South American Tour: Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas, Chile

Monday, January 25, 1965 Enroute to Puerto Montt, Chile

The surface of the sea was smooth but there were large swells underneath that caused the ship to pitch this is the first time the sailing has been uncomfortable. Shortly before we left the Pacific and turned inside thru the channels, bays and lakes, the most beautiful panaramas we have seen. At 8:45 PM and the sun is still shining, we anchored off Puerto Montt, a town of 25,000 people. The docks and the town itself were badly damaged in the earthquake of 1960.

Tuesday, January 26, 1965 Puerto Montt to Puerto Varas, Chile

Puerto Montt is the southern terminus of the central (state) railroad (from Santiago and also of the Pan-American Highway. It is a busy port exporting timber, wool, and leather. Last night we were told the agents boat would pick us up at 8:00 AM. All of us anticipated a beautiful scenic show ashore as this is one of the beauty spots of Chile and of South America. At 10 AM we were still waiting. The port has no lighters or barges for loading and unloading ships at anchor in the harbor. (The earthquake destroyed the docks.) The Navy came to the rescue with their navel landing craft and so the commerce moves. Our Captain says "This is the only place in the world where the navy really works."

At 10:30 AM the passengers received word that a small boat was coming out and small it was. Twelve passengers crowded, the pilot and wife boarded it. The women crowded into and filled the small cabin space. The men stood at the half door holding on to whatever was available. There was a fair sized afterdeck but not a seat on it much less a rail. The water was very choppy and there was a stiff wind blowing. As the bay, Seno de Reloncavi, is more than 25 miles across it, the wind can stir it up quite a bit. We landed and walked the 1/4 mile to dock gate and took a bus to main part of town.

The pilot, Manual Montaldo, took us in hand as he is familiar with the town. We window-shipped until 1 PM when we took a modern up-to-date, clean Mercedes Bus to Puerto Varas 20 KM Northwest on magnificent lago llanquihue (pronounced: yankee way). Puerto Varas is a tourism center having as a magnificent background, the most beautiful Chilean snow capped volcanoes- Osorno and Calbuco often called, "Punch and Judy." The lake covers 530 sq. miles and is 200 feet above sea level. It is the largest and best known of the Chilean Lakes. We ate at the Gran Hotel - lobster and fillet. Millie shopped at the gift shop in the hotel and purchased an exquisite vase and woven straw plate.

Walked back to the main street and took bus back to Puerto Montt at 4 PM. and then the street bus to dock area. The tide was out making the small wharf too high so we boarded by crawling on broken concrete and jumping to deck of small launch. The stevadors had taken a three hour sista 11 to 2 so 5 PM sailing had to be postponed. They finished at eight and then the crew began putting the long booms in their cradles - the first time since we left - indicating there was some rough weather ahead. WE sailed at 9 PM.

Wednesday, January 27, 1965

During the night the ship passed thru what is called, 'Canal Moraleda" between thousands of islands and heavily ofrested slopes of snow capped mountains on both sides. Somewhere about 45 S. Latitude the ship turned westward and headed for the Pacific Ocean. It was the roughest sea we had encountered so far. The ship pitched and rolled walking was difficult and the weather was gloomy.

Thursday, January 28, 1965

We rose at 7:30 looking out the window we could see the ship was back in the mountains. They rise sharply out of the water on both sides and we knew we were back on the inside tract. Leaving the Pacific the ship had crossed the Gulfo de Penas and entered Canal Messier. These "Canals" are not canals as we know them, but designated ship channels which have been determined by survey. The passage may be a mile or more wide or it may narrow down to three or four hundred feet. In this maze of fjord, bays lanes and islands, a channel for these large ships is most necessary. Sometimes so narrow that only one ship can pass thru. At 10 am the ship stopped and waited until 11:30 before we received clearance to proceed. In one section where it is necessary to follow on "s" curve thru the "English Narrow" the anchor is lowered to water surface and two crew members stand by ready to drop it electrically should the helmsman lose control of the ship to wind or tide. After we came out we passed another ship the first one we have seen on this run.

In this section of Chile, the sun breaks thru the clouds on the average of 51 days a year. It rains every day, anyway. With this rainfall, the mountains are heavily forested and there is plenty of snow with large glaciers. This has been a day of unique and wonderful scenery. Most of the passengers spent the morning and afternoon up in the bow except when a rain squall came along. Taking pictures and just looking thru binoculars. It was the most beautiful and unusual that we have ever seen.

South American Tour: Santiago, Concepcion, and Talcahuano, Chile

Friday, January 22, 1965 Santiago to Concepcion to Talcahuano, Chile

Up at 6:30. Packed to take the eleven hour trip to Concepcion. We were on a coach with all seats reserved. There were several other coaches, but ours was the only one going to Concepcion. Every coach was crowded and 2/3 were children, but the best behaved youngsters I have ever seen. Never was one allowed to run in the aisle or annoy adults. They just sat in there seats for hour after hour. We left the hotel at 9:30 AM., the train departed at 10 AM. It was pretty much of a milk run, but they amazing country side between two chains of the Andes Mountains. Excellent farming and grazing county. By the time we arrived in Concepcion there were at least 50 passengers without seats, standing in the aisle of our coach with their bags and boxes.

We became acquainted with a young chap, Alberto Duharn McInnes a native who spoke excellent English with a Scottish burr. One of his grandfathers was a Scot, the other a Frenchman and his mother a Chilean. We had an excellent dinner on the train, altho the waiter had trouble with our English. At Concepcion, our new friend for us a taxi and instructed the driver to take us to three hotels, in case one or two did not have double rooms with twin beds. Imagine our surprise when all three told us no rooms at all, neither could we find any at other hotels. The driver took us to some others, most pretty bad. So we told the driver to take us back to Railroad Station and we would prepare to sit out the night. The lunchroom, telephone, office were closed up, but the waiting room still was open. We left Tom with the luggage and Millie, Bea and I went looking for a phone to call ship's agent to find out where the ship was.

At a nearby hotel we started, the clerk knew no English, but he tried valiantly to help. Jones was the name of the agent, but the number we had was no good. There is no info dept. or phone co. We wanted to contact the park authority who might give us some info. The clerk finally spotted, "Maritimas" in the phone book, phoned it, and asked for Mr. Jones phone no. They had it! A contact was made with Mr. Jones and he told us the ship was in Talcahuano (pronounced: Talca WANA) the Chilean Navel Base 17 KM away. He was sure we could go thru the base to our ship if we had our passports, we did. Our spirits picked up as we hired a taxi. We checked at the gate of the naval base headquaters and were given definite directions to our ship. Apparently, Mr. Jones had phoned to expect us. Man o' Man did that bed feel good. It was one-forty five in the morning.

Saturday, January 23, 1965 Talcahuano, Chile

Today, large sacks of flour are being unloaded, donation by the U.S. to the starving Chileans. Some of the passengers walked the short distance over to the highway where they took the bus, after waiting an hour, to Concepcion. The town observes the "English Holiday" so little shopping can be done on Saturday afternoon.

Sunday, January 24, 1965 Talcahuano, Chile

Still unloading sacks of flour. Weather still beautiful. No rain since we left San Francisco December 14th. Temperature cool, very enjoyable. At 5 PM unloading had been completed and hatches closed and the ship took off. The pilot who will take the ship thru the inside passage and Strait came on board bringing his wife who will be with us until we reach Puenta Arenas. He does not go to work until we turn into the channel 390 miles away.

Awesome Weekend in Dallas

Saturday, November 1st, 2014 - To Dallas

About three months ago, I called up my friend Lynse Kae and asked her if she wanted to go to the Dallas Cowboys vs. Cardinals game. She is a big Cowboy fan and I'm a big Cardinals fan. I have been wanting to go to an away game for a while now so I thought this would work out great. 

My flight was at 9 am on Saturday. I had to go a little early because I decided to check my bag because I wanted to bring a bottle of Cline wine. We found the wine one night at Total Wine and we both liked it. So it is our wine. Hopefully, the bottle does break on the way.

The flight had a stop in El Paso, but we didn't need to change planes. 98 passengers stayed on the plane. I think everyone is going to watch the Cardinals play. 

Arrived in Dallas at 2 and it was much cooler than Phoenix. I didn't bring any jackets, but I packed pants instead of shorts! 

After the flight, I took a taxi to the Marriott Courtyard on Highlander Blvd. At first the taxi cab driver took me to Highland St., but it was quickly corrected. Lynse had arrived earlier than I did so she had already checked in. After getting my stuff put down we decided to go have lunch/dinner. 

The Marriott has a van service for anything within 3 miles. The driver's name was Jerre and he was 87 years old. He was very nice and he gave us a few recommendations. Also, he told us some stories about his life. We told Jerre that we wanted some Texas BBQ around. He recommended a place called Rudy's. I guess that it is pretty popular in Texas, because the person at the counter sounded shocked that we'd never been before. We both got brisket sandwiches and new potatoes. The meat was smoked just right! After the meal we sat and caught up. Lynse moved to Las Vegas four years ago and we hadn't seen each other since last September.

Once we were caught up, we went outside to look around. We thought we saw a bowling alley so we walked over to it, but it wasn't abandoned. So we decided to go to Chuy's to get Margarita's and Strawberry Daiquiris. We continued our talking there. After our cocktails we returned to the hotel. We spent even more talking and drinking wine. There is a bistro down in the lobby and we sat in there for a bit, but ended up in our rooms.

Sunday, November 2nd, 2014 - Dallas Texas

Bernadette and Lynse Kae

Since I was born and raised in Arizona, I have never experienced daylight savings time. So Sunday was the first day I got to fall back. I was grateful because we got to sleep in a little longer than we would have. After we were up, we got ready for the game and went to meet Jerre. He was giving us a ride to the stadium. Even though it wasn't within 3 miles he had the morning off and said he could get us to the stadium. When we got downstairs, we found out that Jose was going to give us a ride. Someone from the night before gave Jerre a ticket to the game, so he was going too! 

Unlike the Cardinals stadium the Cowboys Stadium was surrounded by houses and business. So it was interesting for me to see people walking from their houses to the game. Also, the tailgating is a little different. They had some in the parking lot like in Arizona, but once we got through security and had our tickets scanned in there was an outdoor tailgating that included bars, a stage with a band, and different activities. It was really cool to see. Since we had never been to the stadium before we had to walk go all the way up to level 400 in order to bypass the club level to get to our seats which were in section 203. It was quite a trek, but I got to see a lot of the stadium. It is huge. I only had a few people boo, or hiss at me for wearing a Cardinals jersey. 

Once we found our seats we decided to get something to eat, but made a detour to get a Cowboys jacket for Lynse. I got a hot dog and beer, Lynse got a hot dog and pretzel. Then we went back to our seats. It was just in time they just finished God Bless America. The opening ceremonies was really cool. They had fireworks and the cheerleaders were great dancers. Also, they had military people and a dog repel from the megatron! They had the coin for the coin toss. It was amazing! Cardinals won the toss so they decided to receive.

The game started with Cowboys ahead 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, but the Cardinals ended with 28-17. So Cardinals are now 7-1 better than any team in the league, the first time that has ever happened.

During the game I also got nachos and another beer, but I didn't finish the nachos, they were good, but too greasy. After the game we went outside and looked at the bricks around the Stadium. Lynse's family has a brick with their name on it so we tried to find it, but couldn't there were too many. Then, we walked down the street to the Quick Trip, so that we could be picked up by Jose. He took a little while getting there, but it all worked out. We rode back with a couple that said that dropped a lot of money on a lot of superbowl games in the past. They lost all the ones they talked about. Talk about unlucky!

Once we were back in the room we decided to get Mexican food at Mercado Juarez at Jerre's recommendation. I got Shrimp Fajitas which were so good. They had carrots and broccoli as some of the vegetables in the Fajitas, I've never had that before, but it was great! I also had another Margarita. Lynse had a chimichanga she said she has not had Mexican food in over a year. They don't have very good Mexican food in Las Vegas, I guess. 

After dinner we decided to go back to the hotel and see if we could catch the Broncos and Patriots game. It was still on but in the fourth quarter. We were both shocked to hear that the Broncos were losing. During the game we chatted, we chatted so much that we ended up watching the Steelers and Ravens game. What a football filled day!

Monday, November 3rd, 2014, Dallas to Phoenix

After all the greasy food from the last two days, Lynse and I decided to skip all the junk at the airport and fast for the day. We want to fast until Wednesday, then eat a raw food diet for two weeks. I don't know how well that will work, because there will be so much candy at work since it's the week after Halloween. 

Our flights left around 3 pm and we had to check out at noon so we went to the airport early. Jose drove us to the airport on his lunch break. We said goodbye to Jerre too. They were nice guys and very helpful and accommodating. We were at the the airport a little early so we just talked and waited for our planes. Lynse had to change gates twice for some reason, but it all worked out. We both had fun, but were glad to be getting home to see our dogs and families! 

South American Tour: Valparaiso and Santiago Chile

Wednesday, January 20th 1965, Valparaiso Chile

The ship docked at six am. It is Chile's main port and her second largest city with 220,000 population. The city is divided into two parts. The business section lives on the flat level piece of land on the inner circle of the amphitheater of hills. The 41 hills using 1000 to 1400 feet sharply behind the downtown area are each a city within themselves with their winding streets and step cobbled lanes. 20 ascensores (funiculars) and roads link them with downtown section. We hired at taxi and guide from a group that came on board. We were able to buy Chilean money from taxi driver at four escudos to $1.00 U. S., the official rate is 3.2/3.5 to 1, so we bought $200. We drove to the top of one of the hills and had a wonderful view of the bay and town then thru the business area to Vina del Mar. Here we registered at Bernardo O'Higgins Hotel, Then drove along the beaches to Con Con, another resort and back to Hotel at 3 P.M. for lunch. We had given the guide money to buy R.R. tickets to Santiago and he was to meet us at 7:15 AM on the morrow. On second thought, it could go sour as appointments to in S.A., so Millie and Bea walked the 2 blocks to R.R. station with the guide and took the tickets. We relaxed for an hour and then all four strolled down the main business street. We were not alone, it appeared. that all the families in town turned out to do the same thing. Many of the guide books mention it is not kosher for ladies to wear slakes on the streets. Actually, at lest one out of ten wore them. It was light until nearly nine which was the time we returned to Hotel. Freshened up a bit and ate in main dinning room.

Thursday January 21, 1965 Nina del Mar-Santiago, Chile

Up at 6:30. The guide was waiting in lobby. We paid hotel bill. The guide instructed the porter what to do with luggage and we left. I thought we would take a taxi, but the Station was just across the plaza, so we walked. We boarded a very nice electric train leaving at 7:40 for the 116 mile, 2.5 hour ride to Santiago. When the conductor came thru we told him we wanted breakfast. He knew wanted to eat but that was all he figured out. He left and came back shortly with a waiter who was not a linguist, and a man who might have been a maitre d'. He acted as interpreter in getting our needs into 'espanol' for the waiter. The breakfast was served at our seats on trays, airplane style. Before we arrived in

Santiago we had become better acquainted with our linguist - he was a Valparaiso business man who spent one day a week in Santiago. He stayed with us until 6 PM and certainly was a big help with the language barrier. We arrived in Santiago, the Capital of Chile about 10 am. We took taxi to Kent Hotel on Avenida Huerfanos. After registering and stowing our baggage we walked to a travel bureau in Cervera Hilton Hotel to arrange for trip to Chilian lake area. There we were told that all planes in southern Chile were booked solid for the next 30 days - mid-summer vacation travel, you know. So we decided to rejoin ship at Talcahuana and ordered and paid for R.R. tickets for tomorrow. The tickets were to be delivered to our hotel. Mr. Valenzuela took us to Union Club for lunch, then a taxi tour to see the capital. It is the largest city in South America with 2,000,000, altitude 1700 feet. There are no negroes here and very few in the entire country. Hired taxi and toured city, and ended by motoring up the winding road to the top of Cerro San Custobal. Here are excellent views of the city from many angles. Then back to hotel for rest it was 7:30 and the sun still high in the sky.

South American Tour: Iquique and Antofagasta, Chile

Saturday, January 16th, 1965 Iquique, Chile

50 Peso = $0.013 U.S.

Altho we are still in the tropical zone and it is now mid-summer the weather is quite cool with a stiff wind blowing. The ship moved to the dock in Iquique, Chile to unload 42 tons of cargo. As soon as we were cleared we went down the gangplank and walked to town about 3/4 mile away. One half hour was spent in the local post office purchasing stamps for letters and cards. An increase in postal rates had gone into effect that morning stamps seem to be the one product that costs more money than US counterpart. It was Sat. afternoon. "English Holiday" it is called and all stores are closed. The town is a busheling seaport sitting on a narrow plane between the Andes and the sea. The mountains are completely bare and brown in color and start up at the town's edge. Iquique is near the country's nitrate and iodine mining center. We returned by taxi shortly before 5 PM and ship left at 5:35 PM.

Sunday, January 17th, 1965 Antofagasta, Chile

222 miles south of Iquique we sailed into the large crescent shaped bay on which Antofagasta is located and anchored in the harbor at 9:30 AM. Last Thursday a ship on the dock blew up when a cylinder of propane gas was dropped and exploded. The fumes reached the galley stove and that was it. Several men volunteered to cart the liner and then it was towed away from the dock where it burned all night with the cylinders popping like bombs. In the morning it sank and only the top of one of the cranes is above water. Eight men died in the accident and all the other stevedores took a three day holiday. Hence we didn't come.

The passengers were cleared by immigration and 9 went ashore in a water taxi. Millie and I stayed aboard and napped. We will go in tomorrow when the stores are open. The city was founded in 1870 following the discovery of nitrates nearby. It now has a population of more than 100,000. It seldom rains here and the climate is temperate and dry. The tropic of Capricorn passes a few miles north of here, so we are now out of the tropics and in the south temperate zone. The town is built on the side of hills which rise abruptly for miles from the sea into steep mountains. The town extends along this incline for many miles. Antofagasta is a beautiful sight, well lighted and easy to see from offshore due to gradual rise in elevation towards the steep Andes. Tonight it was especially intriguing as a full moon rose over the Andes and flodded the city with moonlight.

Monday, January 18th, 1965 Antofagasta, Chile

When we awoke at 7:30 the ship had firthed at the "U" shape dock that holds at least eight large ships. After breakfast most of the passengers went to town. There wasn't a taxi in sight and believe me most of the taxis in this and the other towns are a sight. Many are pre-war American cars. When they loose a fender it is lost-period. No replacements. New cars cost 2 and 1/2 times original US selling price. We walked a mile to the Antofagasta Hotel an excellent one, owned and operated by the Chilean government. We were looking for Tom and Bea as they did not return to ship last night. The desk clerk told us they were not registered. Later when shown the name "FINNERTY" printed in block letters he recognized it and said they were in room 526. We were concerned because we were told they had gone off last evening with a chap who was "loco." Later we met the "loco." and the was a 200 pound American mining enginer who is building an 8" oil pipeline over the Andes between Bolivia and Antofagasta. 

We were told the ship would sail at 11 am so we ordered a taxi for 10:30. We waited and waited it showed up at 11:50 after bellboy went after it. As usual the ship was delayed and we left at 2 PM. It is rather discouraging when there are so many things we would like to do and strange places to see and then loose so many hours thru poor decisions and errors. For diversion, while waiting, we noticed a cow swimming in the center of the "U" docks. A ship opposite ours was loading cattle and one of them unhappy with accommodations jumped overboard. (Boy, that must have been a strange nautical exclamation in Japanese "Cow Overboard.") One sailor went over the side to bring it back. He didn't dare grab it for the dangers of being kicked but tried to steer it by splashing water in it's face. The main problem being the cow was a better and faster swimmer. Later another sailor joined the water ballet. They finally got the cow between the bow of the ship and the dock and other sailors blocked off escape. We couldn't see the finale of this drama of the cow and sea, but it was different from our nautical adventures.

Back on the Pacific the sea is glass smooth with long rooling swells. The ship is doing quite a job of pitching. At five PM Hazel Lewis and Marian Pease entertained with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Dinner at six, bridge at seven.

South American Tour: Cerro Azul and Ilo Peru

Thursday, January 14th, 1965 Cerro Azul

It was just a month ago today that we sailed out of San Francisco Bay on this trip around South America. We have made 11 stops, one in California, three in Mexico, one each in Canal Zone, Columbia, Ecuador and three in Peru. We have traveled about 3300 miles by ship and a 1000 miles by plane.

When we arose at seven we were anchored in glass-smooth water off the town of Cerro Azul (Blue Hill) Peru. We are some distance from shore and there are no water taxies available. WE expect to depart for Ilo between 11 and 3. No cargo was unloaded, but lighters brought cotton bales that were taken aboard. We left for Ilo, Peru at 12 noon our last stop in Peru.

Friday, January 15th, 1965 Ilo, Peru

Another beautiful day altho we are still in the tropics the temperature is in the 70's. Sea fairly calm. The passengers spent most of the day writing letters and cards. When we rested the Spragues in Lima, Rod said he would try to contact the Southern Peru Copper Corp at Ilo and make arrangements for us to visit smelter. When we docked at 7 PM a man came aboard with immigration and customs looking for us. IT was the port administrator, Coenroad Vasseher, a Hollander, who worked for the copper Corp. as they owned the dock, the only one there. Coenroad took Millie and me and five other passengers out to the company town where we picked up handbook, asst. super. of the smelter and then we drove North on an excellent road (The corp owns and maintains) for nine miles to the smelter. We had a pleasant and informative experience touring the operation. Then we went back to co. town to Co. Club and were treated to drinks and we arrived at dock at 11:30 PM. Our two hosts came aboard and we treated them to drinks. At midnight the ship left for Iquique, Chile.

Mexican Weekend, Puerto Penasco, Mexico

Thursday, October 2nd, 2014 Puerto Penasco, Mexico

A few weeks ago, my Mom, Melissa Emery, asked if I could get two days off work so that I could go to Puerto Penasco, also called Rocky Pointe, with her and my Dad, Bernie Emery. I did and so it was set. We were going to go to Puerto Penasco and stay at the Mayan Palace a timeshare that my parents own. Not only that, but my eight-four year old grandma, Mary Lou Holmes; my uncle, David Saegart; and my aunt, Mary Dillon were going to come with us. I was super happy because it had been a while since I took a vacation and Puerto Penasco was one of the places we visited throughout my childhood. I love it!

On Thursday morning, I was up at 5:45 am. At 8 am, I took my dog, Jojo, over at the neighbor's house for his own little doggy vacation with several other dogs there. Oh boy!

We were out of the door nearly and my Dad's car didn't started! He decided to jump the battery and keep going, because he just had the mechanic look at it before leaving and didn't think it would cause any problem. The trip to Puerto Penasco is only about 6 hours and goes by relatively fast. I sat in the back and read my book and listened to Mom and Dad discuss whether or not the car's battery was good or bad. They made a bet that the car wouldn't start on Sunday (when we leave).

We were making good time so we decided to stop in Gila Bend at McDonalds. I got a large coffee. We were supposed to meet up with Mary Lou, David and Mary in Why, Arizona at 11:30, and because of our stop we were a little later. We were the ones that ended up waiting, because Bernie told them what time to leave to get to Why, and he was incorrect on how long it took to get from Tucson to Why. We bought car insurance for three days that we were going to be in Mexico while we waited, and then waited about thirty or forty minutes. Once the rest of our party was in Why they bought insurance as well. Then were were off. We crossed the border and went through Sonoyta without any trouble. My Mom noticed that they put up S.O.S. phones along the 8 highway which they did not have before.

The Mayan Palace is about 40 minutes east of Rocky Pointe. We have stayed in different locations. The driveway into the main resort is 5 miles long. They plan to build lakes and houses and a Grande Mayan and the long driveway runs through all of that! When we arrive at the Palace we got checked in easily enough, but Melissa asked for a room with an ocean view, and it wasn't ready yet. So we went down to the pool and had a cocktail while we waited. The Mayna Palace has a huge pool that sits between the rooms and the oceans. We caught up with everyone for a while and then went back up to see about our room. That's when we found out that the room wouldn't be ready until five. So Melissa, Bernie and I decided to take Mary and David on a tour, Mary Lou decided to sit in the beautiful lobby and have a rest.

We gave them a tour of the tennis courts, spa, gym and beach. We didn't tour the restaurant, because we had packed coolers full of food for all our meals, except for one night in Puerto Penasco. When we returned to the Lobby the room still wasn't ready (it wasn't 5 yet), so we broke out chips, salsa, and popcorn and had snacks until it was.

At 5 PM we were finally able to go to our room, it was right next to the lobby on the third floor. The room had a two bedrooms one with a king bed and one with two fulls. Two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living area and dinning area. Also the couches in the living area are really comfortable. I love them, except that Bernie tends to wake up earlier than everyone in the family and always wakes whoever is in the living area up. So he had to sleep in the living area for this trip, Melissa's orders.

View from the room at dusk.

After we were all settled in to our rooms, Mary and David made pork sandwiches for dinner and Mary-Lou made coleslaw. It was all very delicious. We also had some cocktails.

When dinner was over, Mary, Bernie and I went down to the pool to swim, Melissa and David were going to meet us down there. The pool was a little chilly when we first got in, but it was easy to get used to, but after and entire day of being used it was a little greasy from all of the sunscreen and sand. While, I was swimming I also caught some of the Thursday Night Football game. Melissa and David came down and played ping-pong near by.

After the ping-pong game, we took a walk on the beach. It was very dark and you could see all the stars. It was so cool. Also, Bernie found a sea turtle in the sand, oh wait, no it was a turtle made from sand and seashells! Then we went back up to the pool, Melissa and Mary laid down on one of the cabanas once they did they didn't want to get up. So, David, Bernie and I went to the room to see if the University of Arizona game was playing, Mary Lou was also upstairs so we wanted to keep her company. The game wasn't on, but we could watch the highlights on ESPN so we did that while we were talking. After a while, Bernie went down to see if Melissa and Mary were still at the cabana, they were! And, I went to the sports bar in the lobby to see if the game was on there, it wasn't!

When everyone returned to the rooms we decided to get to bed.

Friday, October 3rd, 2014 Puerto Penasco, Mexico

I work up at 8 am and decided to start out by going to the gym. I got ready quickly, but was stopped in the kitchen because Bernie and Mary were making fresh smoothies and offered to make me one as well. They were spinach, berry, banana, flaxseed smoothies and tasted like peanut butter. They were so filling that I didn't even eat breakfast. When I got to the gym I used the treadmill for thirty minutes, did some weights and then tried to do burpies, and squat jumps. The treadmill was in Kilometers though so I was a little confused, so instead of jogging, I pushed up the incline.

After the gym, I went into the spa steam room and sauna for a little while. Then, I went back to the room. Mary Lou was the only one in the room and she said she was meeting everyone at the gym, doing zumba, and I said that I was going to the beach, but offered to take her to the gym since she hadn't gone the day before. She said she could find it or ask for directions. So I went to the beach to find chairs and get a spot under an umbrellas. The umbrellas closest to the room were mostly occupied and there were loud children there so I moved away toward the umbrellas near the gym when I arrived I saw that Mary was already there. So I sat down next to her. I have brought my book down with me and we went back and forth with reading and talking for a while. Then, David, Bernie, Melissa and Mary Lou came down from the gym. David and Bernie had worked out while Melissa took Zumba that turned out to be a stretch class instead. Mary Lou had gotten a little lost on the way to the gym, but she made it. They told us that they were going to get their suits on and meet us back down there. I asked Bernie to bring me back a cocktail because it was 11 AM and Mary said that I could drink at 11.

Bernie, Mary Lou, David in living area

We spent most of the day sitting at our beach spot and going back to the room for lunches and drinks. Though some of us found time to nap while we were at it. Around 4, Mary, Melissa and I went into the ocean. It was low tide so it took forever to walk out there and even longer to walk until we got to our waists. Then we stayed out there until nearly sunset. I saw Bernie and David on the beach and waved to them, but they didn't see us, so I thought it must not have been them, but when we went back in to our spots on the beach it really was them, they just hadn't seen us.

We decided to go up to the room and make dinner. Melissa and Bernie made tacos and I helped as much as I could. The tacos were great!

After dinner we decided to play cranium, the teams were, Melissa and Bernie, David and Mary, Mary Lou and Bernadette. Everyone did pretty well at the game except that Melissa couldn't whistle without laughing, and she couldn't guess a movie that was "Blank, Blank, the Wind." I'm not sure really who won because every round was the last round, but we never had an official last round, but I think David and Mary played the best game even though Mary had her eyes closed for most of the game.

Saturday, October 4th, Puerto Penasco, Mexico

Woke at 8:15 AM. Melissa, David and Bernie decided to play tennis until 9:45 AM because Melissa had a massage at 10 AM. I stayed back with Mary and Mary Lou for a bit, but met them at the tennis courts. We made great spectators and I even fetched a ball that rolled under the fence for them. At 9:30 AM I went back to the spa because I also has a massage at 10 am. I tried to use the steam room but it was had more steam today and I didn't last very long! Oh boy! But Melissa liked it. The message was so great! I felt really relaxed after and my neck didn't hurt! Yippee.

After that we got ready and went into Puerto Penasco. We decided yesterday that we wanted to swim in the ocean at sunset again, so we decided to have lunch at Rocky Pointe. We went to La Casa del Capitan up at the top of the rocky point next to the Lighthouse. It had a beautiful view. Melissa, Bernie, Mary Lou and I ordered giant margaritas, David ordered a beer and Mary decided to stick with iced tea. Before we were finishing ordering our food, Bernie ordered a second margarita! I ordered one fish taco and two shrimp tacos on corn tortillas. I felt a little bad because they put it on flour tortillas, which didn't bother me, but the waiter heard me ask my mom what kind of tortillas she got and she said flour as well and he realized that we both wanted corn, so he took them back to get corn. Mary Lou had a shrimp basket, David had three fish tacos, Mary had enchiladas and Bernie had relleno. Mary Lou said she couldn't finish her drink so I helped her finish it.

When lunch was over, we went shopping nearby. David wanted to get a shirt and Bernie wanted sunglasses. The both found some, also Mary, Mary Lou and Melissa bought shirts as well and I bought vanilla because it is really good in Mexico and the last time I was in Mexico, I brought some back for my boss and I broke the entire bottle all over my garage floor. So I wanted to get her a new bottle. While, Mary Lou and Melissa were buying shirts, Bernie and Mary went over to Sr. Amigo and Bernie had another margarita. David, Mary and I had beers.

Then we went back to the Mayan Palace. Bernie decided to take a nap. What a surprise! Melissa made a bet with him that he wouldn't make it down to the Sea of Cortes to swim with us before sunset. David and Mary Lou also decided to take naps. Mary, Melissa and I went back to our spot from the day before and sat about an hour while we wait for the sun to get closer to setting. We also ordered Pina Coladas extra strong because it was happy hour. When I was finished with mine, I went back to the room to see if any one else wanted to go into the sea with us, but before I made it to the room I ran into all three of the nappers on their way to the beach! I guess Bernie won the bet. The three of them sat down with Mary and Melissa, but I thought the sun was down far enough, also the walk from the beach chairs to the ocean was even long than it was yesterday. So I started walking. It took forever! And I walked in the water for even long, but I never go it over my mid leg so eventually I just sat down on my knees and floated around. It was a lucky thing that I went down when I did, because everyone followed me about ten minute later, even my Grandma! She was a little nervous because she was feeling dizzy lately, but she went in. Melissa and David helped their mother the whole way. When they finally reached me I told them to get on their knees because it was easier than standing. At first they didn't do it, but eventually they did!

We all swam about until the sun started to set, we wanted to see if there would be a flash of green when the sun set in the sea, but it didn't. We stayed in the water a while longer, but we didn't want it to get too dark so we went back onto the beach.

After our sunset swim we went back to the room and sat around chatting. We also snacked on some of the leftovers. eventually we decided to play a game of catch phrase. It was fun!

Sunday, October 5th Puerto Penasco, Mexico

Up at 8 am. We decided that we needed to leave early enough to make it back over the border before the insurance ran out. So we packed up and checked out. Guess what! Bernie's car didn't start and had to be jumped with David's car! Guess Melissa won that bet! After that we drove home, at 1 PM we turned on the radio to listen to the Cardinals game, and we should have kept listening to it in the car, because they did much better when we were listening to the first half then when we got home and watched the second half on television.