January 07, 2009
Ricardo’s, I believe is the name of the Pizza Lasagna place just near John and Barb’s new home and we had dinner there together last night after getting our free Margaritas from taco Tuesday at our patio palapa. It was a quiet evening and cooler…..has been cloudy today. There were breakers in the ocean all day, but that didn’t stop us from one of our favorite things to do, climb the rocks to go to the beach by the Hacienda B&B. No one else ever goes that way, but we really enjoy doing it and it is cleaner than the dusty road. Our plan was to go find Duane Flatmo’s house in Le Pineta, afterwards, but we stopped to return a book and give a CD of pictures to Donna and George Steensma and ended up stayed awhile instead, having a beer and talking. They are nice people. It seemed really quiet too at their place after all of our kids left. Their adopted duck still cames quacking at the front gate for something to eat and Donna wanted to put him in the swimming pool for a swim. They had a small pool for him before, but took it away. It may have developed a leak! We may try to find Flatmo’s again today. There is also a Spanish lesson and we are supposed to know the alphabet! Lewis’ have gone on a eight quad ride to La Cucuracha with others riders in our park for the day. Webbers may try a hand of Mexican train when they come for Spanish lesson!
Tomorrow we will all go to take Webbers to the airport for their flight home. They are vacationing in the states at Death valley Scotties castle in their second bus…a Prevo. Since they have a house here (and even Lewis’ who stay for 4 months) say this La Pineta living is a life style, not a vacation. I guess we still think of it as a vacation, away from any of the obligations at home. We will stop at a cute little resort town tomorrow that we have not seen before as we drive towards PV for breakfast together before they get on their airplane and then we will probably shop for stuff at CostCo and WalMart. It is always a fun day with Lewis’ and Webbers.

January 5, 2009
I can’t describe how much fun it is to go with the quads exploring: Five quads on back roads full of boulders, cobblestone streets, the highway, and dirt roads (for that we need to wear masks to breathe). That does not sound fun, but it was. The views, people and places we saw, and the sheer pleasure of freedom and wind in our hair make a never-to-forget memory. I feel especially privileged to ride behind Andy. He is a good driver and I ….a good rider…..great fun. We had a new rider go with us for this year anyway. Mike had gone on previous years and everyone except us knew him. Shirley rode her quad and Mike his and then Lewis’, Webbers, and we rode double. Shirley was our leader and Bob and Shirley, tailgunners. The first half of the trip was a little over 17 miles on mostly back roads and ending up at Cave beach and Majahua Spa Resort, after a stop at a fruit stand where we tried pastries and drinks made of Yaka, or Jack fruit and coconut macaroons. Some of the delicacys were purchased to eat at the beach. The beautiful Spa Resort at Chacala was a place Carole knew well and she introduced us to the owner. We were invited to Jamaica tea, sitting in our dusty attire and dirty faces, at a fine upscale resort on a cushioned patio by the many pools in the cool shade. Chacala was a picturesque town and beach in early stages of tourist development……very beautiful. The roads, decked in bouganvilla and stone walled, climbed to the top and then down into Chacala. We followed each other on our quads, stopping to take some camera Kodak moments. Our ride back was mostly on the highway, after getting back over the hill, and we found that we were not really so far away for the ride to take nearly the whole day. It was important to get home in time to shower and go to hamburger Sunday at the pool and dance to the DJ!

HAPPY New Year!

What a wonderful week with the kids. The fact that they went home with hangovers or flu doesn’t change the fact that they first made memories for a lifetime. A few of the memories include a quad day with Lewis’ quads on the beach and rides for everyone, shopping with bargains on bracelets, necklaces, wallets, pottery, and jeans, the jungle cruise (I may include Shirley’s blog on the subject), a night out with Grammy and PaPa being babysitters, bike jogs and hikes, ocean and beach combing, pool hours, books, dancing and Kareoke, Mexican style. Eating and drinking were also prevalent pastimes

Quote from Shirley Lewis about the Jungle tour……
Today was the jungle tour with the McBride clan. Now it seems that the "adults" had had a great night out last night in town and so the group was shy a few members do to "tequila". Our trip to San Blas was good as the road has improved a lot. As we entered the tour place we were glad we had come early. With the Christmas time the area was filling up fast. Andy and JoAn treated us to a guide on our trip which really gave us a different look of the vegetation and wild life. It is always a treat when they speak "English". We traveled up to the crocodile farm and the little ones really got excited when they saw the babies. As we traveled to the fresh water pool and restaurant more and more "Mexicans" arrived. Our lunch was excellent and the pool filled up fast with all the children swimming.
All in all the day was fun...and I must say every time we travel up to this tour we are never disappointed! I think our pictures will say a lot.

Andy and I did enjoy having all of the kids at the park for breakfasts, hamburger Sunday, and Taco Tuesday. We discovered new places together, bonded, and spent pesos. Time was always Mexican time and money, pesos. Converting dollars into pesos took some time getting used to. Pattys took bracelets home for their class and babysitters, Donna and George became good buddies, and Mandy became acquainted with all of the dental type gringos (and more). We showed off the Costanzos, (Joseph, Patty, Siena, and Nico), the Parkers (Mike, Mandy, Cole, and Carson), and our Ohlsson girl, Patti LeRae, to all of our friends. The week passed by in a flash. I think they will always remember the bungalow, it’s back yard, and the pool at the Hacienda On the Beach, the crocodiles, the turtles, the jungle cruise, and the adult’s crazy paint-the-town-red adult night out! Personally, Andy and I will miss them and loved having them here for a really fun visit! We are anxious to find out if the big bunch arrived home okay to Humboldt County as Joseph was very ill when they left and they were afraid of having to delay their flights if he was too bad. Patti left this morning from our park. We found someone that was already going to the airport that she could ride with, so we didn’t need to drive to the city on New Year’s day. If I had received one word from Andy, however, that he would have enjoyed the adventure of taking Patti ourselves to the airport, we would have been there with her, making sure she got on her flight okay. Happy New Year to everyone! A magician came here and made our week go by in one day!

December 27, 2008
Everyone arrived with swift and smooth connections, going through customs easy and enjoying the long ride through the country side from the airport. Andy and the guys, Mike and Joseph, really enjoyed the company of one of the drivers, Adrian. The other driver, Giavanna, had Andy ride in her taxi and he grilled her with Spanish lessons all the way, he says. When the big gang of them arrived earlier than expected on Christmas eve, and then the last two Pattys on Christmas day arrived almost an hour before we expected them and walked up to the bus as if they knew where we were, I was ecstatic with happiness, as were a few others. Since then, we have done nothing but celebrate and vacation.

The guys and girls that are usually at work in the states most of the time were in dire need of vacation and Donna and George’s Hacienda on the beach has turned out to be the “best” of any places we could have found for them. The sand area around the pool is about a quarter of an acre raked sand with a fence to keep the kids from going into the sea unless accompanied by an adult, so we can relax while they dig in the sand or swing in the hammock. With a foot dip to get the sand off, the pool is like our own private full sized Santorini style pool with blue tile, white concrete deck, palapa table area and view. The deck above is the deck for the bungalow with dining area, sunbathing areas, and a place to hit the piñata with a stick and get candy flying in every direction.

Research on the Pinata by Shirley:

Today, the piñata has lost its religious symbolism and most participate in the game solely for fun. Piñatas are especially popular during Las Posadas, traditional processions ringing in the Christmas season and at birthday parties. During festivities, people traditionally sing songs while breaking the piñatas.

Note: This is the song they all sang tonight at the park as they were hitting the pinata:

“Dale, dale, dale, no perdas el tino,porque si lo perdes, pierdes el camino.Esta piñata es de muchas mañas, sólo contiene naranjas y cañas.”
Hit, hit, hit.Don’t lose your aim,Because if you lose, you lose the road.

On the upstairs deck at the Hacienda, we can hang out while little Nico takes a nap. The one problem is that the deck pillars are too far apart and we cannot leave Nico up there alone as we caught him leaning out to look below and Patty freaked out. Now, with Patty instructions, we have a net woven out of rope between the pillars and it looks and feels much safer. I think with little Italian sensitive Nico, we really need not worry anymore. He was so scared when his mommy was upset that he kept kissing her and hugging her until she felt better.

We have spent a lot of time in the pool and in the waves on the beach in front. We have walked downtown for breakfast and had Christmas dinner delivered to the bungalow and cooked by Karen’s mother, a really good cook. Karen works at the RV park office. The highlight was the best flan anyone has ever had. George, of the Hacienda on the Beach, died and went to heaven over just one piece! We had pizza at the pool at our place and Mandy and Patty cooked delicious dinner last night. Mike and Joseph have had an extra good time on bicycles dealing with the Mexican markets for our supplies. Joseph will be known from now on for balancing a cake he bought for the kids when he tried to get it home on his bicycle. Mandy took our four mile hike with us through the crop growing area one morning.

Mike and Mandy had to call the bank in the states to get their ATM card to work and then only have a guarantee of $450 on a temporary pin number. Joseph found that he couldn’t even change his American cash for Pesos without his passport with him. We have it all figured out now. In this small town area they mostly just deal in Pesos.

I cannot even tell you how much we are enjoying the sun, surf, family, and plans for the rest of the week….like hamburger Sunday with dancing at our park, and a quad day with everyone, a whale watching trip with a picnic on the island. I think everyone’s favorite thing to do is sit in the sun on vacation with a cervesa or and icy Margarita. The kids have found a new favorite drink made with milk, ice, and chocolate in the blender!

Christmas Eve day December 24, 2008
The kids are coming and Andy is in Puerto Vallarta picking them up in two cars with his Santa hat on. We have shopped for supplies for their little bungalow along with pool toys, sand toys and Christmas tree piñata with proper stuffing and a stick to hit it with. Everyone is excited about them coming and a bit worried about the canceled flights in Seattle and the bad weather holding up flights in the states, but San Francisco departure is one of the easiest I think…..the flight will be late coming in….we find….everyone hopes all is smooth and they all arrive at their little vacation from a smooth trip…we will see. I have been running around delivering little tiny gifts to some people that have been so very nice to us for Christmas and we even have a Christmas card! Our tree is tiny but the spirit of Christmas is great. We wish the best ever to all of you…

Sunday December 21, 2008
Eight quads and a wild time is a good description of yesterday. We left early. Four quads had girl spouses riding double, me being one. We drove back into the park just before dark as dirty as I have ever seen anyone. I had bare feet so I could easily wash off the dirt. The water shoes that I had brought were stowed in the back cubby with the beer on our quad (on generous loan from Lewis’), and we all wore scarves or masks in order not to breathe all of the dust. My shoes were only to be retrieved to climb up steep hills or eat lunch at the beach restaurant in Lo de Marcos. Lo de Marcos is many miles south on back roads, through agricultural farms growing sugar cane, pineapple and beans for frijoles. Driving the back way, we splashed through rivers and irrigation water deep on the road, followed a river weaving in and out of the water, and then climbed hills. It was mostly pretty level roads of topes, ruts, farm roads, and cobblestone in the towns. The quads did an amazing job of smoothing out the bumps. The view from the highest place was extraordinary and we spent a bit of time just looking out over the farm land, jungle, and mountains. We tried some impossible things with the quads, like climbing a bank with a berm that tips over rigs and Shirley and Bob went over once, then once again with Shirley driving and Bob pushing. Shirley hurt her wrist, but seems all right otherwise. I chose to walk up the hill alone when each of them tried to ride up the bank (up stream further) and Murrey’s quad tipped over on top of him. He was alright too with some stiff muscles and sore neck the next day. We would not have had to do that if someone had not put a fence wire across the river we were riding up. What a ride!! We watched Brahma cattle, goat families with kids, farmers cutting pineapple and using a machette, and families cooking outside, and washing clothes in the river. It was an exciting day and we covered a lot of ground, looking at the way it is in Mexico. It was fun to have Donna and George with us on their quad as they will be host and hostess to the kids next week at the Hacienda on the Beach.
This morning we had breakfast with Santa and our pictures taken with him up at the pool. There are groups of Mexican kids that have been coming to La Penita RV celebrations for several generations and the people in the park have watched them grow up.

December 19, 2008
“Uno y Uno” at a street corner means…..one and then one…like a four way stop!
The sugar cane has gone to flower…the flower looks like swamp grass…because the harvesters were on strike. The strike ended yesterday.
The funeral parade participants were carrying white balloons because the boy that died was so young…only 19. He stayed out partying all night and in the early morning hours fell, hitting his head and dying from the head injury….sad!
Vegetarians, like our guide yesterday to Potrero de La Palmita, Vicente (Benny because it sounded like he was saying benicent or something like that) do not like to talk about chicken cooked on a spit or beef. It was a delightful trip for us three, Shirley, Barbara, and I in a van meant for twelve. The guys were gone for a quad ride east of La Penita with Abel, the vege and fruit vender, and Allen, the hotel and bungalow rental native. Us three women did not get back until 730 pm and went 61 kilometers past Tepic, so maybe covered 75 or more miles of farm country in our drive. We saw the largest sugar cane processing plant in the state, the state capital, Tepic, and what was the first state capital,Compostella. Rio Grande de Santiago is the location of two dams and a new one being built up stream. We went to the first one and across the lake to a the village of Potrero de La Palmita, where we were greeted by a tribe of Indians. We walked through their village, checking on their crafts, hand brick making, buildings, and an actual new retreat they are building for vacationers. It was very remote and quite a boat ride to get there. Our guide was 41 years old, not married, but the father of twins going to school in the states. He was full of good humor and good stories, so we had a great time, stopping to look at the Christmas decorations, cathedrals, town squares, museums and eating in some of his favorite restaurants (we found later that he owns one of them). Vicente likes politics and is runner up for mayor, we think, although mayor may not be the exact position he is running for. He has been in business in these towns for many years and knew everyone. He was interviewed while we had breakfast by a TV station reporter about his involvement in the turtle release program.