San Pancho, Mexico

In 2004, 3 couples traveled 3500 miles down Baja for New Year's in Cabo, swapping high fives at sunset throughout. 4 years and 4 kids later, we wanted to reassemble the crew in Mexico again. A lot was different this time around, but the critical things stayed the same: sand, surf, fresh grilled tacos, and cold Mexican beer, all enjoyed in the company of good friends.

See below for highlights, or click here for the full slideshow...


The expanded set of BFF: Ryan, Eunice, Spencer & Tyler; Alonzo, Grace, Theo & Baby TBD; and Jesse, Eileen & Henry.


Casa Linda was our home base for the week... a fantastic beach house an hour outside Puerta Vallerta on the outskirts of a sleepy Mexican fishing village called San Pancho, just north of Sayulita. We spent a lot of time enjoying the house: playing in the sand and surf right in front or just listening to the waves from our bedroom during afternoon naps. Dinora was the house's caretaker, and she'd make us a different meal every night, always featuring handmade guacamole and, oddly, lots of steamed vegetables. We supplemented with our own specialties-- freshly squeezed juice from Jesse, hearty eggs and grilled steaks from Alonzo, and, of course, Nichols family margaritas for our poker nights.


There was plenty of time for bonding with the kids. Our favorite memories include Theo and Spencer shoveling sand for hours in the shade of the palm trees in front of our house, Tyler and Henry interacting during joint tummy time on our beach towels, giggling on the hammock in front of the house with the boys, and telling Spencer elaborate stories to keep him entertained on the long piggy-back ride to town.


We did get out and about beyond the confines of Casa Linda. The Costa Azul adventure resort, just up the beach, was a great spot for wading in the pool and feasting on banana pancakes. Downtown San Pancho had some great taco stands and souvenir shopping, and even a cute children's library. Sayulita had a kid-friendly beach and the chance to take Spencer and Theo for their first horseback ride. We even made a day-trip to Puerta Vallarta on our last day.


But the best time each day? Sunset, of course. We'd move everyone out to the water to build one more sand castle and cheer the dads as they tried to catch waves. We had a nearly full moon while we were down there, perfect for nighttime walks on the beach and a bonfire (built right at the edge of the range of our baby monitors).

As raucous as New Year's Eve in Cabo four years ago? Not exactly. But we did swap babysitting to give each other a night out, which is cause for much celebration these days. And we left wondering when we'd be able to book our next trip down to idyllic San Pancho.

Click here for the full slideshow....