Week 23: Los Cabos and a Survivor Icon

Week 23: June 4th-10th, 2023

This week was by far the best week of the year yet. I've been looking forward to it for months. My friends and I booked a trip to Cabo, at an all-inclusive resort called Le Blanc. I could write entire pages about each day, but in an effort to be respectful of my dear readers' time and to remain humble, I will try to be brief.

The view from our room

The resort itself was amazing. There were at least five restaurants, 24/7 room service, many pools, a gym, a spa, direct beach access, and more. We were even assigned a butler named Roberto. He was an incredibly sweet guy and felt like our Cabo-dad while we stayed at Le Blanc. He was available for special requests, concierge services, trip planning, and any questions about our stay.

The first night, we had dinner at the resort's Lebanese restaurant called Habibi (haha), and I danced with the belly dancer halfway through dinner. The food was incredible, but the dancing was my favorite. For breakfast, we had the option of buffet-style or regular a la carte dining at one or two places.

The picturesque view from Blanc Ocean restaurant

We spent a bunch of time lounging by the pool, trying out different dishes from the many restaurants, and even went on a boat tour by Cabo's famous arch. I went snorkeling (sort of - there wasn't much to see) and swam over to some rocks where I saw a massive sea lion lounging. I pestered our captain Ivan with questions about jellyfish and the protected areas of the ocean.

"If you haven't seen the arch, you haven't been to Cabo"

The resort also had a gym, fitness classes and a spa. I surprised myself by being able and willing to go to the gym each morning. It was an incredible gym and had every type of equipment imaginable.

I signed all six of us up for a morning water exercise class. Only 3 of us made it, but it was super fun. It was a mix of water aerobics and spin cycle because they had stationary bikes in the pool. Being some of the youngest people at the resort meant the only other person attending the class was an older lady wearing pearls. She was sweet, absolutely killed the workout, and I hope she enjoyed the rest of her vacation.

The hydrotherapy spa was luxurious. There were a bunch of different spaces, including a dry sauna, a steam room, a cold room, and a polar plunge pool. I decided against splurging on the incredibly expensive extras at the spa like massages and facials. I didn't need them, nor could I afford them, plus I already felt like I was getting the ultimate princess treatment just by being there.

It is honestly hard to decide which part of the trip was my favorite because everything we did was a fun, new thing. By far the most insane, "What are the chances?" moment happened on our last night, where I saw a familiar, famous face sitting at the bar.

My heart jumped. Was that woman actually who I thought she was? I had seen her around the resort over the past few days, but I wanted to be 100% sure before I said something. As you all know, I am a massive Survivor fan, and a very iconic player who first played in Season 29, was sitting at the bar next to me.

Her name is Kelley Wentworth, and her platinum blonde hair is what I recognized first. I wanted to be sure before I interrupted her night, so with some encouragement from my friends, I did a little social media research and checked Kelley's Instagram. Lo and behold, her most recent Instagram story was a photo of the exact same beach I had just wandered on. It was her. It couldn't be any other beach. The three towering buildings of the resort next door in the background gave it away. Fueled by a few mojitos and the thrill of it being our last night in Cabo, I tapped her on the shoulder and blurted out, "I'm so sorry to interrupt, and this might be really weird, but... are you Kelley Wentworth?"

Thankfully, she was.

And she was so kind, gracious, and beautiful. Her husband, Arlen, offered to take photos of us. I even managed to convince them to take a lemon drop shot with me and Amanda. Kelley was wearing stilettos and had exquisite matte lavender acrylic nails, which made me love her even more.

Amanda, Kelley and me!

We chatted about the resort, our love for Survivor, and how my name is Kelley's middle name (she spells it "Alana," though). I couldn't stop smiling. Amanda also managed to out my obsession of the show by confessing to Kelley that I wore my Survivor hat into the operating room when I got back surgery. They assured me that it was a great story, and Kelley told me to include that fact if I apply to be on the show. I just might.

I didn't want to intrude further on their vacation, so I thanked her for indulging us, and we bid them farewell and migrated over to the pool table in the back of the bar. I suffered a devastating loss and sank the 8-Ball in on my second turn, but I was so elated from meeting Kelley that I didn't care.

If you're weird and haven't ever seen or heard of Survivor, here is a bit more info on Kelley. And here is one of the most iconic idol plays in Survivor history.

If you want to see more photos or book a stay yourself, here is the website for Le Blanc Los Cabos. This TikTok also captures the amenities and the other offerings of the resort pretty well.

I feel so lucky to have been able to go on a really bougie trip like this one, and it was so fun being with my girls. Kelley's husband told me he was proud of us for being able to afford a resort like that while being so young. I told him my bank account took a hit, but it was well worth it, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

The girls trip made it out of the group chat!

Since I've been back, I've taken every chance I can get to say that I believe everyone deserves to live a life like a princess in Los Cabos at least once.

See you next week.