February 7, 2016. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. The Super Bowl.

Fifty years ago Ken and I watched the first Super Bowl.   We had no television so we were invited to our friends the Ittman's home to watch the game and eat dinner.  This was in the year BC, Before  Children, when we lived in Galveston, Texas.   Since that time to now, we have dutifully  watched every game.  We have been to  big parties and to small parties and we have watched the game by ourselves at home.   Some parties have been fancy and some simple but we have enjoyed them all although we prefer small to big and simple to fancy.   But tonight, we four enjoyed the game at home.

Our own Super Bowl Party today consisted of setting up our goodies on the coffee table so we could help ourselves.  As we ate an ample brunch, our food was simple;  a variety of cheeses, crackers, cut fresh vegetables of peppers, carrots and cucumbers, and a big bowl of grapes.  Our feast was delicious and delightful in addition to being easy.

The game was interesting too.  Last week I predicted the Broncos would win as they seem more motivated and I thought that the Panthers might have the jitters..  And their defense demolished New England and did the same with the Panthers.   We four did not really care who would win but we all kind of hoped that Denver would win so Payton Manning could retire.  We have enjoyed the football season.  Now we will turn to hockey.

February 6, 2016. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Rita.

Rita is in charge of our kitchen.  Fortunately, she likes to cook.  And she claims that cooking for four people is better than cooking for two, so she is happy looking after us.  During my life time, I have done a lot of cooking but I have cooked because I needed to prepare a meal for my  family or friends, not that I loved to cook. so I have never really understood when people tell me they love to cook.  Ken and I feel fortunate that Rita loves to cook because we enjoy the meals she prepares for us.

Yesterday Rita was off duty.  We were served a wonderful breakfast at the sales presentation and we went out to dinner but today Rita was back on duty.   For breakfast and lunch we four look after our own meals but at dinner, Rita did all the preparation;  chicken, pasta, cauliflower and salad.  Her salads are superb and plentiful.  We eat a salad with every meal.  She wants to make us healthy.

Tomorrow, Ian is taking Rita to 10:00 mass.  When she gets home, she will cook us bacon and pancakes for our Sunday brunch, which is another example of her loving care.   We are lucky to have cousins who are not only kind but also competent.  Hat's off to Rita who is looking after us so well here in Mexico.

February 5, 2016. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Another Excursion.

The arrangements we made with the young man on Tuesday worked perfectly, except it worked better.  In exchange for driving us and our groceries home, we agreed to attend a sales presentation on Friday.   We were to meet him outside our gate at 9:00.   All four of us were to get into his old small car but this morning a van arrived which made everything easier.  Both the walker and the wheelchair came with us.  On Tuesday we were told that the presentation was just down the road from us.  It turned out to be on the other side of the canal, along from the Mayan Palace.  All four of us laughed.

Today we learned a lot of things that had been going on right under our nose.  A new theme park is under construction, in partnership with the Vidanta Company  and Cirque de Soleit.  The new towers being sold now are being sold as 4 week packages.  In other words, as fractional ownership only.  The suites are elegant and spacious and are on 325 acres of land.  We had no idea what was going on just across the canal.  When the big theme park will open, projected in 2018, that part of Nuevo Vallarta will be changed dramatically.  Our eyes were open.  We all four enjoyed our visit to Vidanta.  It is a fancy place.  But we still prefer our Playa Royale.

February 4, 2016. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. My Day.

The only productive things I did today was prepare my own breakfast and lunch.  The rest of the day I did nothing.  Tonight at 10:00 pm I am wearing the same nightshirt and bathrobe I was wearing this morning.  I am partial to my robe as I bought it for $2. at the Library Thrift Shop in Harper, Texas.  How they can stay in business selling me a nice robe for $2. I do not know.   But perhaps it is because I actually bought two which cost another $2.  My robe is not fancy and should not be worn all day.

The rest of the day other than eating I was either reading or looking out to sea looking for whales.  The day was beautiful with the sun causing the sun sparkle on the water.  I love  to spend the day reading as I get to figuratively travel all around the world and in every age, all without leaving my own home.  I was reading back copies of The Weekly Standard.  I especially enjoy their book reviews.  And I read an article about Tacitus, the Roman historian.

Ken spent two hours at the computer this morning but I did nothing except drink coffee and read.  Rita made dinner while Ian cleaned the kitchen.  I on the other hand, did nothing...and loved every minute of my day.

February 3, 2016. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. The Dentist.

Two year ago I went to the dentist.  Mexico is a place where lots of people get their dental work done and for several years, Ken and I have had our teeth cleaned in Nuevo Vallarta.   Years ago,  I was stunned to find that the technology in Mexico was ahead of my dentist in Bethesda so Ken and I started doing all his dental work in Mexico.  Today when we were in the waiting room,  a stream of people came in to make appointments.  Clearly, the dentist here is staying busy.

Today, Ken and I had our teeth cleaned at the same time.  It was all very fancy, side by side in the sparkling white office being attended to by masked ladies using high tech equipment.  Finally I was well enough to visit the dentist so this morning we both had our teeth cleaned.  Even though I had not been to the dentist for two years my teeth were in good condition so I need no more work done on my teeth.  Ken on the other hand has another appointment with the dentist to have three cracked fillings repaired.  He will go on Tuesday.

The dental hygienist cleaned my teeth with an ultra sound.  No more scraping.  When she had removed all the plaque, she polished my teeth.  The whole thing took just over 30 minutes and was painless.  Tomorrow, Rita and Ian have appointments.  I will be interested to hear from them if their experience was good.  Certainly for all of us it will be cheaper than at home.  Hat's off to the Mexican dentists for giving us such good, high tech service.

February 2, 2016. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. The Ride Home.

Rita, Ian and I went shopping today at the Mega.  All went well until we were ready to come home.  Each of us had a list of items to buy.  We were to meet for coffee, each with our full cart.   The grocery store was crowded and when we finally checked out and met at the coffee shop, we realized that a regular size taxi would not hold all our groceries so we discussed our options.

Much to my dismay, I saw a long line waiting for a taxi.  I hate waiting in line, so as we were waiting to exit the store, I asked a young man if there was another way to get a taxi.  He was a salesman for one of the time share companies so he made a deal with me.  He offered to drive us and our groceries home to Playa Royale if we would attend a 90 minute time share presentation on Friday morning, which would include breakfast.  Well.  That was too good a deal to turn down.  Our time here is worth nothing and he will give us 2000 pesos in addition to the transportation home.  You can see that I was desperate.

When the salesman got his car, we noted to our dismay that his car was old and small.  He was able to fit all our groceries in his car if we three squeezed into the back seat.  The only problem was the weight.  Every time we ran over a speed bump, the bottom of his car scraped.  Between Mega and home there were at least 15 speed bumps.  What a noise.  He slowed way down over the bumps and a swooshing sound came from his car.  I felt sure we were going to get stuck in his car with all our groceries.  But we did get home and he helped us load the carts to get the groceries upstairs.  We three giggled all the way home.  Now we must keep our side of the bargain and attend on Friday which will be a first time share presentation for Rita and Ian.  Our ride home today was one for the records.

February 1, 2016. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. An Excursion.

The afternoon was lovely.  Just after 4:00,  Rita and Ian had talked to their grandchildren on the iPad picture.  Then we four decided to take a walk.  Before we knew it, we had walked all the way to the Fajita Republic restaurant, which was the longest distance we have taken in that direction.  On the way back home we were so pleased with ourselves that we stopped at Ciao for a drink and an appetizer.   I was ahead of everyone else so I ordered.  

The restaurant was totally open so it was pleasant as twilight appeared and the lights appeared.  Our intention was to return home for dinner but we weighed the pros and cons of eating out or going home and finally settled on eating at the restaurant, for no good reason other than the fact that we were enjoying ourselves.   The weather was perfect for sitting outside and we were feeling smug after speaking to the Ottawa family.

The old man who owns the restaurants came by to give us each a tangerine.  We had not seen him last year but he looked great.  And he was pleased to see us too.  This was the first time we have had dinner at Ciao, which just opened two years ago.   The food was excellent and we enjoyed our dinner.  We thought we were just going for a walk but ended up with a full blown evening excursion.  A good time was had by all.