Happy Anniversary to US!

16 years!!

we went down to Sanibel Island for a couple days

about 50 miles south of us and just west of where my parents live

we decided not to drive a long way to vacation

when there are so many really nice beaches nearby

plus it is off season and us thrifty locals got more than half off on the room....

we took our kayaks and put in at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

as pointed out on the above map

we paddled out to an island and saw about 20 Rosetta spoonbills sitting in a dead tree

they were spectacular

and no this is not my photo, wish

Sanibel is known for it's shells

talk about abundance!

this is where Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote, Gifts from the Sea

the hotel was about where the "o" is in National Wildlife Refuge on the map above

we had a great view from our room

through the screen of course - this is Florida in the summer

we stayed at an older property, that had lovely access to the beach

and had some real history and charm

and the beach was gorgeous

16 years and counting!!

4 generations

the best part of living in Florida is living near my mom

and having Beth and the kids here makes it perfect

we all went to the children's theatre at the Broadway Palm dinner theatre

to see "Aladdin"

it was a lunch matinee

and there was a buffet of all the kid favorites

mac and cheese, hot dogs, french fries, jello, cool-aid

and a big salad bar for adults

here is Em with Princess Jasmine

with the Sultan.....

they had great costumes

it was cool that they were all in the lobby after for pictures

but it was Mr. A. who stole the show for us!!



a lovely birthday at the water park!

I like 59, I think I am going to stay 59 for several more years.....

the park had these huge slides, we did not go on them

we liked the lazy river

it flowed around the whole park

you could not swim against the current

E and A liked to just swim with the current sans tube

us grandmas liked the tubes.....

we rode the lazy river around all day

took a break at the rope bridge and swam under the big fountain

we wore the boys out

afterwards it was back to Beth's for a delicious birthday cake

german chocolate, mi favorita

made it from scratch, I did something right with that girl!

plus she makes adorable grandchildren!!

I had a great birthday

thanks to my great family and great friends

!!

What would summer be with out frequent trips to the local swimming pool??

bring the kids, bring your friends, make sure to bring lunch

A. did not want her picture taken

so E. decided she did not want her picture taken either

makes it hard for the blogger

I kept trying

look at the lovely smile

Arlo loved it

not sure who was more excited when he caught it, him or us!

he seemed pretty happy though

sun, water, kids, ball

great combination

great summer

passion vine up-date

I have been home long enough now to have posted all the photos of the trip,

caught up on my sleep and almost caught up on my yard work

this is not a great time to work in the yard here

many afternoons it clouds up and we have thundershowers and rain

then there is the heat

the heat is not so bad, but the mosquitoes are

the vines are filling in nicely

one of my favorite ones opening on the side of the arbor

most of the blooms have been with the front runner on the fence

 I am so proud of that flower....

the right side filled in on the inside of the fence

and the outside

we also have a surprise watermelon plant

we have already eaten one watermelon - it was wonderful

the plant is taking over the flower bed

I know what I am going to plant lots of next year

watermelon!

after an all night bus ride from Mexico City to Colima

with a stop in Tecoman

 we were home -

Cuyutlan!!

after Ana Rosa did her magic - our house shown!

Beth had done an awesome job with paint and furniture

so it was not long before it was a comfy place again

that is Sabina's art on the wall, too bad it did not show up better

it makes that end of the room

I love the colors Beth painted

I kept the fridge in the bedroom and set up  small kitchen next to it

I was only there a couple weeks

I did not drag the washer out either

and after a few loads at Javier's mom's place

I washed by hand

first day in Cuyutlan was lunch at Dago's of course,

shrimp tostadas, I love 'em

the day before we arrived a huge storm had hit Cuyutlan

the water came up over the malacon, huge trees had been uprooted

everyone was out cleaning up

the beach was way closer to the malacon than in the winter

there was not much room for chairs or umbrellas

needless to say there was not much business either

well I said we tried not to wear our Vallarta dresses on the same day

but it was so hot that is all we wanted to wear!

like I said, there was no one in Cuyutlan

I have never been there when it was so quiet

Betsy's last morning

she is happy to be leaving the heat!!
at 3 am we woke up, had to lie in the little pool to cool off and went back to bed

thank you for the hammock Beth, it is the only way I made it for the next week

after dark I would lie in it with the fan right in front of me

by about 1 am the bedroom had cooled down....
we have never stayed there in the summer
the room needs a vent near the ceiling to let the hot air out

there was one really bad night when about midnight in the middle of a huge electrical storm
the electricty went out in the whole town
it was cool so have it dark, I like dark
but it meant no fan.....

 

I had a great time with Luly, Ken and Carol at their ex-maids wedding

until it started raining

we left when it started pouring, before the birria

ex-maid, now that she is getting married she does not have to work....

I love what Beth did with the outside shower

it was made out of creosote posts and heavy black plastic walls

it had a roof

now you can look up and see the bougainvillea over head

and at night, the stars

it is not quite finished it needs a coat of stucco to make it look sharp

it is hard to see in the photo but there is a guy at the top of this palm

cutting down the coconuts

we had 2 palms that needed their coconuts harvested

that was from one palm!

Dago arranged for them to be cut and we gave them to him for his puesto

this is the day before I am leaving, giving the keys to Ken

getting a ride to Tecoman from Jacquie and Eduardo

thank you, thank you

I was meeting Eduardo and Jacquie for lunch one day in Tecoman

when I got there I was so hot I suggested a restaurant that was air conditioned

we went around the corner of their house to the restaurant at the Hotel Real

wow, it was beautiful

I did not know such a wonderful hotel even existed in Tecoman

I decided right then to come and spend my last night in Mexico at the hotel

it was a great idea

instead of working all morning to pack up the house and then driving to the airport,

I went to Tecoman and luxuriated in the huge pool and air conditioned room

did some shopping in the morning easy with a taxi -

I needed 2 princess dresses

and still made it to the airport in plenty of time

we were so worried about the weather and getting out of the Manzanillo airport

as it had been storming for days

the weather turned out not to be the problem -

it was that my passport had expired 4 days before!!

WHAT??

I could not believe it

it took over an hour for the Alaska Airline people to decide to allow me to board

and in Houston, they never mentioned it!!

I was so lucky

or I would still be in Mexico,

waiting at the counter of the consulate in Guadalajara.....