January 31, 2023. Hard Rock Resort., Nuevo Vallarta. Kenny and Anne.

 This is the second year in a row that  Kenny and Anne have come to visit us in Nuevo Vallarta.  They arrived here by boat, sailing down from the Sea of Cortez.  Their plan is to sail from here and sail to the French Polynesian Islands, a journey of over three weeks, all in the open Pacific Ocean.  Then their plan is to continue on to New Zealand.  They are excited and have a list of chores to be done prior to their departure.  

This would not be my cup of tea but Anne and Kenny are the perfect couple to sail on their boat for extended periods of time.  From a technical standpoint, they are well suited to know the intricate parts of the boat.  They are both physicists so can figure things out.  Both of them know how everything works on the boat and they enjoy dealing with any issues that arrive.  And they are not fearful of attacking new issues.

From the standpoint of temperament, they are also well suited to deal with any issues that come their way. They do not panic or get upset.  They just deal with the issue.  And they enjoy the sailing part along with getting along with each other.  They make sure that they eat well.  And Anne makes treats such as baking bread.  So we wish them well on their journey.  And we are enjoying their visit with us at the Hard Rock Resort.  It is fun being a part of their adventure.  But better them than me.  I wish them well.

January 30, 2023. Hard Rock Resort, Nuevo Vallarta. Argentine Steak House.

Last evening we five had dinner at the Argentine Steak House.   This resort has five restaurants where you can eat dinner.  The Argentine Steak House is one of them.  They call it the Ipanema.  The last time we were here we ate there too and recalled that the food was excellent.  The routine is the same.  You sit at a table and the waiters come by with meat which they slice and then put a piece on your plate.  They come by with all types of meat.  When you have eaten enough meat, you turn over the coaster to the red side which means NO.  In addition there is a buffet with vegetables and salads.

The first time I ate at an Argentine Steak House was in San Diego at a real estate conference.  A bunch of us went to dinner together.  Of course we ate lots of meat.  And we enjoyed ourselves.  The meat was delicious.  But last night was a disappointment.  Some meat was over cooked and dry and some of the beef was tough.  The best meat was the tenderloin, rare.  The vegetables and salad were excellent.  But an Argentine Steak House is known for the meat.  And this meat was not very good.

So we will not dine again at the Ipanema restaurant here at the Hard Rock Resort.  We have better options.  

January 29, 2023. Hard Rock Resort. Nuevo Vallarta. Room Service.

Nothing seems to me more luxurious than having breakfast brought to your room.  Last evening Wendy ordered breakfast for me and at 9:00 sharp this morning the man arrived with my breakfast.  I sat at the table in my bedroom drinking coffee and eating my breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage and a fruit plate.  Wendy had already come up to the room after having breakfast with Kenny and Anne so she joined me for coffee.  I ate too much breakfast but it was delicious. 

I have no idea why I think room service for breakfast is so special.  But I do.  Wendy has already ordered my breakfast for tomorrow.  And I will eat breakfast in my room every morning while we stay at The Hard Rock, which will be for two weeks.  One reason Ken and I always ordered room service for breakfast is that both restaurants serve breakfast as a buffet so we had to get our own breakfast and carry the plates to the table.  Ken could not do that so we always ordered breakfast in our room.  I will do the same thing while I am here now.

Every morning, I will remain in my night shirt and drink coffee and eat breakfast in my own elegant room.  And I will enjoy every minute.  

January 28, 2023. Hard Rock Resort, Nuevo Vallarta. Superior Service.

I was hoping that the standards were still high.  In the past, the service was the best we have ever experienced.  Ken and I were treated very well both at the Hard Rock Resort in Nuevo Vallarta and also south of Playa Del Carmen, on the east coast.  So far, we have had no reason to complain.  We have been looked after very well.

Marlin, the conceriege in Playa Royale drove me and all our bags from Playa to The Hard Rock, right next year.  We were ushered into the VIP section to check in.  No waiting in line at a counter.  As our room was not ready, we went for lunch and ate a delicious lunch sitting at the restaurant right beside the ocean.  Shortly after we were finished lunch, the room was ready so our butler took us to our Presidential Suite, which is spacious and gracious.   We are happy with our accommodation.

Kenny and Anne arrived this afternoon and they too are happy with their room.  Alan, the head of the Legendary Club, met with us to tell us all the options available here at The Hard Rock.  We will have a good time here.  Between the beach, the pools, the activities and the good food, we will not be bored.  We are looking forward to two weeks of rest and relaxation.  

January 27, 2023. Playa Royale, Nuevo Vallarta. Kenny and Anne.

 Kenny and Anne's boat is now docked at Paradise Village marina.  For the past week, they have come down from The Sea of Cortez where they have spent the past two months enjoying themselves.  Two friends  came with them on the journey here.  The friends sold their big boat a year ago so they were happy to fly down to meet up with Kenny and Anne for the journey to Puerto Vallarta.  Three sets of friends left Vancouver, all intending to eventually sail together this year to the South Pacific.  Earlier the one couple sold their boat while the husband of the other couple hurt his back so is out of commission for sailing so Kenny and Anne will be doing it themselves.

Tonight, we seven had dinner at the Riviera Grill, the restaurant that has the most comfortable chairs for me.  I ate seared tuna which was delicious and we had a happy time.  Wendy insisted that I take a taxi to and fro from the restaurant which made it easy for me.  Now the friends fly home to Vancouver tomorrow. Wendy, Ken, Kenny, Anne and I will move next door to the Hard Rock Resort, an all inclusive establishment with superior service and excellent food.  Everyone will have a break.  We will stay two weeks at the Hard Rock, then return to Playa for another month.  So here we go.  Moving again.

January 26, 2023. Playa Royale, Nuevo Vallarta. The Snow Bowl.

The football playoffs took place this past weekend.  I watched a bit of the four games but the game I liked the best was the game held in Buffalo.  It was snowing.  It was snowing hard.  The field was covered with snow except the lines which were uncovered by a machine.  The snow made everything slick.  Even the ball was slippery.  Watching from the comfort of Mexico where the doors and windows are open to the air just made us laugh.  We were delighted to be in 80 degrees.

I did not really care who won those games although I always cheer for Dallas.  And I also cheer for Buffalo.  But neither of my teams won.  So now we will have two games this weekend, both played on Sunday.  I suspect there will be no snow bowl on Sunday.  But I must say that the most interesting part of the game was the snow.  It was great fun watching the slipping and sliding.  And it was great fun feeling smug.

January 25, 2023. Playa Royale, Nuevo Vallarta. The Australian Open.

Last week we enjoyed watching the tennis from Australia.  The first week of the Australian Open Tennis tournament had many many matches.  I could turn on the television in the middle of the night and watch a match.  And at six in the morning I could watch more.  We had a lot of fun.  Wendy and I also loved the fact that there are many Canadian men in the tournament.  And the American men kept winning which had not happened for years.  So for the first week of the tennis tournament we enjoyed ourselves.

For some reason, beginning on Sunday, the television stopped showing the Australian Open.  Also there were fewer matches to watch.  But even in the middle of the night when I knew a match was being played I was unable to find the games either in English or Spanish.  The truth is that all the Canadian men lost and only one American man got through to the semi finals.  So we were not really much interested in watching the matches.  But I still do not understand why the matches are not on television this week.  

But the first week of the tournament was delightful.  But this week we must look at our phone to find the results.  Interesting.