Mini vacation at Torres and our latest guests

Today we returned from a mini vacation at our timeshare, Torres Mazatlan. From last Wednesday through today, Sunday, March 30th it has been Motorcycle week here in Mazatlan. We escaped to avoid the horrible noise of thousands of motorcycles that have been in town. They cruise the malecon this time of year day and night and it is extremely annoying. We enjoyed 5 days of peace and quite at our timeshare.

We also recently enjoyed a visit from Jessica, Serena and Jackie. They were only here a few days but we enjoyed every minute of their stay. Here are a few photos we took while they were here.

Brian, Laura, Natalie & Andrew arrive on April 19th. They will be with us for a week and we are very excited to see them.

Enjoy the following photos.

Serena had lots of fun on the beach and made a new friend, Molly.

Serena found a little mexican girl to play with too. It's amazing how even with the language barrier children find a way to communicate.

Serena and Molly having fun in the pool.

Serena helping Grandma Sharon grate the cheese for Grandpa's famous tacos.

Greg preparing his delicious arrachera for our taco dinner.

Aren't my girls just beautiful!!

We took the girls to the Plazeula Machado in El Centro (old Mazatlan) for dinner one evening. There is always something interesting happening there. This is a picture of a mime that was performing that evening.

Dinner at Pedro and Lola's in the Machado.

Serena got to participate in a fun craft project for children at the Machado.

Having yummy pina coladas at "The Shiek Restuarant" in Valentinos.

Of course, Serena's is a virgin pina colada.

It was a little cool during dinner at Valentino's. The waiter was so nice to bring out extra table cloths to cover up with.

My "sweet" granddaughter Serena!

We took a boat day trip to Stone Island. Here the girls are on the boat during our ride to the island.

Serena getting her hair braided on Stone Island.

As you can see it hurt a little bit.

But was all worth it because it turned out really cute.

The girls did a little horseback riding. That's Jessica and Serena on the right-back.

They also did some four wheeling on Stone Island. Here Jess & Jackie are getting instructions.

Can you believe this picture? Yep that's me. I even did some four wheeling down the beach.

On the way back from Stone Island we stopped by an island where we got to see some sea lions basking in the sun on the rocks.

Those two towers you see in the distance is our place.

Update on what we have been doing.....

Well thought it was time we posted something about our recent adventures.

Since the last posting, everything is still going well with the development of Baby J. The 2nd ultrasound is scheduled for March 26th. Maybe the picture they get this time will be a little clearer. We look forward to seeing the photo. Kristi is feeling better with more energy and they can feel the movement of Baby J now. So that is very exciting for Josh and Kristi.

We got news this month that my sister, Deannie, in Yakima has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She has undergone surgery to remove the tumor and lymph nodes and feel confident they got all of the cancer cells. There were none found in the lymph nodes. There is still another test they have to run before Chemo is ruled out. At this date, when she heals from the surgery, she will go through radiation and will be taking a anti-estrogen medication. Deannie has a bright and positive attitude about this and is determined to beat it. With all our positive thoughts and prayers we can help her in what she calls a "journey" that will have a wonderful ending.

This month we took a day trip south of Mazatlan to a little Mexican village,Teacapan with a population of 3,000. It has yet to be "discovered" and the beach resorts there remain quite retreats for lovers of sun, sand, simple lodges and super-fresh seafood. It is less than an hour from Maz (31 miles, 51 km). We had lunch with our good friends, Dick and Jan, at the famous Senor Wayne's Restaurant on the village bay front. We tried a fish called "zarandeado". It was grilled over a mango wood fire. Just delicious!! This village is also a great place to view nesting swarms of pelicans, egrets, and commorants at Bird Island. We have to go back for this viewing as it wasn't quite the time of year for these swarms.

Along the way to Teacapan, we saw groves and groves of Mango trees.

These banyan trees, which we saw many of too, are so huge.

On the road to Teacapan we saw fields of chili peppers drying.

Entrance to the village of Teacapan.

The zarandeado grilled over the mango wood fire at Senor Wayne's Restaurant.

It was Dick's birthday. He received this bottle of liquor"Damiana". Great in margaritas!! If you look closely you can tell the bottle is in the shape of pregnant lady. The liquor is derived from the damiana herb grown in Baja California, Mexico. It, supposedly, has the ability to enhance fertility. It was also used as a aphrodisiac in the ancient Mayan civilization. The tradition here in Mexico today, is that the mother-in-law of the bride will give this as a gift to her on her wedding day.

Bano at Senor Wayne's Restaurant

As with all Mexican villages/towns, here is Teacapan's catholic cathedral.

Inside the cathedral.