DISNEYLAND - May 7th, 2009

After months of planning and remembering to keep the secret, we are on our way to Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth, with the two oldest granddaughters. RayAnne will be 11 years in a few days and Lexie will be 9 years in September. This is their surprise birthday present. Of course, Daddy and Mommy are along also. Six of us all going to see Mickey Mouse. The story goes something like this:

A long time ago (sometime in 2008), both granddaughters expressed wishes to spend their birthdays in Disneyland. Hmm, I thought. Not in 2008 but we will see what happens in 2009. In January 2009 I had a bit of a windfall and decided to take the family to Disneyland in May. I checked all the deals and found one that I liked. I sent out the invitation to both of my kids - now adults, married and with children of their own. One family could not join us at this time but my son and his family were all available without conflicts in their busy schedules. We all agreed that we would keep this a secret as long as possible. No one spilled the beans! Can you imagine that?

Zoom ahead to early morning May 7th at the Vancouver Airport. Tony, Angie, RayAnne and Lexie were waiting in the airport for us. The story that had been told to the girls was April and I were going to Calgary and they were coming with us. Both asked me where we were going and I answered Calgary. Once on the plane to LA, the girls got their journals out and Lexie wrote "My trip to Calgary" then she asked me again where we were going so I said "Toronto". Out came the eraser, Calgary is gone from the list and Toronto is there in its place. She then asked why we were going to LA if we were going to Toronto. My answer (and these get lamer as time goes on)... was we had to travel to LA before changing planes to Toronto so we could all get to Calgary. Out came the eraser again. Scratch Toronto and put in LA instead. Has it twigged yet that we are actually going to Disneyland? NO!!

After gathering all our baggage and are standing on the island in the street waiting for our Disneyland Express bus to take us to the hotel, the bus pulls up with the side painted with the words Disneyland Experience and pictures of the fairy castle, all the princesses, Mickey Mouse and a bunch of other characters. Both girls read the side of the bus. No one said a word.

On the bus, about half way to the hotel, Lexie asked me where we were really going. I asked where they would like to be going but neither would take a guess. It was almost like if they said the word Disneyland, it would evaporate and they would not be there..... So I told them. The looks on their little faces were priceless!! From then on, it was indeed, the Happiest Place on Earth!!!

And here are Lexie (L) and RayAnne (R) after they found out where they were really going!!! Tony is just out of the shot..

FLYERS BY THE SEA Puerto Vallarta

Photos should be viewed from bottom to top.

Flyers by the Sea
* When the day gives way to twilight a drum begins to beat, a flute sings along with the waves, and then a dance begins, four men flying in circles celebrating Mother Earth and the power of the sun.

* The Papantla Flyers share their color, tradition and bravery with Vallarta’s visitors in daily ceremonies on the Malecon.
* When the day gives way to twilight a drum begins to beat, a flute sings along with the waves, and then a dance begins, four men flying in circles celebrating Mother Earth and the power of the sun. There’s nothing like a Vallarta sunset on the Malecon for experiencing the seduction of a Mexican icon: the Papantla Flyers, or Voladores de Papantla, who celebrate nature’s four elements (water, fire, earth and air) by flying around a 30-meter pole from ropes wrapped around their legs, heads down, arms open wide.

* Their costumes are colorful, consisting of bead-flowered vests, red cotton pants (the color of their own blood), multihued ribbons symbolizing the colors of the rainbow, and golden embroidey, sparkling like the rays of the sun.
* Originally from Papantla, Veracruz, in the south eastern part of Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico, the flyers are taught to take part in this ritual at an early age. The Totonaca elders in their families pass on the ways of their ancestors to the young, celebrating the fertility and union of God with human beings.
* The ceremony begins with the caporal, or priest, climbing up the pole followed by four men representing the elements. They ascend triangle-like steps swiftly and, after an interlude of music, take flight. The priest continues playing, while jumping in small circles at the top of the pole, while the flyers make their way down, turning 13 times around the revolving structure before they reach the ground.
* Mario, Santiago, Guadalupe, Crisantos and Claudio are miles from home, now in Vallarta to share their culture with the passersby. The weather dictating their schedule, on days with no rain they perform near the Seahorse statue four times each day, with the 8 pm show perhaps the most magical. Written by Amanda Gonzalez Moreno

New Statue on the Malecon

THE WASHER WOMAN, a bronze statue sculpted by Jim Demetro, was installed on the Malecon, in November 2008. It is a gift to the city and the people of Puerto Vallarta by Mr Berry, one of the owners of Molina de Aqua construction project where she is residing. She is a true-life depiction of women living about a kilometer from here on the River Cuale. The artist had this cast at a new foundry in PV, which meant less cost and a lot less distance to transport it from foundry to Malecon.

Dominos Pizza - PV and Surrey

We were walking along the Malecon and stopped to watch the Dominos delivery guys washing their delivery motor bikes. This is a daily ritual. It seemed to us that the Mexicans are manic about washing their vehicles, whether it is a motor bike or a Hummer, it gets washed! In Puerto Vallarta, the sidewalks, the roads, patios, everything gets washed. It is the PV pasttime.
Looks like the guy in the SUV wants to leave so all the bikes must be moved! We did not stay to watch.
Today, driving through Langley, I passed the Dominos Pizza. Not a car in sight and not a water bucket, sponge or hose. Hmmmm.... I wonder if we prefer dirty vehicles???

ANYONE for Red Snapper?

It just does not get any fresher than this. We have been watching this fisherman every morning paddle out to just beyond the rocks in his yellow broken kayak and fish. All he uses is a light fishing line with a hook and he baits it with calamarie. Today his catch was small because there were not the customers waiting to buy red snapper. One person came down to the beach and asked for mussels so out he went again and came back with a whole bucket of them in less than 1/2 hour. I think he said the price was 6 pesos per kilo. So are the red snapper. And he cleans them and they are ready to flip into the pan and fry!

He fishes with one leg hanging over the side of the kayak using it as a rudder to keep the boat in one place. He does all his baiting the line, throwing it in and then hauling in the fish. The bunch here took him about 45 minutes to catch, clean and sell. Not bad for a few minutes work.

LAZY days

Today, some humour in the picture. This is the label on the 4 bottles of Buble !!!! bath. So funny all the spelling mistakes and the grammerical errors. We laugh every time we read something new and see all the translations. Give them credit, they try.....and they cater to the English speaking!!

After saying that we were not going to do anything on Sunday, we ended up setting the alarm and then meeting a friend in PV for coffee and catch up. Such a pleasant way to start the day. Good news was delivered with the tea and coffee.

HACIENDA MOSAICO is now open again and has an awesome lineup of artists ready to teach. Hacienda Mosaico is an artful B & B owned by a great artist herself, Sam Leonard. Many great artists have taught here and many more are on the calendar for the rest of this year and into 2010. Have a look http://www.haciendomosaico.com/ . Prices are reasonable considering you get not only the expertise of these teachers, but accommodation, breakfast and lunch (made by the remarkable chef - Lalo). Sometimes the teachers schedule excursions into PV old town to search for objects to include in your work. It is always fun to be here.

If you would just like a place to atay while you discover Puerto Vallarta, give Sam a call to see what she has available, even if you do not want to take a class. You will not regret your choice!!!!

After our coffee, we continued to explore the Old town, the Municipal Flea Market and several more streets. Along the way, we found some leather pouches, purses and a few more and they are all coming home with us. These are all items we have looked for in Canada but have not found. YAHOO we found them here.

Guess what? We got suckered in by a time share salesman masquarading as a tequila salesman, hawking a place in Neuvo Vallarta. He would not take no for an answer and then asked for a fee to hold our seats at the lecture and sales pitch. I refused to pay the fee to them to waste our time trying to sell us something that we do not want. The carrots he dangled in front of us were tempting but knowing what comes along with it - not so tempting. So, Angela, no pomegranat tequila....

By 3 pm we were weary and decided to head back to the hotel via taxi. Had a nap (isn't that what holidays are for?) and then went to the upstairs restaurant for dinner. A bit of a different menu. We both chose Chicken with a brandied mole sauce with an assortment of local vegetables. It was out of this world.... Two margarita helped with the digestion!!! and they were strong!! I could not feel my nose............

Today, Monday, so far, has been lazy. April is on the beach sunning herself and just resting and reading and i am up in the lobby on the computer.

OOPS!! Hit the send button too soon

You can just see the chair bronze statues in the bottom picture. They are an odd assortment with lots of details and each foot is different as you can see in the first pic.

Today we just sat around the pool sunning ourselves and then having a brief swim and reading. It was delightful, peaceful and just fun to do nothing. Later we got cleaned up and went to a tapas restaurant that my daughter and I went to last year. The food just keeps getting better and better. Hope to make one more trip there before we leave.

After dinner, we walked along Miramas just loving the feel of old Mexico with all the houses, doors and just the people. I will post pictures when I find them on this computer. A lot of the windows and doors do not have any glass because the climate is just so warm all year around. I think I would put in glass if I lived here. In our room, the patio doors, when closed, have a half inch gap that would let the wind just whistle through in the rainy months. This road is supposed to be one way but that is just a suggestion. If you need to go the wrong way, no problem. And if you are going the proper way and decide you want to go the other way instead, just put your vehicle in reverse and drive backwards. I just love the no rules around here.

That's all for now. I will return tomorrow after another perfect day!!

Oh, I forgot to mention that the clamity of the day - I was flossing my teeth and one of my fillings just popped out and into the sink. Luckily it is from the tooth with the root canal. The only thing bothering me is the post is still sticking up and annoying the hell out of my tongue! Will find a dentist on Monday and see what he can do.

And for all of you who knew that April sliced part of her thumb just before we left Canada, it is healing up very nicely. The skin has covered the slice and she no longer needs a bandage, padding and a splint to sleep. Just leave it in the open air and it looks good.

Fooling around on the Malecon

How do like my ears???? Along the Malecon are a number of bronze statues. This is one of them. I am kneeling to place my head at just the right level and the ground is very hard!!!

And here's one for you!!

One Margarita, One Corona and one awesome dessert! at Vitea in PV. We needed a bit of a snack and of course, a little to help wash it down!

Next stop, the Malecon to view two new statues.

this is our little home away from home. Just enough! and cute as can be. See the little fridge? It is NOT filled with Corona! Just a few bottles. There are two restaurants on site and the food is great. Most is Mexican fare with a few Margaritas thrown in for good measure!

Room with a view

Here is another view from our room. It is just so peaceful here.

PUERTO VALLARTA

Here we are standing in the whirlpool tub on our balcony! We are just enjoying a giggle or two and lounging around doing nothing in particular. It is a clear, hot but breezy, sunny day so we thought that we would just do nothing.

We love this town for whatever reasons. It just feels like home. Our residence for the next week and a bit is a quaint little hotel called Playa Conchas Chinas, with only 20 rooms. Ours is just a nice size with a kitchen, private bathroom and the whirlpool tub on the balcony. Who could ask for more.

We are located about 2.5 km from Old Town PV but the bus service is every 10 minutes and costs only 60 cents each way. Can't beat that price. Taxis are only $50 pesos each way so no matter, it is cheap.

The other pic is the view from our balcony. During the day, several children play on the rocks and in the water and their laughter is so beautiful..

Friday we are off to town. More to come so stay tuned!!

Horizons! is just a memory

But it was a fabulous weekend. HORIZONS! was a polymer clay retreat hosted by the Vancouver Polymer Clay Guild at the Park Inn on Broadway. So many excellent teachers and not enough time. I came away with a head of ideas swirling around and now I just want to play.

No time. I am off to Puyallup to the Sewing show on Wednesday, show starts Thursday. And don't forget the shopping !! Lots of shopping. My girlfriend and I have finalized our route and list of places to stop at so it will be a full few days. Looking forward to spending time with my "twin sister born of different mothers eight days apart!" Now figure that one out!

More later with pictures.

After a long absence from writing on our blog, I am back. The other day, April and I had to go into Vancouver for a meeting and discovered we had time afterward to just relax and go for a little drive around Stanley Park. Part way around, we stopped for a walk at Third Beach. It was a lovely sunny day so we sauntered down the beach and I found all sorts of items to photograph, like the rock here. It was bare on one side and had all this green on the north side. It just caught my eye. Looks like a mountain with the tree line.....

The day was so relaxing just listening to the ocean, finding stuff and just walking. With all this we were hungry so headed off to Granville Island and enjoyed a lunch from one of the food kiosks in the main market. This certainly sustained us until

History-Making day

What an awesome day!!!! The inauguration of the first black President of the United States of America...

On Sunday we went to Nanaimo for our family Christmas and gift exchange. It started out as a very grey foggy day but by time we arrived at my daughter's home, the sun was shining and everything was bright and happy. We exchanged all the gifts and helped get turkey dinner ready when Angela let the dogs out the back door and saw this amazing sight. The fog was rolling in at a very fast pace but not too thick. The sun was shining through and this is the beautiful effect. It was just magical.

Our day ended all too soon. We caught the ferry home and fell into bed, very tired but happy we were finally able to have Christmas.

NOTE: Danica is doing better. The pain came back last Friday (Jan 9th). She was rushed to the hospital and the doctors kept her for observation. Now she is much better but still a bit weak and a bit pale. Prognosis is good.

DANICA update Jan 2nd, 2009

Where did 2008 go? Hmmm, it went so fast.

Just a quick update on Danica. She is out of the hospital and doing a great recovery. When she went home, there was a Wii waiting for her and her brother Kristian. Slowly, she started to play and yesterday I am told she was full of energy. Crisis is over, life back to normal...