Vacation Ends - Part 4

Sunny days and cool nights! The Baja is a lot cooler in Feb. than some of our other places that we've been!

We actually did get off our loungers one day and took a short hike - I really enjoy seeing all the large cacti but none were in bloom this time of year! One of the strangest sights we saw while on the hike were 2 beautiful tennis courts, out in the middle of nowhere!! We later found out that there are 3 different sets of courts in the area - all belonging to a tennis club of people that live in the area! I just didn't think there were THAT many people in this little town!

One night we gave Jay the night off from cooking and walked down by the water to eat at a cute little place called La Palapa - the drinks were excellent and the food was OK - at least my shrimp was good! We ate at this particular place because when we were at the Melia in Cabo, Glenn started talking to one of the valet guys (who helped him find a place to freeze all the fish they caught) and Glenn mentioned we were going to Cabo Pulmo - well, it seems his cousin ran a restaurant by the water so of course that's where we ended up eating at and met the cousin (who spoke no English and probably didn't understand a word that Glenn said!) but his wife spoke very fluent English and we visited with her - small world!

We also took a tour of the little town (didn't take long) and there was one little gift shop that we stopped in and enjoyed talking with the owner of how she moved there and lived in a tent on the beach for a long time before getting a home - I really enjoy talking to the different people and hearing their "stories". Cabo Pulmo is a great place to dive as there is a reef so there are actually 3 dive shops in town! But other than that, it's pretty sparse except for 4 restaurants.

Our evenings were spent listening to music, talking and playing cards! Between the Iowa card rules and the Michigan card rules, we had quite the games!!

But all good things come to an end and before we knew it, it was time to head back to the airport in Cabo! Check-in was quite interesting - Glenn had NOT brought a hard-sided cooler and only had the styrofoam cooler to take the fish home in. Of course that didn't fly but Glenn didn't give up - after 1/2 hour of discussion and different scenarios, we ended up throwing most of the clothes out one of the suitcases into a garbage bag (which we carried on) and putting the wrapped frozen fish in plastic bags and wrapped in beach towels INTO the suitcase! It was still frozen when we arrived in Denver so at least the plan worked!

So until next year when we head to Cozumel, we'll keep our Cabo memories in our minds and our pictures close by to remind us of our wonderful time!

Cabo Pulmo - Part 3

After 4 days and nights at the Melia Real, Glenn and I, Patty and Leonard, and Teri and Jay headed up the coast to Cabo Pulmo for 4 more nights! But first came renting a van and getting groceries (there is only a very small and extremely limited grocery store in Cabo Pulmo).

Renting a vehicle in Mexico - Glenn and I have done this before and it usually is quite a hassle - even though I reserve in advance, they NEVER seem to have the car ready and it's hard to understand what exactly you are SIGNING on the paperwork! But this time was different!! Yes, the car was basically ready and didn't take long to prep! AND with Glenn doing the bargaining with a nice guy OUTSIDE of the sales office, they made a nice little under the table deal and we got the van at a cheaper price than we were quoted!

SO the 6 of us pile all of our luggage into this "not really too big" van and we head to the "Mega Mart" to go grocery shopping! Even though we basically knew what we would be cooking for the next 4 days, it still took quite a while to buy all the groceries, along with the wine, beer and hard liquor! But having it all available in one spot was nice! It was a little tight getting it all in the van but we managed and were soon on our way!

With Glenn driving and Teri reading maps, we made the journey in about 1 1/2 hours! I might note at this point that the last 10 miles were on a dirt road, which I knew in advance! What I didn't know was how BAD the road would be!

We arrived at the Baja Bungalows in this tiny town mid-afternoon and were met by our hosts who happened to be from Colorado - in fact, a LOT of the people in this tiny town were from Colorado!

Glenn and I stayed on the top 1/2 of the "Main House" and the other 4 stayed in the newer 2 story home with 1 couple on each level! Since Jay had offered to play "chef", we unloaded all the groceries into their place!

The places were large and airy and I loved ours which had windows all the way around! Great views!!

Patty and Leonard also had great views from their upper place and a great patio which is where we ended up sunbathing most of the time! The scenary was interesting with lots of cactus against a mountain backdrop and then the ocean in the other direction!

Unfortunately, the wind blows a lot (and I mean a LOT) on this side of the Baja and the 4 days we were there was no exception! We tried to go to the beach that first full day as it was just a 5 minute walk but the wind was just too strong so we ended up back on the patio - no big deal - we were happy just to relax and read and grab as much sun as we could!!

The next day Glenn drove us to another beach called Los Frailes where he had been fishing the day before - it wasn't nearly as windy there and the beach and sand were beautiful! A lot of the beaches have a lot of rocks as the current coming in is so strong that any seashells that are around, are crushed! Beach shoes were a must for walking!

We did find the little grocery store and I was SO HAPPY to see that they sold fresh flour tortillas! I could live on those - just heat one up a little bit and spread some jam on it and oh my, it is SO GOOD!! Of course we didn't have jam, but Jay fixed all kinds of yummy stuff to put in them for our taco lunches - fish and chicken and sausage and all kinds of veggies! He's a wonderful cook!!

To be continued......................

Shopping and Sightseeing - Cabo, Part 2

It's just not vacation unless you include a little bit of shopping and sightseeing!

Jay and us 4 girls hopped in a taxi one afternoon and headed to downtown Cabo - we strolled along the marina for a while, checked out the markets and actually FOUND what we were looking for!! Patty, Teri and Jay thought they lost Brenda and I at one point - the two of us were way back in this market stall, looking at Christmas ornaments - it took me a while to decide which one I wanted to buy for my tree next year but I found a cute one!!

Since Glenn had left his only jacket in the fishing boat (not a great loss) I decided to buy him another jacket and of course found a cute one for myself too! Vanilla is ALWAYS on the list when we go to Mexico which is usually pretty easy to find!

After a TOUGH afternoon of shopping (bargaining is so much fun!) Jay treated us to drinks at the famous Cabo Wabo bar - I can't say I was impressed with the place but it's always fun to "namedrop" when you've been somewhere famous!

Our sightseeing for the evening was a sunset cruise to see the famous "arch", Lovers Beach and the sunset from the boat! All 8 of us climbed aboard a huge boat that served endless drinks and a not too bad buffet!

We enjoyed just cruising around and seeing the sights! Also on board were the Senior Citizens (won't be long until WE will be classified as those) that belonged to the "Airstream Club". They were camping up and down the Baja and we enjoyed visiting with some of them!

After our boat ride, we all went to Cabo Wabo so the guys could scope out the place - but alas, 10:00 came and you guessed it, we were ready for bed!

Is it really over? Cabo - Part 1

Cabo - where the desert meets the sea - where the mountains meet the desert!



Yes, we're back from our trip and yes, it was WONDERFUL!! Most vacations are I guess - just the chance to get away from work and worries for a while and get some rest and relaxation under your belt!

Glenn and I along with my siblings, Patty, Teri and Jim and all of their spouses flew to Cabo and stayed at the Melia Real All-Inclusive for 4 nights! It's always exciting for the 8 of us to meet with 2 couples flying in from Iowa and one from Michigan!


With weather being what it usually is in February, we were amazed that we ALL made it to the resort on Friday afternoon! Our rooms were great - just a few steps out to the amazing pool!

One of the nicest things about an all-inclusive is just walking over to the snack bar and grabbing something to eat or climbing out of the beach chair up to the bar to order a drink - we discovered the strawberry/banana smoothies were great!

The "girls" spent many hours just reading by the pool and relaxing - after all, that's why we take vacations!! Glenn and Jim went deep sea fishing one day and caught enough fish to not only feed the 8 of us at the resort for lunch one day, but also lots to take on to the next 4 nights up the coast!

The resort was beautiful - lots of gorgeous vegetation - and the beach below was amazing! If we weren't sitting by the pool, we were down on the beach!

We always enjoy dress up night when we make the reservations for the "specialty" restaurant! The food was excellent and it was very romantic to sit outside at the restaurant!

Evenings were spent either dancing, sitting around the fire pit, going to the beach party or listening to some really bad people sing karoke!! I haven't laughed that much in a long time! And the days just flew by............................

We're Cabo Bound!

The clothes are packed, the passports are out of the lockbox, light-weight jackets are laid out, and we've both done a little tanning - it MUST be time for vacation!!

So grab those suitcases and let's head to Denver after work to catch that early morning flight to Mexico! The beach is calling!!

It's A .....................

Jill and Robby are excited to announce that after the ultrasound last Friday, their little baby is a GIRL!! We're all very happy that another little girl will join our growing family next summer!

And speaking of summer, Jill's due date was off by a couple of weeks so the NEW due date is July 10th!! Gosh, another July birthday! Jessi's birthday is the 10th and Jill's AND mine is the 13th - wouldn't that be something if she makes it a triple birthday on the 13th! All we can do is wait and see..................

It's a "Packing" Weekend

I can't believe it's already Sunday late afternoon and the weekend is ALMOST gone! Maybe we should go to a 3 day weekend - surely THEN I could get everything done that I need to do!

Jessi and the kiddos were waiting at our house when I got there and not far behind were Jaime, Brad and the kids - yes, a full house for the night! Papa Murphy's Pizza was on the menu along with some peach dacquiris so we had a fun evening!!

Mackenzie is smiling and growing like a weed!!

I love this photo of the 3 kids watching the little TV in the kitchen! Kylan isn't very happy with what he's watching but the other 2 are GLUED to whatever is on!

Today is Sunday and it's packing day - we're leaving on vacation Friday morning so today was the best day to get everything laid out and ready to pack on Wed. night since we head to Denver after work on Thursday!

WHY OH WHY does it take SO LONG to pack? Gosh, you would think you could just throw a swimsuit and some shorts and tops into the bag and you're ready to go - nope, doesn't happen that way!! First of all, I have to try everything on (just to make sure it STILL fits!) And to color coordinate the outfits! And then if it's chilly, you must have something long-sleeved and of course you need different sandles for different outfits - the list is endless!!

Now the guys have it easy - throw in a pair of jeans, 3 pairs of shorts, a shirt for each day and a pair of sandles and you're done! And guys don't have to try everything on either because if it doesn't fit quite right NOBODY NOTICES!!!

SO I've spent the entire afternoon wading through the summer clothes and picking out what I want to take, redoing my makeup bag, picking out my books to read on vacation, and packing the appropriate passports, maps, paperwork, etc.

I'm done for the day - all this ahead of time packing has exhausted me!!

And the hula hoop bites the dust......

I found out this morning what is inside my hula hoop!! As I was doing my morning exercises which includes hula hooping to 2 songs, I could hear a swishing sound from the hula hoop that I hadn't noticed before - of course I have my music up pretty loud so maybe I had just never heard this noise until today!

But I happened to glance at the floor over by the bar stools and it was sprayed with liquid - and about that same time my hula hoop fell to the floor and I realized what had happened! The hula hoop had actually started splitting in two as it was going round and round and whatever type of liquid is inside (hopefully just water) just kept spraying and spraying as it's going round and round! Finally, it actually breaks in two! Gosh, I didn't even make it to the 2nd song!

Guess it's time to buy a new hula hoop!

Just Plain WEIRD!

This is one of those "stranger than fiction" stories!

When our friends were over the other night and we decided to play the quarter game, I went into Glenn's office where he keeps a large, heavy glass jug that he uses to put his change in! Whenever we need change for the car wash or the tolls up in Denver, we dump some change out on the floor and get what we need!

So as I'm dumping some change out of the small hole at the top, I notice something that is NOT a coin - of course I didn't have my glasses on but I picked it up, thinking it was some weird part to a blind (Glenn is always doing blind repairs so has lots of strange looking parts in that office) - it wasn't - and you'll never believe what it was!! It was Glenn's wedding band! Now that might not sound too strange to you but you must know that Glenn's ring has been lost for probably 10 to 12 years!!!!!!

Glenn took his wedding band off when he started doing a lot of mechanic work out of the garage at our old house - he was always afraid of catching it on something and tearing his finger off! He placed it in a wooden, manly looking jewelry box that used to sit on our headboard in our bedroom. I remember him looking through this box many years ago and telling me his wedding ring was NOT in there and did I know where it was? Of course I didn't - we really believed someone that was in the house stole it as we were missing not only the ring but some money at that time.

But the even stranger thing is that the JUG HAS BEEN EMPTIED SINCE HE LOST THE RING! Glenn always said the money was to be saved for vacation and one year, again several years ago, we were really short of money when it was time to vacation so I emptied the jug and took all the change into our local bank in exchange for paper money!

So where did the ring come from??? We haven't a clue -all we know is that it is back on Glenn's finger (well, partially on - his knuckle seems to have grown a little bit!) and he is overjoyed at wearing his wedding band once again! Some things are just better left unknown...............

Super Bowl 2009

No, I didn't watch the game! In fact, I didn't even see the commercials this year but that's OK - I heard none of them were fantastic and I can watch them on the computer if I choose to!

We had 2 couples over so the women opted to relax in the hot tub for a LONG, LONG time - it felt wonderful since on Saturday, Glenn and I worked on the construction/wood pile (he used the chain saw for about 3 1/2 hours and I hauled the pieces and stacked them under the deck for 3 1/2 hours - I was hurting BAD by Sat. night!!)

And the rest of the time was spent in the kitchen, snacking on food! One of my favorite pasttimes! Since my last blog was my cooking rut one, I thought I better let you know how my "new" food items turned out!

Saturday night we had company for dinner too so I tried a NEW recipe, pulled out of my accordian file folder - it was just an appetizer but hey, that's a start! I made stuffed mushrooms and oh my, they were WONDERFUL!! I fixed a few for Sat. night and the rest for Sunday afternoon - and yes, they were indeed a hit!

I also made a double batch of the "Cereal Bars", recipe courtesy of Jill and they turned out wonderful! Luckily, there are about 4 left in the pan so I can have another one when I get home tonight! Next on the list were 2 of Jessi's recipes, chile and crunchy coleslaw! I made a double batch of the chile and it received rave reviews - plenty left to freeze some for another meal so that makes me happy! And the crunchy coleslaw??? It was divine! I brought some for lunch today and I'm hoping Glenn didn't eat the rest for lunch so I can have some more! All 4 "new" recipes are going into my personal recipe book!

So a lot of time was spent in the kitchen over the weekend but I felt "good" that all the food turned out the way it did! And maybe, just maybe, I'll pull out a new recipe to use for dinner this week!