It’s hard to believe it was four months ago that we were in Puerto Vallarta with Lea’s family.  The trip fell toward the middle of one of the busiest times of my entire life, and I was really happy to have it.  Besides the natural beauty of the area and no rules apply general attitude that accompanies any good vacation, this trip was particularly special because it was the first time I was to meet my new baby niece, Anna Mherlyn Weiland!

Saturday

We caught an early morning flight, and Lea was practically out of her skin she was so excited to see Anna.  And to see everyone else, too, of course…  It made for a very interesting plane ride – the girl could not sit or focus on anything.

 

We picked our seats so that we were on the East side of the plane on both flights to and from PV.  That way, we were looking inland, instead of out to sea.  It was kind of incredible to watch the coastline from San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta and back.

 

 

Finally, we have arrived!  We darted to the hotel as fast as we could, and…ta da!  That’s a cute a little baby girl!  All I have to say is – cheeks.

 

Papa somehow managed to nab her from Nonna’s and Aunt Lea’s clutches long enough for me to snap this shot.

 

 

And that, my friends, was our Saturday.  A fairly short, ecstatic flight, followed by some intense baby excitement, finished with a few hands of Up the River, Down the River (cards), and we called it a night.  Bienvenidos a Mexico!

 

 

Sunday

Night quickly became day, and we were eager to meet it.

 

 

Every day starts with a good breakfast (buffet)!  I must have a dozen photos of me holding Anna, and every one of them has Judi’s hand in it trying to remove Anna’s hand from her mouth. 🙂  I guess that’s just what babies do!

 

 

The girls didn’t waste much time before hitting the beach, especially after we were informed that the following week was at risk of experiencing a few showers.  So far, so good!

 

 

We tore it up on the beach volleyball court Top-Gun style all afternoon…and nobody got a picture!  I was totally Ice Man, and nobody even picked-up the camera.  Unbelievable. 🙂  We had sooo much fun, though.  We’d volleyball until our sticky bodies were covered in sand, then we’d take a dip in the luke warm ocean water, then back to volleyball…then back to ocean…  It was great.

 

We worked up quite an appetite and had heard a lot of good things about Las Palomas, located on the Malecon (embarcadero or promenade) in Old Puerto Vallarta.

 

 

Apparently this place is the joint.  We like it!  Just look at those happy faces.

 

 

 

How cute is that tuckus?

 

 

I don’t honestly remember the food, but the salsa looks good.

 

 

Monday

Kudos to Lea for snapping this beautiful sky at 6:30am!  Kind of gorgeous, right?

 

 

Since we were up, we went for a walk around to see the place in the early morning light.  The site our hotel was built on was a former palm tree plantation, so there’s still lots around.

 

 

 

 

Looking a little sleepy, but happy as a couple clams.

 

 

This trip was a little unusual for me in that it came without an itinerary.  We barely knew what there was to do in the area, let alone what we’d be doing during the day once we woke up.  So, flirting with spontaneity, Don, Lea and I went for a zip-line tour!

 

The location was called El Eden.  The same site where the movie The Predator was filmed!  One of my all-time favorite movies as a kid – I must have watched it 30 times!  For those who don’t know, The Predator is a movie about a group of commandoes who go in search of a CIA hostage in a Central American Jungle.  All the while, they are tracked by a savage, invisible alien.

 

Tagline – If it bleeds, we can kill it…

 

 

He doesn’t look worried.

 

 

 

 

Don kept doing this 360 spin move that none of the guides had ever seen before.  They were all really impressed…

 

 

There he goes again!

 

 

After a long muggy day tromping up and down the jungle, evading man-eating aliens, this cold cerveza was just what the doctor ordered.

 

 

We grabbed a seat on the deck overlooking the river, and were situated right above a natural water slide.  In the next two photos, the guy laying on the rock in the top photo is the same one who is torpedoing off the slide’s edge in the second photo.

 

 

 

People even come all the way out here just to eat and hang out.  It’s no wonder – any place that makes fresh, handmade tortillas to order is definitely legit.  She was whipping these things out so fast, she was making it rain corn tortillas.

 

 

On the way back, Lea and I decided that we wanted to checkout the local street markets.  So when we got back to the Zip-line Office we we took off on foot while Don got on the other bus to go back to the hotel.  I had absolutely no cash on me, whatsoever, so we hopped over to a 7/11 across the street with an ATM sign in the window.  I was curious whether we might get stranded on the other side of PV with no money if this Mexican ATM didn’t work and the bus took off without us.  Sure enough…ATM no workie.

 

Just then, we looked out the window and saw that the bus was pulling onto the street and heading in the opposite direction!  We bolted through the doors, across traffic, and down the street yelling for the bus to stop.  Locals on the street did their best to help get the bus driver’s attention, and one guy even pulled up in his car and yelled “HOP IN!” as if he were Smokey and we were chasing The Bandit through the streets of PV.  Eventually, the bus pulled over and we got on long enough for Don to spot us a Benjamin.  It was ludicrous, but exhilarating!

 

 

Cash in hand, we had our eye on some of the hand painted plates we’d seen around town.  Our wandering led us in and out of a few shops before stumbling upon this gem, Mundo De Cristal.

 

 

They head EVERYTHING.  Look how beautiful these plates are!  They were a little spendy for us, so we picked up a set of margarita glasses and hit the road in search of something a little more aligned with our budget.

 

 

Down the road 1/4 mile we came to a sidewalk market, nestled along a river bank.  A lot of these items may not have been as authentic as Mundo, but we found a plate and molcajete that suited both our aesthetic and frugal sensibilities.

 

 

Our walking tour ended back at the Malecon.  With all the choices for restaurants, we eventually just had to pick one.  We snagged a window seat on the second floor of a Cuban restaurant, La Bodeguita.  Clearly, mojitos were in order, along with some plantains, black beans, and a first for me – ceviche!

 

 

We may have nursed a few more bebidas before calling it a night.  And we did just that.  Good night!

 

Tuesday

By the next morning, the looming rain had come and it was not going to let up.  We made the best of the situation and went for a driving tour.  Check out this fly ride!

 

 

Along the way we took a short detour through a small fishing village, and Lea snapped a shot of these cute little gordos.

 

 

Don & Judi had some friends who had told them about a restaurant set on a cliff where free divers once leapt to the big blue ocean below.  We went on a hunt and found Le Kliff.

 

I gotta say, with a parking lot this impressive, I can’t wait to see what’s going on inside.

 

 

 

See those rocks on the left of that big hole in the parking lot?  Mexican pylons.

 

 

It’s really hard to capture this restaurant spatially.  It’s like a big, multi-level tree house built on and down the side of a cliff.

 

 

 

Looks like a good spot for a group photo!

 

 

OK, now one with just Dad.

 

 

 

 

This was our table, right on the cliff’s edge.  This guy’s not even our waiter – what’s he doing in the shot?  At least he’s smiling. 🙂

 

 

And so is she.

 

 

Wednesday

Our last day.  🙁

 

 

In fact, not even a full day.  Our flight was in the early afternoon, which gave us enough time for a good hearty breakfast, and to take some fun photos along the way.

 

Can you see the difference between these two shots?

 

How’s this for a family portrait?

Alas, it was time to say goodbye.  But chin up, we’re going to rendezvous with these guys in just two weeks in Arizona!  But not before our trip next weekend to Minneapolis.  So many good things to catch up on.  I can’t wait!

Last photo of the trip – This is an aerial shot of Pepperdine University in Malibu.  More on that later, too…

Happy Cinco de Mayo!