Mazatlan, February 2009

Although we love Puerto Vallarta, I convinced Doug to take our annual Mexico trip in Mazatlan this year. We started planning last summer and made arrangements to stay at the Mayan Palace through our timeshare. As usual, we wanted to stay for several days in the heart of Old Town to get a feel for the town before we moved to our condo. I started looking online, and also through Frommer’s and we settled on La Siesta Hotel, which has an ocean view right on the main street of Old Town. We got it booked and started planning. We flew into town on Wednesday, February 11th (our anniversary). The airport is about 45 minutes from town so our taxi ride gave us a chance to see the town. Our driver didn’t speak much English, and we don’t speak much Spanish so we weren’t able to communicate too much. We were able to communicate where we were going so that was no problem. We got to the hotel about 5pm. We liked it right away. It was right across from the ocean, had a restaurant next door (the Shrimp Bucket) and had a nice courtyard inside. There was even an espresso stand in the lobby which our plush timeshare doesn’t have. Our room was nice, on the 2nd floor with a balcony so we had a great view of the ocean, the boardwalk and the action below. Once we got checked in we walked across to the boardwalk and started walking north along the boardwalk (malecon). Mazatlan’s boardwalk is 12 miles long, with some statues and different things to see along the way. There is one place where there are cliff divers during the day and another where all the fishing boats come in. You can buy fresh fish and take it across the street to one of the restaurants and they will cook it for you. Just north of our hotel on the right is a hill called Ice Box Hill with houses on the top with beautiful views of the ocean. As we walked it started getting dark so we had a good view of the sunset. We ate dinner at the Shrimp Bucket that evening. The next day we had arranged another timeshare tour of the Mayan Palace to look at our options of upgrading to another week or a bigger unit. They sent someone to pick us up at our hotel and take us to the Mayan which was across town about 15 miles north. Once we got there they gave us a tour of the area, and we had a buffet breakfast. After breakfast they talked to us about the options. For now it was not a good option for us, so we declined and took our incentive which was $200 in cash, and a city tour which we booked for Monday. They gave us a taxi ride back to our hotel. We spent some time just relaxing at the hotel before we took a walk around our hotel. A few blocks behind it is the Plaza Machado where there is a park in the middle of the square, and several restaurants, shops, and the Teatro Angela Peralta theatre. There is a cathedral a few blocks north of the Plaza Machado and we walked around that and over to the City Market which has all the local crafts and vegetables and meat. That evening we had dinner at one of the restaurants in Plaza Machado. Friday and Saturday we walked each morning along the boardwalk up to where the fishing boats come in. One morning we had breakfast at the restaurant next door to the hotel which was not very good. The other morning we had a wonderful breakfast at in Machado Square. Both days we headed over to the Golden Zone after resting during the day and relaxing by the pool at the hotel. Doug had work to do and the hotel had wireless so he was able to do it right there. To get to the Golden Zone we took a pulmonia. Although there are taxis in Mazatlan, most people rely on the pulmonias which is an open vehicle that looks like a golf cart. We found that some are privately owned so you have to be careful when you stop one. We rode in one that had no speedometer, no mirrors, etc. Most are very safe, although the drivers do tend to dart in and out of traffic a lot. The Golden Zone is where there are most of the bigger hotels, lots of restaurants and a lot of the shops. We stopped at Joe’s Oyster Bar for drinks one of the evenings which is right on the beach. On Saturday evening we went to a Mexican Fiesta which was at the Playa Mazatlan in the Golden Zone. That is always fun with all you can eat buffet and lots of fun entertainment. On Sunday it was time to leave old town and move to the Mayan Palace. We arranged a ride on a Pulmonia and got over there about 1pm. We were able to get checked in. The Mayan bought the Sea Garden hotels several years ago and there used to be just the Sea Garden option for our timeshare, however the year before they had built the new building on the property so we stayed there. We didn’t look inside the Sea Garden units but we were told that they were smaller, all of them 2 bedroom but a lot older without all the comforts of the new building. Our room was one bedroom, but it was roomy and nice, with a sofa bed in the living room if we wanted to bring someone else with us. It was only a little further from the pools, and it had an ocean view. I was anxious to go down to the pool so we stayed around the hotel the rest of the day and ate dinner at the restaurant that evening. In the morning on Monday we had planned our City Tour so our driver picked us up at the hotel. After picking up others he headed into the Golden Zone then took us to several other spots along the way. We were not impressed with the tour at all, or our guide. Afterward we offered to stay in the Golden Zone so he let us leave the bus there. As we got off the bus we talked to a couple of gals that were on the bus with us and they were also expressing what they thought about the tour. They told us if we really wanted to get an authentic tour we could go to the Vineyard Church and volunteer to help make sandwiches and then plan to go with them on a tour to deliver them. They showed us where the church was so we went to find out more about it. We made arrangements to do that on Thursday. Next to the church is a taco place that has wonderful, cheap tacos. We sat and visited with the gals we met on the tour, had a great lunch with them then headed back to our hotel for the afternoon. That evening we came back to the Golden Zone and had dinner at Panama Bakery and Restaurant which is right on the main boulevard. Tuesday we went on a tour that took us to Concordia and Copala. On the way we stopped at the village of Malpica at a tile factory and watched them making the tiles, then went over to a house which had bakery in the back. We brought a tile home from there that we bought for $2.00, and we were able to have a piece of hot bread. In Concordia there are several furniture stores. Then in Copala we had lunch at Daniel’s which was really good and included with our tour. They are famous for their banana coconut pie which we couldn’t pass up. Wednesday we stayed at the hotel most of the day and just relaxed, rested by the pool, etc. Doug was doing some work so it gave him time to catch up on things. Then Thursday we got up early, had breakfast at the hotel, then headed down to the Vineyard Church to volunteer our help. We made sandwiches along with a few others, and filled water bottles with purified water. Afterward we got on a bus and our driver gave us a tour of the area on our way to the city dump. We went through several residential areas but as we got farther away from the beach area we saw how some of the Mexican’s really live. Even the police officers which are among the higher paying people, live in little, tiny houses. The neighborhoods rising up had small two bedroom houses and it is normal to move in and as you can then add on, usually up with another floor. Our destination was to go to the city dump and give sandwiches, fruit and water to the people that make their living to support their families by salvaging what they can from the dump. They are not searching for food however, but anything else they can sell. The city dump trucks come in anytime day or night so there are always people (mostly men) salvaging things. They know that the Vineyard bus will be there on Thursdays so when they saw us they came over. We each took the bags and handed it to them and said “Jesus loves you” in Spanish to them. They were so grateful to have this little bit of food and you could see that they really appreciated it. It was a moving experience. After we left the dump site we drove through the village where most of the workers lived in little shanties made with cardboard sides, tarps, etc. It was sad to see. We drove by the school that was breaking for lunch and there was a line of kids waiting for our bus to come. We got out and gave them each lunch also. We stopped by a house where a little boy with cerebral palsy was not able to come out with the other kids. His mom brought him out and we gave them lunch also. Of all the things we did on our trip, this by far was the most rewarding and we vowed to do it again. That evening we had dinner at the hotel. On Friday we went on a Tequila Tour. The tour company picked us up at the hotel and we stopped at the little town of La Noria first. There we went into a leather factory where we watched them making belts, shoes and purses. From there we headed to the distillery and watched them making the tequila. After we left the distillery (with a bottle of tequila to bring home) we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Once we got back to the hotel we spent the rest of the afternoon resting, swimming, etc. The next morning we went to Valentino’s restaurant for breakfast. It is at the north end of the boardwalk, right on the edge of the Golden Zone. There is such a pretty view of the town from there, but they are no longer open for dinner which is a shame. The location is great, the food and the atmosphere were too. We sat outside on the balcony and looking down at the rocks we saw several mariachi singers that were being filmed for some kind of event. After breakfast we went back to the hotel to rest and relax on our last day in town. That evening we headed back to the Golden Zone and went to Carnaval (Mardi Gras) had started on Thursday and we were curious to see all the festivities. When our taxi was about 1 mile from the entrance gates we chose to get out because it was just so crowded. We walked the rest of the way and made it to the gates. There were so many people, and a lot were acting crazy, but it was fun to see. There was a long line to get inside the gates so we decided to head back to our hotel. On Sunday we got up and had to start getting ready to leave. Another trip comes to an end. Darn- I don’t want to go home!

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Leavenworth, December 2008

Last year when we went to Leavenworth for the annual Christmas Lighting ceremony we booked our hotel for this year. Normally you must do this a year in advance as it is a busy time, with lots of tourists in town.

Leavenworth is a small Bavarian themed village in the Cascades. During the year they have many festivals including Maifest, Autumn Leaf Festival, Oktoberfest as well as the Christmas Lighting Festival. The Christmas Festival is every weekend in December up until Christmas.

There has been a lot of snow in Seattle this year and it has been very cold. Doug and I both were concerned about the passes and were considering canceling, or finding another means to get to Leavenworth. We contacted Amtrak and decided to go on the bus through Amtrak. It would get us to town about noon on Friday, and we would leave at 9am on Sunday.


We got downtown Seattle early Friday morning and boarded the bus. The weather was snowing and threatening even more. We were glad to have someone else do the driving for us. It was a pretty ride going over the Cascades with all the snow. We went across Steven’s Pass rather than Blewett Pass. We got into town as expected around noon, and walked the 3 blocks or so and checked into the Enzian Inn, where we had stayed last year.
Once we got our things into our room we walked across the street to the main part of town. There was a lot of snow, but it was sunny. We shopped a little then stopped at We joined others in the lobby for caroling with the pianist, and then I went swimming before we turned in for the night. In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel, which is included. Of course there was the ceremony of the owner waking up the town with the Alphorn, as is the custom every morning. There was fresh snow and it really is pretty to see the mountains and hills around the town covered in snow.

After breakfast we headed back over to the town square and as the day went on there were more and more people coming into town. Several tour companies have bus trips to Leavenworth just for the day so it can become very crowded. Then we received a call from Amtrak that due to the weather there would be no buses on Sunday. We called our hotel to make sure we would be able to stay an additional night, which was no problem.

At 4:30 the actually Lighting Ceremony starts with several choirs in the Gazebo, welcoming of St Nick, and a speech by one of the town leaders. Finally at 5:30 they count down and suddenly all the lights in town come on, one by one. It is fun to watch the town light up.

After the ceremony we headed over to Fest Hall which is the town hall. They were doing a reenactment of the story of Christmas, hosted by one of the churches in town. After the play, we went to Gustav’s for dinner, then back to the hotel for more caroling and swimming.

On Sunday morning we had breakfast then went over to the town; however a lot of the stores open late so it was pretty quiet. Also, the festivities are scheduled for Friday and Saturday so there wasn’t much going on. We headed back and I was able to swim and relax so we spent most of the day resting. We had dinner next door at Kristall’s, and then settled in early. Monday morning the hotel staff offered to drive us the several blocks down to the bus stop so we wouldn’t have to drag our suitcases in the snow. It was still quite cold. The bus came late and there was a lot of confusion over who was riding since they had to double up on the trips and take several people from the day before. We didn’t have a problem however, so we were able to get a seat. We were home by 3pm, and saw that Seattle also had gotten a lot of snow.

While we were in Leavenworth we booked for next year. Hopefully there won’t be as much snow!

Atlanta to Miami, September 2008

Doug’s annual conference was scheduled for Miami, so we decided to take an extended time and do a road trip. I had been to Savannah and Charleston in the past, but Doug had not and I was anxious for him to be able to see that part of our country. Since we were going to be down that way we decided to fly into Atlanta and drive to Augusta to see my brother Jon and his family while we were there. We flew into Atlanta on Wednesday night the 17th. We had hoped to be able to see a little bit of Atlanta however, our flight was delayed and when we got to Atlanta they were unable to find our luggage. There was another flight coming from Seattle in a couple hours so we decided to have dinner at the airport. That was a fun experience! We were eating dinner at one of the little bar and grills in the airport. The table next to us had ordered their food and beers. One gentleman had beer in his glass and suddenly it exploded! Beer and glass went everywhere. It was quite loud, and along with the commotion around their table there was a lot of confusion. One of the waiters came over to assess the situation and to get things cleaned up which included moving their table and cleaning the floor, the wall, etc. When one of the other waiters stopped by to see what in the world happened I started to explain it and as I moved my hand to show him I hit my coke glass and knocked it over! Is this how our stay in Atlanta is going to start? First the luggage, now the dinner fiasco? What next? We finally got our luggage and headed to our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn about 9:30. By then we were not hungry, and it was too dark to check things out. We were planning to get up early to head to Jon’s. In the morning I got up and went down to the pool when they opened at 6am. It was a nice, indoor pool and I had the room to myself. I had looked forward to swimming so it was enjoyable. As I was getting out of the pool and took one step on the floor the tile was just like glass and I started to go down without any way to stop myself. I fell hard on the tile, flat on my chest. I knew immediately that this was not good. I tried to get up but the floor was so slick that I could just crawl to one of the chairs on the side of the pool area. I finally made it up and went back to our room. I didn’t even want to mention it to Doug because of all the little things that had happened on our trips. It was becoming comical- and would have been if I wasn’t in so much pain. I was sure I had broken a couple ribs. We headed to Augusta in the morning to Jon and Joyce’s house. We got there about 11:30 and my brother Dave and his son Josh were there, as well and Jon’s son Tim and wife Julie. After visiting for a little while we all headed over to a local restaurant and had a great barbeque lunch. After lunch Josh had to go to work, but the rest of us went over to see Jeanine (Jon’s son Ben’s wife) and their new baby Madeline who was about 3 weeks old. We had a nice visit, and then we headed for the hospital where Ben was working so we could see him for a few minutes. They live in South Carolina on the border of Georgia, and Ben works at Aiken Regional Medical Center. Once we left after visiting Ben we were on our way to Charleston. On the way however we wanted to stop at South Carolina Barbeque to take something with us. Jon had taken us there a few years earlier and it was such a hit we wanted to try it again. It wasn’t too far from the hospital so Jon led us there and we picked up something and Jon took dinner home. I guess this was the day of BBQ – both lunch and dinner! We arrived in Homewood Suites in Mt Pleasant which was a suburb of Charleston. Once we got settled we headed downtown to look at the city. The weather was beautiful and we had time to look around for a little while before heading back to our hotel for the night. In the morning we went back downtown area and took a ride on the horse drawn carriage, getting the history of the area. Charleston has wonderful architecture and beautiful buildings. Rainbow Row is a group of row houses that are each painted a different color. We also took a walk around the town and went through the market area downtown. The market has some unique crafts specific to the area, including the sweet grass baskets which are weaved by hand. We walked down to Shem Creek Bar and Grill . The next morning we left the area and stopped at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. The grounds are beautiful and it is rich with history of life on the plantation. We were able to walk on a self guided tour around the grounds and see the gardens, the different buildings, a petting zoo, and lots of nature trails. It was informative and very interesting. We left the Charleston area and headed over to Hilton Head Island where we had rented a condo through RCI exchange. Hilton Head Island is divided into sections called Plantations. We were staying at Port O’ Call Resort which was in Shipyard Plantation. We checked in at the business office in town where we got the keys, then headed to our condo. After we got checked in we drove down to the Lighthouse point and had dinner at The Crazy Crab Restaurant . We toured the area, then headed back to our place for the night. There was a nice patio and swimming pool. The weather was nice so I spent some time down at the pool. I was still in a lot of pain from my fall so it felt good to relax in the water. On Monday we were on the road again, this time on our way to Savannah. Once we got to town we checked in to our hotel, the trolley to get a feel for the area in the short time we planned to be there. One of the things we wanted to do for sure was schedule a dinner at Lady and Sons, the restaurant owned by Paula Deen. It is such a popular place they limit the time you can make reservations. While we were on the trolley, our guide indicated that we could get off in that area and see if they are taking reservations outside of the stated times. She said they often do that. We did and were able to make plans for that evening. Savannah is a pretty town, with cypress trees, beautiful flowers, and just a different way of life. The historical part town itself is made up of “squares”. Each one with it’s own name and uniqueness. After our trolley ride we took a walk around the area and visited the Colonial Park Cemetery which is in the middle of the historic district in town. There are graves and crypts dating back to 1750 and it is interesting to read some of the markers. There is also a sign that tells how during the civil war the union soldiers came in and demolished several headstones, and moved things around, changed dates, etc. so it is not unusual to find a tombstone that shows a person dying before they were born! That evening we went over to Lady and Sons and had a wonderful dinner. I had chicken pot pie that was to die for! The crust was flaky and hung over the edge of the bowl. On Tuesday we had breakfast in town then headed on our way to St Augustine . I was still in considerable pain with my ribs and had not been able to sleep well. We had some pain meds with us but they were just about gone so I called home to my dr and she suggested that I go to the emergency room. She was concerned that if I did have a broken rib I might puncture a lung. So, we pulled into St Augustine, and the weather started getting stormy. We located the hospital and spent the next few hours in the emergency room. The xrays didn’t show a fracture but doctor indicated that the cartilage could be broken, or even the ribs and just might not show yet. She prescribed pain meds and something to help me sleep. After our hospital visit we went down to the waterfront where there are shops and restaurants. The weather was threatening to be stormy, although it was warm. We had dinner along the waterfront and headed back to our hotel for the night. We were staying at the On Wednesday we got up had breakfast and headed to Miami. This was the longest stretch of our trip, about 4 1/5 hours compared to the 1-2 hrs between the other cities. We stopped along the way to stretch and have a bite to eat. We got to Miami about 3pm and checked into our hotel, the Trump International . We also turned in our car since we wouldn’t need it in this area. Doug went to his reception and I went down to the poolside. The weather was stormy and warm. I was looking forward to swimming, well, getting in the pool – I wasn’t able to comfortably swim, but just as I was got down to the pool area it started to rain and blow and they closed the pool. That evening we stayed at the hotel and had dinner and walked around the beach area. I arranged a tour for the next day of the Everglades. Fortunately when we got up the weather was nice so I was able to go and enjoy the tour. The tour company picked me up at the hotel and we drove out to the National Park entrance. The tour included a ride on the boat through the marshy water. We stopped several times and watched for alligators. After we were done with the boat portion I went through the museum and the other areas of the park. They had an exhibit with a alligator wrestler which was fun to watch. I also had the opportunity to hold a baby alligator. I ate lunch before heading back to the hotel. That evening the conference members were invited with spouses to a party at Nikki Beach Club which is in South Beach . It wasn’t much of a party, especially for the $40 each that we paid. We had a bbq dinner but there was no entertainment or anything else going on. Most everyone left within a couple hours. We headed back to our hotel by 10pm. The next day I just stayed at the hotel and enjoyed the pool, and relaxed. That evening, which would be the last of our trip, we went back to South Beach area and walked around. We had dinner at a Puerto Sagua , which is a Cuban restaurant on the main strip. Our time was coming to an end - We were able to see and do a lot in the 10 days we were on the road. On Saturday we got up early and headed to the airport to fly home. I didn’t want to leave, but I think that is my mantra for everywhere I go. That and “we’ll be back”.

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Sisters in San Diego, May 2008

Ruth, Carol and I decided it was about time we got together and did a “sisters” trip again. We selected San Diego and started making plans. We booked a room at the Catamaran Resort on Mission Bay. I had been to San Diego several times with Doug since he grew up there, but this would be a different experience with my sisters. We got into San Diego on Thursday 5/15 and got a car and headed to our hotel. The Catamaran Resort is in a beautiful location, right on the lagoon. There are beautiful plants around the grounds, a fitness room, spa, swimming pool, restaurant and a walking path down at the water’s edge. We drove down to the harbor where the Aircraft Carrier Nimitz is docked and spent time there looking at the ships and the statues in the park near the port. We had lunch at the Fish Market Seafood restaurant . After lunch we went to Seaport Village which is always fun. There are lots of little shops and restaurants. On Friday we walked over to Pacific Beach then drove over to Balboa Park. There are beautiful architectural buildings in Balboa Park, museums, theatres, etc. It is a nice place to walk around and the weather was beautiful. That evening we went downtown and ate dinner at Croce’s Restaurant and Jazz Bar. On Saturday we drove over to Hotel del Coronado . We walked around the grounds of the hotel which is really pretty and has a great view of San Diego. We drove south on the island and came out at Imperial Beach where we were able to capture a beautiful sunset before heading back to our hotel. On Sunday we drove north and stopped at some of the little beach towns. We stopped at Torrey Pines Golf Course which was hosting the 2008 U.S. Open . We stopped in Del Mar and started to have lunch at the Pacifica Breeze Café until they had a kitchen fire that drove us across the street. Everything turned out ok, and they opened back up shortly after. From there we headed to Encinitas then up to Mount Soledad and spent some time at the memorial honoring those who served in the wars protecting our country. At the top of the mountain there is a wonderful view of the city. After our road trip we went back to the hotel to freshen up, swim and relax for awhile. That evening we went over to Little Italy and had a great dinner at Filippi’s Pizza Grotto. We had read about it in Frommer's guide. When you enter the restaurant you are actually in a Italian grocery store with the restaurant in the back. There was a long wait with the line winding through the store, but it was worth the wait. The food was great, but too much of course. Monday we were up early and headed to the airport for our flights home. Another great Sisters Trip comes to an end!

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Guadalajara, Tlaquepaque, Puerto Vallarta February 2008

This year we decided to fly into Guadalajara first and spend several days, then take a bus to Puerto Vallarta to stay for a week. We had never been inland so we were looking forward to learning about the different areas outside of Puerto Vallarta or the other beach tourist towns that we have been in Mexico. We booked a room at Quinta Don Jose Boutique Hotel in Tlaquepaque which is just outside Guadalajara.We flew in on Thursday morning about 5:30am and we had made arrangements for someone from the hotel to pick us up. Because we were so early we had arranged for a room to be ready when we got to the hotel. Our driver picked us up and pointed out things as we drove through Guadalajara, which is the capital of the state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is also in the state of Jalisco. We arrived at the hotel and from the street you would not know what to expect. There is a huge wall surrounding the hotel, and you cannot see through the gate at the driveway. However, when we entered the gate we saw that the grounds of the hotel were beautiful, with a pristine pool, pretty décor and friendly atmosphere. It is a small hotel with about 30 rooms. We were on the 2nd floor above the main lobby. After we rested for awhile, we headed down to the main part of town, which is only a few blocks from the hotel. Tlaquepaque is a small suburb of Guadalajara and is where a lot of the arts and crafts come from that are sold throughout Mexico. There are a lot of galleries and pottery shops. The main courtyard of the town has a gazebo and there is often entertainment. There are a lot of little shops, galleries and restaurants in town. Our hotel included breakfast so Friday morning we got up and had a wonderful breakfast prepared for us as we waited, then we took a tour of downtown Guadalajara. We toured the city administrative buildings, and the main shopping district in the city. There is a huge jewelry wholesale building where I bought a couple silver bracelets for less than we would have paid otherwise. Our last stop on the tour was lunch at a traditional Mexican restaurant in town with our tour guide. When we came back to the hotel I decided to go swimming in the pool, however I hadn’t seen anyone at yet using the pool. Well, one toe in the water and I found out why! It was like ice! The courtyard got some afternoon sun, but not enough to warm it up completely. I really wanted to swim, and the weather was in the 80s, so I decided to go for it. First I sat on the edge and waited until my legs were numb, then I finally just jumped in. Whoa! It took a little time to get used to it, well I guess in reality I never did. I stayed in for about 15 minutes and honestly felt refreshed when I got out. That evening we ate dinner in town and had a nice walk through some shops and galleries. On Saturday we took a tour of the town of Tequila which included watching the harvesting of the agave plants, then over to the distillery to watch how tequila is made. We had lunch at the end of the tour and were able to purchase a bottle of tequila from the gift shop. The tour overall is similar to other ones we have done in Puerto Vallarta. All of them have different types of tequila and it's fun to watch the process. In the afternoon we enjoyed swimming and relaxing, then ate dinner in town again, then came back to the hotel and had drinks and visited with other patrons. Sunday one of the hotel staff gave us a ride to the bus station in Guadalajara so we could go to Puerto Vallarta where we planned to stay the next week. It is about a 4 1/2 hr bus ride from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta. The bus was a large bus with airconditioning and comfortable seats. In fact it was much more comfortable than the plane, and a whole lot less expensive! The view was scenic going through the Sierra Madre mountains, then down along the coast to Puerto Vallarta. Once we got to town we took a taxi over to the Mayan Palace. In Puerto Vallarta we enjoyed our hotel and all the pools (heated!) and the beach. Our hotel is across the street from the Marina which has a lot of shops and wonderful restaurants. We love to go to the coffee shop and enjoy espresso in the morning and just walk along the marina. We went to town a couple times to enjoy the entertainment along the along the malecon. Usually in the evening there is a lot of entertainment along the malecon. We ate dinner one evening at the Panorama Restaurant that is on the hill above the town. We had a beautiful sunset. One of the days we went to Sayulita which is a little fishing town just north of Puerto Vallarta in the state of Nayarit. This is a little bay with good waves for surfing. It was just a quick bus ride from our hotel. It’s a fun place to watch the surfers, and enjoy lunch at one of the restaurants on the beach. One of our last days in Puerto Vallarta we took a Sierra Madre Tour which we hadn’t done before. It was one of the most fun tours we had ever taken in Puerto Vallarta. We climbed into the all terrain buggy and drove into the jungle and mountains on the unpaved, bumpy roads. Our guide was fun and told us all about the area. We had lunch together on a little private beach before heading back to town.

Even though we have been going to Puerto Vallarta every year since 2004, we still enjoy it and look forward to it. There is always something new and fun to experience!

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Leavenworth, December 2007

We have always talked about going to Leavenworth to see the Christmas Lighting. We had been there several times at different times of the year, but looked forward to experiencing the festivities during the Christmas season. Earlier in the year we had booked a room at the Enzian Inn where I had stayed during a conference in April. Usually you need to book the prior year to be able to get a room, however the Enzian keeps the first 2 weekends in December free for those who stay 3 nights during the year. My conference in April was 3 nights so we were able to book a room at that time.

We didn’t have any trouble on the passes on Friday going over. We went across Snoqualmie, then Blewett Pass. Although there was snow on the mountains the roads were clear. We got to the Enzian in the early afternoon and were able to check in right away. We picked up a schedule for the festivities and headed to town which was across the street. It was in the 20s and I don’t think either one of us was prepared for that. Although we both had warm coats we didn’t have hats. We ended up going into Der Sportsman and I bought a hat and Doug bought earmuffs. We also bought hand warmers to put in our gloves.

Friday evening there was a small ceremony with St. Nick coming to town, and there was music in the Park. It was fun to go through the shops and pick up a few Christmas presents. We ate dinner at Andreas Keller which is a German restaurant in town. Around 7pm we headed back to our hotel. There is a piano in the lobby and a fireplace. Both Friday and Saturday night they have a pianist and people gather and sing Christmas carols. There is warm cider and the hotel sells roasted caramelized almonds and cashews. The lobby smells so good with the cider and the roasted nuts. We enjoyed the fire, and had fun singing carols with the other guests. Afterward I went swimming in the indoor pool. They also have an outdoor pool which was closed, but they have an outdoor hot tub which you can use.

On Saturday we had breakfast in the dining room upstairs, which was included with our stay. They make omelet’s to order and have potatoes, fruit, ham or bacon and all kinds of pastries. As we were dining the owner of the hotel came in and played the alphorn. He or his son does it every day, and it is a town tradition. The hotel has a wrap around balcony and he stands on the balcony ledge and plays the alphorn, then he comes inside a plays a few more songs.

After breakfast we bundled up and headed over to the town for a little more shopping and just enjoying all the festivities. It started to snow a little, but not enough to worry about. We were parked safely in the hotel parking lot. As the day went on more and more people started showing up, and the shops began to get crowded. Once the tour buses got into town it was really crowded.

At about 4:30 there were a lot of people and everyone started gathering in the town square. There were choirs singing in the gazebo, kids sledding down the hill, and St Nick walking through the town. At about 5:30 as it was getting dark (and cold) and snowing more, they finally did the countdown to turn on the lights of the town. It started with the trees in the Park, then suddenly all the town lit up. It was exciting and magical. Afterward we headed over to Kristall’s for dinner, before heading back to the hotel for the evening of Christmas carols (and more nuts and cider). Doug decided to go in the hot tub outside, even though it was snowing heavily by then.

We woke up in the morning to at least a foot of new snow. We checked at the front desk about the passes and were told that Snoqualmie was closed off and on for avalanche control, and Stevens had chains required. We were quite concerned but we were able to purchase chains and start our journey home. We decided to go via Stevens Pass and although it was snowing most of the way, we didn’t have any trouble. We decided that maybe we would take the train next year. We were able to book the hotel again for next year while we were there.