Salt Spring Island May 4-11, 2014

Jan, Delores and I drove to Salt Spring Island, BC for a week to help Barry and Emma (Jan's brother and sister-in-law) with their move.  We left on Sunday night after dropping Randi off at the airport for her 2 month trip to Europe.  We drove as far as Valemount and spent the night.  We then got up early and drove to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal arriving at 1 pm - the 1 pm ferry was full so we had to wait until the 3 pm ferry.  We arrived in Sydney at 4:40 and hopped on the Fulford Harbour Ferry at 5 pm.  We arrived on Salt Spring at 5:40 pm.  Ferries are exhausting.  We had dinner and a visit and then dropped into bed.  We got up the next day and started to work - the sold property had a lot of "treasures" to be sorted through.  We spent the first day working on the main floor of the shop.  We spent the second day working on the second floor of the shop.  We took a day off to explore the island a bit and spent the next day working on the crawl space under the cabin.  3 full days of work but we got the majority of the place cleaned up.  There were 3 destinations for the "treasures":  the dumpster, the fire pile or the new house.  At the end of 3 days, the small dumpster was 1/3 full, the fire pile took on a fair amount, but the majority of the "treasures" ended up back at the new house including about 100 axes.  We enjoyed Saturday at the famous market and had lunch in downtown Ganges.  We got up and left on Sunday morning - we drove the entire way ending up back in Edmonton at about 2 am (with a quick stop at the lake to drop off some "treasures" from Salt Spring).

Jasper March 13-16, 2014

Off to Jasper for the weekend.  The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge is hosting their annual PJ Party and we were given the opportunity along with Call the Kettle Black to have a Pop Up store at the JPL.  We arrived Thursday afternoon and went for Pizza and French Onion Soup at Bright Spot in town - they have my favourite French Onion Soup in the world, literally, it is better than in France.  Jan and Robyn spent the evening getting ready for the event and Scotty and I just relaxed.

We got up on Friday morning and got the Pop Up Shop set up.  While Jan and Robyn were working, Scotty and I went into town about 1 pm and had a breakfast skillet and beer for brunch.  We then walked around town and bought candy, beer and chocolate (bear claws) in that order.  Stopped at Jasper Brewing Company for a beer sampler and then back to the JPL to check on the girls.  Had a nap in the late afternoon and then off to dinner at Downstream Cafe - it was excellent.  Kate and Greg showed up late on Friday night to bring us more stock for the event.

On Saturday morning, we lounged around the main lodge until mid afternoon.   Went for lunch at Jasper Brewing Company with Scott, Kate ad Greg.  Back to the room for a nap.  Then to dinner at Olive which was also excellent.

On Sunday, I slept in (while Jan worked) and then we packed up and came home.

PV - February 18-22, 2014

… our last few days in PV were based on relaxing and eating.  We did spend a day in Sayulita doing some shopping, eating, beaching and body surfing.  All in all - a great trip!

PV - February 14, 15, 16 and 17, 2014

Valentine's Day was quiet around the pool.  Robyn and Scott went to Mega to pick up groceries again. We went to Glorieta de Enrique for a Shrimp Feast for dinner - fantastic again!  

Saturday was also a quiet day around the pool.  Dinner at Tacos on the Street.  The five of us polished away 30 tacos, 8 beers, 1 glass of wine and 2 bottles of water.  So full, but so delicious! … and Kate and Miranda arrived at 8:30 pm.  Jan was so happy to have her whole family here.

Sunday morning we took the girls to the La Cruz Farmers Market.  They loved it.  We got to visit with Max and Big Momma from Eva's Brickhouse Restaurant and Scotty and I had another Mixed Sandwich with ham, turkey, bratwurst and chorizo sausage on it.  No sharing this time - we each had our own.  Back to the resort for the afternoon at the pool.  Dinner was at Masala - the top rated restaurant on Trip Advisor for La Cruz.  Scotty, Robyn and I had the seared tuna steak, Kate and Randi had the catch of the day (mahi mahi) and Jan and Delores had the mahi mahi.  Another excellent meal - we have not had a bad meal here yet.  

Today (Feb 17) we had a big breakfast at home and then ventured to the Marina in La Cruz for our day  on the bay.  We booked ourselves onto the Indian Summer Yacht (Red Dolphin Cruises) for the day.  We were met at Dock 3 by Mike, Michelle and Johnny.  The price was $75 per person which is less than Vallarta Adventures and we were the only ones on the yacht.  We saw so many whales (15 - 20) and dolphins were swimming along with the boat.  We went to Marietas Islands and went snorkeling.  The day included free drinks, nachos and a mahi mahi lunch.  Mike (from Wales) was a great host and had many great stories.  It felt like we had known them for a long time.  We got back around 4 pm and ant back to the resort for a dip in the pool and then got ready for dinner. We went to Frascetti and had great home made italian pasta meals (we went here so Nana could get some Canadian food).  In bed by 9 pm.  So crazy.

Tacos on the Street

Masala

Whale Watching I

Whale Watching II - so many whales

On the Indian Summer

Frascatti's

Frascatti's

Frascatti's

Frascatti's

Robyn and Nana

Puerto Vallarta - Feb 12 and 13, 2014 (Cow's Head Tacos - read to the end)

Wednesday was a lazy day by the pool.  We had dinner at Xocolati - Roberto, the owner, served us.  This place its on the hill above La Cruz and has an amazing view of the bay.  We even saw a whale jumping.  Fajitas, Shrimp, Chimichanga (massive) and Red Snapper - enough said.  Sleeping by 8:30 pm.

Thursday started out slow with a leisurely breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausage and toast.  We went to the pool for a few hours where we managed to down some mojitos and dirty monkeys.  Then the adventure began - we took the shuttle into La Cruz where Elilal dropped us at the Beach Club for our resort (our resort is actually in the hills above La Cruz).  The Beach Club is under contraction and currently closed.  We walked along the beach to the north to Manzanilla Beach. This is a great swimming area and beach.  It was HOT so we stopped at Cesars for Cervesas and Pina Coladas and some nachos and quesadillas.  We then walked back along the beach into town.  It was HOT so we stopped at Ana Bananas and had Cervesas and Coke and visited with Barry, the owner, and CeeCee, the bar pooch.  We then walked through the small town a bit more and bought a small painting.  It was HOT so we stopped for an ice cream.  Our plan was to go to Tacos on the Street (apparently the best tacos around) but when we arrived at 5 pm, we discovered they did not open until 5:30 pm.  We decided to walk a few blocks to Glorieta de Enrique (remember the shrimp place from a few blogs ago) and have some cervesas and a plate of bacon wrapped shrimp as an appetizer before heading back to Tacos on the Street.  Delicious.  We then walked back to Tacos on the Street where they serve one type of taco - rib eye steak tacos.  They do give you a choice of flour or corn tortillas though.  We had tacos (and Robyn had one quesadilla), mojitos (not great) and cervesas.  The tacos were 150 pesos (about $1.20).  No question the best tacos we have ever had!  We even bought some for the concierge back at our resort.

As we were driving home, I mentioned to Scott that we should try the taco stand on the Highway called Taco de Cabeza.  The taxi driver laughed and told us this translated to Head Tacos and literally means tacos made with various parts of a cow's head - eyes, lips, tongue … we told him that we would think about it - maybe after a lot of tequila.

PV - February 10, 2014

We had a great day today.  Woke up late (for me) at 8 am.  Made coffee and emptied the dishwasher (sounds pretty domestic doesn't it?).  Scotty made omelets with sausage, peppers and mushrooms for breakfast and then off to the pool.  There were only 2 other people at the pool at 10 am - so nice.  Hector, the pool concierge, put out our towels and welcomed us to the pool area.  We relaxed most of the day at the pool.  We had massages at the spa too.  What a decadent day, but the best part was still coming - DINNER.  We decided to go to Glorietta Enrique Restaurant in La Cruz - rumour had it that the shrimp and margaritas were amazing.  Scott and I ordered the margaritas - excellent - and Jan and Robyn ordered pina coladas - Pancho brought out the drinks and then brought out a bottle of rum and poured 2 big shots of rum for the girls just in case their pina coladas were not strong enough.  Only in Mexico.  We ordered shrimp, shrimp, shrimp and shrimp (Jan and Delores shared) - bacon wrapped shrimp (unbelievable), coconut shrimp (excellent), diabla shrimp (in a spicy bbq sauce - fabulous) and shrimp stuffed avocado (very refreshing).  We finished off the evening with tequila shots for the boys and kahlua and cream shots for the girls.  We met a couple from Red Deer at the table next to us and they happen to be staying at the same place.  They was a small band playing as well.  The quality of the meal tonight rivaled last night's at Eva's Brickhouse.  2 nights in La Cruz - 2 great meals.  Woo hoooo.

Robyn's Pina Colada with the extra shot of rum

Robyn's Coconut Shrimp and Scotty's Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Puerto Vallarta - February 9, 2014

We arrived last night in Puerto Vallarta around 9 pm - our flight was delayed 1 hour in Edmonton because the water system was frozen.  Our destination was Puerto Bahia in the hills above the small fishing village of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (La Cruz for short) which is north of Puerto Vallarta (about 30 minutes from the airport).

We got up around 8 am, sauntered to the restaurant for breakfast and then took a shuttle into La Cruz for the Sunday Farmers Market.  The market was really fun with over 280 vendors selling everything from bread to nanaimo bars to scones to garlic cajun smoked mahi mahi to earrings to mixed meat sandwiches to sausages - and that was only the stuff we bought.  It was a great market and we will go back next Sunday when Kate and Randi are here.  We then went grocery shopping (we have a full kitchen) to Mega (a Walmart type grocery store) where we bought 3 carts of groceries for $300.  Had to  take 2 cabs home because of all of the groceries and the 5 of us.

We arrived back at our place and Scott promptly started the drink making marathon - mojitos, rum punch, pina coladas, micheladas, cervesas … we spent the entire afternoon at our place (we have our own small pool).  We then went to dinner at Eva's Brickhouse in La Cruz.  It was fantastic - we had grilled mahi mahi, seared ahi tuna and lobster pasta.  WOW!!!  Kent, the owner, Max, the maitre d (and resident dog) and Big Momma, the waitress (and resident cat) were so friendly and made our evening.  This is now our favourite restaurant in the PV area.  We had one of the those meals where you savour every bite.  Looking forward to a good night's sleep and a lazy day tomorrow.

Our Pool at Puerto Bahia

Lounging

Puerto Bahia Pool

La Cruz Marina

Scotty's Mojitos

Eva's Brickhouse

3 Generations at Eva's Brickhouse