Moon Palace Spa Day

Thursday – August 21, 2008

Sorry it has taken me so long to finish this vacation and get things posted but it has been hectic here once we returned. There were several unexpected things going on with our return since the group was splitting up once we hit Los Angeles and then Deb remained in Mexico a few extra days getting bumped off the flight home from Cancun.

The announcement of Sarah Palin, our Governor here in Alaska has stirred a huge buzz here for everyone and with the Democratic and Republican Conventions the last couple of weeks there were several nights watching the hoopla and seeing the presentation of both sides running mates. I can’t say there was a lot of meat in discussion of the issues but there were many things that were put out on both sides which will make for an interesting couple of months in this election process. It is going to be fun seeing what this Nation decides in its direction in November.

Back to the vacation and Spa day for everyone.

With no excursions planned for today there was a mixture of people sleeping in and the early risers who went to breakfast or headed to the pool for that early morning sun before things turn so hot. The water temperature in the morning is really nice for a leisurely swim or just hanging out in the massive pools. By late afternoon the water is hot like a spa and is of but almost too warm to be ‘refreshing’. Everyone tries to get time in the pool in the morning and sometimes late afternoon or early evening.

There are people starting to show up today for the convention that starts tomorrow. There are 1,600 rooms being filled up tomorrow with anywhere from two to four people so it will be interesting to see this place functioning with a fuller capacity. It has not been any problem finding a lounge chair or cabana with shade at any of the different pool areas and the restaurants close to the pools have had no problem serving everyone so it will be slightly different from the ‘quiet’ run of the place we have seen this past week.

We swam until lunch time when everyone decided to eat something before our scheduled time at the spa. I spent some time before lunch writing the first in the series of these vacation blogs and made some progress using my daily notes to refresh my memory. What a fun trip we’ve had so far as this place is first rate and everyone on the staff goes out of their way to make sure that you want for nothing and they want to ensure that you have had a great time. We have found that to be true at any of the other Palace Resorts we have visited so far this trip.

The afternoon was going to be a fun time for everyone as we had scheduled our spa time on the same day. All of the females and all of the males were going to have their hands and feet done with a nice pedicure and manicure. Scott and I were going to have a ton of fun with these people who worked for the resort and also the other patrons in the spa area. There would also be a massage for us and that was going to be a hoot too!

The men were first up with our 2:00 pm Massage followed with a manicure and then the pedicure. Scott and I were called at the same time and we followed our gals to the small massage therapy room. The rooms were side by side but with the light music playing you could not hear or talk with each other. We were instructed to undress and lie upon the massage table with our face into the hole at the top of the table. The covering smelled nice with a slight eucalyptus scent coming from the towels. The time spent alone in the room before she started was a nice way to relax and breathe getting into the spirit of things. Should I keep this funny or lay back and get into the relaxation of this time period? I worried that I would be ticklish as she worked my back or legs. I have been known in the past to crack up while someone worked on my legs or feet so hopefully I will be able to control things.

She started off with a scalp massage and moved on to my shoulders and back. I felt the muscles being stretched and the calm coming over me. My breathing was becoming slow and restful and after fifteen to twenty minutes I fought to stay awake. My legs were aching the last several days so it was nice for them to be worked on but almost to my surprise it was over before I wanted. It felt great to have my back and legs worked on and the tension eased as the Moon Palace is huge and while we have been here there has been plenty of opportunity for walks . . . everywhere or at any time of the day or night.

The next thing I knew we were done and being led to one of the manicure stations.

D. - Pretty in Pink?

Scott and I sat across from each other and kidded with the ladies there as they worked on our fingers. Scott said he fell asleep on the massage table and was slobbering down on to the floor with his face pointed down. He was embarrassed that his masseuse had to wake him up to go to his next station.

Scott in RELAX mode!

We had fun with it and debated back and forth as the women worked on our hands. The girls were peaking in and taking pictures of Scott & I as we had the staff rolling on the floor laughing as we decided if we were going to have our nails painted or not. I was told I would be killed if I put nail polish on . . . I had picked out this nice ‘pumpkin color’ and thought it would be great for a few laughs if I had the lady put it on. She buffed things out really nice and my hands looked ‘marvelous’ with a great shine on my fingers which hopefully last until we return home.

Next was time to move over to the pedicure station as the girls were heading in for their massage.

D. has pretty feet now!

They were starting an hour behind us at 3:00 pm for the same massage, manicure, & pedicure.

The Girls enjoying Spa Day!

We would meet in the bar after we were done for comparisons of our experiences. All in all it was fun and relaxing for everyone but the memories and talk of the ‘Seinfeld’ episode where George had the massage with the ‘happy finish’ kept everyone laughing.

Scott and I headed to the Lobby bar to wait for the girls to finish and we stayed from 3 pm until 8 pm meeting people and talking. There were two couples we spent the afternoon with David from Scotland who was waiting for “his partner” whom it at first thought might be another guy but turned out to be Kathleen after a two hour wait for her to come down. There was a laugh about that as we told him usually when people say ‘partner’ they are referring to them being a gay couple. Scott headed out with Kim to find their kids for dinner as we stayed longer talking with people we had met. We also met another couple from Wichita Kansas named Laura & Dallas who were honeymooning this week. They were funny as he was a weatherman trying to break into working for ‘The Weather Channel’. We hung out in the lobby bar where there is also a beautiful white grand piano which someone plays several hours each evening.

No one had eaten all afternoon except for popcorn snacks at the bar so we decided on having dinner in the Steak house by the pools followed by several hours on the beach in the lounge chairs talking and watching the moon rise over the Gulf of Mexico.

The meal was great and everyone had a great time getting to know each other and telling stories all night long. When we finally headed up from the beach it was after midnight. The night breezes felt good and the heat of the day had been slowly fading as the faint smell of the nightly fires filtered through the compounds grounds.

Ice