La Penita - January 14-23, 2018

Not a lot has happened during the last 10 days ... 

- woke up early (Jan too)

- had coffee in the palapa while enjoying watching the waves roll in and the birds in the estuary

- went to the market on Thursday - bought a few things for the kitchen and Jan and Scarlett a couple of dresses

- breakfast at Irma's on Market day

- breakfast at Chasite on Saturday

- went to Hinde's on Tuesday night to listen to local mexican band (really good) with Roger, Gail, Genie, Dale, Lindsay and Lorri

- went to Genie's place for cocktails, appetizers and to watch the sunset on Saturday night with the same crew

- bought vegetables and fruit from the truck that comes around twice a week

- had several siestas

- went out for dinner to Pina Colada with Werner and Sylvia

- went out to dinner at Tonita IV (great fish) and then to Hinde's on Friday night

- walked the Guayabitos beach to Gigio's new place and had pizza and beer with Roger, Gail and Genie

- swam almost every day - up to 60 lengths now

- relaxed by the pool

- did some work in the palapa on cleaning day (Claudia comes and cleans for 4 hours)

...

La Penita - January 5 - 13, 2018

We left for La Penita at 5:45 am on Friday, January 5.  We had a great direct flight and arrived at around noon.  We had 3 large pieces of luggage with virtually no clothes - all things for our condo including an air conditioner.

We rented a car for the first week from Gecko in Bucerias (highly recommended) and they picked us up at the airport.  When we got our car, we stopped for a few groceries at Chedraui (only a few because we will head into PV to Costco in a few days) and then got on the road.  Apparently too quickly as we were pulled over for speeding.  After some "negotiation", we were on our way.  We did get some good advice - there were 3 accidents on the road from Bucerias to Sayulita (normally a 15 minute drive) which was holding traffic up for more than 2 hours - we took the long way around thought Punta Mita which saved us a lot of time.  We arrived to our condo in the late afternoon.  We went to Irma's for dinner and then to Hinde's for margaritas and to watch the final of the world junior hockey tournament.

We spent Saturday and Sunday lounging and organizing - we had renos done to the bathroom and kitchen so everything had to be organized again.  The vegetable and fruit truck came on Saturday afternoon and we stocked up.  We had breakfast (BLT's) at Chasite on Saturday morning and we did have dinner at Gigio's.

On Monday, we drove to Bucerias to pay our internet bill for the year (about $300). We stopped at Lateral in Bucerias for Breakfast and had a great asparagus and bacon omelette.   We then ventured into PV to Costco.  $13,0000 pesos later (about $900), we were stocked with Bailey's, Sangria, wine, beer, toilet paper, print ink and almost everything else you can think of for the next 6 weeks.  We then stopped at Walmart to pick up a few groceries which we didn't want or need in bulk.  We then stopped at Home Depot for a few things and our last stop was La Comer - across from Mega.  It is the new version of Mega (which has been sold to another chain Soriana) and had opened 2 weeks ago - a great grocery store with good prices.  Then back to our place.  A long a tiring day!

On Tuesday, we picked up George and Shannon from Grand Palladium Resort about 50 minutes away near Punta Mita.  We came back to La Penita and made our first stop at Hinde's for a margarita and some shrimp tacos.  Still the best margaritas I have ever had!  We showed them our place and then ventured across the river to Guayabitos to walk the beach.  It was really hot so we stopped at Juan's for a drink and some nachos, at Alicia's for some drinks and at Mateja's for some drinks.  A great day.  We had dinner at Avanti's and then wandered downtown.  George and Shannon spent the night on our hide a bed.

On Wednesday, we took George and Shannon to Sayulita to show them around and have lunch.  It seems like Sayulita is getting busier and busier each time we go.  We then took them back to their resort.

On Thursday, we went to the market in the morning.  We ate breakfast at Irma's ($8 for the both of us) and went to pay some bills - we had left a deposit for our electricity bill for the year of about $300 and when we went to pay this year found out that we were only charged about $50 for the year so we still had a $250 credit.  We tried to pay our property taxes (about $30) but couldn't find the office.  We spent the afternoon at the pool and started my swimming routine again - I try to swim everyday!  On Thursday I did 25 lengths.  We ate in - Chorizo on the BBQ and salad.

On Friday, we got up early to return the car to Bucerias.  We stopped at Lateral again for breakfast and then at La Comer for a few groceries.  We returned the car to Gecko (US$360 for the week) and walked a few blocks to catch the bus.  We took Pacifico which was about $10 each for the hour ride and it only stops on the highway at the main towns.  The other option is Compostela which is half the price but takes twice as long as it stops everywhere and actually goes into each town.  We spent the afternoon at the pool.  I swam 30 lengths.  We went to Las Brisas with Gail, Roger and Genie to see the Perez brothers - they are a great local band who plays old 60's and 70's music and has everyone up dancing.  Raj (one of the newest owners at our condo) joined us as the others left, so we had a few drinks with him and then ventured to Hinde's with him for a few more drinks.  We didn't get home until after 11 pm - crazy as we have been fighting to stay awake past 7 or 8 each night.

On Saturday, we got up and went for breakfast at Chasite and met Genie for coffee.  We then went and ordered some curtains to be made with some bright fabric and I got a haircut for $2.

That's it for the first week...

Vancouver - December 13 -14, 2017

I flew out to Vancouver on December 13 for my Strategic Coach session the next day.  I stayed at the Four Seasons.

Kingsville and Toronto - November 15-16, 2017

I took the red eye out to Windsor and visited Frank and Marlene at Anna's Flowers in Kingsville for the day.  It was great to see them and their operations.  I flew to Toronto that night (into downtown) and stayed at the Gladstone Hotel - a really neat art gallery/hotel.

I attended the Strategic Coach session in Toronto (a makeup for the one I missed in September) the next day and flew home that night.

An extremely busy 2 days.

Salt Spring Island - Sept 24 and into October

With the sudden passing of our nephew Alistair, we spent some time at Salt Spring Island with Family.  A sad time, but it was great to be on the island and with family.

Grand Rapids , Michigan July 28 - Aug 2, 2017

We spent a few days at Mastermind and the Retail Success Summit in Grand Rapids.  Not much sightseeing - just retail stuff!

Puerto Vallarta - June 24 to July 8, 2017

Jan, Randi, Robyn, Scarlett and I left for PV on Saturday June 24.  We have some time shares and needed to burn up some time that was banked so we stayed in PV for 1 week and in Nuevo Vallarta for one week.  

Our first week with Scarlett had us sticking around the hotel (Villa Del Palmar) for most of the week. We did venture downtown one day and walked around and did a little shopping.  We did stock up on groceries at Costco and ate most of our lunches and breakfasts in.

Robyn left for home on Friday June 30 - the first time travelling alone with Scarlett - they both did great.

We rented a car on Saturday to take us from PV to Nuevo and pick up Kate and Delores from the airport.  On Sunday, we drove around the peninsula to Punta de Mita, Sayulita (where we stopped for some shopping and lunch) and San Francisco (aka San Pancho).  On Monday, we drove up to La Penita to show Randi, Kate and Delores our place.  We were little disappointed that the tile work had not been completed yet.  I had to do a little running around to exchange some tile.  We spend the afternoon in the pool there and had a good visit with Ubaldo and Chella.  We had some lunch/dinner at Irma's and back to the hotel.

On Tuesday, we went to La Cruz for dinner and not much was open.  We ended up at Langostina Diez  (had never tried it before).  Jan, Randi and Kate ended up sick.  We spent the rest of our time around the hotel and had a spa day - they have the best spa we have ever been to.

Flew home on July 8.  

Vancouver June 21-22, 2017

I flew out to Vancouver to attend my second Strategic Coach session - helping us grow our business.  I stayed at an apartment which my friend Q organized for me in Coquitlam.  He picked me up at the airport and we went for dinner and beer at Port Moody Brewery Row - had an over the top cheesy grilled cheese sandwich from Cheesus Crust and a few flights of beer.

I took the train from Coquitlam and arrive downtown in 20 minutes.

The session was great and took the train to the airport - $4 instead of a $60 cab ride.

Banff - May 12-14, 2017

Jan and I accompanied Robyn, Scott and Scarlett to Banff to babysit while they went to Kat's wedding.  Banff was less high end commercial than when I remember from years ago.  We had a great time.

Anaheim - May 9-11, 2017

After a thrilling game six 7-1 victory by the Oilers, Greg and I decided to go to Anaheim to watch game 7 in person.  It was a blast.

We left Tuesday morning and arrived in Anaheim around 6 pm.  I rented a car for $70 but on our arrival the attendant asked if we would consider an upgrade.  For an extra $60 we could get a Mercedes or a Dodge Charger.  I asked about a convertible.  It was about $200 - we agreed and then when the paperwork was complete, it came out to $280 US with taxes etc.  We declined and went with the Charger.  We checked in at the Extended Stay America by the Honda Center and then went to meet Dan Barnes and Mark Spector at Paul's Cocktails - a dive bar they frequent when down here. We had a beer, but no one showed so we went back to the hotel and ate around there.

On Wednesday, we ent for breakfast and then to Disneyland.  Greg had never been before and was like a kid in a candy store.  We lined up for pictures with Donald Duck, Darth Vader and Chewbacca. We went on the Haunted House, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise and Tiki Room.  We had a great day and then went for lunch in Downtown Disney.

We then went to JT Schmidt across from Honda Center and it was packed with Oiler fans.  WE had a great time with a few beers.  We went to the game and there were a lot of Oiler fans.  In fact, GO OILERS GO was chanted throughout the building on several occasions.  While the end result was not what we hoped, the experience was fantastic.

We left on Thursday morning and arrived home that night.

Nashville March 17-24, 2017

The last of our trips for awhile.  We met Barb and JP and Lil and Rene in Nashville.  We spent most of our time at the Nashville Palace drinking beer, eating fried bologna sandwiches and succotash and listening to great country music.  We wen to the Grand Ole Opry twice.  We saw:  Jeannie Sealy, Ryan Kinder, Mike Snider, The Whites, Holly Williams, T Graham Brown, Connie Smith, Jesse McReynolds, Wade Hayes, Riders in the Sky, Natalie Hemby (she has written some great songs for others), the O'Connor Band, Luke Combs, Kristian Bush (From Sugarland), Smithfield, Chris Janson (amazing) Ricky Skaggs and Trace Adkins.  Front row for both shows.  Trace sang a song about getting old and at the end he pointed to me and said "You know what I mean".  We also went to Memphis (about 4 hours) to visit Graceland.  It was great to see, but the house is actually quite small (smaller than our house).  The memorabilia is now housed in a brand new plaza across the street.  Great trip.  One of my favourites.

San Diego March 8-12, 2017

Jan and I went to San Diego for a Brendon Burchard conference.  Mostly conference again but we enjoyed some Mexican food downtown and went for walks along the seawall each morning.  The conference was fantastic - very rejuvenating.

Austin, Texas March 2-5, 2017

Jan, Robyn, Scarlett, Randi and I went to Austin to attend our Mastermind conference.  It was mostly business but had great BBQ at Coopers (brisket, sausage, ribs, peach cobbler) and spent an evening listening to music downtown.

Vancouver - February 20-22, 2017

I went to Vancouver to attend my first Strategic Coach session to strategize about what’s most pressing in our business right now and gain new insights from people in other industries and other parts of the world.  It was a great day and I came away with some great tools to move forward.  
Looking forward to the next session in June.

La Penita - January 27 - February 7, 2017

The last part of our trip was spent doing some shopping, relaxing and eating.

We went to a couple of tile stores in La Penita to pick out new tile for our bathroom and kitchen.  The bathroom reno with include replacing the tile in the shower (walls and floor), the bathroom floor and the counter.  Also new toilet, sink and taps.  The kitchen reno replaces the tile on the counters and backsplash with new sink and taps as well as tile under the kitchen cupboards.  Total cost $2000 (about $600 in labour).

Roger and Gail took us into Puerto Vallarta with them and we shopped at Costco, Walmart, Liverpool (a department store) and home depot.  On the way back, we stopped in La Cruz at our favourite restaurant Masala and had tuna steak.  Mmmmmmmmm.

We went to Chacala one day and visited with Todd and Nadine again.  What a great little place!

We had some dinners with Roger and Gail at Irma's and Vista Guayabitos (also with Randy and Theresa).  We ate again at Gigio's.

Helma and Gaylord and May and John both had us over for dinner to their condos on separate nights. It was great getting to know them.

The last couple of days were spent getting the condo ready for the reno (it will happen while we are gone over the summer) and getting the condo ready for not being there.  Things we are learning:

1. You need to place Easy Dry packets everywhere.  These are moisture absorbers which are necessary because of the high humidity in the summer.

2. You need to unplug everything because of power surges during the rainy season and remove batteries from everything as they will corrode.

Our house cleaner, Claudia, still comes every 2 weeks and cleans while we are away and to check on things.

We arrived back home to -27. Oh well, it is supposed to be +2 by the weekend.

La Penita - January 4 - 26, 2017

We have been doing a whole lot of nothing.  Scott left on January 3 to go back to work and then flew back on January 11 after his shift.  We had the best time with Scarlett, Robyn and Scott.  A lot of firsts for Scarlett.  They left on January 17 and it took a few days to adjust to Scarlett not being here (and Robyn and Scott).  We have been eating in a lot since they left.

We met up with Todd and Nadine on January 19.  I grew up with Todd and we all went to high school together.  We spent the day together - walked through the market, had a margarita, had breakfast, relaxed in the palapa and went to dinner.  They are staying in Los Ayala (the spent the first week in Lo De Marcos, their 2nd week in Los Ayala and are spending their last week in Chacala.  It was great to catch up.  We met up again on Saturday, January 21, and walked and drank our way along Guayabitos beach after breakfast at Chasite.  It only took us about 7 hours (needless to say there was a lot more drinking than walking).  Had dinner both nights at Tonita IV in La Penita - pecan crusted fish stuffed with cream cheese and avocado - delicious!

Some street food adventures:  fresh cut potato chips with salt and lime, fresh churros, doritos (they cut the bag open) with corn, mayo, cheese and chili flakes,  and steamed bananas and sweet potatoes with evaporated milk drizzled over.

We had dinner at Tonita I with Gail, Roger and Jeanie.  A lot of laughs.

Other than that, mostly nothing except relaxing.  Here are a few pictures:

Sleeping in Papa's Arms

Fresh cut potato chips with salt and lime

Dancing with Nana

First time toes in the sand

Cuddly Girl

Having fun swimming

Guayabitos Beach

First time toes in the ocean

La Penita - December 30 - January 3, 2016

We had a very quiet day on Friday.  I am usually up between 6 and 6:30 and take my coffee to the Palapa and look out at the ocean.  I do my spanish lessons, meditate and write in my gratitude journal.  By the second cup of coffee, someone is usually up.  We had a big breakfast of eggs, chorizo and toast (fresh jalapeño bread we bought at the market).  We spent the rest of the day at the pool.  I read half a spy novel (Order to Kill - A Mitch Rapp story) and listened to tunes.  I tried swimming but the ribs are still too sore.  We had some left over pizza and guacamole for lunch and then more pool time.  Dinner at Avanti's and then Jan and I brought Bubs home while Robyn and Scott walked into two for ice cream.  We (ha ha - they) watched a movie.  As I said, quiet day - Perfect!

Saturday - Quiet morning.  Scott and I went to Hinde's at 1:30 to watch the Canada/US World Juniors Hockey game.  They actually closed at 2 pm to get ready for New Year's but let us stay to watch the game.  The fruit and vegetable truck came in the afternoon and we bought carrots, oranges, bananas, radishes, cucumbers, cantaloupe, apples (I am sure I am missing something) for a grand total of $8.  New Year's Eve was a blast - ate mac and cheese and chorizo in our condo and watched a movie (well the others did) - I was sleeping by 8:30.  It is tough doing nothing all day.

Sunday - Scott woke up not feeling well and then was really not well.  I walked into town and got some Treda (a Mexican miracle medication for the trots) and some electrolyte juices for Scott.  I made fresh squeezed orange juice. Delicious.  We had another quiet day.

Monday - Scott was feeling better.  Robyn, Scott and I walked into town to get some plumbing parts and some ice cream.  We spent the afternoon at the pool.  Scott and Robyn went for dinner to Avanti's on a date night and brought us back some pizza.  Jan and I watched Scarlett.  They both had the stuffed chicken which is amazing.

Tuesday - Scott left this morning to go back home - he has to work, but will be back next week.  Robyn, Jan, Scarlett and I went for breakfast at Irma's.  I finally got some Huevos Rancheros and fresh orange juice.  Bubs slept the whole time.  We had ice cream.  We came back and had a siesta - all of us!  We went for dinner to Hamberquesas Villareal (Ubaldo's daughter in law) for a shrimp burrito and crispy fries.  Our internet is finally working - I have a Sling Box at home which transfers our home TV signal to anywhere we have internet - literally we can watch whatever we want from home including things on the PVR.  We were able to watch the Batchelor last night!

First Swim

At Irma's

In the Square

Sitting in Papa's Bed - Bruised ribs from hockey has me sleeping in a chair

Sleeping on Papa's lap

Good Morning!

Siesta Time

Cooling down with a wet face cloth

Street Eats!

First Ice Cream

First Coke

La Penita, Mexico - December 27-29, 2016 - We have arrived at our Winter Home

We left Edmonton on December 27, 2016 at 10:45 in the morning with Scarlett, Robyn and Scott.  We are here for 6 weeks with the kids staying for 3 weeks.  Scarlett was amazing on her first flight at 3 months old.  Robyn made up goodie bags with some treats, ear plugs and a note for those sitting around us saying this was her first flight and she might be happy or she might be scared - everyone thought it was a great idea.  Kathy, Trent and their kids were on our same flight.  We arrived in Puerto Vallarta at about 5 pm and went through customs uneventfully.  Viviana was there to pick us up - we stuffed her van pretty full and we still had a stop at Mega to do some grocery shopping.  We cut back on our list and were on our way soon.  We arrived at around 7 pm (La Penita is about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta).  We unloaded the van and went to Avanti for dinner.  Pasta and shrimp all around - excellent and only 2 blocks away.

Scarlett (otherwise known as Bubs) had a great sleep as did the kids - they slept in until about 10 am and Jan and I had Bubs out in the Palapa for about 3 hours.  We ventured to Chasite for coffee and BLT's.  Scott and I then went to Occidental Cafe de La Penita to buy some locally grown and processed coffee - it is delicious.  On the way back we stopped at Hinde's for $1 tacos and the best Margaritas in the world.  The kids went back to the condo and Jan and I did a little more grocery shopping.  The rest of the afternoon was spent at the pool with Scarlett having her first swim ever. She loved it.  We went for dinner at Irma's - Scott and I had the Shrimp stuffed Chile Relleno (one of my favourite meals in Mexico) and Robyn and jan had the garlic shrimp.  Irma's is the best authentic Mexican restaurant in my opinion.  Everyone watched a movie but I fell asleep - big surprise.  I have been sleeping a chair for the last week or so because I bruised my ribs playing hockey and can't lay down - it is interesting to say the least but my ribs are getting better.

We got up, had some breakfast and then wandered over to the Tiangus (market) which is huge and happens every Thursday.  You can buy everything - used clothing, new clothing, appliance parts, food, dads, mexican souvenirs, etc.  we spent about 2 hours in the market and then went to Hinde's for ... tacos and Margaritas.  We spent the afternoon at the condo relaxing and swimming.  Bubs had a rough evening so Scott and I went to Gigio's and picked up some pizzas for dinner.  Scarlett had a great sleep though and now it is Friday morning.  Adios.

Jasper, Alberta - November 4-7, 2016

We all (Jan, I, Robyn, Scott, Scarlett, Kate, Greg, Randi, Jake) went to Jasper for Luke and Julie Zechel's wedding.  It was great to see all of the family and we had a great time.  We ended the trip with Greg falling into the lake at Jasper Park Lodge.  Great trip.

Vancouver, BC - September 30 to October 7, 2016

Randi, Kate and I drove out to Vancouver on Friday, September 30, 2016.  We stayed at the Hyatt downtown.  I ran a 1/2 marathon on Sunday in Richmond and then we took the ferry over to Salt Spring Island to visit with Barry, Emma, Olivia and Alistair.  We had dinner with them and stayed overnight.  We got back to Vancouver on Monday afternoon.  We had meetings with our Mastermind group from Monday evening to Thursday at noon.  On Thursday afternoon, Q rented a bus and gave us a tour of Vancouver as well as stop at his store.  We drove back on Friday through a storm all the way from Hinton to Edmonton.