December 14, 2008

I am getting behind on this journal….so much to have fun doing…..I’m tired!!

Some of our kids are arriving for Christmas week. We can walk to and from the place that they are staying in, Hacienda on the Beach. The park-mexico translater has a van arranged for pick up when they arrive on Dec. 24. After they get here, the bunch of them will be in walking distance of good restaurants…..that is what we do mostly…..is eat out. It is a shame sometimes though because we have the best fresh fruit and veges you have ever seen and fresh shrimp delivered to our RV park for purchase for a few small pesos. There is a bread lady that delivers twice a week, Pizza by the pool, Hamburger Sunday, and Taco Tuesday here in the park. The kids will be up here by our pool as much as by theirs, maybe. The Hacienda where they stay has a good kitchen to cook in, too. I hear that our park is crowded with Mexicans for that week……none here now. Shirley says the little kids will love playing in the pool with all of the kids that will be here at the park……there are none here now, so I don’t know. This morning we hiked to the hacienda to see how far it really is. It is about a 15 minute walk and the kids cannot do it without an adult, but we can walk back and forth. The owners of the hacienda told us that we could come back by the sea if we aren’t afraid of heights and climbing rocks. Shirley told us that we cannot go that way and it was steep and rocky. We did, I’ll show her……One or two adults should do it before they try it with the kids, but walking the road way is easier even with a hill to climb. Some hiking involved.


The pool at the Hacienda on the beach…..

Yesterday, we went to Puerto Vallarta for the first time and it was a whole day spent. We went to a wonderful Mexican restaurant, “Si Senor” for lunch and a hike around old Puerto Vallarta. We had been there probably 20 years ago and nothing looked familiar. It was a hotel vacation at the time and all you see is the beach side mostly. The rest of the day was spent at the Wal-Mart, Costco, Sam’s Club and Home Depot…..it is all in Puerto Vallarta. Friends are working on the new house they just purchased, so had a few things to buy. We bought some toys for kids and some supplies that are not easy to get , like protein powder for our fruit juice drinks. Our wonderful friends take us along everywhere and Andy and I love going with them. John Webber is official driver....good one!


Have you ever been to a Mexican circus? We went last night because they set up right across the highway from us. We were the only gringos attending and we did play it up big. Bob went across the ring to see if we could sit on the elephant for pictures and before I knew it, we were all in the ring under the circus tent, chatting in English to the carnies that only speak Mexican. 3 little boys were delighted with the balloons I had in my pocket and blew up for them. We fed the lamas and took pictures of Shirley on the elephant. She was a bit hysterical and grabbed the man that was trying to help her on. Later she said he had really curly hair….yah, Shirley. The circus was small but had some animals, including the elephant and two camels, a couple of monkeys, and even a tiger that was trained and worked in the open ring. We were sitting right up front, and had paid for the most expensive tickets for the best seats – 50 pesos each, less than $4.00. It was an exciting evening and unexpected!!