Christmas 2010

Sometimes people worry about us "without a home" during the Christmas Season. Rest assured we are quite content in our home on wheels and we do decorate and we celebrate. This is is our Christmas Photo Album 2010.

The house is decorated and the cards are hung.

Bobbi and David, Minnesota Snowbirds, joined us for our Christmas Brunch.

After which, there were presents

complete with figuring out...

and trying on...

and finding just the right spot for... This beautiful hammered steel cross, which David and Bobbi gave us, looks great with the manger scene and we love it. It stands about 10 inches high and the cross is made of one piece of steel - a truly magnificent work of art for your home!

And there was heaps of wrapping paper

and arguments over games.

I'd say it was a pretty typical Christmas ... and you couldn't beat the setting. I hope each of you had a wonderful, if not warm and sunny, Christmas Day.

And now we are looking forward to having Suz here to welcome in the New Year.

The Family Name Continues

On December 19, 2010, our family welcomed its newest member. Aiden Michael weighed in at 8 pounds and was 21 inches long when he arrived. Here he is resting with his mom, Sara.

With this birth, the family name is now four generations strong; I can't wait till this summer to get pictures of the four "men". Until then, you will be seeing pictures that have been forwarded to us. Here he is with his proud Grandpa Terry.

And this picture arrived just yesterday and it is my favorite as you can see Aiden's face so clearly.

Congratulations Chris and Sara and welcome to the family, Aiden.

Cruisin' The Mexican Riviera Part IV

When we left Mazatlan behind, we shipped out to Puerto Vallarta. When I was booking shore excursions, I thought we really needed a well rounded Mexican experience so I reserved "A Tour of Tequila Factories - Old and New". This tour came complete with tastings so I thought there was no way we could go wrong. It did turn out to be a very fine tour but because of the tour guide, not the tequila factories.

I must say I was surprised at our first stop; having a church at a tequila factory just didn't mesh in my mind. But why not, the natives feel pretty passionate about both!

Inside a very old family Bible with fresh roses as a book mark.

It seemed to be a simple family chapel although the outside seemed much bigger.
Because this was the new factory, we didn't waste alot of time talking about the distilling process and got right to the tasting. Each of us was given a small plastic shot glass and the tequilas were poured while the the guide talked about that particular type of hooch. After the first, Mike was asking for "Paquito" (little bit). The last three shots were peach, almond and chocolate - they were by far the best and later we were told they sold for$50, $60 and $70 respectively - not in my world were they worth that kind of money. We noticed that not many on the busload purchased.
Mike ate a couple of tacos and a Coke at this stop - Real Mexican Taco Bell according to the the sign... The food didn't set real well with Mike...

After about an hour, we left the tequila factory and boarded the bus to battle the country traffic.. Everywhere, people selling what they have to sell. These are typical roadside scenes. Our guide told us that before tourism became so big, this area raised mangoes and agave for tequila. Now the mango groves are gone and there is little work unless you work "meeting the needs of tourists". We were about 20 -25 miles outside of Puerto Vallarta. Our guide lived in this area as it was too expensive to live closer to town.

When we got to the old tequila factory, it was down an alley and what impressed me immediately was the pineapple palm tree; I had never seen one before. They grow in this area because it is so close to the Tropic of Cancer that it is almost tropical.

At this old factory, our guide told us more about how the agave is roasted and prepared. Here Mike, with margarita in hand, inspects the trunk of the agave plant and below is what it looks like close up.

After roasting, it is "beat to a pulp" and run many times through a shredder and squeezer to get the juice out before being filtered and distilled.

Open air vats... the bees were buzzin'

The tequila in this factory was as bad as the last place. But, hey, for free I drank a few shots anyway. I also sampled a couple of tacos and they were good although we have determined that Mexico must not have any regulations for food preparation.

When we left this factory, we headed into town. When we approached the harbor, I was impressed by the sand sculptures. Evidently talented people in the community make these detailed works of art almost daily as often the tide or waves come in and destroys their work. (This picture was taken from a bus - sorry about the post in the middle of the Pieta.)

They also have metal sculptures, as do most other harbor towns. This is the one for which Puerto Vallarta is famous... unfortunately I have forgotten its name.

I just liked this one.

This tourist town has changed drastically in the last 15 years according to our guide. It is built in and around swampland so you wander over many bridges as you explore the old town area.

And smack dab in the middle of town, we spotted this iguana. He was big and beautifully colored but once again I had to shoot thru bus window so it is not very clear.

Although not very thrilled with the tequila on this tour, we were very satisfied with the quality of the tour and the guide's insight.

Once again, we returned to the ship tired and with new insight into a tourist destination we had frequently heard people mention.

"Been there, done that, no need to return." seems to sum up our vacation to the Mexican Riviera. Unlike some retirees, we do not fear traveling in Mexico neither do we enjoy it. We will continue to go across the border when in Yuma but really have no need to explore the country any further. In my opinion, it is a nation, with a large number of impoverished people, who depends way too heavily on the U. S. and Canadian tourist to thrive, let alone survive.

As for cruising, we may go on a shorter cruise again some time and if we do, we will be smarter about the whole thing... mainly we will take fewer clothes and more money!

Now we are enjoying Christmas week in the Palm Springs area. Our friends, Bobbi and David, arrived today so laughter and good food and card playing is forecast. Speaking of forecasts, the rain is scheduled to leave the area in the next 24 hours; hope the snow "back home" does not interfere with any of your plans.

May you all enjoy a Christmas Blessed with the love of family and friends and the joy that comes from knowing you are a part of God's Family.

Cruisin' The Mexican Riviera Part III

Our port after Cabo San Lucas was La Paz on the east side of the Baja. We had booked a tour of the "historic old town"... what a bust! At the end of the day, when I was boarding the ship, I mentioned to a crew member my displeasure with this port and was told that our cruise was the last Carnival Cruise that was going to stop there. That is a good thing for the tourists, a very bad thing for the village which really seems to need every tourist dollar it can get!

I should have known this stop was going to be a bust when we were greeted by this Mariachi Band - if you know Mike you know how he feels about these guys...

Our first stop was the museum... nothing in English, so I really have no idea what this display was all about and

there was a school tour... actually, not so interesting when you understand nothing. Now I know how some of the kids felt.

We were there for way too long; at least an hour. Our next stop was was a beautiful Cathedral that our guide told us absolutely nothing about.

Thanks to the thoughtful people who put up signs in English, we were able to educate ourselves.

I loved the stained glass in this church and each window was adorned with fresh greens; the whole church smelled wonderful... just like Christmas.

I had never seen this depiction of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

After leaving the Cathedral, we drove around this small village - my hat is off to the driver as those are very narrow roads. Then we stopped at a new market near the bay. I was quite impressed with the trash receptacles - one for organic and one for inorganic. It is bad when the trash cans are of the most memorable things about a town...

There are some new sculptures along the shore, also.

And I love the markets; Christmas time is a great time to travel!

We were really tourists; we had our pictures taken more on this trip than we have had it taken in the last 5 years.

Then we went to a restaurant on the beach where we were served the worst nachos we have ever eaten. Fish Tacos were good and I enjoyed my walk in the Sea of Cortez.

Neither of us enjoyed the constant badgering of people trying to make a living... we couldn't get away from it.

And then finally our non historic tour was over and we were headed pack to the ship. I didn't tell you that in order to get from the port to town, we had to take a bus over a truly "Mexican roadway" and encountered a semi that had tossed it on a turn. Well, on the way back to the ship, a truck hauling concrete did the same thing. Some people never made it to town because of the accidents blocking the roadways. We were not impressed with La Paz.

But the good thing about cruising is the same thing that is good about our motor home lifestyle; if you don't like an area, you don't have to stay there long. So back at the ship, we went up to the Lido deck

and watched as we floated away.

The next morning we were in Mazatlan and ready to go fishin'! Our guide met us at the ship and we traveled by van to the fishing boat. There were five on our boat; the two of us and three other guys - oh and the crew of two.

No, this isn't the boat, but it was attached to the one we took out...

The morning was foggy

which made for nice pictures.

It wasn't long until the "bait boy" got busy.
He sewed the hook in the mouth of the bait fish... never saw that done before.

He had a very fancy tackle box...

but it wasn't long before five lines were in the water. We were about 15 miles out in
the Pacific in International waters and the fog was starting to lift. This kind of fishing was totally new to me; we trolled at different speeds, you don't hold a rod, you just hang out and look for birds... birds tell you where the fish are.

It wasn't long before "FISH ON" and the guys were nice enough to let "The Boss" (me) reel it in! I was told to sit and the pole was stuck in a holder between my legs. Then I was told to reel hard, pull back and lean forward reeling hard until the fish was landed. It was hard work! And it was great fun!

And then the Yellow Fin Tuna was on board. I didn't even know what kind of fish it was. The guys stood back and Mike did his best with the camera and I was just kinda shaking. It was really a cool experience! I was told it weighed about 18 - 20 pounds; all I know is that it was heavy and it was harder reeling it in than I had ever imagined. (I am saying 20 pounds cuz it sounds better.)

I was just relaxing a bit, when another "FISH ON" and it started over for one of our fellow fishermen. This is what his tuna looked like in the water.

He was only too happy to pose for pictures before it went in the fish box. Since we couldn't take the fish back on the ship and since we weren't going to be in port long enough to have it prepared for us to eat, it became "the tip" for the crew to feed their families or sell.

We were all pretty excited by this time since both fish happened within 30 minutes... but as often happens when fishing, that little flurry was all we had. We spent the next 3 hours chasing after birds and trying to find more fish. They just weren't biting. The day had gotten very clear and calm and I think that may have had something to do with it... but hey, want do I know.

BUT, the day was not a waste. With the help of Mike's binoculars, we saw whales and more whales and bigger whales and I got lots and lots of pictures of water cuz it is really tough to get the camera up quick enough when you see the whale through the binoculars. And we saw dolphins and a marlin and sting ray. Mike thinks this is a picture of a sting ray... I guess it could be just about anything... I want it to be a whale...

I did eventually get the traditional picture taken (after the fish died and was easier to handle). And we all had the traditional picture done when we landed.

And then we jumped in the back of a pick up truck - I am not kidding, that really is how we made our way back to the ship. We are agreed that transportation in Mexico would be strictly illegal in the U.S. But we made it back safely and it was a great day. We didn't get to see much of Mazatlan, but oh well, I caught a Tuna!

It is late, so I will do the last cruise post (Part IV) tomorrow.