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Published: July 22nd 2009
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It was time for another visit from the parents that call New Jersey home. Being from California myself, I love having them as guests. They always crack me up with their stories and competitiveness while playing any kind of game be it water volleyball, Mexican Train Dominoes or Up and Down the Ladder (a card game). This visit marked a first for us as well. We had Ron and Janice stay with us in our condo for five of the seven days. Usually when they visit, we don't have the room for them and so they find a hotel. I have to say it was really charming to wake up in the morning to find Ronnie's mom was making us coffee or that Ron and Ronnie were already out at the beach walking Byron.
Our first couple days were spent around our place, our pool and the beach nearby. We would swim and grill hot dogs for lunch and play card games at night. On the evening of their arrival, we went to our favorite Italian restaurant that sits right on the beach. Unfortunately, it started to rain pretty heavily on our walk over and so we couldn't sit outside
Ronnie and his Dad
on the beach near our place. and see the view. Another surprise was in store for us when we tried to order our drinks...it was election weekend...and in Mexico, when it is election weekend, no alcohol can be sold or served from Friday at 9:00pm until 9:00pm on Sunday of that weekend. And so our toast to the start of the week was made with iced tea and diet coke.
One day, we were lucky enough to take a trip up to Punta de Minta to visit the Four Seasons Hotel. Janice is a travel agent and she had arranged a site tour of the hotel. Just as we were about to leave, Byron start barking like crazy. We looked out the window and in our pool was a large iguana swimming around. We all rushed outside to look at the guy and after a few pictures, we helped him out of the water. (He couldn't get out on his own because of the lip in the pool.) Afterwards, we headed to the Four Seasons. The place was everything you would imagine. Lots of pools, drinks and stunning views. We became even more lucky when they offered us lunch at their restaurant. Every single dish
was fabulous. I can totally understand why the rich and famous like to stay at the Four Seasons. I have to admit I tried to see if I recognized anyone famous but it was pretty hard to tell with everyone wearing huge sunglasses.
On another day, we took a trip into Puerto Vallarta for some shopping and dinner. There was a perfect little shopping area right at the start of the Malecon. It was little plaza of shops all built around a bar in the center of the garden area. The guys enjoyed sitting and having a beer instead of being dragged around from shop to shop with Janice and I. After that we had dinner at that great place called Barcelona Tapas, and with our bellies full of sangria, we floated down to the next destination, a favorite of Ron and Janice's: Senor Frogs. We had seen this place many times but had never gone in. They didn't charge us a cover as we entered and gave us a great table. We had more drinks and danced and danced. By the time we left, the place was hopping (no pun intended). It was packed full of 17-21 year
old Mexicans at the start of their summer vacation. It was hard to make our way through to get out! We had a really good time that night and Ronnie and I were a little slow the next morning.
For the other two nights of their visit, we stayed at one of the only dog-friendly hotels in the area: The Westin. We were so excited to be able to go and stay at a fancy-dancy hotel right on the beach. One of our favorite hotels in the world is the Westin St. Francis in Union Square San Francisco and so knowing we were going to a Westin made us that much more excited. Our room was lovely and it faced the water. The staff left a doggie bed for Byron in the corner which we thought was sweet. We swam in the pool and had a happy hour in their restaurant. The next day, we walked over to Marina Vallarta for some more shopping. We also took them to our favorite shrimp shack for a huge plate of seafood.
And then, the time had come to say our good-byes. We had a great time with them as always
and I finally understand what it means when someone tells me they went to "the shore."
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dianne
non-member comment
Looks likes fun!
Hola Amigos --- looks like you had a great time! Wish I was there, too! Abrasotes, Dianne