was to make sure the “secret agents” had the right person. And so off we went in the Adventuras Mayas van into the Mexican jungle for about 25 minutes. We quickly befriended these two very social girls, not knowing that these were the “secret agents” that would be helping to document this special day.
Our first adventure on this excursion was ziplining. Adam is not a fan of heights and this was his first time ziplining, so this was a pretty big event. We climbed the seemingly endless, somewhat sketchy, wooden stairs to the top of the first platform to start the string of seven ziplines. We enjoyed cruising along each line enjoying a view of the jungle below. For the final zipline, they put us in a hammock. Adam went first and then I followed. I remember thinking about how good life is right now as I was cruising down the line lounging in a hammock.
Our excursion day!
Adam’s first time zip lining!
Not quite Megan’s first time zip lining.
Our excursion day!
Adam’s first time zip lining!
Not quite Megan’s first time zip lining.
Due to being cocooned in the hammock, I couldn’t see what was happening on the platform. Once I flew into the platform, I peered over the edge of the hammock to find Adam down on one knee. It took me a couple seconds to realize what was occurring, but once it clicked, my face was covered with pure shock which transformed into joy with child-like excitement. Adam shared some amazing words and then asked me to marry him. I replied “Of course!” and then there was a full horse-shoe of people to applaud and congratulate us.
But soon to be Megan’s favorite zip lining experience!
Megan a little confused at first.
Adam popping the question!
Megan saying, “YES!”
Admiring the beautiful ring!
Still in shock!
Megan is almost the same height as Adam when on the step above him!
So happy!!!
But soon to be Megan’s favorite zip lining experience!
Megan a little confused at first.
Adam popping the question!
Megan saying, “YES!”
Admiring the beautiful ring!
Still in shock!
Megan is almost the same height as Adam when on the step above him!
So happy!!!
While on cloud nine, we transitioned to our next adventure, ATVing. We took 4-wheelers through the bumpy roads of the Mexican jungle, another first for Adam, for at least a half hour. After this, we went for a refreshing swim in a cenote down in a cave! Upon return to the resort, there were flutes and champagne in the room waiting for us to celebrate. Jenna and Jake hadn’t known about Adam’s plans for the day, but they saw the champagne with a note, so they figured out pretty quick that Adam was probably going to propose while we were away. We met them for dinner that night and they immediately noticed the ring and congratulated us! It was fun to celebrate with them right away by heading to the first night of Crash My Playa.
Next adventure: ATVing!
And then a refreshing swim in a cenote!
Stalagmites under water!
Hanging out in a cave!
The entrance of the cave.
The ring that Adam designed for me!
Champagne waiting for us upon return from our excursion!
Time to celebrate!
Next adventure: ATVing!
And then a refreshing swim in a cenote!
Stalagmites under water!
Hanging out in a cave!
The entrance of the cave.
The ring that Adam designed for me!
Champagne waiting for us upon return from our excursion!
Time to celebrate!
Crash My Playa
Crash My Playa is an event Luke Bryan has been putting on for five years now. It’s a little spendy, but this is definitely the classiest music festival we’ve been to and CID Presents really puts a lot of thought into it! When you purchase a package, everything is included except for your flight and any additional excursions you want to add on. For four nights in a row, there are country concerts right on the beach playing for five hours. While you are dancing in the sand, servers are constantly bringing drinks around for the audience. If you ever get hungry, there are several food huts behind you to grab some tasty Mexican food! Even the restrooms were the nicest porta-pots we’ve ever encountered. At least three country artists play each night, with some unexpected cameos throughout. The one downfall about Crash My Playa is that you won’t know the entire line-up at the time you have to purchase your package. That being said, if you like popular country music, you will not be disappointed! This year we were able to see: Luke Bryan, Dustin Lynch, Mitchell Tenpenny, Thomas Rhett, Lauren Alaina, Jake Owen, Kendell Marvel, Travis Denning, Luke Combs, Chris Janson, and Jon Langston. All the other years look like they’ve had great lineups as well!
Crash My Playa stage from afar.
Crash My Playa!
Country concerts right on the beach every night!
Thousands of people, but it didn’t even feel crowded!
All-inclusive bars!
One of the coolest sand castles we’ve seen!
The host, Luke Bryan!
Jake Owen
Lauren Alaina
Thomas Rhett
Luke Combs
Chris Jansen
A live postcard!
Crash My Playa stage from afar.
Crash My Playa!
Country concerts right on the beach every night!
Thousands of people, but it didn’t even feel crowded!
All-inclusive bars!
One of the coolest sand castles we’ve seen!
The host, Luke Bryan!
Jake Owen
Lauren Alaina
Thomas Rhett
Luke Combs
Chris Jansen
A live postcard!
Each afternoon, before the night concerts, a few artists would play acoustic performances at the main pool. These pool parties were a blast, but we learned quickly to enjoy them from the grassy areas instead of standing in the pools, as we noticed people never left to use the restrooms… There were plenty of other pool areas to use if we ever wanted a more relaxed afternoon. Each evening we cleaned up and went to one of the fine dining restaurants within the resort, our favorite being the hibachi grill, before heading to the concert. After the concerts each night there were various activities offered to keep the night going such as musicians, karaoke, clubs, or bars with more casual couch areas- all located within the resort’s main mall.
Pool parties every day!
Swim up bars!
Our favorite grassy spot to watch the accoustic performances.
An example of great food at one of the several nice restaurants on the resort campus.
All-inclusive fine dining!
Adam got to show off his skills!
And tasty desserts every night too!
Had to get some tequila in Mexico!
Pool parties every day!
Swim up bars!
Our favorite grassy spot to watch the accoustic performances.
An example of great food at one of the several nice restaurants on the resort campus.
All-inclusive fine dining!
Adam got to show off his skills!
And tasty desserts every night too!
Had to get some tequila in Mexico!
Overall, we definitely recommend Crash My Playa, and we would love to return with an even bigger group of friends in the future. We are a bit biased due to the epic proposal, but this was one of our favorite adventures yet- and a new one begins!
Our best trip yet!
Life is good 🙂
Our best trip yet!
Life is good 🙂
So happy for both of you!!!
Wow! I am so happy for you both and what an incredible proposal idea Adam. Way to go! Dj and I wish you both many happy years together and wish you safe travels always! Lorraine wanted me to wish you both well too. Megan you helped her dad. Remember? Boxing? The trip looks incredible and I aspire to one day zip line as good as you Megan. You are a rock star! Love and peace to you both as you start a new life adventure engaged!!
Thanks Carolyn! And thank you to Lorraine as well! We hope all is well over in NM 🙂
Congratulations Adam and Megan! My two favorite travel DPTs! It has been a while and I wish you both a world of happiness. I am now in San Antonio,TX near my beloved hill country. If you ever find yourselves over this way, look me up.
Thanks Val! Glad to hear you’re in San Antonio; we will definitely reach out if we end up in that area!
Adam – what spatula skills you have! Crazy that you could pull that off.
Yeah, he just might have a future behind a grill!
What a story!!! So memoriable and wonderful!! Can’t wait to see and congratulate you in person!!
Thanks Auntie Katrina! Yes, very memorable and wonderful 🙂