_
29 November 2010

The Thanksgiving dinner we sat down to last Thursday evening, was by far “THE BEST” meal we’ve ever had that Louise didn’t make for us.  Yes, it was a turkey dinner and with dressing too, but that’s far from the end of the tale.  You know the pictures that you see on TV or in the magazines were the Chef has produced one of the most incredible sculptures of delectable foods; well that’s just what we received for our dinner.  From the appetizer to the desert, all was amazing…

The rest of the week was taken up with things like a drive to a very small village high up the side of the mountain.  The dirt road that we traveled for 6 miles should have told us that maybe this drive just wasn’t worth it, but then what if it were?  Well the secret is out…we wasted our time and our gas.  Yes, there is a village, and there are people living there, but the question is “why”???  We also continued with our morning exercising (bike rides, water volleyball, aerobics, etc…), Sunday hamburger night, and Tuesday margarita night at the palapa overlooking the beach.

_I also played a round of golf last Thursday.  We played “Best Ball” and fortunately our team came in second….we were back in the money ($25 pesos).  Following the 18th we were entertained by a small dance group while we enjoyed another breakfast.

_We also installed a new TV receiver box in the coach.

_It’s amazing, but the Canadians have StarChoice Satellite which they can watch their TV programs from Canada to deep Mexico, but the systems that we have available from the states will only let us view our programs from border to border…not outside of it.  Well I’ve got friends down here…we were given one of their extra receivers and can now watch the “network” programs from Seattle and all the other channels including HBO and sports. 

_
Happy Thanksgiving !!!

Happy Birthday Amy !!!

Unfortunately last week I was suffering with a head cold, but as of this morning I made the announcement that it was “all over”…  I’ve had two continuous nights of great sleep and this morning I had one of my best bike rides yet. 

_Boy things are goooodddd !!!  Sol, Carol, George, Liz, Louise and I volunteered to head up the “Hamburger Sunday Night” event until the “regular” crew arrives the first of January.  Well this last Sunday was our first gathering.  The park isn’t up to full by any means, but we still have 35 to 36 rv’s here to pull from and I think we received better than 95% of their participation.  Sales were brisk on the hamburgers and brocks, and the margarita and beer sales were amazing…

_Here it is Wednesday already and we’re starting to gear up for next Sunday.  Last night we all gathered at the “Palapa” for appies (which everyone brought from home) and free margaritas.  I must say that the food was amazing and the margarita’s… well there’s not much I can say about them except, “is there a cut off point????”.  When I asked that question Louise spoke up and said the last one that I had was the “cut-off point” for me.  It’s nice to be married to a woman that cares.  A couple of days ago, Carol and Sol joined us and went over to Rincon Guayobitas for lunch.  There is this restaurant that we went to last year that we wanted to go back too.  Well the ole saying that “you can’t go back” really had meaning to our visit and lunch…”WE WONT GO BACK” again !!!  Sad as business is here, it sure was a disappointment that they didn’t even try for decent meal.  The only positive that came out of our visit to the restaurant was the opportunity to watch the different beach vendors selling their wares along the beach.

_
17 November 2010

Well we’ve been here at our destination now for 5 days.  What was our destination???...La Penita.  Yes, we were here last year as well.  Fact is we were here twice last year.  The first time was from the 6th of December to the 6th of January and then again in mid March for another month.  First it took us a couple of days to get assigned our site, (which we have a “Primo” location sitting directly above the sand and sea of the Pacific Ocean)

_and then it’s taken us 3 more days to get used to it (as I sit here typing while listening to the waves crash below me).  I’m still unpacking, setting up, and washing the coach, but that all takes time.  We also need some time to PLAY !!!  Personally I’ve been in the pool to play water volleyball, ride my bike with George (Sol and some others here in the park will be joining us in the next week or so), past the town of La Penita, Rincon de Guayabitos, and Los Ayala (this takes just over an hour and covers about 18 miles).  Then I walk the stairs from the upper park to the beach 5 times each way, about 60 steps up and 60 down…  then Louise wants to head into town to do some shopping.  Now I’m not complaining or bragging but I just want to get rid of this middle that I brought with me this year.  Louise has been working out as well but staying off the bike.  She just doesn’t feel comfortable riding, especially on the streets.  She’s chosen to walk the soft sand of the beach

_and work out with the group from the campground doing aerobics.   Sol and Carol received some close friends here yesterday.  John and Kay are close friends of Sol and Carol from Steamboat Springs.

_They are here for a week in their condo in Puerto Vallarta.  Yesterday they drove up and we all went up to Chacala for lunch and a little R&R.  Then Sol and Carol joined them for a couple of days back at their condo.  Oh yea, I bought myself a hammock from one of the beach vendors…  I can’t wait to get it up.  From the first day that we decided to return here I decided I wanted my hammock.

_
12 November 2010

Sol and Carol joined Louise and me for a day’s outing.  We drove out of Mazatlan heading south for about 20 miles and then headed due east and up into the mountains.  Hwy 40 was one of those two lane roads that are pushed from the sides with thick brush that want to take over.  Our drive took place because of a flyer/map that was left for us at the campground.  It advertized this restaurant that sits in this amazing little mining village high in the mountains and specializes in great food topped off with BANANA COCONUT CREAM PIE !!!  Well who among us can pass up such an ad???  That’s right, and we were the first to head off to check this out.  Our first town that we came to was Concordia.

_Concordia is known for mining also but has another specialty as well…furniture.  Prior to the city limits of town we started to see these little furniture showroom/manufacturing buildings.  Most of them had chairs of all description lining the front of the open-air buildings and others just sat alongside the roadway waiting for someone to stop by and make the purchase of their choice.

_Concordia is a small town/village that has a wonderful and used central plaza.  As usual, the church sits across the street and looks over the plaza and the centrally located gazebo.  Lining all four sides of the plaza we found one bench after another and just about every one of them was occupied.  The men of the town find this location as the gathering place to talk of the past and the future of Concordia and themselves.  Well with our appetite growing for that Banana Coconut Cream Pie, we ventured off another 20 miles to Copala.  We would have missed Copala if it weren’t for Carol’s keen eyes…  The turn-off to Copala wasn’t marked very well and even if it had been, I kind of doubted that it was the place to turn anyway.  Believe me, it didn’t look like a place to turn to a town or a village that was to represent so much (according to the literature we had anyway…).  This was one of those totally hand-laid cobblestone roads that can and will beat the hell out of your car, bus, or truck.  There was no visible sign of a town here or ahead, but we continued anyway.  Finally we entered into what looked like the beginning of town

_but later we found out that it was “town”…  the “commercial” buildings didn’t look like businesses but like everyday small “casa’s” (homes).  You would have to know who was representing the bakery, groceries, veggies, or what-ever and then knock on their door to make your purchase.  The only exceptions were a couple of restaurants and an “artists” gallery next to the church

_that opened their doors to the tourist (those of us that ventured out this far…).

_Fortunately for the people and businesses of Copala, someone went out and made a deal with the cruise ships and every time one of them makes port at Puerto Vallarta a group boards a bus and heads for lunch with Coconut Cream Pie

_and shopping at a “Mountain Village called Copala”.  

_10 November 2010 What a regiment, what a regiment…  Sol and George have DRUG me out of bed so that I ride my bike 10 miles with them each and every morning at 8am.  Now I’m not complaining (much) but my bike isn’t as fast (or is it just me…) as they are and I don’t have the “experience” that they have.  Sounds like I’m complaining doesn’t it, well I know how good this is for me so I’ll just keep it to myself (and now the whole internet world) and suffer through the winter and get “healthy”.  Ya right, “amigo, una mos Pacifico por favor”… 

Our campground is called “Trailer Park Punta Cerritos”

_and is located at the end of this peninsula called Cerritos.  The Pacific Ocean is 50 yards in front of the coach and we have some pretty good restaurants located all along one of the walls of the park.  The buses are constantly waiting for us outside the gate to step aboard and take us into downtown Mazatlan or thousands of stops before and after.  Louise joined Carol and 16 other ladies and rode into town yesterday and spent the afternoon shopping.  They also found (what she was telling me…) a GREAT little Mexican eatery.  The food was SOOOOO good.  I hope to get there myself soon but time is getting away from us.  We leave here for La Penita on Saturday so I’d better hurry.  After my bike ride today, Louise and I drove into “Old Town” Mazatlan.  We haven’t been to see the commercial market yet and we also wanted to visit the cathedral.

_To get to Old Town we had to follow the Malecon (the boardwalk alongside the Pacific) for miles.  It is a beautiful sight, busy with millions of people, cars, buses and small trucks, but still beautiful.  It wasn’t until we turned off the Malecon that we really got into stop and go traffic.  All of a sudden we were on a single lane roadway with car to car parking (filled) on both sides of us and hundreds of cars and busses in front of us…STOPPED.  This being our first time in town I was caught a little off guard.  Now what about parking for us???   Finally we got to the corner were the cathedral is but in front of us was a very sober faced policeman.  It seems that of all the days to come into town we were joined by hundreds of demonstrators and they chose the area around the cathedral to demonstrate.  Sooo, we had to move away from the crowd and HOPE to find a small slot to slide the car into.  Finally about 4 blocks away we found just that spot.  Then it was just a walk back to the church.  This cathedral was first constructed in the early 1700’s with these magnificent rosettes

_winding throughout the building.  It wasn’t one of most spectacular we’ve ever laid our eyes on, but it was very nice.  Following our tour through the cathedral we moved across the street and into the market.  I was impressed with how clean it was

_and the quality of the foods that they offered.  I was hoping to find a small place inside to eat lunch at and I wasn’t disappointed.  When we first saw it we knew it was “the place”.  There wasn’t a seat left and people were standing and reaching for whatever they could get their hands on.  Well I wasn’t that hungry yet, but we did make it back to enjoy some amazing “ceviche”, and all the while sitting on a stool alongside the counter.  We didn’t just go to eat, we also went back to the coach with a half kilo of smoked marlin, a whole red snapper, more ceviche, a kilo of shrimp, and some veggies…all for less than $15.00…try that at the Pike Place Market.

_
6 November 2010

George and Lis pulled out of Edger and Ana’s place about 15 minutes before us but as we traveled south from Santa Ana we came up to them off and on while someone was stopped for fuel or eating.  As the day came to an end they had arrived at the Pemex truck stop for the night about that same 15 minute lead they started out with.  Our campsite for the night was at the back of this Pemex fuel station along with 40 or 50 long-haul truckers.  We were all parked on this silty dirt parking lot that was all fenced in for security purposes.  If you were to keep your windows and vents closed you would have no problem with dust, but…on the other hand if you have one or two open during this very warm evening…  Yep, we had some of that fine Mexican dust around for a couple of hours or so.  With this stop we are now just over half way to Mazatlan and expect to arrive about 3 or 4pm at our campground in Punta Cerritos.  Punta Cerritos is about 4 miles north of downtown Mazatlan and sits at the end of a point overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  During the drive down here we experienced a lot of controlled fires were they are cleaning off the grasses along the roadway.  In one location we found ourselves so engulfed in the smoke that you couldn’t see the vehicles that were 20 feet in front of you.  The last thing I saw of this 18 wheeler was his hitting his brakes !!!  That was one scary moment in our lives.  It happened so fast you didn’t have a chance to think, it just happened.  We did some quick praying that all was well in front of us.  Fortunately it was. 

_
5 November 2010

We read from those who crossed before us that “just after you get the “Green or Red” lights at the Mexican border, you had better watch the “angled” topes that await the unexpected…  Well we saw them and rendered ourselves to SLOW.  Now I must say that even getting that report AND going as slow as we could (with foot on the brake the whole way) the coach swayed back and forth so much that the cabinet doors burst open and through dishes and boxes all over the place.  If we hadn’t had the pantry door so securely strapped shut, the whole thing would be on top of the dishes…DAMN !!!  If it weren’t for that damn angle we would have had no problem.  I know that some have had broken dishes from one end of the coach to the other because of those topes, we were one of the luckier ones.  OK, now let’s get the heck out of sight of this border and get down the road 20km to get our visa’s and import papers taken care of…  This NORMALLY isn’t a big deal but this time…  well it seems that Sol has his truck and 5th wheel licensed in Montana through an LLC.  Now that in its self isn’t a big deal, in fact it is a big deal savings for those that want to take advantage of the tax benefits that are available by licensing your vehicles in Montana.  We soon found out that you must have a signed and dated letter on company stationery stating that you have permission to take the vehicles across the borders and into Mexico.  NO EXCEPTIONS !!!  Even if Sol is the president and CEO or this LLC, the letter has to have been written PRIOR to entering into Mexico.  Welllll, I got out the computer and printer and started taking dictation from Sol, we get this taken care of…  The first draft didn’t work because we didn’t get that damn “date” on, so we started another.  Just about the time that I got it done Carol found a paper she didn’t know existed…a signed and dated letter on letterhead that they had for the last time they crossed.  That was just a 2 ½ hour delay…  Hell, we’re in no hurry anyway.  About 2 hours later we were pulling into Santa Ana and our campground that is run by Ana and Edgar.  We also met George and Lis and two of their rv’n buddies that we’re going to travel with to Mazatlan. 

_1 – 4 November 2010 Our stay in Casa Grande was a busy one…  Not only did we have the opportunity to see and enjoy old and new acquaintances, we drove up to Phoenix for a Costco and Trader Joe’s shopping experience and down to Tucson.  In Tucson we were checking out Camping World and looking for a place to take the coach for that transmission radiator leak.  It seems that a place called WW Williams is that place so we’ll see them early Monday morning.  So Sunday we pulled away from Casa Grande and headed to Tucson and waited for the arrival of Sol and Carol in the afternoon.  WW Williams also offered us electrical hook-ups so that if we needed to run our air-conditioners we would have them…pretty nice of them.  As it turned out, when Sol and Carol arrived, they decided to have their truck serviced here so that they don’t have to search all over town for someone else, and besides Sol thought the price was right.  Well as it turned out, the fitting that went into the transmission radiator wasn’t the only problem…the weld that the fitting goes into cracked.  They had to take the cooler off and send it to Phoenix to be re-welded…

_all that, 3 nights stay, and we’re finally underway less $740…easy come???-easy go !!!  Well we had “Free Hook-ups” .  On the 4th we left Tucson and headed a little further (15 miles) down Hwy 19 the the Desert Diamond Casino for a night.  Boy, as far as the parking lot for RV’s, it was almost vacant…  With that being said, the gaming rooms were pretty busy.  For me that meant I had a happy wife, and I had some time to practice my flute…please don’t laugh !!!  Fortunately Lou did came back with a few dollars ahead so all was GOOD !!!  In the morning we head for the border and Nogales, Mexico…