Party at Crescent Beach

One of our group rented a house in Crescent Beach for a month for their relatives to visit from overseas. They took advantage of this and held a party the last night. It was at the end of Gardiner, where I raised my kids so it felt like old home week for me. The old red barn had a racquetball court in it and the boys used to play there all the time.

Joan's Birthday

We celebrated Joan's birthday tonight at Pool. Karaoke was also going on, so there was lots of action and fun.

Here We Go Again

The Realty World gals came to my place for lunch today and tried out my 'getting famous' Jambalaya. It was a hit and we had a fabulous time as usual. We worked together in the 80's.

Great Weekend

We had a very nice holiday weekend at home. Friday night was our usual Pool fun. Saturday we enjoyed dinner at CJ and
Joan's with fun pool games as well.
Monday Ron went walking with a friend while his wife and I went out to Fort Langley to browse around. She had never been there and we weren't disappointed. We lucked into seeing their May Day Parade and discovered many lovely shops. The best was a Cranberry Shop that had absolutely delicious stuff.
That night we had dinner at another friends which was very good and Bid Euchre cards which great fun.

High School Friends

Nine of our old high school class from St. Ann's Academy, met for lunch today. We just feel so lucky to have friendships that have lasted 58 years. Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

Thou Shalt Not Park

We went out to the kids today for Isaiah's First Communion. It was a very nice occasion and it was great to mingle with the whole family for the afternoon and dinner. My goodness, how all the cousins have grown! I got a kick out of the no parking sign at the church.

Great flight

I had a great flight home Tuesday. Up at 5 a.m. mind you and cabbed to the airport and then flew right out over the ocean and flew up the Bay right past where the condo is. We skirted the edge of Arizona Grand Canyon and saw snow on the Oregon mountains. We went over Mount St.Helen, the volcano and then flew straight over Mt Baker and Crescent Beach, my old home.

Had to go home.

I loved my time with the kids, S and J included and just loved the areas we visited. The colors and flowers of Mexico are riotous and the people are delightful. There is a plaza in the center of every village and the church is right there, open to the outdoors. Six and 1/2 days is definitely not enough.

Sayulita

After visiting the orphanage yesterday, we spent the rest of the day at our favorite beach. It has been so much fun for me to swim with the kids and see their improvement. The waves weren't very large but we still loved the ocean. It was so hot today, you had keep sandals on or you'd burn your feet on the sand. After Hana and I got her homework done, I walked the girls over to the Iguana Tree. This is a protected tree in someone's front yard where we saw 12 iguanas today, some people have seen up to 25. One is about 5 feet long including its tail. Fascinating for the kids.

Casa Hogar

We shopped at WalMart today, filling 3 carts and bought $200 worth of cleaning products, fruits and vegetables and some toys for the children at this Orphanage. This was their request, apparently they get plenty of clothes and toys. After getting lost 3 times and stopping for directions in Spanish we finally arrived. We were very impressed with the staff and loving, caring attitude they had with the children. It was very clean and lunch smelled delicious. We all played together for an hour and enjoyed seeing how protective the kids were with each other.

Mother's Day Dinner - yum, yum

We had another great day in the sunshine and pool. Hana, Suzanne and I lounged on noodles.







Last night, James sent Suzanne and I out for a special Mother's Day Dinner. We went to Mark's Bar and Grill and I believe this was the best dinner I've had in my life. Jan, the owner grew up in New Zealand and learned to cook by taste using everything from her father's garden. She also has a Home
Decoration shop across the street so the restaurant and outside patio where we sat was just delightful. There were 2 special Tasting Dinners. Suzanne started with Watermelon Gazpazcho with Lobster Creme Fraiche, a cold soup while I had a Tomato, Blue Cheese and Walnut Panzanella salad. We'd eat half and then trade. The main course was Seared Salmon with Coriander Risotto, Beets and Red Wine Reduction, Asparagus with fresh lemon dill sauce. The other was Herb Crusted N.Z. Lamb Chops, Roasted Potatoes with Onions and Poblano Chile, Braised Endive and Green Beans, Reduced Natural Lamb Sauce. I started with this and Suz said be sure you leave me my share. Dessert was a Mango Cheesecake and Chocolate Mousse with Whipped Cream. It was probable the best meal I've ever had. The presentation made them almost too good to mess up and eat.

Blue Footed Boobies on Marietas Islands

Today we hired a boat to take us out to this UNESCO protected nature reserve. It was astounding! It's about an hour's ride to the wide array of coral and marine species. Our first sighting was when we went into a large open cave and watched the blue footed boobies and also saw yellow footed ones. It looked so different. Their legs and webbed feet are the color of robin's eggs and sunshine yellow. You will have to look very hard and enlarge the picture to see this. This is the only place other than the Galapagos Islands where you can see them. There were also hundreds of brown pelicans and other birds. The water is the most incredible tourquise blue color. Then we landed on a small beach and crawled through a couple of small caves. They are sculpted out of the coral rock. These small islands are mostly rock and the tops are completely covered in bird dung. Our next stop was outside an arch where we donned snorkels and fins and fell into the water. There were hundreds of fish around us. No fear - they swam right beside you. Suzanne, James, Hana and I snorkeled under the arch into a small beach. There was only about a 4 foot clearance and you had to really swim into the outgoing water and wait for the incoming wave to push you through. There we explored another cave which came out on a different side and the waves rushed through. The whole day was a wonderful experience.

Wonderful Colors

I have always loved the colors in Mexico and all the places we go, we see more. I also find the doors and windows to have the most delightful shapes. There are fresh fruit sellers right on the streets and fellows carrying them down the beach. Delicious.