Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families. I hope everyone ate plenty of Turkey, Ham and all the fixings.

Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here in Mexico but we made the most of it w/family. My Mom & Step-Dad, Sandy came to visit. Mom of course didn't want me to cook...They prefer to eat out every meal. There were several restaurants serving up a Thanksgiving Buffet but that just didn't sound very appealing. Nothing compares to a home cooked meal! So we enjoyed plenty of meals around town. I don't think we ever got hungry before our next meal.

Their visit was short but we made the most if it. We had a great time showing them the city we've become very fond of.

Baseball was high on the list of

activities. The weather was

perfect and crowd loud.

Our seats were on the 1st base

side, a few rows up from the field.

Before the game, players hang

out at the entrance gates

to take photos & sign

autographs.

We introduced them to karaoke at

Puerto Viejo.

I think they had a good time.

Mom & Sandy did a

fantastic job w/ Crying Times by Ray Charles. We were surprised how well they performed.

It's all about ME! We celebrated my birthday, AGAIN. I told you I celebrate all month long

Hell if I know what they are singing. How is that Sandy knew what to request?

He's Greek! Very impressive.

We had a special treat for Mom & Sandy. We spent the 4 days in our apartment and had a blast showing them the Old Historical area. We took them to all our local hangouts, shopped at the Mercado, ate & drank plenty at the Plaza Machado and saw some really nice sunsets on the beach.

Well we decided to change the scenary for them. We told them to pack their bags for a few nights that we had a surprise in stored. They had no idea what we had up our sleeve. Mom was a little scared when Bob asked if I had the tent packed. That was classic! Bob had arranged for a couple of nights to be spent at La Jolla resort. A small resort off the beat and path, quiet and nothing to do but lay around the pool and body surf. Sandy is a fish and he is in awe with the ocean. He was like a little kid playing in the waves. Not to mention Bob was right there with him. We did have a personal chauffeur, Regino provided by La Jolla. That was a nice change since we normally "bus it" or walk. Since we were not cooking, Regino took us to Playa Bruja and the Golden Zone for some fabulous meals.

Having some pre-dinner

cocktails on our balcony

Don't think they had a

hard time relaxing.

Playa Bruja is a local hangout for all the surfers. They say

if you want to catch some waves this is the place to be. This happens to be a fabulous restaurant too.

We saw some really pretty sunsets on this playa

We really enjoyed our visit with

Mom & Sandy.

Thank you for spending your

Thanksgiving Holiday

with us.

We love you both!

Fab Day of Golfing

The weather here has been fabulous. Warm (80 degrees) with a nice breeze. My morning started with an hour of yoga and then off to golf course. We enjoyed our afternoon golfing at Estrella Del Mar w/Tom and Blake. Estrella Del Mar is a new "master plan" community near the beach, about 30 mins from our apartment. Huge homes, condos, nice restaurant, hotel, and golfing. The golf course was awesome and one of the better ones I've played at.

Beautiful Fairways

We teed off at 1:30 and finished at sunset.

The guys played really well...my game well...I had a blast. Tom from Minnesota

& Blake from Western Canada

we're suppose to be

golfing not having

a photo session.

Can't you hear him

saying that???

This is the temporary club house

while the main one is being built

Quiet! Bob is in his backswing.

Look at these cute restrooms

They had some great tunnels

Beisbol

Baseball at its finest. Hey there. Bob & I caught a game last night and what a great time we had. We arrived about 30 mins early to the game to purchase our ticket without any problems. We splurged and bought the "expensive" seats which were $105 pesos per ticket. In the exchange process that equals $8.oo usd...wow. The seats were actually too close to the field and the view was bad for any plays made in the outfield so we moved behind home plate 3 rows back. Fabulous seats! The crowd was a hoot! I loved it! There were approximately 5,000 fans at the game but they were lively. My Mom would have a hay day in this stadium. They came around w/Ceviche, Candy Apples, Cookies/Empandas, Peanuts, and Tostadas. Plus, they have a great food court. Best of all the beer was only $1.25, peanuts were $.80, a slice of pizza $1.50...those are American prices. The Venados "Deers" have 5 players on their roster from the states. One of them is Ruben Rivera. Does that name ring a bell with any of you? He's an ex-Yankee and famous for stealing Derek Jeter's bat & glove from his locker. (My cousin Danette would have paid more than the $2500 he sold this merchandise for. ) No second chances for this guy. The team voted him off the organization and now he's playing down here on the Mazatlan team. I wish I had pictures to post of the stadium but Bob had been charging the battery and forgot to grab it on the way out the door. The weather is a little cooler now so we plan to catch more games. We'll get some pictures next time. Hope everyone is doing well. Lots of love - Bonnie & Bob

Where's Maz?

I'm hearing this from a lot of folks out there. Where is Mazatlan? I'm attaching a map hopefully you will be able to pull it up. http://www.maps-of-mexico.com/

Mazatlan is directly east of Cabo San Lucas. In fact there is a 15 hour ferry/cargo boat that runs between Cabo & Mazatlan several times a week.

There are 3 main areas of Mazatlan I can write about. El Centro, Malecon/Boardwalk, and the Golden Zone. El Centro/Downtown (where we have been living). This is the old historical area and south side of town. There lots of businesses, museums, plazas/town squares, restaurants, the Mercado and tons of history. The majority of the buildings in this area are 100+ years old and the sidewalks are treacherous. People congregate at the plazas in the mornings for coffee and chat before heading to work. We find this area extremely easy to get around without a car since everything is within walking distance. Sundays is our quiet day due to businesses being closed and fewer people in the area. The beach on the south side is not as happening as that on the north but the sunsets are very nice and there's enough going . El Centro is the less expensive of the 3 locations.

Malecon/Boardwalk area. This is the main road traveled. It stretches around 8 miles. 2 lanes of traffic running south and 2 lanes of traffic running north. In between is a median of parallel parking. The beach and seawall are on one side of the road while restaurants, clubs and hotels are on the other side. The Malecon is a very active area for the fitness enthusiasts. People are running, walking, or rollerblading at all hours of the night. The baseball stadium is nearby. On the weekends younger crowds hang out in the medians and tailgate. I'm guessing they are jump starting their party before hitting the clubs. The beach along this stretch is nice and Sunday's it filled with families enjoying their time together. Great people watching at all times.

The Golden Zone. This is the major "resort" area. Lots of tourists. Lots of souvenir shops & restaurants and new construction. The beaches in this area are very nice but full of vendors selling "silver", sarongs, wooden trinkets, cowboy hats and so many other things. Here you can rent jet skis, go out on a catamaran, and parasail. Most resorts are private and you cannot use the palapas on the beach but there are some restaurants that have similar set up for your use. Primarily English is spoken and with that you are bombarded with Time Share presentations. I'm sure you can guess this is the more expensive area of the 3 but all in all...Maz is fairly inexpensive. This community also homes a lot of expats living in condos. This area is nice and all, but to me it's like living back in the states and too commercialized.

This is our first time to visit Mazatlan and we've really enjoyed it. We've found that there are lots of folks that visit here from California, Minnesota, Oregon and Canadians.

So what is so special about this place that makes Americans & Canadians want to retire here? There a large number of Ex-Pats (ex patriots) living here and some have been here a long time.

1. Mazatlan's cost of living & medical is still very inexpensive.
2. Safety.
3. Great medical facilities. They have a hospital care, ambulance service and English speaking doctors.
4. Shopping & Mega Grocery stores. Wal-mart, Sam's, Office Depot, Home Depot just to name a few. Nothing 3rd world about this city.
5. Excellent bus service. Why bother with a car unless you just have to have one. Plus the taxis here are cheap for those wondering what to do about groceries.
6. Strong Expat community. They have an organization here called "Friends of Mexico". They meet for a breakfast buffet once a month to discuss all the activities taking place in the city. They even have their own publishing for an English newspaper. Tons of networking going on here. Lots of charitable organizations for those wanting to give back to the community. We attended one of their meeting to see what it was all about and they do a good job keeping the information flowing.
7. You can be as active as you want in Maz. There's golfing, fishing, bowling, baseball games, charities and organizations to be involved in. Stay in shape...The Malecon, gyms, yoga and Pilate's are offered.

So can see the attraction to Mazatlan.

Take care everyone. Hope all is going well.

Lots of love - Bonnie & Bob

Pedialyte

Hi! How is everyone doing? I have to say I'm feeling really good today. I had been feeling under the weather for the past week and a half. Not sure what was going on but it started with flu like symptoms but only lasted 12 hours (chills, fever, & body ache) but soon after...Montezuma Revenge! Yikes. Normally this is Bob's problem. I never have this problem. At first I really didn't mind and if I need to go anywhere for an extended period of time, I just took an Immodium. Otherwise, I was on the Eat N Release program. So, what's the problem w/Eat N Release program? Weight was coming off. Gotta like that. But I also noticed some dehydration. So I bumped up my water intake; I knew what to do. After all, my Mom is a nurse. Well after a few days into this my energy level was way down. I could have slept the entire day away if I'd let myself. I tried to get active and not think about sleeping but it got the better of me. My friend Cheryl told me try Pedialyte. She drinks it after a heavy night of drinking and when she's feeling bad. I've never heard of this. Bob & I went out to play some golf. We were only going to play 9 holes and Thank God. I couldn't have played anymore. I was hot, disoriented, and needed to get back to our apt NOW. I pretty much passed out as soon as we got home. When I woke up hours later, I had a horrible headache. I couldn't take it anymore, I was tired of feeling tired and so out of it. What the hell, I gave this Pedialyte a shot. I drank a liter of this stuff. It's not good I might add but not the worst I've had either. Taste like watered down kool-aid. I tried the Strawberry and Grape flavors. Strawberry was a tad better. Anyway, within a few hours I started feeling better. My energy was coming back and the headache was gone. I must have been a lot more dehydrated than I thought I was plus my electrolytes were all out of whack. Had I only listened to my friend, Cheryl sooner. I'm very glad to say...I'm back! Everything is great again. No more Montezuma, no more feeling like crap and I'm enjoying the outdoors. Who would have thought Pedialyte. Hopefully if you ever start to feel dehydration; you will now know to try Pedialyte. Amazing stuff! Ciao - Bonnie

Birthday Month

As most of you know...it's my Birthday month. Yes, I celebrate all month long. Are you kidding me? I count my blessing to be alive each year. The actual day has come and gone but I never pass up a free drink, cake, birthday spankings...hehehe! I do appreciate all the birthday wishes I've received. Thank you very much, truly means a lot to me. Saturday we spent most of the afternoon and evening with our friends Pete, Cheryl and Suzanne (Pete's Daughter) The last week of their stay here in Maz they moved out of our apartments and into a fancy resort, Pueblo Bonito. They invited us over for the day to hang at the pool and beach. Pete got up early (5:00 a.m.) to reserve a Palapa and chaises for all of us. Thank you, Pete! The afternoon was fantastic. We did catch the end LSU/Alabama game as we were dressing for dinner. What a game that was. After the game we caught a cab to the furthest beach north of town. They call this beach Playa Bruja. "Witches Beach". I don't know the meaning of the name but I do know it's a surfers hang out. We were there for dinner. What a fabulous dinner we had too. Lobster & Shrimp...can't beat that. At the end of our dinner the wait staff came out with this horrible noise maker, pinata, shot of tequila and cake. Happy Birthday to me...Happy Birthday to me... After dinner we caught our cab back to their resort but went across the street to Munchies for a night cap. Actually we thought the bar was having karaoke that night but turns up the guy didn't show with his machine. Bummer! We're really getting into that karaoke scene and not just me! Bob has let loose and he's really good. Sunday (my actual birthday) was laid back. I slept really late (10:00 a.m.) Dang! I must have been tired. Bob was waiting patiently for me to wake up. Apparently he was starving and ready to take me out for breakfast. We caught a bus and went to a place called Panamas. Our normal ritual on Sundays is to hit Caliente's Sportbook to catch all the football games but this Sunday no one was showing my Texans. Which I guess it was a blessing. What happened? Geez! Don't answer that...I know! After a couple of hours we headed back to the apartment where we chilled for the afternoon. Bob took a nap and I hung out by the pool reading. Later that evening Bob treated me to a nice dinner around the corner. Gotta say... I've been eating some great meals. Well our friend Pete and his daughter Suzanne have left to go back home. Cheryl leaves tomorrow. I'm really sad. We had a such a great time and we will miss them. Until next time! Hugs - Bonnie & Bob

Dia de Los Muertos

The Day of the Dead is celebrated every November 1st & 2nd thru out Mexico and what a tradition this is. I'm so glad we were part of this celebration. Families built alters on their porches, cars, and at the plazas in memories of their loved ones. On the 1st, families gather to eat and drink the favorites of their loved ones. There's a party on the plaza to view the procession, listen to the bands, and run w/the donkeys. The parade continues thru the plaza and up the streets for approx 2 miles and is lead by donkeys w/the decorated carts. Each cart carries several kegs of beer and is distributed to those who run behind them. We joined in and walked a few blocks behind the donkey carts. I say "walked" because the donkeys never took off running. Plus it was jammed packed with people pushing their way up to the front for their foamed keg beer. Bands were playing in between the carts, and everyone was having a blast. Like I said the streets were packed!

These ladies are actually ballerinas. After the parade they did a traditional dance on stage in the Plaza.

We had a great time. Thanks to Cheryl; a veteran to the festive celebration...she had us set up nicely. We had reservation at La Tramoya @ 6:00pm. We had a fabulous dinner and front row seats to all the action. Cheryl & Pete hung around at the table for the sideline view while Bob & I joined in w/the donkey walk but after a few blocks we had enough and joined Cheryl & Pete back at the table. Lots of activity was taking place at the Plaza even after the parade had moved on.

So what's happening on November 2nd? More family time but it's spent at cemetery. Families take the time to pray and maintain the grave site by placing new flowers or memorabilia.