Hello from Yakima

We arrived back in Maz at 4:00 pm yesterday, Sunday, July 29th. It sure was good to get back to the ocean again. Not near as humid as when we left a little over two weeks ago. Guess there were a couple of heavy rain storms so that has cooled things down a little. We were able to accomplish what we went north to do. Here is a picture of our new car. It's a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country Touring mini van with only 23,000 miles. Everything we should need for driving here in Maz. Stow and go seats, which means they fold down into the floor, electronic doors on both sides and hatch, DVD player for me on those long trips when Greg is driving :). Air conditioning, of course, with controls for the passengers in the back too. Very comfortable. So this is the "Beachbums Shuttle" that will pick you up at the Mazatlan airport when you come to visit us. Can't wait to see you. We also got to visit all of our family while up north too. Sure was nice to see everyone. We didn't ge...

Well it has been awhile since we recorded a post to our blog. We are leaving Seattle for Portland, Oregon tomorrow (Saturday, July 28). Our flight leaves out of Portland on Sunday at 6:45 am. Yuck :(. We are looking forward to returning to Maz but not to the hot humid weather. We have heard that the humidity has dropped a little so it is a little more pleasant right now. Sure hope so. Please check our blog next week for pics of our visit the northwest.

We are making plans to fly up north in July. We will be arriving in Portland on Friday, July 13th. Just in time for the Smith Family Picnic on Saturday, July 14th. We are so happy we will be able to attend. We are planning to purchase a car while we are in Portland and then drive to Tri Cities to visit Jake and Jackie, then on to Yakima to visit my Mom and Al and then up to Seattle to visit with all the other kids and grandkids. We will be leaving for Maz on Sunday, July 29th out of Portland. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone during this trip, as well as, a relief from the hot/humid weather down here for a few weeks. We will be returning in September to drive our new car back to Maz. You can certainly get by with the public transportation, ie buses, cabs and pulmonias but having a car will be more convenient and allow us to do some leisure traveling into the interior of Mexico. Lots of interesting towns we would like to visit. On June 30th we will be retired 1 ...

We had a wonderful visit with Jake and Jackie who left last Thursday and Jessica and Serena who left last Saturday. The temps/humidity were quite high during their stay so they spent alot of time cooling off at the beach and in the pool. Jake and Jackie really enjoyed early morning walk/runs along the malecon, soaking up the rays around the pool and just relaxing with a good book. The jelly fish warning was still in effect but they were able to spend sometime at the beach and even in the ocean, trying out boogie boarding, without any incidents with jelly fish stings. Jessica and Serena enjoyed their visit to the orphanage even though it was quite hot there. Serena also enjoyed Senor Frogs and dancing on the stage. It was a little too warm for Jessica and she plans to come back earlier in the year next time. Maybe in March during Serena's springbreak. We hope so. We also took them out to some of our favorite restaurants, even celebrating Jake and Jackie's 1st anniversary at one ...

We are busy getting our air conditioning adjusted just right for our next guests that will arrive on Friday, June 15. Just three more days and Jake and Jackie and Jessica and Serena will be here. It has really warmed up here in Mazatlan. Daytime temps in the mid 80's with about 75% humidity. We have starting using our air conditioning and trying to figure out what the best temp overall should be. We don't have central air down here. We have a thermostat in the living area, one in the master and one for the 2 guests rooms. This type of air helps with the cost of electricity which is very expensive down here. It's a little tricky to get it comfortable throughout. We've tried to just use it at night but finding we're using it more during the day now. So we're hoping that the temps won't be too uncomfortable for our guests. Another potential problem for our guests is the arrival of the jelly fish. Lots of them on the beach and in the water. So we'll have to ...

Today we went in search of massage spas here in Maz. We found an Aroma spa in El Centro (Old Mazatlan) just a block from the Plazuela Machado. It was quite different from any spa I have been to but thought what the heck and we both made appointments for 1 hour, full body massages. The price was quite reasonable $150 pesos each. (That's $15 US). The place is named "Aroma Spa" but the only scent we detected was in the air when you entered the spa. Sort of a pepperminty aroma. The spa rooms (air conditioned) were very interesting with tree trunks from floor to ceiling, draped with fabric and ribbon and strange things hanging from the ceiling. I tried to take a few photos but the spa rooms were quite small so they didn't turn out very well. Hopefully, you can get an idea of the decor. The photo with Greg in it is where they give manicures and pedicures (no air conditioning). Don't think I'll be going there for that. All in all, the experience was not too bad and...

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