Mazatlan Day 4…

20 Monday Mar 2017

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up around six this morning… did some beachcombing with the middle grandson and my daughter… 

I provided the bag and they found the shells, lol… many were thrown back because we have a strict rule about not keeping broken ones… 

the waves were beautiful and some crashed like thunder…

daughter found a very nice cowrie which we decided meant she won the day… 

also had to pick up a few rocks for the collection, lol…

met up with the rest of the family for breakfast and then three of us walked to Starbucks stopping along the way to check out the shops and plant life…

found vanilla, hot chocolate mix and a few other goodies… apparently chocolate shops, which we have been watching for, are few and far between here… 

once we got back to the hotel we went to the pool where the rest of the group were, and the kids spent the remainder of the day there… I had a nap and also some pool time… 

it gets dark here quite early – around 6 – and we’ve been enjoying the sunsets, which have been stunning…

heading out for a steak dinner shortly…

another wonderful day in paradise…

Mazatlan Day 3

19 Sunday Mar 2017

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as I write this I have walked 14,830 steps… 

we started out the day with breakfast at the hotel… I asked for poached eggs which may not have been the wisest move because it took about twenty minutes for them to be made, lol… but they were cooked perfectly when I did get them… 

then we gathered up our stuff and took two Pulmonias to the start of the Malecon… 

we walked about 7 miles, in the sun, with lots of cold drinks and a break for lunch… we found various treasures for the boys to bring home and I was very happy to find some shells to add to my collection… 

the sweet man found all kinds of small shells for me once he knew I had been collecting them since I was a kid… we had moved on to the next stall where a woman was making bracelets for the boys when he came over with two more small treasures…

after the incredibly long walk in the heat we took an Aurigas back to the hotel…

open truck riding… the boys loved it…

some of us headed to the ocean to play in the waves and the others went to the pool… 

my daughter caught these wonderful moments…tons of fun… then we went upstairs for a rest, had dinner and took a late night walk down the beach…

another wonderful day filled with great memories…

Mazatlan Day 2…

19 Sunday Mar 2017

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up and out of the hotel for a 6:15 am pick up to go deep sea fishing…

from the time we left the marina we saw a school of catfish, pelicans, a huge iguana way out on the limb of a tree, a beautiful blue heron, seagulls riding on turtles, a pair of dolphins and more turtles than I can count… a marlin and a sailfish, which did not want to bite on any of the hooks we had in the water… 

and to top it all off a whale spouting and then showing us its full tail…

a glorious day on the water… 

there was blue sky, fog, sun and gentle seas… 

technology wherever you go…

sun starting to peak through the fog…

we all love being on the water but had hoped that my son-in-law would have had the fun of catching a marlin…

 here fishy, fishy, fishy…

waiting with my son-in-law… and getting sunburned feet, sigh…

as I was taking pictures of a very calm pelican, at the back of the boat the boys were throwing the leftover bait to a huge crowd of waiting pelicans, lol…

we ended up walking for a while on our way back to the hotel and came across some sunning iguanas…

how blessed to be able to spend an unforgettable time with family…

Mazatlan Day 1…

17 Friday Mar 2017

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left the house at 3:30 am in two cabs to get us to the airport in time for our departure…

the flight was uneventful and the four hours went by quickly… a few of us slept and others read, watched movies and snacked…

it was fun to watch the sun rise on one side of the plane while it was still dark on the other…

saw some cool mountains as we flew over… no idea where they were…

and, eventually we saw the sun rising on our side of the plane…

arrived at the airport and went through customs without a problem… the palm trees are such a welcome sight once exiting the building…

the system at the hotel left a little to be desired… had to stand in line on three separate occasions before eventually getting to our rooms…

but while we were waiting we found a cafe with free wifi and a fishing connection…

we had a shrimp party there… apparently, Mazatlan is known for its shrimp…

my favourite was the coconut crusted ones which were delicious… 

and then spent the afternoon at the pool… this was the view as we headed in to eat dinner…

we are going to pay for a week of wifi so I can post this and the next six blogs without searching for free spots all the time, lol…

now to bed, been a long day and we have an early start tomorrow… which also happens to be my girl’s birthday;-)…

marathon…

16 Thursday Mar 2017

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had to run across to CityPlace this morning and I caught the income tax mascot having a rest…

so cute…

as I left the office – for the next ten days – it was raining… the good part about that is that maybe most of the snow will melt away…

sure hope there’s going to be sunshine where I land…

always a bit of a marathon to get everything done and the space ready for someone else to use while you are away…

now to finish packing my carry on/purse…

underneath…

15 Wednesday Mar 2017

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have six books packed for holiday reading…

two 3-book series from Nora Roberts… she is one of my favourite authors but I haven’t been reading for quite a while…

underneath all those shoes and clothes the books are in the bag…

looking forward to the opportunity to spend time just relaxing and reading…

sounds glorious;-)…

reminders…

14 Tuesday Mar 2017

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every time I wring out my facecloth in the bathroom I think of my beloved…

he had the strongest hands and would often wring out things for me and get out tons of additional liquid…

at the end of the day at the office, one of us turns on the dishwasher… each time I do that I am reminded of a colleague who has died… she prepared a label which is located just above the equipment with the directions on which buttons to push…

little things, but these reminders of times with special people are everywhere if you care to see them…

binder…

13 Monday Mar 2017

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a week or so ago I went to Staples and picked up a binder to save my ChefsPlate recipes in…

just happened to be purple…

then I punched holes in the recipe cards and divided them by food type… decided to go with beef, chicken, seafood, and vegetarian…

this shot shows my favourite recipe…

will be making this one again very soon…

yesterday I made this portobello and orzo recipe… really enjoyed it…

rather enjoy taking photos with the recipe card… for this one I had to make a few adjustments as the lettuce for the salad and basil had been touched by cold so I used some romaine from my fridge and freeze dried cilantro from the pantry…

pleased to have the recipes organized and easy to find…

gadgets…

12 Sunday Mar 2017

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for the last month or so I have been having trouble working the garlic press… for whatever reason the press piece hasn’t been fitting properly into the bottom section… thought I was just getting weak or something… 

just yesterday I had a good look at it and realized that it has been bent out of shape… no idea how that happened but very happy that the mystery is solved…

went to the Dollar Store today for something else, and picked up a few gadgets…  hoping this one works…

also picked up a zester… hope it is the right size, lol… I have about three now as I keep searching to find one the right size for zesting lemons…

looking forward to trying both of these out…

packing…

11 Saturday Mar 2017

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today I spent time preparing for our trip…

went through my closet and tried on the various bits and pieces of summer clothing…

chose black, white and gray as my colour scheme… with a few pops of purple;-)…

went to the mall and bought new sandals, runners and flip flops… 

came home and did loads of laundry so that everything was ready for packing… 

started with a small suitcase and then changed to a large one, lol… 

I know I have too much stuff, but I want a few options… last time I travelled I felt I didn’t have enough things to wear…

now the trick will be to have it weigh less than 50 pounds…

still have a few days to add things… which could be the problem, lol… 

George was particularly good at adding things at the end so we would always need another bag at the last minute… but he also had an amazing ability to fit everything into a tiny space… was fun to watch…