Spring Break 2026

It was a spring break different from any other we’ve taken. Turned out it was also one of the our best spring break trips, in no way because of who was not with us.

First off, it was straight-up weird traveling with just one kid. Much different than when we traveled without M the last two springs. It kept feeling like we were missing or forgetting something. Only checking one bag? Only needing one room with two beds? Being able to all sit in the same row on the plane? Odd all around.

When M’s semester in Portugal fell through and our March trip there was nixed, we told L she could pick our spring break destination. She wanted to be someplace warm with a beach, but did NOT want to go where a bunch of other CHS kids would be. Thus we picked Cancun, knowing we might see some other Indy folks, but wherever we stayed would not be overrun with them.

This ended up being our easiest trip for travel ever, spring break or otherwise.

The alarm went off at 3:30 AM a week ago Saturday for our 6:20 flight. The Delta desk was jammed up when we arrived at IND, but it only took us 15 or so minutes to get checked in and drop our single bag. IND has been lucky and not experienced any TSA issues during the current funding shutdown. We waited on maybe five people in front of us before clearing the Pre Check line.

Once in Mexico we navigated immigration the fastest we’ve ever made it on our five trips there. Bags came right out. It took five minutes for the transfer van to arrive, but we chatted with a family we know that came in on the same flight while waiting.

We stayed at the Hyatt Ziva on Punta Cancun. If you know the Cancun strip, we were at the very point of the number 7 that forms the area. Our hotel was surrounded on three sides by water, which was amazing. The water in Cancun is as beautiful as anywhere we have ever visited.

Since we arrived super early we could check in but had to wait on our room. We got some breakfast then ducked into bathrooms to change our clothes and headed to the pool. We all just kind of laid there in a daze, sneaking mini naps but not wanting to totally pass out in the sun.

Things continued to go in our favor. We had been told the earliest our room would be available was around 2:00. We got a call right at 1:00 saying we could go up. We quickly unpacked then headed back down to get some proper sun. That night we all passed out early and slept at least 12 hours each.

The Hyatt Ziva is an all-inclusive resort. We’ve done the all-inclusive thing many times, with varying levels of success. This was absolutely our best experience. The food was almost always excellent, which is always the biggest hit-and-miss aspect of the all-inclusive places. The drinks were actually pretty good. There were some roving packs of folks who would invite you to come to the spa or whatever, but they were super low key compared to others we’ve encountered. Not once were we harassed about signing up for family pictures or taking an excursion. The workers always seemed to be trying to make your stay better, not just hustling for tips. These folks got us!

Our room was on the 10th floor, facing south, overlooking the pool. There was a large gazebo directly below us. Five of our seven nights it hosted weddings. It was fun to watch from above and critique fashion choices and wonder how much it costs to have a wedding there. One wedding had only 20 or so guests, the others all between 40–60. Most of these ceremonies were quick, done in less than five minutes. My kind of weddings!

We never left the resort. While Mexico seems to have calmed down after the West Coast violence of a month back, we thought it best to chill. Well, L and I left once. We cut off her wristband and lied about her age so that she and I could take a jet ski ride with her driving.[1] We got 30 minutes to rip around the waves on the north side of the strip. We were limited in how far we could go, so it was just a lot of back-and-forth, but she loved it. I bounced around a lot behind her so did not enjoy it quite as much but it was still a good time.

L went to the gym four or five times during our week. I went just once, and S and I only took a proper walk once. This week is going to mess up my fitness tracking numbers.

We hit every restaurant on the resort. We went to the steak place twice. We did hibachi one night, the regular side of the Asian place another. We tried the Italian place, which was good, and the “American” one, which was the only food fail of the week. As an appetizer we ordered nachos. We know that nachos were invented in the US, but this was supposed to be their American burger joint and these nachos were nothing like what you would get anywhere in America. And the burger was kind of mid, made from an industrial, frozen patty. That is my only food complaint.

We went to the obligatory buffet for breakfast and lunch multiple days and it was really good. We were staying in the private “club” building, and its lobby had a small breakfast area in the morning, multiple lunch options midday, then snacks and drinks all day and evening. Again, all solid at worst.

I’m not a big drinker anymore, but had a few beers each day. A fruity drink or two. Plenty of buttery pastries in the morning. Desserts when we went to the buffet and a couple nights after dinner. Combine that with the lack of exercise and my eyes bulged out a little when I weighed myself upon our return. Time to crank up the cardio!

This was another trip we booked through Costco Travel. Those people know what they are doing. Once again we highly recommend using them. In terms of convenience, price, total package, and their choice in venue, they can’t be beat.

We joked that the weather is never not perfect in Cancun, at least when we visit. The video board in the lobby showed the forecast and it always read a high of 79, a low of 76. Friday we had a sudden, 10-minute downpour, the only rain of the week. Luckily that was the day we rented a pool cabana. Although the cover did not block all the water we grabbed some towels and huddled under them until the rain passed. After 20 minutes the sun came back out and all was normal again.

Our trip home was as easy as the trip down. Our transfer picked us up at 6:15, we were at the airport just before 7:00 for a 10:00 flight. A couple people in the Delta line we waited on. Maybe three people in front of us going through security. I bet both were much busier an hour or so later.

With hours to kill and only having snacks we had set aside, we looked at the food options with trepidation. Everything was open, but did we really want to get breakfast at Margaritaville or Guy Fieri’s place?[2] The Starbucks was swamped. S went checked out the Wolfgang Puck place. A few minutes she came back saying our breakfast would arrive shortly. A lady came over and put paper placemats down for us. A few minutes later she brought our food. I’m not joking, this was one of the best breakfast sandwiches I’ve ever had! At least in an airport. Worth the $80 or whatever we dropped on breakfast for three.

Our flight home was a breeze. We were the only international flight into IND at that hour so just had to wait on the people who sat in front of us to get through immigration. Our bags took a little longer, but that’s only because our gate was right next to immigration and we got there incredibly quick.

We picked up some food on our way home and were in the house by 3:15.

A great, if different, spring break. S said several times, I think seriously, that she wanted to make M and C come with us next year for L’s senior trip. I don’t think she said that because L went on theirs, but because she missed having them with us. Only one more year traveling in March/April because we have kids in school!³³

Our next trips are already booked. C and L will join S and I in going to Denver for a wedding in June. We will also visit Colorado State for L while there. Just four of us are going to the wedding because M will in the middle of her eight week summer school session in France. She just got her confirmation of acceptance last week and we booked her flight Sunday. We are debating whether the four of us should go spend a few days with her.

The Cherry On Top

We’ll get to the college hoops tomorrow, but a quick final section about what L and I did when we got back to Indy.

The previous weekend 3A #3 CHS beat both the #2 and #1 teams in semi-state to advance to the boys state championship game.[3] Tickets came out mid-week and with the 3A game starting at 6:00, it looked like we could make it, so I bought a couple.

We hustled downtown and parked right next to a group of L’s friends, who snuck her into the student section with her. Because dad had bought two adult tickets, not an adult and one student one. She got to sit in the lower level in Gainbridge Fieldhouse while I was in the section above her.

I won’t break the game down too much. CHS’ opponent was unranked and lost three of their last five regular season games.[4] But they got hot at the right time and won five straight – in the far weaker side of the bracket – to make it to Indy.

CHS got hot early and led by 12 midway through the first quarter. Then they went cold and the game was tied midway through the second period. The Irish got the lead back up to eight at halftime, nine briefly to start the third, then utterly fell apart. They trailed by five late in the third, a late 3 cutting it to two as they began the final eight minutes of the season.

That’s when the Irish decided to stop fucking around. They dominated the fourth quarter. Even with a ton of missed free throws, they won by 10. The game was basically over with 2:30 left so it was an extended celebration before the final buzzer sounded. It was fun to look down on L and her friends jumping and screaming and hugging.

Third state title for CHS, second in five years. And they really should have won two more in between. This year’s team isn’t as talented as the 2022 team which had five D1 players starting. Their banner on the wall of the gym will look exactly the same, though.