Paradise Once Again February 4th-19th, 2017 Puerto Vallarta

Our annual trip to Puerto Vallarta, aka Paradise, this year was February 4ththrough 20th.  I was really looking forward to it.  This was to be our last trip pre-retirement…  We still intend to come next year if possible, but we will have the flexibility to stay longer, come at a different time if we decide, etc.  We thought this time around we would see if we could make any decisions about next year while we’re in PV.

On vacations where the weather is hot I really look forward to the rest and relaxation of just hanging out by the pool, catching up on some reading or a few shows that I got behind on.  Doug looks forward the laid back environment, time to sleep in, rest, and meander around the streets of Old Town.  Maybe spend a couple hours in the afternoon at the pool. After several years going to PV we have done the tours, so rest and relaxation is on the top of our list.

We do like to try out new restaurants, and of course go to our all-time favorites.  It’s fun to see the same wait staff at some of our favorite spots, and even though I’m sure they don’t know us by name, they recognize and acknowledge us.

So, for the most part I hung out at the pool… in order to make sure I had an umbrella I was up every day by 7am, down to the pool to put out the towels, then back to the room for a while.  The “game” we all play, and we all hate. 

Late afternoons we were back to the room for a while, then dinner somewhere about 7 or so.  The only break from the routine this time was one day when we got up and went to Old Town and caught the bus to Mismaloya, which is about ½ hour or so south of town.  We had lunch on the beach, and spent the afternoon people watching.

Money exchange – it was the best rate we have ever had in our favor, but unfortunately not good for the Mexican citizens.  In the past the peso has a value of $1 = 11 pesos.  This year it was $1 = 20-21 pesos.  We went to Walmart and bought a bottle of tequila, big bag of chips, eggs, 2 boxes of juice, yogurt, fresh veggies and fruit and a few bakery items.  $15 US.  Overall, we spent about 2/3 our normal spend for 2 weeks.

New restaurants:

La Traditional – down by the church, family owned, very good food.   Would go again.

 

Cheeky Monkey – have seen this restaurant for years and finally decided to try it.  Love the location, on the Malecon, midway, upstairs, has a balcony and great sunset view if timed right.  Sunday special, lasagna, was very good.

Few Longs Chinese Food – nothing good to say – don’t go

Our favorites:

Senior Frogs – On the Malecon, good food, price is good, fun atmosphere.  We had the Victoria Chicken and Coconut Shrimp.  Yum

Joe Jacks – Old Town, went twice, can’t go wrong

DJ’s – Marina, good food and music.   60’s Diner style

Derby Burgers, Old Town – lots of choices for great burgers

Barracuda – North of Malecon on the water – great food

Salsa Grill – a few blocks south of street to Barracuda.  Good food

Fredy’s Tucan – Old Town – great breakfast – I went once but Doug went several times.

Victor’s – Marina, good food, try to go when Victor’s there.  First time we have been when he wasn’t, in many, many visits.

Isabella- Boutique hotel on hill above and south of the church – great atmosphere, and food.  Go for sunset.

100% Natural – across from Sheraton, great breakfast.  Went the morning of our last day.  Fresh juice

Books:  A Long Way Home (aka Lion) by Saroo Brierley, and Cold Kill – The True Story of a Murderous Love by Jack Olsen

As I mentioned, we did a lot of speculating, planning and talking about next year.  Do we want to stay 3 weeks?  I am usually not ready to go home when the time comes after 15 days.  But I believe that is because I know I have to get back to work when I get home.  We both thought that if we stay three weeks we will need to break up the weeks and do something different at least one day a week. We may also want to plan on a few meals in rather than out every night.  Since currently we are “trading in” to the place we stay (Sheraton Bougainvillea) there’s a possibility we can’t stay 3 weeks.  Next year they intend to start a long awaited remodel of some of the rooms and it might limit how many non-owners they can have during high season.  So, we have a few things to think about and decide.   One way or another, we will be back to PV – not sure for how long, or where we stay, but we will be back.

Puerto Rico, October 15th-22nd, 2016

We flew into Puerto Rico after traveling first through Dallas, then to San Juan, PR.  Our hotel, the Doubletree by Hilton was about a 20 minute cab ride from the airport.  We go to the hotel before 5pm, Puerto Rico time, and after checking in and putting things away in the room, we took a walk to check things out. 

Next to our hotel there was a plaza with a few restaurants and a Starbucks, and a main road that had several restaurants.  Without checking things out online, we selected Bebo’s Café, which looked to have authentic Puerto Rican food (whatever that is!).  I had Pechuga Rellena de Amarillo en Salsa de Queso which was “chicken breast stuffed sweet plantains with cheese sauce” which was delicious.  Doug had some kind of stuffed pork which he also enjoyed. 

Sunday morning we ate breakfast at the hotel, went to Starbucks (of course!) and then called Uber to get a ride to Old San Juan.  Our driver took us into Old San Juan, to the top of the hill to Fort San Felipe which overlooked the Atlantic Ocean, and had a ton of history.   The weather was beautiful, 90+ so we appreciated the shade that the fort provided as we explored.   There was a reenactment with a firing of an old cannon, and several of the bunkers inside the fort were set up with different artifacts.

When we came out of the fort there was a free trolley so we took it down to the center of Old San Juan, and explored some of the stores and decided that we would come back in the evening for dinner at least one night.   It was getting quite warm so we Uber’ed it back to our hotel.  While Doug caught up on some work I took the opportunity to check out the pool area.  Since it was off season by a few weeks, there was no problem getting a place in the shade.

That evening we ate near the hotel at Agarrate Catalina – Botegon Argentino.

Monday we took a bus to Old Town, and to the piers and took a ferry ride over to an island where the Barcadi Rum distillery was.  The grounds are beautiful and we took a tour that showed the process of making rum.  The tour also included a rum drink so we tried the Mai Tai’s which were delicious and refreshing on a hot day.   When we took the ferry back to Old Town we stopped at Sr. Frogs for a late lunch.  We took Uber back to hotel for pool time and a little catch up on work for Doug.  Since we had a big lunch we just went next door to the hotel for pizza.

Tuesday morning we decided to take a walk so we stopped at Starbucks then started walking toward Condado, which was a hotel zone on the point, right at the bridge to Old Town.  On our way we stopped at Blonda for breakfast, which was good, but expensive. 

After leaving Blonda's we walked to the bridge, but by then it was getting quite hot out, so we took Uber back to our hotel.   That evening we went back to Old Town and went to Barrachina’s which supposedly is where the Pina Colada was invented.. then walked to Raicies for dinner.   It was highly recommended by a few different people, and was a fun place.  We both tried the Mofongo (mashed plantains) but were not too impressed.  Things good have been a little more spicy.  Once again we took Uber back to hotel.

On Wednesday I got up and took a walk, and as I did I found a geocache.. I wish I had thought about it the day before as there were a lot hidden in and around Condado area. We packed up to move to Fjardo where Doug’s conference was at the Waldorf Astoria Conquistador Resort.  We arranged with our Uber driver the day before to pick us up and take us for $60 which was a great bargain.  Our other choice was going to the airport (taxi or Uber) to catch the shuttle which is $90.

Fjardo is about an hour from San Juan.  We got there shortly after noon.  The Waldorf is a huge resort hotel, in a beautiful location overlooking the Atlantic and the British Virgin Islands. The resort has 21 restaurants, 3 separate hotels within the complex, activities, etc.   We were able to check in when we got there, so we went to our room then came back to get a bite to eat at one of the restaurants in the main complex.  Although the weather up until then had been sunny and warm, there was a big thunderstorm when we got to the hotel.  

That evening there was a reception for Doug's conference, so I had a bite to eat at the pool restaurant Las Brisa and took time to just relax and read.

Thursday morning we went down for coffee at Starbucks and Doug headed to his meeting. I spent the day by the pool, ate leftover pizza from dinner the night before.   That evening several of Doug’s colleagues went to …. Island, but he stayed back and we met up with Stan, one of Doug's colleague's.  They chose the same restaurant that I had been to the night before.  I had a quick bite then left so they could visit. 

Friday morning once again went to Starbucks then I went to the pool for awhile, then walked around the hotel and looked at the shops. There also was a brochure with a map of all the beautiful artwork in the hotel.  I enjoyed looking for and reading about each piece of art.  After Doug's conference was over we went down to the marina on the lower level.  To get down we took the "funicular", which was basically a cliffside cable tram, which rather than suspending from a cable, it was pulled up a railway. 

The resort owns and island just off the coast call Palomino Island.  On the island is a bar, gift shop and several lawn games or things for water sports.  Unfortunately we took the last boat over and only had an hour to explore before the last ferry took us back to the hotel.  We had dinner that night at Blossom's Chinese restaurant in the hotel, which was very good, with superb service.

In the morning we had a quick breakfast at one of the cafe's then took the shuttle to the airport for our flight home.  We had a layover for a few hours in Miami so had dinner at Islander Bar and Grill.  From there a long flight home. 

I would love to go back to Puerto Rico.  I feel like there was more to see in Old Town.  The Conquistador Resort was beautiful too, however very expensive.  We were able to use our Hilton points making it worthwhile. 

During our time on this trip I binge watched "Transparent" and read the book "The Girl on the Train.

Traveling Sisters - Port Townsend, Sequim and Fort Worden - July 18-20, 2016

Since 2012 Phil has had his annual family picnic on the 3^rd Sunday of July.  Typically it is just us local siblings and families, and Heather brings Skyler up from CA.  We always have a good time and its fun to catch up with everyone.  This year Ruth and Earl joined us from Minnesota. 

Carol, Ruth and I arranged for a little sister trip Monday 7/18 to Wed 7/19.  We decided to drive over to Fort Worden on the Olympic Peninsula.  We also thought it would be good to check it out for a possible family reunion in the future, as we had heard it was a good setting.  On the property you can rent houses (single or duplex type), dormitories, and more. It’s a great setting for conferences as well as family gatherings. Carol rented a house for the 3 of us so we headed out Monday morning.   I drove to Fauntleroy and caught the 10:20 am ferry to Southworth (Port Orchard) which stops at Vashon.  Ruth and Carol boarded when we got to Vashon.   It was a beautiful warm day and we enjoyed catching up with each other and hearing all about the kids and how everyone was doing as we drove along.  We also enjoyed the scenery and stopped a couple times along the way.  We got to Port Townsend about 1 or so and walked around a little, then went to the Fountain Cafe for lunch.  Port Townsend is a cute little town, with lots of Victorian houses and Bed and Breakfasts.  It is right on the water and has beautiful views. The town has some cute little stores and highly recommended restaurants / bistros.  After lunch we walked around and checked out a few of the stores before going to check in at Fort Worden.     
 

Fort Worden is about 10 minutes north of Port Townsend, so about 4pm we drove up there to check in.  The house we rented was two stories, with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths.  Although rustic looking on the outside, they had painted and cleaned up the inside.  Still had beautiful wooden floors, high ceilings, individual rooms but it was comfortable and cozy.  It didn’t have a TV, hair dryer, microwave, but it worked for us.  After we settled in we checked out the grounds then drove up to Safeway to get a few things, then stopped a picked up a pizza at Waters to take back to the house.   We used Ruth’s computer and watched An Officer and a Gentleman which was filmed on the grounds of Fort Worden, and around the town of Port Townsend.

On Tuesday morning we got up and took a walk around the property then drove to Farms Reach Cafe and picked up sandwiches for lunch.  We drove up to Sequim, then on past Port Angeles to Marymere Falls.  After eating a quick lunch in the park, we decided to go to the falls.  It’s a short loop hike (1.8 miles) through beautiful old growth forest to the falls, with a little climb at the end.  Of course I lagged behind at the end.  I teased that this is the day that will be known as the day my sisters tried to kill me.  I’m glad I did the hike and it was beautiful, and well worth it. 

We drove back to Port Angeles and drove up to Hurricane Ridge.  Although the weather was a little cloudy in Port Angeles, (clear and sunny in Sequim), as we drove the 17 miles to the Visitor center it became more and more foggy.  When we finally reached the visitor center it was completely fogged in and was quite a bit colder.  We didn’t stay long as we really couldn’t see anything.  We then drove back to Sequim and looked around a few shops then went to Galare Thai, which Mike had recommended to Carol.   It was a 5 star place, and lived up to its reputation.   After a great dinner, we drove back to Port Townsend for ice cream at Elevated Ice Cream.  That evening we shared pictures and talked a bit before going to bed. Ruth gave us each a book that she had made with pictures of the 3 of us over the years, growing up then on our sisters trips.  Such a special gift that will be treasured forever.

Wednesday morning we went to Sweet Laurette Cafe and Bistro, a French bistro.  We were served our lattes in bowls (European style).  I had poached eggs (cooked perfectly!) and toast with fruit.   After breakfast we walked around the town a little more before getting on the road.   We met up with Mike in Tacoma and had an early dinner at Boathouse 19, then Ruth and I headed to my house for the night.  

Thursday morning Ruth and I met Phil for breakfast at Countryside Café, then he offered to take Ruth to the airport and I left for work (can’t wait to retire!).  Quick little sister’s trip, but even so we had a great time.  Can’t wait to do it again!

 

Paradise Revisited, February 2016 Puerto Vallarta

What can I say new about Paradise, when we go each year?  We both love Puerto Vallarta.  The relaxed, care-free and laid-back environment, as well as the beautiful weather.  February is the perfect time to go….. we made it through the holidays, the bills in January because of the holidays, and as we settle in to the new year we are facing the cold, rain, yucky Pacific NW weather. What better way to rejuvenate ourselves, come back refreshed and ready for Spring.

Once again we booked the Sheraton Bougainvillea’s Resort through SFX, trading in our existing Mayan Palace Timeshare weeks.  The Sheraton is close to town, about a 10 minute walk.    We arrived on Saturday, February 6^th.  We were at the hotel by 4:30 pm or so, and settled right in.  Of course my first order of business was the pool, as always.  Dinner was at the hotel that night.

This year we tried a few new restaurants and took a bus ride to La Cruz, which is just past Bucerias, and before Suyulita.  And the rest of the time I spent by the pool, reading and otherwise just relaxing, while Doug spent his days working for awhile, leisurely walking around town, then joining me at the pool in the afternoon.   Most days we were back to our room by 5pm, then heading to dinner by 6:30-7 when the weather cooled down.  It was in the mid 80's during the day which was too hot for me to walk around.
 

La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, (La Cruz for short) – I had read that it was a great little area to check out, and have lunch.  Unfortunately, there is always a communication breakdown when we don’t really know the area or speak the language.  You would think that we would both be fluent in Spanish by now, however so many people speak English since it's a resort town, so we have never gotten fluent.  We managed to get on the right bus, and asked the driver to make sure to let us off at La Cruz.  When he indicated that we were at our stop, we got off along with another couple who seemed to know exactly where they were going.  We crossed the street, walked down hill to the marina, and looked around and discovered “nothing”.  La Cruz is a fishing village and there were fisherman cleaning fish, but that was it.  The one restaurant did not look even open.  We saw no sign of the town square or the city center.  We walked back up the hill, and tried to figure out where to go.  We finally saw a couple guys talking in the street so I asked where “Centro” was. 

Although neither one of us spoke each other’s language, we were able to communicate somewhat, and we learned that we needed to walk several blocks to find the town center.  In the heat. Up and down hills.  As we walked I made a mental note to remember to ask the bus driver to drop us off at “Centro” next time, if we came back. About the time we were deciding to give up, one of the gentleman we had talked to drove up and opened his door and motioned for us to get in.  By then we were ready for the ride and willingly got in his truck.  He drove several more blocks and there we were! Right in the middle of town.  He pointed out a couple little restaurants and we thanked him (gave him a few dollars) and jumped out.   So, we had lunch at a little street front café, and though we waited a little longer than we expected to the food was really good.  So, once again we had an adventure.  I made a note on our way back to the main highway that we need to get off at the “car wash” on the main highway, and or make sure we ask for the “centro” exit if we ever venture that way again.

This year we ate dinner at some of our favorite places, including Sr. Frogs, El Barracuda, Victor’s and D' Rock and Roll Diner at the Marina, Archie’sWok in Old Town, Joe Jack’s Fish Shack, and Margarita Grill as well as lunch at Derby City Burgers and breakfast at Las Palomas at the Marina on our last morning.  We also had nachos and drinks at Andale’s and met up with Kim and Mike at Langostino’s on the beach for their ExPat gathering.  The new restaurants we tried were Layla’s which I liked, and Doug thought was nothing special; LaDolce Vita for Italian food

 which of course I loved and Doug thought was just “ok”; Melissa’s a hidden gem which was great; Salsa Grill where I had the best steak skewer; and Casa Isabel which was above the city to the south and had a beautiful view and good food.   

I managed to get through one book this time – Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen, and caught up on a few magazines and TV shows.  

Once again it was all about the R and R before heading back to work… can’t wait to retire and spend more time in our favorite paradise.

 

 

 

2015 October LA, MSPA Conferences and Skyler Visit

The MSPA Conference this year was in LA area, as well as the Shoppers Conference.  An opportunity for nicer weather, relaxation, fun in the sun and a chance to see Skyler, our 8 year old grandson.   

We flew into Burbank on Sunday, Oct 11th, and drove to our hotel in Sherman Oaks where we were staying for a couple days before checking in for the conference in Universal City.  After checking in at the Hampton Inn, we drove to Santa Clarita to go to the Saugus Café, which was where Doug’s grandmother had worked for many years.  It has a lot of history in the area.  It originally opened in 1897 and is still in business today.  We had a great lunch, and it was fun to look at the old pictures on the wall and read about the history of the café.   After lunch we took a drive and stopped at Glen Haven Cemetery where Doug’s mom was buried.  We also saw other family headstones while we were there.  It was very hot (102) so the drive was nice, but walking around was a little uncomfortable.

This year The MSPA Conference this year was in LA area, as well as the Shoppers Conference.  An opportunity for nicer weather, relaxation, fun in the sun and a chance to see Skyler, our 8 year old grandson. On Monday we headed to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.  We both enjoyed spending time reading the history of Reagan’s presidency, and his personal life.  He is buried on the grounds also, just a few yards outside the building.  The Republican Debates had been held there the previous month so it was interesting to see and hear how they set that up on the upper level of the Library.    

Monday evening we went to Bob’s Big Boy, always a must when we are in town. 

Tuesday morning we checked out of our hotel and headed to Universal City where the first conference was to be held.  We checked into the Universal Hilton.  Doug had a meeting early afternoon so I had time to myself.   Of course I headed to the pool.   Later, I went over to the Universal CityWalk to check it out.   It is located next to Universal Studios, and has shops and restaurants, live entertainment, etc.   It's a fun place to check out.

On Wednesday I took a drive to Hollywood and walked around the Walk of Fame and the Grauman's Chinese Theatre.  There was an IMAX showing the movie “The Wire” in 3d so I stayed for that.  I loved the film, and seeing it in 3D was awesome.    That evening Doug and I went back to Universal CityWalk for dinner at Tony Roma's (another fav which is no longer in Washington).

Thursday I drove up to Griffith Park Observatory.  It is located in Griffith Park, on beautiful grounds, with beautiful views of  a hills all around.  You can see the famed "Hollywood" sign while there. The only thing making it better would be to come in the evening or during a special astronomical event.  That evening the conference social event was a Universal Backstage tour with dinner. They took us on the tram around the lot and through several of the special effects areas including  "Fast and Furious Super Charged" and "Jurassic Park".  Then we ended up at one of the private party rooms on the site for a catered dinner and their annual awards ceremony.

Friday morning we checked out of the hotel and started our drive to Anaheim for the second conference.  We met up with Bev Thornton at a Denny’s for breakfast that was along the way.  We checked into the Embassy Suites in Anaheim and I left to go pick up Skyler at his house in Trabuco Canyon.  Once we got back to the hotel Skyler and I went swimming, rested a little, then we went to Downtown Disney.  There were a lot of people, but it was fun to walk through the area. Skyler made his own remote control race car at Ridemakerz , then we ate dinner at the Rain Forest Café which Skyler had never been to.  We had a lot of fun and both were tired once we made it back to the hotel.  

Saturday Skyler and I went to the Discovery Cube ScienceCenter.  What a great place for an 8 year old!  There were lots of interactive things to do, including the dinosaur fossil find area, a wind tunnel, the Nascar race car section, and because it was close to Halloween there was a spook house.

That evening the conference social event was Pirate's DinnerAdventure.  We had a lot of fun watching the interactive show which included dinner.  

Sunday was time to go home.   After checking out we took Skyler to Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour, then headed to the airport.  We met up with Heather at a Starbucks close to the airport, and were able to meet Patrick for the first time.    Hugs and kisses goodbye, and we were on our way home.