AN ANNIVERSARY TO REMEMBER (Dec. 22nd, 2009)

We have been saying it since our Alaska cruise this summer but this time it is official. Happy 30th Anniversary my love!

We met for breakfast under the thatched roof with great anticipation of the day ahead of us. Snorkels in the bag? Check! Sunglasses? Check! Sunscreen? Check! Towels? Check, check, check! So… our breakfast was a little more leisurely than expected and the drive to the ferry boat at Playa Del Carmen a little longer. We did not make it there for the 10:00 AM departure by just minutes and therefore had to wait for the next ferry at 11:00 AM. John made a quick call to Victor the captain of our boat to give him the heads up. The ferry boat ride was wonderful as we were entertained by a local band that played a wide array of fitting music.

Victor was ready for us when we got to the boat and we were ready to hit the water. We made three different dives today and they were all awesome! Besides seeing beautiful fluorescent colored fish, we also saw a good size sting ray, a sea turtle, a vibrant yellow eel, and lots of barracuda. Victor provided us with drinks through out the day and a great, warm ham & cheese sandwich after the second dive, and boy did that taste good!

After our second dive we were surprised by a pod of bottle nose dolphins that came along the side of our little boat. They were literally within reach. We got so excited! I was about to lean over the edge of the boat to see if I could touch them when…SPLASH, and they all fled like lightning. What happened? Man overboard! In his excitement to swim with the dolphins (that is planned for another day Nolan) he jumped in the water with his mask to get a closer look. Darn him. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Now they were gone.

We caught the ferry back to Playa Del Carmen where we had left our car and drove back to Cancun to clean up for dinner. Correction… a feast! John had made a reservation at La Habichuela for our anniversary celebration, one of the top rated restaurants in Cancun, and we were not disappointed! Yes, the service was fantastic but the food was out-of-this-world! Our table was in the garden area that looked magical with all its little lights. Take a moment and follow the link to see for your self just how beautiful the setting is. We started with some wonderful appetizers (#8 & 34) followed by a couple of different soups (#60 & 62). Then just before the main course we were given a surprisingly fresh tasting little… something. It turned out to be half a guava with a little lime sorbet topped with Mayan liqueur. WOW! For the main course several of us took one of their signature meals…a coconut filled with tasty seafood…a wonderful presentation and delicious.

No room for dessert? The least we had to try while we were there was their famous Mayan Coffee Flambé made with Xtabentun (Mayan liquor). It was so good that we vowed to come back one more time before leaving Cancun just to have the coffee.

And maybe again in another 30 years!

A SLICE OF THE JUNGLE (Dec. 21)

Only after waking up this morning and seeing our accommodations with daylight did I realize just how wonderful the hotel is at which we are staying. El Rey Del Caribe is a four story building that has an older world, Caribbean atmosphere. The center courtyard is overgrown with topical foliage kept green by the tropical rain storms that frequent the area. Today we got to experience one of those first hand.

Our itinerary for the trip was expertly comprised by our very own personal tour guide, John. On today’s schedule was nothing but relaxation and getting acquainted with Cancun itself. After a leisurely breakfast included in our lodging we all hopped in our car and headed for MERCADO 28, the largest of several markets with the greatest diversity in goods. Even though none of us purchased anything, we at least got a feel for what would be available at a later time if we so desired. After that we decided to check out a beach or two. On our way to the touristy hotel zone where most of the beaches are, we got lost and came across some areas that I’m sure we would have missed otherwise. By the time we found the beaches, the skies had opened up and a torrential rain was filling the streets to no avail, no thanks to the poor drainage system. We were amazed by how mopeds and motorcyclist just kept on trucking in this rain.

Since we did not have any commitments for today it seemed like a good idea to take advantage of one of the hotel services: a massage. They were priced so favorably that Anneliese and I could not resist. Anneliese was first. While she was relaxing to the sound of tropical music, the rest of us went to the local SUPER (market) to buy some PAN DULCE (sweet breads). Our original idea was to take them back to the motel with as a light dinner, but we never made it out of the store with them. The four of us just stood there by the entry savoring a bite, one after another, of each different roll we had purchased until we were all done, leaving only a small morsel of each to take back to Anneliese. The security guard by the door was thoroughly entertained by this scene.

Knowing that I would probably miss some more adventures while I was being massaged quickly faded away by the firm yet gently hands of the masseuse. I no longer cared what everyone else was up to. By the time I was done, everyone else had returned as well and we were all ready for bed early since the travel day before had been so long. Besides we had to be well rested for our first official outing tomorrow…. Cozumel here we come!

ON OUR WAY…to CANCUN (Dec. 19 & 20)

The first two days of our Christmas vacation were travel days. We left Da Boys home at the designated time knowing they would be picked up and well cared for by our doggie sitter later in the day. The eight hour drive to SF was uneventful. We had a late lunch / early dinner at In & Out so that we would be just a little bit hungry upon arrival. Our plan was to hit Tuttimellon for a scrumptious dessert, and call it good.

All five of us, John, Nolan & Anneliese, Chelsey and I hit the sack by 9:30 PM as we had to catch the 4:30 AM shuttle to the SF airport. There we had to wait a few hours before embarking on our flight to Mexico City. John had already informed us that our plane from La ciudad de Mexico to Cancun would be delayed an hour, so it appeared that we would have a four hour layover instead of just three before departing. Oh well. At least we would have plenty of time to catch our connecting flight. Unfortunately for us that lay over turned into a good 7 hours. Yes, we were in Mexico. I for one was glad to have a good book with me.

We finally arrived, baggage and all, in Cancun around 11:30 PM and found out that many other flights were delayed until the following day. We were grateful to get to our destination at all that night.

Stop number one: pick up our rental car. We were driven to the location and were glad the agency had someone still waiting for us. Thank you John for calling and giving them the heads-up about our delays. Bags in the trunk and off we were to stop number two: our CASA for the next seven days. Ah, how good it felt to hit the pillow.

It's The ? Day Of Christmas

I have no idea what day of Christmas it is today. All I know is that Christmas is on an express train getting here. Slow down already! What happened to the old Chu-chu locomotives?

Tonight is the last bowling night of the 2009 and we are having a Christmas party. We each bring a present and get to take a present on our first strike. I wonder if there will be anything left to pick from when it is my turn. Actually, our team is doing pretty well. As of last week we’re actually in 1st place! How about that?…thanks to handicaps. I guess that’s what happens when you start at the very bottom with LOTS of room to improve.

John and I packed for Mexico last night. Da Boys could tell something was up and were not happy. I was committed to taking a very small suitcase until it became evident that John had packed his smallest suitcase and neglected to put any of OUR Christmas present in it. So I had to get a larger suitcase down to make accommodation. Sigh! When I grabbed the presents we had so carefully wrapped, I noticed that something had partially UNwrapped them. Thank you Teddy! And thank you Scotch for making clear tape so that I could fix the rips in the paper and the missing parts of the gift bags.

Last night we also had a local artist come to our home to give us an oil painting of our pond she painted during the Garden Tour last August. How very sweet of her. We had a nice visit and I was sure glad they liked animals. Both of Da Boys climbed all over her and her husband, and a little latter Chelsey’s cats joined them too. And… when we were all deep in our conversation, Teddy slipped off their laps and found a Kleenex in the lady’s purse after rummaging through it and then ate it. I guess what they say is true: unwanted behavior becomes worse as dogs age. I hope that is not also true of people. :)

Naughty or Nice?

Well, right now it is definitely NAUGHTY! I'm not sure who, but HE is definitely naughty.

John and I went to see Blind Side. It was awesome...a feel-good movie. Just the kind I like. When we came home we were limited in time before having to leave for a staff Christmas party. We had just enough time to feed Da Boys. As we were ready to head out the door I noticed something odd and wet on John's pant leg and shoe. Upon closer examination using all of my senses, I concluded that it was, you'll never guess.... poo. But John, how did you get poo on your pants and shoe? Is the toilet seat so small that you missed the mark?

We looked around the only places John had been since coming home, the bathroom, and found the whole floor covered with Poo. It looked like someone had filled a water-gun with IT and been set loose in there. It was EVERYWHERE! So obviously, it would seem that John was not the culprit. He grabbed a roll of paper towels while I returned to the kitchen for a bucket and mop. And what is that I see? More of the same all over the kitchen. Then the light-bulb when on. John had mentioned something earlier in the day about Da Boys getting into my 25 LBS bag of newly purchase, long-grain, jasmin rice sitting on the laundry room floor. And come to think of it, those little odd particles did look a lot like rice.

Bingo. A corner of the bag had been chewed off and that corner was definitely missing a bunch of rice. It didn't take long to figure out who dun it. Otis' belly was bulging when I touched it and no sooner did I do that and he ran out the doggy-door and spayed the lawn with little white pellets. I'm glad that at least he made it outside this time and that the rice won't grow in this environment as the Teddy's birdseed still may. Poor Otis may not sleep with us tonight. He will be confined to the laundry room where he has immediate access to the outdoors.

Needless to say we did not make it to our Christmas party.

I SMELL ROSES

Friday morning we drove to Portland for an appointment. While there we decided to visit The Dutch Import Store. We were actually very good and only purchased a little licorice and cookies along with some desperately awaited sambal. We had been out for several months. We also visited the outlet stores and purchased a few summer clothing items for our Mexico trip. That was a challenge in the middle of winter.

We decided to go back Eugene to spend the night so that we would have less distance to travel home on Saturday. Besides, the Best Western - New Oregon is awesome when it comes to letting dogs stay. Every room is dog-friendly AND they do not charge extra. The local paper was delivered Saturday morning and again it was full of DUCK fever. The main article focused on the quick sale of plane tickets for the Rose Bowl as well as accommodations in Pasadena. That is all it took! No sooner had John read that and he got on the web and ordered plane tickets for two, made hotel reservations, and rented a car. Yep, you guessed it. John and I are going to the Rose Bowl January 1st. Before leaving Eugene we stopped at a DUCK store an purchased a Rose Bowl t-shirt and hat for each of us. It amazed us how quickly they had those for sale. Rose Bowl. Why couldn't it be called the Tulip Bowl? I've never been that fond of roses. Now I have to a wear designer rose on my chest and head. I guess I should be glad it's not called the Toilet Bowl. At least roses do smell nice.

We are home again and need a day to catch our breath so that we can return to work on Monday. Wow, I've put over 2000 miles on my little car in just over one week.

"I LOVE MY DUCKS!"

Brrrrrrr. It was cold in Autzen Stadium tonight. The windchill took the temp down to 25 degrees. Thank you HOTTIES for the warmth you provided for our hands. When we found out that the temps were dropping below freezing, I had second thoughts about leaving Da Boys in the car for the duration of the game, so we took a chance and left them in the hotel room even though we did not have their crate with us. We made sure to unpack and scatter some of our things in the room and on the bed, hoping that the scent of familiar things would help them feel at home.

Just before kick off, when the stadium was already busting with it's new record attendance of 59597, the famous YouTube viral clip was played on the big screen and the the place rocked! From there it only got better. Even though the game had it's ups and down, in the end the Ducks took the Rose Bowl bid. GO DUCKS! Needless to say John is ecstatic! I think he is on his computer right now looking into flight options to Pasadena. The one T-shirt I wanted to get to remember this year's football season is the "I LOVE MY DUCKS" shirt. Unfortunately it was sold out everywhere. We hope that there will be another wave of shirts printed up now that the season has been extended a few weeks.


When we got back to our room, Da Boys were very happy to see us and ready for a spin around the block. The only thing that they got into that I should have put up was the complementary coffee and tea packages. Phew, at least they did not try to dig their way out of the room. Now as far a any barking is concerned, I have no clue what happened but the we presumed that everyone would probably be at the game, so who cares? We did of course leave the TV on so that they could enjoy the game as well. Ha!

I C GREEN

The car is ready with it's flags protruding from the back windows and magnetic DUCK feet on the bumper. No one will mistake us for "the other Oregon team" today. It seems like everything we are packing for this outing is GREEN. Green socks, green underwear,green pants & shirt, green coat & hat. You name it, and it's GREEN! Da Boys are coming on the trip with us and even they have DUCK color ID tags. In the past I've been know to dye my hair green, why didn't I think of that earlier? Oh well.

John tells me that this Civil War between the DUCKS and the Bs is the most significant in about 60 years, so I'm really excited to go to it. But boy, is it going to be cold. The forecast is for possible snow. I've invested in HOTTIES for my toes and HOTTIES for my hands, and I think I'd better take some blankets with me as well.

We leave this morning on the trek with it's usual breakfast stop. John has this thing for breakfast and there are several good eateries along the way. Today we will stop in Gold Beach at Indian Creek because that timing works best. An earlier breakfast will let us have an early dinner, well before the game, so that there will be time to take Da Boys on a solid walk before they're bound to the car for some five hours. Just so you know, I've intentionally let their fur grow quite long in anticipation of this trip, and I'm taking extra HOTTIES and two down throws for them to cuddle with in the car. They will be fine! Later all four of us will do a victory cuddle in the family bed. LOL.

GO DUCKS!!!