Hello from Yakima

Sorry it has taken so long to update our blog but we have been very busy with company and traveling lately. While I was gone up north for 3 weeks, Ralph and Nona Mae spent a few more days with Greg here in Maz. They enjoyed each others company very much and we hope they will return to visit us real soon. I enjoyed seeing all the kids, grandkids, my Mom and Al, my sister, Cindy and her son Alex and my Uncle Dick during my 3 weeks up north. I was there for Mother's Day and my Mom joined us too which was very nice. We had a nice dinner with the kids at Jessicia's apartment on Mother's Day weekend. When I returned to Mazatlan on May 17th, my sister, Cindy, flew home with me and spent 10 days with us. She had a great time just relaxing and went home with a great tan. We took her to Senor Frogs for her birthday and she had lots of fun. As for Greg, he did alot of surf fishing while I was away. Also, playing alot of Sudoku these days. Here are a few pictures of happenings during A...

Greg's brother, Ralph and wife, Judy and his sister Nona Mae have been visiting us here in Mazatlan for a few weeks. We have so enjoyed their visit. Here are a few photos of our time together. I am leaving for Seattle today and will be returning in a few weeks with my sister, Cindy, on May 17th. Enjoy the photos, more to come when I return.

Well this is the last day of Motorcycle Week and boy are we ready for it to come to an end. Thousands of motorcyclists from the US, Canada and Mexico descended on Mazatlan for a week of contests, shows and parties. It has been extremely loud with the noise from the motorcyles, music and rallies. Their parties/rallies go until 2:00 am and then they begin cruising the malecon. Last evening there was a street parade on the malecon that we viewed from our terrace. Here are a few photos of the thousands of cycles that came by. Just a reminder, be sure to double-click the image to enlarge it.

Last evening, Greg and I attended our first Symphony here in Mazatlan at the Angela Peralta Theater. The concert was performed by the Sinaloa Symphonic Orchestra of Arts out of Culiacan, about 200 miles north of Maz. The performance was entitled "Noche de (Nights of) Scheherazade" by Rimsky Korsakov. It was a powerful and beautiful performance that we enjoyed very much. We were amazed at the excellence of the musicians. Also, the admission for these performances is just incredible. Depending on the seats, they range $60 - $120 pesos (less than $6 - $12 US) and the theater is only about 10 minutes from our condo and parking is not an issue. We had $12 seats and a great view. See the photos below. We have now attended an opera, a flameco dance and a symphony at this theater. Next is the ballet. Greg is digging his heals in though and refusing to attend the ballet. So I have some work to do to convince him he needs this to continue his cultural experience here in Mazat...

We recently had a local artist paint some wall murals in our condo. He is known around Mazatlan as "Picasso" but his real name is Rafael. He does all the painting for Senor Frogs and a popular restaurant called Ernie Tomatoes. He has also done some beautiful murals in some of the small villages outside Mazatlan. Picasso has painted an underwater scene on one of the walls in the guest bathroom. We think the grandchildren will really enjoy this mural. It even has Nimo on it. The other mural is one of a cathedral/stairway scene in our powder room. We are very pleased with his work. Here are a few photos of the murals we wanted to share with you.

We are well into Semana Santa (Holy week) here in Mazatlan. It is just incredible the droves of mexican families that have arrived and flooding the beaches. Take a look at these pictures and the attached link with an explaination of this event here in Mexico. For those of you that have been to Mazatlan, the last two pictures were taken just north of Valentino's. The others are taken from the beach right in front of our building. We have never seen the beach with this many people. The families seem to be having a great time enjoying the ocean with lots of food and music too. Oh and I am sure lots of cervezas too. The traffic is very heavy and the noise is at a level that we are sleeping in the guest room in the back of our condo. But, it is just for a few nights, so we will make it through yet another "party" in Mazatlan. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g150792-i257-k1094075-Semana_Santa_explained_Sort_of-Mazatlan_Pacific_Coast.html

This week the restaurant on our ground floor level opened. It is an Italian restaurant called Picasso Ristorante & Bar. They are serving just about every Italian dish you could want. Everything from pizza to pasta dishes to salads and soups and of course a bar with lots of wine choices. We tried it out opening night and it was delicious. They are offering room service for the owners here in Las Gavias and eventually poolside and beach service. Can't wait to share our new restaurant with you. :) Here are a few pictures we took opening night. The two gentlemen on the left are the owners, Ernesto and Ciro from Cabo.

We went to another cooking class yesterday, Friday, March 30. Greg really enjoyed learning how to prepare Chiles Rellenos stuffed with cheese. Here are a couple pictures of him cooking. We also learned how to prepare two different types of Guacamole, Quesadillas and a dessert called Tres Leches Cake. Everything was just delicious!! We also took a walk through the neighborhood where the cooking class was held in a very old part of Mazatlan. We have attached a couple of pictures of a beautiful bougainvillea and some interesting architecture.

Here are a few photos of some of our latest adventures. Greg went out on a fishing boat in the ocean with four other guys and caught lots of fish. Mostly perch and trigger fish. They were very tasty. I took a mexican cooking class at the home of an American lady who has been in Mazatlan for many years. Her home is in El Centro (Old Mazatlan) so it was very old and very interesting to tour. She taught us how to make corn soup, chalupas, salsa fresca and empanadas. It was a fun class, the food was great and I do think I learned something too. We also recently went to the annual sand sculpture contest here at one of the beach hotels in Mazatlan. We have been experiencing alot of high tides and some of the sculptures were washed away before we got there but there were still some very interesting ones to see. Recently, we attended a fundraiser dinner to support the planning stages of a new Hospice program here in Mazatlan. This is a brand new concept to the Mexicans in Mazatlan. There are H...

This fundraiser event was held at the orphanage on Wednesday evening, March 14. Greg and I have been helping with preparations for the Gala for the past few months. It was a beautiful instrumental performance and enjoyed by a great turnout. They even sold quite a few of my "Flowers of Mexico" notecards with the proceeds donated to the orphanage. The performance ended with a precious slideshow of the children. Enjoy the attached photos.

On Saturday, March 10 we attended another performance at the Angela Peralta Theater in El Centro (Old Town). It was an incredibly beautiful Flamenco dance performance entitled "Romance of Tabalo". The plot is the romance of a couple threatened by a third in discord. We will not soon forget this powerful dance performance. Here is a link to information. http://www.culturamazatlan.com/Noticias3_en/noticias.php?IdNoticia=275 Unfortunately, due to the lighting in the theater, the photos we took just didn't turn out.

We have finally added the last items of furniture to our condo. Headboards for the twin beds in one of the guest rooms, end tables & lamps for the living room and our entry piece. Here are a few photos of the additions.