No internet service, but finally BEGGED to get on at the front desk of the hotel.....

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009:

Oh how I love to get up at 2:45AM…..NOT!!! But, that was the time I managed to crawl out of bed, completed the morning rituals, and then by 4AM, we were moving towards the airport in STL. Arriving at the long term parking about 5:35.….caught the airport shuttle to the airport……got checked in, boarding passes for the second time(I already had them from yesterday, but still had to go through this process again), checked bags turned in…..and then through Security…..really easy and quick this morning.

Coffee and pastries at Starbucks….and by 7AM, they were loading the plane for Phoenix. Flying on US Airways…..years since I have been on their planes, we found ourselves in a really new plane, the A319. Quiet, clean, and soon we were headed west, leaving the gate at 7:30..on time. Then……we stopped out on the tarmac and sat there for 10-15 minutes as the plane “re-adjusted the weights)…..shifting the fuels or bags in the hold around, I guess. I had never heard of this before, but……

We arrived in Phoenix about 30 minutes earlier than scheduled on the smoothest flt I have had in YEARS!!!! Beautiful, clear skies with lovely views from above……and when we landed, we had to wait in the “holding area” where there were a few other “early birds”…planes….that, like us, could not get into their assigned gates to unload. Sooo, we sat for 30 minutes……with everyone getting a bit frustrated at not being able to get off. However, we were in the gate on time….had plenty of time to walk a down a few gates, check in with our passports since were leaving the country, and then get some soft tacos for a quick bite of lunch.

Then……we boarded…..still US Airways…..and it was crammed with people all going to Puerto Vallarta. Then…..we sat again while the plane adjusted the weights factors….and soon, we were airborne. Clouds were all around us by that time and it was a bit rough for about 25 minutes. Then…..it became smoother and we were surprised to see the huge mts……all the way down to Puerto Vallarta. Had not idea that western Mexico had sooooo many tall mts!!!!

Arriving on time, we got off the plane…..after having filled out customs and immigration papers for Mexico, and then the hassles began with getting in lines with our proper documentation, passports, etc…..then, we picked up our bags….and got into ONE line to go through customs. After putting ALL of our bags through the security X-ray machine, we then had to press a button….and if it turned green, we were free to go….but, if it turned red…then they would search our bags….THOROUGHLY!!!!! Watching that occur to someone, I am sooooo damn glad it didn’t happen to me or the 1st Lady.

Ahhhh…the hassle began as we left the customs area, went through some double doors….and soon it was like being back in Egypt…..only the language difficulties were not as bad. This was the infamous “time-share” area where reps from various time share companies tried to get us to talk with them, offered us transportation, etc., etc. and then we moved into a different area, same type of pushiness, but not so obvious that it was for time shares. Sooo, we talked to one guy, thinking it was not a time-share guy……WRONG!!!!! I soon realized that it was not the company we were to meet there….and so, I grabbed the 1st Lady, and off we went through ANOTHER set of doubles doors….and there were several guys with little signs looking for their company’s clients and people like us looking for our already paid transportation to the hotel. We quickly saw the correct sign…..and as we stepped over to this gentleman, he asked if we were Mr/Mrs. Howser……..AHHHH, we had survived the gauntlet of time-share people and now…..it was off to our car and driver. Twenty minutes later, we pulled up in front of this massive cream colored hotel surrounded by palm trees, lush vegetation, flowers, and lots of very friendly hotel personnel.

Unloading from the car……on this trip EVERYHING is paid for…..no tips necessary, nothing needed from us in the way of cash/credit cards for anything….NADA!!!! To the desk we were ushered, and very quickly, we each had a glass of Sangria in our hand….as we registered, receiving our keys, instructions, and a few minutes later we were up on the 5th floor and inside our lovely room. The balcony, while not directly facing the bay, has incredible view of the resort’s pools, courtyards, outdoor cafes, and the bay!!!!! GORGEOUS!!!!!

Inside the room, however, it smelled a bit mildewy….a rather ominous aroma(?)…..and not the best for the 1st Lady who is soooo allergic to those types of things. Sooo, I went back downstairs, talked the reception area….and after checking and looking into several more rooms, we found one that was pretty odor free….and then moved out belongings to it. We cleaned up……and went back out for a walk/tour around the facilities. Bars everywhere….drinks being offered at each one, restaurants all around……and soon we ran into Eric and Sujeeta….the bride and groom. It was soooo good to see the both of them……such a great young couple with such a future they have!!!

We decided to return to the room, and clean up for dinner. There are four main restaurants here, one being the evening supper buffet, an Asian restaurant, Steakhouse, and a Gourmet restaurant. The latter three each require reservations, although they are all part of our all inclusive costs for these 8 days. Reservations must be made each morning by 10am…and, of course, we were still in the airplane flying to Phoenix at that time this morning. Soooo, we knew in advance that we would do the buffet this evening. We were about ready to come down from our room when the phone rang and it was Bill and Ellen……Eric’s dad and step-mom……and my good, good friend from our days together in the USAF back in the late 60’s……of the last century! There said they were waiting for us to eat with them…..

And we were soon reunited in the lobby….hugs and back slaps all around. Sooooo damn good to see them again. We talked and ate…..there were soooooooo many choices….no use to even begin to talk about them…..just serving stations loaded with wonderful food and we made many trips to the various stations to refill, and/or try something new and different. WOW!!!!

After that…..we found ourselves checking on the wifi…..and no luck. Seems that the wifi in the lobby is not working…..and it costs $12 hour to get online, so…I will keep trying to locate a place.
The four of use wandered outside, had more drinks…..you can hardly walk 20 feet until you are asked if what kind of drink you would like to have!! All part of the inclusive costs….and they were/are REALLY good drinks!!!! WOW!!!

The 1st Lady decided to return to the room, exhausted from the early, early morning(wee hours of the morning), and then the hassle of just getting here and getting into a room that she could enjoy. Bill, Ellen, and I then decided to watch the Vegas Style show in the La Boheme room….and it was pretty good. Some good dancing guys….better than the girls. More drinks….oh yeah…..can’t turn them down, can we????

After that….we returned to the inside of this HUGE hotel and went our separate ways to our own rooms. I tried once more to get online in the Lobby, but….NOPE….nothing worked. And sooooo, it was midnight when I turned off the lights….almost a 24 hour day dressed and on my feet!

THURSDAY, NOV. 5 - DAY 2:

Breakfast was in the Don Rafael Restaurante….another buffet style with tons and tons of wonderful choices for breakfast. Soooo many fresh fruits, cheeses, cold cuts, eggs fixed for you personally the way you like them, pastries, all kinds of meats,…..you name it, it was there OR they would get it for you! The coffee was never ending…..and quite good, to my surprise!!! We sat and chatted and talked and ate and enjoyed just being together once again with good friends from the past!!! Bill’s first wife, Barb…the mother of the groom, dropped by and I had not seen her for 24 years or more…..can’t really come up with a good, valid date when we were together.
Back to the room we went…..and by 10am, we were out on the beach, enjoying the shade of the very tall palm trees, laying in the lounge chairs….sipping drinks….they began serving at 10am, watching the deep blue of the ocean waves with the white crest as the approached the shore!!!!! WHAT A LIFE!!!!! More of the wedding party and Sujeeta’s family arrived on the beach….and soon we were all chatting and enjoying this great morning….WOW!!!! The 1st Lady and I enjoyed the water….very warm….and quite strong as the waves rolled in….and oftentimes, OVER the two of us!

We remained on the beach until early afternoon….when we decided to return to the room and prepare for our evening activity…….a trip by boat to the opposite end of the HUGE bay…..for dinner by candle light at the former home of film director, John Huston…..his private Garden of Eden! Accessible only by the sea….this cove is eons of time away from today. The catamaran boat was filled to capacity by the time we made a stop in Puerto Vallarta proper, picking up some more people going to the evening’s dinner and performance. By the time we arrived, it was dark, thousands of torches and candles were lit…and we slowly walked up the paths to the dining area under the palm trees, lit only by candles. Did I say that all the way by boat….almost two hours….we were drowned by wonderful tequila drinks onboard!!!!! WOW…..these people here in Mexico really, REALLY know how to get everyone to enjoy themselves to the max!!!! During the walk up from the marina…..there was live music of all kinds of wonderful drums, wooden flutes, and conch shells being blown! Sure did set the proper mood here on Las Caletas.

The dinner was quite good….an interesting buffet of various meats, veggies, salads, breads, all prepared in different ways with lots of spices and sauces. Ohhhh….did I mention ALL kinds of wine and drinks were there for everyone. Desserts were then set out….and a coffee with spices and liquor in it to accompany these desserts.

After that we were invited to wander up and around the many little paths through the trees and bamboo….HUGE bamboo…been a long time since I have seen it this BIG!!! Eventually, we found our way to the performance area where we were seated on benches. Again, the wonderful music by the performers….and dancing by various performers all depicting the Aztec style of Life.

This entire evening was called the Rhythms of the Night…..and oh, how true…..it was a special “tour“/evening that we booked with one of the local tour companies who have people there in the lobby of the Riu Vallarta Hotel. We were with Barb and her husband, Ray…..and had a marvelous time during the entire evening. We left the pier in Nuevo Vallarta at 6:30pm…..and returned to the same pier about 12:15AM!!!! What an incredible evening……WOW…WOW!!!!
Exhausted, to say the least…..after more drinks on the return 2 hour trip by boat…..we took a tax to the hotel and soon were dead in bed. I had made arrangements for the hotel to wake us on Friday morning….just a few hours after we laid down…..UGH!!!!….for an exciting morning…………

FRIDAY, NOV 6th, Day 3.…….

Up at 6am…..did I actually even go to bed?…..we were down at the Don Rafael before 7am, the time they open for breakfast. We quickly…..VERY QUICKLY….grabbed some coffee/tea…….a few pastries and bacon….and in a few short minutes consumer them rapidly. Into the hotel lobby we went to meet our guide and tour bus for the morning I had been waiting for for a couple of weeks!!! Did I mention that this lobby is open to the outside in the front and back…….so the breezes blow through it 24/7.….a tropical way of having a hotel, as I have been in many like this in many other countries, from northern Australia to Southeast Asia. Always a treat to experience this warm, soft air circulating through the lobby!!!!

OK…where were we going this morning?????? Up into the mountains that are sooooo lush with vegetation to take a canopy tour ABOVE the trees and streams by ZIP LINE!!!!!!!! Another special tour we booked…..and we had formed a party of 27 people from the wedding guests/party for this trip. It took about two hours to get through Puerto Vallarta and up into the mts where we each received a locker to story our valuables so they wouldn’t drop from our pockets. Mosquito repellents were everywhere and before very long in our preparation and instructions, we were all dripping with sweat from the REALLY high humidity in this dense and lush vegetation!!!!!!

We sat for about 15 minutes while were schooled about how to hook up to the zip lines with our harnesses, belts, gloves, hooks, etc.,etc. Examples were shown and we were calmed by the guys who were working the lines at each platform….saying that they would be there to assist us at any time. We learned how to brake ourselves so we would not go slamming into the platform or other bodies that might be there. Helmets were issued, we were assisted in getting ourselves properly into the harnesses and lines…..and then we went out….and, UP…into the jungle, climbing stairs into the trees…to prepare for the first line we would “zip” down!!! A photographer was there and she told us how to look at the camera as we started down……and then…..WOW, we were one of the first of the group to get started on this trip down and across the jungle trees.

Of course, everyone was a bit nervous, but the worst part of the entire morning was the climbing up the stairs in the horrendous humidity/heat of the mountain jungle. Soon, though……we were zipping down the lines, one at a time unless it was a long line and then someone would begin before the other person was all the way down. The longest line we were on was OVER a quarter of a mile long……and would drop a few hundred feet!!!! WOW….WOW…..WOW…WOW!!!!! This was one of the most exciting things I have done in years and years and years!!!!!! WE LOVED IT!!!!!!

The 1st Lady, who is deathly afraid of heights…..was in her element!!! She had such a blast, even hanging upside down before the morning was finished. We were on at least 15 zip lines……going from one to another at the end instead of “hiking” up to the next take-off point. The last ones we never returned to the ground until the very last one where we down a swift mt. stream, high above it, and stopped at the place were we had had our schooling this morning.

OMG….what an experience!!!!!!! When we had all returned, we placed orders for a DVD of our morning…..one that had been filmed by one of the friendly guys who had assisted us, although he had his hands full with the filming of our morning!!! Then…..it was time to do some tasting of Tequila that they had there….and OMG, it was sooooo good. Those shots of Tequila….various kinds enhanced with vanilla and others with chocolate….went down sooooooooo easy!!!! We then hung out there….not literally hanging…..while a few of the group went swimming in the rushing stream….reminding me of Johnson’s Shut-ins in SE Misery!!!! After the DVD’s were edited…..we finally loaded up, returned through Puerto Vallarta by the bus, taking two hours again….and were at the hotel by about 2pm!! A very full morning, since we had left at 7:15 this morning!!!!
This trip…..YOU MUST TAKE…if you are ever in Puerto Vallarta!!!!!!! We got a special price of $64 per person with a group of over 25 adults and children. Yep…children can go down those lines, also!!!! WHAT an INCREDIBLE morning!!!!! I will probably never have that opportunity to do that again……there are no many zip line places in the entire world, less than a dozen we have been told…….and it was such an amazing experience!!!!!! The speed of going down that line as you watch the platform coming at you, watching the trees flash by both under and above you, feeling the euphoria of a safe landing on the platforms, and the rush as you hook up to go on to the next platform on another tree or stand!!!! One of the highlights of my Life, to say the least.

Returning to the Riu Vallarta Hotel in Nuevo Vallarta, the 1st Lady decided to hit the beach….and I….well, I decided to just lay around in the room, snooze a bit if it happened, get my shower and the sweat removed from the heat/humidity in the jungle and get ready for our dinner reservations. Soooo, by the time I had cleaned up and decided what to wear, she was back in the room, and headed for the shower.

We went down to one of the bars in the Lobby, got a drink, and waited for our reservation time…6:30. Bill and Ellen joined us for a drink…and we all four went downstairs for dinner. They managed to be seated next to us…..and then the choices were presented to us for our salad/appetizer, main entrée, and dessert. We had a wonderful waiter in this lovely room……and so I ordered a bottle of red wine…..a Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, and the 1st Lady ordered a chilled Chardonnay, also from Chile.

I ordered Rockefeller Mussels……mussels with spinach and cream cheese in the shell, broiled and hot. For the entrée I had a filet of beef with fresh potatoes, and for dessert I had four small cream puffs with ice cream inside and warm, dark chocolate on the plate with the cream puffs resting gently in it. WONDERFUL!!!!!!!! An excellent meal….just great.

And….after the dessert, two waiter went around and fixed Spanish coffee for us…..absolutely delicious!!!! Brandy, heated with coffee liquor, the rim of the wine glass was dipped in lime and sugar, then heated over the open fire on the table to crystalize the sugar, and then coffee was added to the other two ingredients, lit with a flame, and then poured back and forth from a height of four feet above the table with the flame pouring down into the other container….beautifully done, very artistic, and with an incredible flavor!!!! We all had glass….and then after the meal was finished we left for the outside patio(s) to listen to the live music, watch the dancing, and enjoy the evening!!! I did forget to mention that during our meal, a Mariachi Band entered the little room of the St. George Restaurant and performed a couple of wonderful Mexican tunes for us!! And….you know what was the topping on the evening……all of this was enjoyed even more because it was all part of our all-inclusive price for these 8 days here!!!! If ordered in STL, all of the wine, Spanish coffee, and the entire meal would easily have been over $125.00.…..probably more than this!!!

And sooo, hopefully tomorrow, I can locate some free internet somewhere….????!!!! But, as always……and even more so after an amazing day like today and this evening……

LIFE IS JUST REALLY INCREDIBLY GREAT!!!!!……And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!