14 March 2009 - At 10 am, Mom, Dad and Cassie showed up at our house in Madison to begin our 2nd K Family Mexican Adventure. This time around, Grandma is treating everyone on a Pacific coast vacation. A few of the faces have changed from the last trip - Anne, John and Beth are along this time; Braden and Cassie broke up so Braden isn't along, but Josh's girlfriend Whitney and Erik's fiancee Angela are. I am also 21 weeks pregnant, so this is going to be a very different trip for me. We met up with everyone at the Milwaukee airport after getting lunch at Perkins. Our flight was delay 30 min, and the alleged 4-hour flight was actually 5 hours, so that wasn't terribly pleasant. On the flip side, Dad won the plane's "Bag o'Bucks" in which passengers could put in $1 or more for a chance to win the pot. We finally got to our hotel ~ 9:30 pm local time. After getting our room, we met up with the fam for a later dinner. I probably overate a ton with how my normal schedule was messed up by traveling. I came up to bed after dinner because I was tired. The hotel seems okay on first glance, though the corridors are extremely echo-y. I think I'm tired enough to ignore it.
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| Gate-waiting |
15 March - Nick and I got up around 7:30 and went down to breakfast at ~8:30. It was nice to see the resort during the daylight. After breakfast, we took care of our transportation back to the airport. Next stop: the beach! We (Nick and I and most of the extended family) went in the ocean to face the gentle waves. The water was a little chilly, but I got used to it fairly quickly. After we tired of getting pummeled by the waves, Nick, Ben and I went into the pool with the swim-up bar. I kinda got bored after a while so I alternated between pool and beach before decided I didn't want to be wet anymore. I went up to the room to shower, and then walked around and took some pictures of the hotel before taking a short nap. I had a little difficulty finding Nick so we could go to lunch, but eventually I did and we had a nice meal with Cheryl and Stephen. Cheryl's so excited about the baby I'm growing inside of me. It got pretty windy by the beach, so we went back by the pool for a bit. Once that got a little old, Mom, Dad, Cassie, Nick & I relaxed in Mom & Dad's junior suite. At around 6:30, we met up with everyone else, and at ~7, went to have some dinner at one of the buffet restaurants. We saw the sunset just as we got there. Dinner was good, and the guy making a show out of Kahlua, coffee, ice cream and fire was even better. After dinner, we got a dose of reality finding out the Badgers are seeded 12th in the NCAA tourney. We joined some of the others in the theater area to sit and relax for a while. Loud thumping music and sound made the baby very active. Nick and I went up to bed shortly after 10 and stayed up reading.
16 March - I did some yoga in the room as the sun came up. Nick, Cass & I ate breakfast together, then met up with everyone else except Cheryl's group to plan our snorkeling excursion for tomorrow. We managed to get a deal where it'll only be 20 of us on a chartered boat to Yelapa. That took quite a while to get hammered out. Eventually, Mom, Dad, Cassie, Nick and I managed to break away and head down to Puerto Vallarta on the local buses. What a wild (as in fearing for your life) ride. With the help of some knowledgeable tourists, we managed to make it downtown. There, we briefly saw the rest of the K clan who taxi'd down. From the town square, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe so Mom could buy her guitar pin and to have a few drinks in air-conditioned splendor (warm one outside). Brian, Anne, John and Beth found us there. We left to go find lunch for the five of us, settling on Senor Frog's. That was amusing (phallic drinkware and balloon hats) and tasty. We did a little souvenir shopping, getting beaded animals (blue and white gecko for me) and a silver necklace. By that time, everyone was pretty tired, so we took another hair-raising bus ride back, stopping at the Walmart (!) to change buses. We refreshed and rested ourselves when we got back, met up with Mom, Dad & Cass in their room, then went to the restaurant along the beach for dinner. So pleasant, hearing the waves crash as you eat. The food was okay, though the fresh fruit is fantastic. They had a mini market around the courtyard, and Dad & I decided to take a turn and see what they had. I found small ceramic bowls like the ones I got last time. I wanted two, but I only had enough for one (and a bargain at that since she took 100 pesos for a bowl she wanted 150 for. We went back up to the folks' room and played Apples to Apples until 11.
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| In Puerto Vallarta |
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| At Hard Rock Cafe with John and Beth |
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| LOL |
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| "Virgin... not!!!" |
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| Strange things happen at Senor Frogs... |
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| Souvenir hunting in Puerto Vallarta |
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| Hoping not to die on the bus |
17 March - This morning, Nick and I got ready early and headed down for a bite of breakfast before meeting up with everyone except Cheryl, Stephen, Erik and Angela for our Yelapa excursion. We managed to herd the cats and made it to the pier on time. All 20 of us got aboard the schooner "Elias Mann" with our Pegaso tour guides Benjamin, Lee and Luis. The ride out was pretty interesting: we saw three humpback whales, including one that went under our boat and another that surfaced ~ 20 feet from us (so cool!), giant manta rays, and a few of the girls (Alissa, Whitney and Cassie) got seasick. I was fine. The day was bright and beautiful. The water on the bay was a little choppy, but not too bad. Seeing those whales was such an unexpected treat. On our way to Yelapa, we stopped to snorkel. The water was a bit chilly and "green" but there was a variety of fish among the rocks (much better than when we went snorkeling on the Disney cruise). After we had our fill of that, we were back on the boat and headed for the accessible-by-boat-only village of Yelapa. Our guide walked us through the hilly, run-down "streets". I got some good pictures. There was a shop (not sure if it could be called that - more like a workshop/stall where rosewood items were made and sold. I found a gorgeous vase and bought it for 400 pesos. Totally worth it. From there, we walked back down to the beach where we met up with Grandma and Dennis, who didn't attempt to walk the hills, for lunch. I don't know what kind of fish I had, but it was fantastic. Nick had the same. We left Yelapa shortly after lunch. The way back was a bit more subdued with the exception of the classic rock playing. [We also stopped at one point and several people jumped off the boat to swim.] Once back at the hotel (~6:30 is when we got back), Nick and I had a long discussion about our preferences for vacations and relaxing and why this vacation is a little difficult for me when everyone around me is drinking and I can't allow myself to have more than one drink per day if any. We met up with Mom, Dad and Cassie for dinner at the Mexican restaurant. I had way too much for dessert, but it was took good-looking to pass up. Because we spent the day with the family, Nick and I decided to have a quiet evening by ourselves in our room. We put on the World Baseball Classic game on ESPN and watched the USA come from behind in the bottom of the 9th to win. I wrote today's entry and we both read (I can see the future!). Nick adds that we got a free shot of liquor with the purchase of that vase. He is convinced it was moonshine, and from my little sip, I'm inclined to agree. Also, for future remembrance - using the tiny ship's head. :)
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| Manta rays, the squirrels of the sea |
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| Whale! |
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| Ready to snorkel |
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| Fish faces, part 1 |
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| Teeeeeeensy sip |
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| Making a rosewood vase |
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| Yelapa road |
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| The local transportation in Yelapa |
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| Cute little Yelapa school girls |
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| The tourist beach |
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| Nick getting silly |
18 March - It was a very quiet day for us. We slept in until 8:30, then once up and ready, decided to go to the Mexican restaurant for breakfast. We wanted to make dinner reservations for the Asian restaurant for the two of us, but they were already booked when we went up. We decided to head down to the beach to read, but had to wait to go because a maid was cleaning our room. Nick brought a book and I brought my baby booties I was going to attempt to embroider. It was nice, but a little breezy. We saw some of the others come down, including Mom. We decided to head up to their room for a bit and sit on their balcony. Once lunchtime rolled around, we went down to get a bite (well, everyone but Dad). Cassie came back from her canopy tour excursion and joined us, and so did Anne and Beth, briefly. We headed over to the beach and went in for a swim. The water was warmer than yesterday, but didn't seem as nice. Cassie and I didn't spend too much time in there before heading up to the seats the K Clan had claimed. We sat and chatted with folks as they wen to or came from the water. I sipped my fruit juice concoctions as everyone else had more physically altering drinks. Robby told a few jokes. Oh, and some couple got married on the beach near us. Nice, but the girls were wearing dresses that seemed way too heavy for this environment. Talk turned to the woman with the enormous boobs and magical swimsuit from yesterday. (It was magical in how it actually stayed on). Nick and I headed back to the room to shower and relax before meeting up again for dinner. Somehow, after our showers but before we left the room, all the water in the hotel got shut off. It was working about an hour later, but that was bizarre. Since nobody else gathered seemed terribly interested in eating or had reservations, Nick and I went down to the Mexican restaurant by ourselves. Dinner way okay. Definitely getting monotonous in terms of food choices, through. we played cards in the lobby bar area before Ben joined us for some Rummy. When my parents joined us, we tried to teach Ben how to play Sheepshead, but I don't think it was a success. We all went back We all went out to the theater area which was incredibly loud and crowded. The baby started kicking me like crazy, probably trying to get away from the show which just had dancers and other dress up in wigs and drag, and lip sync to overplayed songs. I wanted to get away from it, too. Once I learned to ignore it, I had a better time shouting to those around me. When the show ended, Nick and I went back upstairs to read a little before bed. I'm glad we didn't spend any money on other excursions, because they've either been "okay" (just okay isn't good enough for $85) or downright terrible, like the City Tour that Grandma, Dennis, Cheryl and Stephen went on today. I'd rather save my money for potentially buying souvenirs in Bucerias tomorrow.
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| "How big were they?" |
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| Fish faces, part 2 |
19 March - This morning, Nick and I slept in a little bit before going down to breakfast. After eating, we headed back to the room for some quiet time before I was collected by Mom and Cassie around 10:15 to head north to Bucerias. Dad and Nick stayed behind to watch the first NCAA tourney games while we had our own adventure. We were dropped off near the flea market. It was sunny and pretty warm. We wandered through the flea market, constantly having to say no to men, women and children who tried to force their wares on us. I decided I wanted a house number tile definitely. Found a few stalls, priced them out. We met Brian, Anne, John and Beth briefly before starting our second loop of the small market. The three of us each ended up buying at one stall. I got the house number and stand I wanted, plus a spoon rest and a pretty iridescent bowl, while Mom & Cassie both got glasses they'll use as candle holders. We wandered back along the beachfront street, taking some pictures. Since it was hot and noon, we stopped at a restaurant. There, we got refreshments, guacamole and chips, and I got a bowl of tortilla soup. I paid for a very... interesting rendition of La Bamba played by a strolling musician. We headed back to the hotel after that and spent a few quiet hours in Mom & Dad's room. Then, Nick (who had been swimming) and I went back to our room to rest and get ready for dinner. We all (yes, ALL) met up for dinner at 6, took a family picture (herding cats, I swear!) and went to dinner at the Brazilian restaurant. we sat with the folks, Cassie, Kathy, Grandma and Dennis. The dinner was excellent, but LOTS of meat. Afterwards, a bunch of us headed to the theater area and gathered around a few tables. Mom broke out the glow sticks and she, Dad, Nick, Tyler and I played Sheepshead. I I decided I wanted to avoid the Michael Jackson show, so I left when that started and headed up to the room to write and read.
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| Bucerias flea market |
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| Sisters |
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| Matching with a fake parrot |
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| Being serenaded |
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| K clan, 2009 |
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| Salud! |
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| Nick caught cheating |
20 March - Our last full day down here was by far the quietest. I was up early and asked Anne to include Nick and me on the reservation she was making for her family and Rob's family for the Asian restaurant. Nick and I went to breakfast after that, meeting up with Mom and Dad. Nick was feeling a bit hungover and I have had plenty of sun myself, so we spent the rest of the morning in the room reading, watching bball, and in my case, doing word puzzles. For a little while, we got to "see" the baby move for the first time when I laid back and bared my belly. We went down to lunch and then to the beach. Nick, Alissa, Beth, Ben, Tyler and I played volleyball against some friendly folk and Whitney. The sun and sand were both scorching, so the game didn't last long (not that it was much of a game to begin with :) ). We found out a number of family members got some sort of tummy bug that was doing evil things to them. I have my fingers cross (and washed thoroughly!) that I'm not going to get it. We headed back up to the room for a siesta and more of the same as this morning. we met up with the others in our dinner party at 6, then proceeded to the Asian restaurant. The hot food was okay, but what I really wanted and got was the sushi. Yum! Nick enjoyed the sushi and was very excited to get fried ice cream. We decided it wasn't worth it after all to catch a cab to Bucerias to watch the Badger basketball game at a sports bar, especially because we had no idea which one Mom and Dad ended up at. Instead, we went back to the room and tried to get a sense for the game from ESPN's bottom line. I got my stuff ~90% backed for the trip home. Both Nick and my tummies are feeling a bit unsettled, and I hope that's as bad as they get. At ~10:15, the final score came across the bottom line - Wisconsin 61, Florida St 59 after overtime (preceded by a phone call from Dad letting us know the final.) Woo!
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| Nick, me, Ben, Beth, Tyler |
21 March - Our last day in Puerto Vallarta was a quiet one. Nick and I got up and had breakfast, then went back up to the room to finish packing. We had to be out of our room by noon and we were. After that, we ate a bite for early lunch, killed time playing sheepshead in the lobby, and had a late bite for lunch since we're not getting food on the plane. Even after that, we had more time to kill, which we did sitting in a big group in the lobby. Our transportation is supposed to take us at 5:10 and our plane leaves for Milwaukee at ~7:45. I can only hope that it'll be on time. And... it was.
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| Preying mantis at breakfast |
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| Courtyard fountain at the hotel |
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| Nick enthralled by the giant plants |
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| Close enough... |
22 March - We got back to Milwaukee at 1 am, swiftly went through customs and collected our bags, then found a shuttle to Mom & Dad's SUV practically waiting for us. We got to Madison and our house ~3:30 am. The kitties wouldn't let Nick and me sleep.
Unfortunately, Nick was sick with flu-like symptoms Sunday and Monday, while I seemed to get what Cassie had, preventing me from going in to work as well. I'm not sure if I'm keen to go back to Mexico any time soon.
{transcribed 1/29/2020}
