December 29, 2008. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. First Day.

By now the order is set. We are greeted like family by the young men who run the front desk. They ask about Ken's health, we chat about the past few months, we sign all the forms, get the keys to both the condo and the locker, then come up to get ourselves organized. I unpack the books we have brought while Ken brings all our belongings from the lockers. This is the first time he has done that job, so I guess he is all better now. By 5:20 we are ready to take the shuttle to the Hotel for dinner and to check into our unit. When the kids are all here, we also reserve a one bedroom unit at the hotel for ourselves, and we discovered last year that the TV channels are better at the Hotel, so we just kept it this year, even though neither Family was able to come this year. This is a bit of an indulgence I understand, but it makes life easier. Now we are set, both wearing white shorts and sandals and comfortable shirts and feeling like we belong in The Tropics

The best part of the day was having dinner at our favourite restaurant right at the end of the Hotel area. We dine there often at the noon hour, but do not often eat dinner there. Last night was the perfect spot. The evening was lovely with the sun just beginning to set and the temperature a pleasant 78 degrees. Ken ordered a bottle of red wine, and we enjoyed the whole thing. After the airplane food, we were ready for a real meal. I started with a perfect first night salad, hearts of palm and artichokes and mushrooms with avocado. I have had that salad before but never have I enjoyed it so much. Ken ate fruit as an appetizer. The rest of our dinner is waiting for us in the refrigerator or our room at the hotel. Ice cream in Mexico is excellent l, so of course, as a welcome treat, I ate vanilla ice cream for dessert. Now we both must watch our intake of food, as we have been eating heartily since Thanksgiving. Now that we are settled into our home, I am looking forward to a time of reading and walking. So here we go.