Babymoon

Babs and I at the Marianas Resort for our 11th wedding anniversary and "babymoon" Sunday, July 27 and Monday, July 28, 2008

Sunday, July 27 was Babs and I's 11th wedding anniversary and we decided to combine our celebration with a "babymoon." It's currently in fashion for parents-t- be to take a romantic getaway in the months before their child is born. Instead of a honeymoon, it's known as as a "babymoon." Babs and I had originally planned to go to Hong Kong in June for our babymoon, but we didn't save as judiciously as we might have liked and thus found it a little too pricey for our budget. And besides, we realized that with Babs advancing pregnancy she might not feel like hoofing all over Hong Kong trying to squeeze in as many sights as possible in the few days we would have had there.

So instead of jetting to Hong Kong, we decided to move our "babymoon" to our anniversary weekend and celebrate it right here in Saipan at the Marianas Resort, home of our favorite spa, the Mandi Asian Spa.

It was a really wonderful time together. There on the northern end of Saipan, it felt like we were on another island altogether. It was really nice to be together just the two of us. Such experiences will be much harder to come by once Elijah is born so we made the most of it.

Some photos from our romantic getaway:

The lobby of the Marianas Resort. I love the open-air tropical ambiance of this hotel and others on Saipan such as Pacific Islands Club and the Aqua Resort.


To be frank, I haven't found any of the hotel rooms on Saipan to be anything special. The rooms of even the swankiest hotels seem small and dated. Having stayed in the several of our island's hotels over the years, I came to the Marianas Resort with pretty low expectations. After all how great could the rooms be in a resort marooned on the far north end of the island, right? In fact, I decided to reserve just one night rather than two because I figured the room would be primarily just a place to sleep. I figured we'd spend most of our time in the Mandi. So I was completely unprepared when our porter opened the door to our room and revealed. . .THIS:

Our room at the Marianas Resort. Gorgeous!

This has to be one of the lovelier hotel rooms we've ever stayed in. We liked it so much that we never even bothered to go to the Mandi. We just enjoyed lolling about in this beautiful room! At $100 a night (for local residents), this hotel is easily my best recommendation for Saipan residents looking for a little luxury close to home.


The spacious bathroom at the Marinas Resort. They even have a seperate shower from the tub.


The view from the fourth floor of the Marianas Resort, looking east. That's Suicide Cliff rising in the distance.

Panning to the right, more of the verdant Saipan greenery to be seen from the Marianas Resort

Panning still further to the right, another photo from the fourth floor.

The view west from the balcony of our room on the fourth floor.

Sunday night, July 27 Babs and I treated ourselves to a fancy dinner at 12th Night, the Mariana's Resort's fine dining restuarant. Babs had the spaghetti Pomodoro and I had a steak.

At the top of Suicide Cliff: On Monday morning, July 28, I did my final suicide run. Babs met me at the top, where we took this photo. Then it was back to the Marianas Resort for a refreshing dip in the pool.

Babs and I in the pool at the Marianas Resort, Monday morning, July 28.

Afte swimming, Babs prepared a delicous breakfast which we ate on the balcony of our hotel room.