Dear F&F,
Weds Feb 13
Skye really helped us get in the full tourist mode. She & I signed up for the \”Dolphin Experience\”. We went by panga to a mini Sea World type place. The captive dolphins are in tanks & do tricks for the paying tourists. It was a bit sad, but awesome to be right in the water with them nonetheless. Scott took photos from afar. The outfit really wanted you to buy their photos taken by their tank-side photographer, so restricted the \”viewing area\”. But Daddy was not to be outdone & with his long lens
managed to capture some great moments. See web \”Gallery\” 02 -2008 – Puerto Vallarta & Environs
Propane Day in the marina. You take your tank up to the Harbor Masters office. A local guy comes & takes it away, fills it up & returns it. How cool is that?!
Bill F. came by in the afternoon. He is retired from Cisco & Citibank & is a computer genius. He helped clean up & speed up Scott\’s laptop. Skye & I had a nice long walk on the beach. There is just one resort after another in Banderas Bay (Puerto Vallarta being the best known town). Tons of gringos, mostly 60 & up having a great time on the beach. We met many folks that have a time share or winter condo down here. Lots from Canada, Washington, & the midwest but even some from Arizona & California.
I took the opportunity of having Skye with us to experiment again with my pressure cooker. Many boaters rave about how they wouldn\’t be without one, but I have not yet found it to be that fast or convenient. I had a big frozen chunk of beef roast (from San Diego Trader Joes) that seemed a good candidate. I defrosted it overnight, although I\’ve heard stories of boaters pressure cooking hunks of meat from rock hard frozen. Put onions & garlic in the bottom, then the meat, brought to pressure & cooked
20 mins. Released the pressure to add potatoes, cooked 5 mins. Removed from pressure, added carrots. Well – note to self: the potatoes were mush & carrots perfect, so next time, add them together. The meat was falling apart tender, very flavorful & delicious. We almost demolished the whole thing in 1 sitting.
Evening entertainment: 2 episodes of Stargate SG-1. It was a cable channel sci-fi show that Scott got hooked on & bought all 10 yrs of DVDs. We started watching them from the beginning in September. Five months later we are deep into season 7. Skye got hooked when visiting us in San Diego at Thanksgiving. I find them a fun diversion, but sometimes too stimulating for pre-bed viewing. I\’ve mentioned how I\’m a pretty light sleeper these days, so I can\’t really blame them for keeping me awake.
Thurs Feb 14 HAPPY VALENTINE\’S DAY
My \”Girls Group\” got together at the California Yacht Club (in Marina del Rey) for lunch per my request. Linda, Anna & Sharon. Martin (Linda\’s husband) stood in for me. I missed being there very much, but it is important to me that the group hangs together even while I am abroad (well, I\’ve always been a broad, but you know what I mean…). We emailed & did a Skype phone call to the club to make their reservations & give our permission for the group to be our guests. Linda has taken up the baton
as the Girls Group coordinator. I was always the one to declare when we were due for a get together & 99% of the time we met at my house, then boat, or the yacht club. We all benefit so much from the companionship, love & laughter during our get togethers that Valentines Day has become the keystone holiday to celebrate together. Forget a romantic dinner out with the hubby! Why suffer poor service & mediocre food at an over booked restaurant, when you can have lunch on a yacht with the best view in
the marina & with friends who have seen you through thick & thin? I was tickled pink & so proud that they actually managed to come together without me. They have even made a plan to visit Sharon\’s new motor coach located in Oxnard soon.
Back here in Nuevo Vallarta, we had just another relaxing day in Paradise. Walk on the beach, swim in the lap pool, schmooze with other boaters. I made \”appetizer dinner\” onboard & then we walked to the mall for gelato. Delicioso!
Skye spent much time on the computer scoping out the next place (and many future places) that she can come visit us. The kid was a real trooper putting up with the noisy, surgy dock we were on. We did not have an advance reservation, so we got the last choice spot on the dock. Right at the entry of the marina with practically no protection from the wind & sea. Her cabin was on the side of the boat that was tied to the dock so she had to put up with the squeaks & groans of the dock lines & fenders.
It was bumpy enough that she had some moments of seasickness when trying to read down there. We medicated her as all good parents would do & she survived the ordeal without permanent damage.