Happy Birthday!

  This happy little boy just turned 9!  I had a bunch of plans for him for his birthday, but they didn't all happen.  We slept in and snuggled for a while.  I then mixed some of his gel treat into his breakfast and we were going to go outside once he was done.  Our timing was off because the Evil Beep-Beep Trucks (garbage or recycling truck) were coming through, later than usual.  While waiting for them to leave I got a payment for my eBay sale, so I was packing that really quickly.  I was gluing the label on when we both jumped from a huge rumble of thunder.

  While it was pouring outside, we watched some YouTube on the big TV and had some lap time.  We then played with the laser pointer.  I've had to click on the flashlight part a few times because he's starting to stare at the pointer.

  While there are times where he rips papers I'm using or scratching up the whole house, he's a very good boy.  He gets really excited when someone gets home, he has to do circles on the bed at night because he wants to snuggle both of us.  He wants to get pets from strangers and loves to rub against Miss Jackie's house.  He wants to smell everything you are eating or drinking, and will try and steal your grated hard cheese.  For some reason he loves to smell people's heads and faces.  It's also a requirement for him to dramatically grab at doorways if he is being carried through them.  Everyone loves his "puppy-dog tail" and his little meow.  Chest scratches will sometimes lead to a lot of drool.  It's a good time for everyone when he tries to catch his tail when on his scratching post.  He will practically knock the phone out of your hand because he knows you could be petting him with it instead.

  I know he loves being spoiled and the only fur-baby, but some day we are going to get him the live-in four legged buddy he wants.

Another Wedding

   It was time to go to another wedding.  This was supposed to have happened last year, but Covid put a damper on those plans.  Even though the plan had been to have it in the field behind their house the whole time, they knew people would want to be able to gather and talk.  There are also a lot of high-risk people in their friend groups.

  Everything was simple, but perfect.  They didn't want presents, so they asked everyone to bring something to eat.  There was a nice mix of foods from different parts of the world.  There was some smoked pork, lumpia, bacon crackers, fried chicken, and I made crack.

  The cake they picked out was a fluffy chocolate one with strawberries.  I'm picky about my chocolate cake and this one was nice.  They are such a cute couple and I'm so glad I've met them.

  I met Neil and Shane because of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Bill and I went enough that we got invited to the bonfires at Neil's place.  I know Toni and Neil will live a very happy life together.

Rumors and Cookies

  I heard something interesting, though I don't know if it is true or not.  It seems Santini's didn't really want us back.  I was told it was because one of the employees wanted to go home early and she couldn't finish cleaning her section because we were there.  At that time they were open until 10pm and most of us left at 9pm.  We never complained when we didn't get the section we normally used or when they cleaned up the tables around us.  We also tried to get all of our trash cleaned up, even if it was made by someone else in the group.  The manager didn't stay until close, but it seemed she was telling tales about us to make us look bad.  Seems silly to turn away guaranteed money since most of us bought dinner there, but not much to do about it.  So we are looking for a new place, which can be tricky.  We want somewhere that can let us sit as a large group easily, has good lighting, and serves food.

  Amanda from my bank came a few weeks ago.  We were talking when I went to deposit my work check.  She thought my mask had bones on it but then thought they were nails.  I told her they were knitting needles so then we started talking and it turned out she crochets.  I left but then was kicking myself that I didn't mention the local meet up.  I then got brave and went back in and mentioned the Reston Stitch'n'Bitch.  I was worried that I didn't give her good information and that she had no contact information for me, but she got it.

  The couch blanket is slowly coming along.  I had to take a few rows out because it wasn't long enough for Bill to throw some over his shoulder and also have his feet be covered.  One of the skeins was thicker and more dense feeling, but I don't think it's noticeable.  It is 64" long and I've already used 11 skeins.  I bought a bunch the last time I was at Michel's, but don't know if I will have enough, though I plan on working through what I have before getting more.

  Since the Delta varient is starting to spread around in my area, knit-night was cancelled.  Earlier I got a notification on my news app that a new cookie shop opened near me back on Friday the 13th.  This seemed like a good time to get cookies.  Crumbl Cookies is an interesting shop.  They tell you what temp each one should be served at.  Some are better cold and others are better warm.

  This week they had: Confetti Cake, Honey Bun, Buckeye Brownie, Orange Creamsicle, Classic Sugar, and Milk Chocolate Chip.  They have mini cookies for catering jobs.

  They have the big mixers right behind the registers.  The space might have not been totally ideal for them, but they are making it work really well.

  There were a lot of employees getting everything done.  This meant that even though when we walked in the line was all the way to the door, everyone got processed quickly.

  There is also the option to check yourself out.  We got the six pack, which meant that we could easily get one of each.  Most of the cookies weren't too sweet, so it made it easier to try more of them in one sitting.  The Buckeye Brownie was a bit too much for me.  Confetti Cake and Honey Bun were my favorites.

Home Again?

  My legs are tired so the walk to check out of the resort was harder than it should have been.  We could have called for a cart to come get us, but figured that we would be sitting enough today.

  Got to see a hummingbird as we were in our van ride to the airport.  Our driver's best friend lives in Maryland.  It was interesting seeing the same keychains that I got for 75 Pesos ($3.73 USD) in town being sold for $9 USD at the airport.

  Bill wanted to know if I wanted to eat there or wait until our layover in Chicago.  I got used to eating earlier than normal, so we went to Guy Fieri's Kitchen + Bar and I got some fresh guacamole made at the table.  These chips were really thick and made it more like a meal.

  It seems that Mexico didn't want Bill to leave.  It's fine with me leaving.  First I was checked in, and he was my optional travel companion.  Then the kiosk didn't want to let him pay for his seat.  When we were trying to board his ticket said Invalid Flight when it was first scanned.  It was also sunny when we got on the plane but started to rain when Bill sat down in his seat and buckled his belt.

  It was a really good thing we got in to Chicago early because the buses were running behind.  Turns out we had to go to another building entirely.  We got our bags and handed them back over to security and headed out to get in line to go to the other building.  It didn't move for a good long while and we were starting to get a bit worried.  We were in the second bus and the first took forever to unload at the first gate.

  We got through security again and double checked our gate, though there was some confusion as to who was checking IDs and tickets.  There was some fast walking (sort of, my legs were hurting) and Bill kept saying that we weren't going to make it, but I kept saying that we were going to.  It hurt, but we made it.  I ended up taking off my shoes because they were sliding when I was trying to walk quickly and it was making it even harder.  I need better shoes if we are going to have a connecting flight in case the universe decides we need to hurry through an airport again.

  It was a bit of a bummer that I didn't get a window seat and the guy next to me wanted to sleep instead of have the window open for take off.  He did look a bit like Pat from Bumfuzzle.  For the landing he had the window open.

  While waiting for my mom to get us we saw a VW with smoke coming out from under the hood.  I was so worn out and ready for bed, and Tank was very glad to see us.  Unpacking will have to wait because it's time to fall into bed.

Biking into Town

  We took a short bike ride into town.  The first stop was at the Little Market and I spend most of the allotted time petting a sweet cat.  We think some of the people also live in their shops because we could see beds in the back room.

  Bill asked what I wanted from the market and I said the cat.  It was then time to bike around town, there were some places for sale along the way.  I wish I had brought the GoPro because the town was so cute.  There was even an old VW bus/van for sale.

  I got a few souvenirs at the second stop and tried to find the Geocache.  No luck for that.  On the way back we saw a nasua.

  I was worried that my calves were feeling tired and I wouldn't be able to do it, but the bike ride worked a different set of muscles, so I was okay.  My legs were hurting near the end, but I made it.  Fergie (our bike tour leader) told us we are here during the 40 hottest days of the year.

  After a quick lunch we sat near the pool, but not in it.  There was a large thunder storm rolling in when we sat down.  It was fun to watch all the lighting and to watch the people scramble out of the pool after the first bolt.

  During the storm the breeze was almost chilly.  Al made the joke with one of the bingo people by saying "I don't speak Spanish, I only speak English" in Spanish.  It took the guy a second.

  It's so nice that such a big group is here (82 people) because almost anywhere you go you're going to find someone you know.

  Tonight was the largest group I was in for dinner.  There were 13 of us.  At El Alcazar I got the lobster cream soup, raw and baked tuna with some olives, calamarata with arrabiata sauce and squid, and ended with the vanilla Joconde cake with mango cream and raspberry puree.

  The people with the black wrist bands get one bottle off the special blank-band list per day.   Since they hadn't used it yet, we ordered the most expensive wine off the list.

  Stopped by the Abria to make sure to say 'bye' to as many people as we could before having to fly out tomorrow.  On the way back to the room we saw a momma and baby kitty getting drinks out of the pool.  They were more wild and didn't want anything to do with me, but I did try and say hi to them.

Filled with Fish

  Had to get up early to get our Covid tests.  It wasn't at the Health Center in the middle of the resort, it was at the Family Center near the marina.  I know I had seen the building but I couldn't remember where and we had to ask a few people before one knew what we were talking about.  There was nothing with the right label on the map they gave us, on the map it is called Harbor Master.

  The swab at home for the test wasn't too bad, I feel like they took a brain sample with this one.  They also only took it on one side, so I felt unbalanced for a while.  A dirty monkey definitely helped.

  Some of the people from our group had their appointment right after ours and we waited for them and we all went to breakfast.  The server kept trying to get people to add things to their coffee and said it was his specialty when someone people asked about Kahlua or Bailey's.  When he brought the double shots he said that Santa was here and bringing presents.

  More pool lounging while hanging out with people, some of the time spent smoking some cigars.  The cigar guy would take quick cat naps when people were not shopping.  That was smart.  It was just so nice to be able to hang out with the various groups of people in the water and watch the birds fly around.  The frigate birds were my favorite, though I did really like the small brown/black ones because of their loud cries.

  We had dinner at La Marina.  Shown is the bread with olive oil or vinegar, squid rings with Cajun and paprika, the mahi mahi fillet with garlic accompanied with roasted vegetables and basil risotto, and the miserable cake with tamarind sauce.  Not shown was the food that the kids ate a few bites of and didn't want the rest of.  They were then offered for anyone to eat.  I had some of the tuna steak, the linguini with mushroom cream and shrimp, and the shrimps alla Romana.  I was way too full and had a bit of a waddle to my walk on the way back.

Wedding Day

   I asked the lady at the fruit section at breakfast what the new fruit I like is called.  I thought she said something like "lyara" but couldn't find it in a search.  Tried some more spellings and I think she said "pyara" which is a guava.  I didn't know guavas came in so many colors and options.  It is either a yellow guava or a honey guava.

  I'm amused by the fact that at breakfast they probably just take the label and the lids off the juices, but they look so cute and kitschy.  Just a little bottle of juice.  The honeydew juice was my favorite.

  Some people had to spend most of the morning getting ready, but since I'm not anyone important, Bill and I lounged around.  This is where I got sunburnt.  I went out too early without waiting long enough for the sunscreen to soak in before getting into the water.  A sun-shirt would have been really nice and smart, I'll know for next time.

  The weather wasn't too hot and there was a nice breeze the whole time.  It was also slightly overcast so it wasn't super bright and a bit cooler.  The one they were supposed to use was closed and while we were closer to where the resort dumps the extra seaweed, the breeze worked in our favor and the smell was hardly noticeable to me.

  They had a few extra bits to the ceremony.  They did the mixed sand, a small handfasting, and a wine box with notes in there telling the other why they married them.  The notes were to be read 5 years from now (or sooner in case of distress).  It was all very sweet.

  Refreshing drinks during cocktail hour and some finger food.  There was fried shrimp, beef puff things, empanadas, and meat with cheeses.  The orange drink is a Sex on the Beach, and I'm not sure what the other was but it had some cucumber in it.  It was a warm walk to the marina but not as bad as it had been some of the days previously.

  I don't even remember what all I got for food, but it tasted great.  There was a shrimp Cesar salad, a traditional Mexican soup, steak with veggies, and a custard tasting dessert.

  The employees were smart and brought some of the mosquito repellent lotion, but there were so many I still got eaten up.  I don't think Bill got many bites, but the bugs love me anyway.  Barb is the same way, so we could commiserate.

  The first dances were elegant, the food was delicious, and the music was fun to dance to.  A lot of us were on the dance floor until 10pm when they turned the music off.  I didn't go to the after party because my right foot had a bit of a rash starting and I was tired.  Bill went and had some fun.  It was a really great wedding overall and I had a great time.

Sí Muy Vodka

  We hung out in the pool and I learned about a Dirty Monkey, or Dirty Banana drink.  They are a banana and chocolate flavor and I think I found my new favorite drink.

  It rained while we were at lunch, but it only lasted a little bit.  We took our time walking to where the catamaran ride was going to be.  Saw a bunch of iguanas lounging about, the larger ones are less worried about people.

We wondered around the marina because we left time before we had to meet everyone for the boat ride. The dolphin enclosure is by the restaurant in the marina.  The resort has the option to pay to swim with them, or you can watch them for free.

  Before the boat trip there was more rain and some lightening.  Luckily the storm passed pretty quickly and the trip was still on.  It was technically a snorkeling trip, but I just wanted to ride the boat.

  The one we were on was a 75ft boat named Pacific Breeze.  It's interesting how the different styles of boats have different amount of space.  A catamaran has both more and and less space than a monohulled boat.  There is more space if you measure it, but it's split in two and each one is more narrow than if you just had one open space below deck.

  There were two bathrooms on the one side of the boat.  This was the big one, which was the "ladies room" and was also a lot fancier.  The other bathroom was smaller and more plain.  They explained to us how to flush the toilet and it sounded complicated, but was really easy when I went to go do it.  You have the switch to the right and pump to flush the bowl, then you just have to flip the switch to the left and pump a few times to fill it back up with new water.

  While the people were out I did some snooping around.  Only one of the two sides were open for us to go down to because it was the side with the bathrooms.  There were also two bedrooms.  It was a bit too muggy down there to take a nap, but I thought about it.  Both rooms had what looked like either full or queen sized mattress.

  On the way back we saw Hannibal in the second slot from the end.  I wasn't quick enough to get a good picture of the stern, but I was able to get one of the bow.  I was glad we got to see it, though I think it was docked for the day.

  At the end of the trip we had a champagne toast to the couple and they ran out of small cups, so I got a bigger share than some of the others.  The crew had also been making us stronger drinks because they were bored while the others were out.  I definitely felt these drinks.  I will need to go to H*Mart and see if I can find the mango Jumex juice they used.  It tasted like an actual mango and not like most of the mango juices I have tried.

  I was hoping we were going to sail, since we've seen some catamarans sail by while looking out from the pool, but we just motored there and back.  I had a great time anyway.

  Ended up at the French place again.   I feel like we are going to make our way through the menu.

 There was more live music after and then we crashed.

Blue Hawaiian Day

  Wondered around after breakfast and found people we knew by the "party pool.".  At one point there were colored smoke sticks and a bubble cannon happening on one end.  We just hung out and swam up to the bar until lunch where we ended up putting three tables together to fit everyone who showed up.

  Spent a few hours eating or chatting at Mercado de Dolores because we were near the door and people just kept filtering in.  After that it was a lot of hanging out with people while in the pool.  That drink is a Blue Hawaiian, which I learned about because I saw one of the drink servers with it on their tray and I asked what it was.

  Some people got to go deep sea fishing in the morning and showed us pictures of the fish they caught.  Bill and I didn't manage to make it onto that boat reservation.

  Every night there were various shows going on in various parts of the resort.  There was live music outside, live music inside, live music with dancing, and recorded music with more complex dancing.  There was even an Elvis!

  This dance troupe had a lot of different numbers and a lot of costume changes.  They had to use the tiny bathroom off to the side of this open area to get changed. 

  The restaurants get full really quickly, so we ended up at the French place again.  The food is really good though, so I don't mind.  This time I got the traditional French onion soup, the beef fillet prepared with mushrooms sauce and foie gras with truffle polenta, and my usual crème brulee.

  I discovered a resort hack.  This one gives you a towel card and charges you $40 if you can't produce the card or a towel.  There are sometimes lost towels left after hours, so if you lose your card you can find a way to get a new one.

  I was joking it would be a good side hustle to gather a bunch of abandoned towels, get the cards, and then offer them to people for $20 who need to check out.

  Hung out near the live music bar, it was somehow louder than the other night.  I didn't even go in this time and people came out so we could actually talk without having to yell into each other's ears.  The music was still fairly loud in the lobby.

  Got turn down service for the first time.  Bill and I find it funny that we might now be getting things we were supposed to have since day one.   It didn't hurt us to not have the pillow menu so we don't mind.

The SV Star Ship

  Turns out that if you aren't awake or don't hear the knock from the guy, they will call you to tell you that your room service has arrived.  There are also many birds who will have yelling matches near your door early in the morning.
 

  Spent a good chunk of the day being lazy.  I have realized that my wardrobe is unprepared for tropical vacations.  My t-shirts feel too thick, I don't own many shorter leg covering options, and I don't own a swimsuit cover.  I'm going to have to look on Ravelry to find some patterns to crochet one.  I'm also going to be in the market for some linen or rayon items.  Maybe they will make it more comfortable to go outside during summer normally.

  We went on a short walk to go to the end of one of the covered piers.  The open one and the other covered one were close because hurricanes damaged them.  While out there I spotted this boat. I don't know a lot about boats and their maintenance, but I'm pretty sure this isn't ideal.  I feel bad for it because it hasn't done anything to anyone.  Other than the fact that I can't see how much water is inside it or know how long it's been like this, it doesn't seem to be in too bad of a shape.  So if anyone wants to adopt the Star Ship you just have to figure out how to get her upright and get someplace to do repairs.

  We also passed by this enclosure.  I love that they are still trying to protect the wildlife while also being able to let me hang out in a pool or on the beach and give me endless drinks.  The drinks are pretty watered down so you can stay out all day drinking and they don't have to deal with a ton of drunk people.  If you knew how to order it, you could get something stronger, but the general drinks were light.

  We hung out in the room while we dried off and then eventually went to get drinks and listen to the water.  Once it started to get dark the mosquitoes came out and headed straight for me.  They gave us some mosquito repellent lotion, but that doesn't help when it is in the room and you aren't.  It does smell nice and absorb quickly when you put it on.

  We had dinner at Ile de France Bistro with a few other people.  It was supposed to be the hardest one to get a reservation for and I wanted to try it.  The table got crusty bread with homemade garlic aioli and unsalted butter.  I started with the creamy salmon soup with garlic and cheese croutons.  For my meal I got the duck confit ravioli with foie gras and poultry broth, and honestly it tasted like fancy chicken noodle soup.  Being me I had to get the crème brulee for dessert, it came with a few different fruits and some solid sugar on top.  It was nice that the portions are pretty small because you can order all three courses and even try more than one from any without stuffing yourself or wasting food.

  I looked up when high tide was and had to go back to visit the boat.  Bill said he thought it floated more at high tide.  It might not be the right time of the year because I went out for the day's high tide and it wasn't high enough.  The boat was still very tilted.  I think the loud small brown/black birds have nests in the seaweed out there because I got yelled at by a lot of birds.  I didn't go down the pier again, but I was surprised that the spheres lit up.

I am Willing and Able?

  Bill got us more leg room because we were in the exit rows.  I also got some Biscoff cookies.  The airport was a bit overwhelming, there were people trying to sell you things, actual taxi companies, people playing at being taxi companies, and the resort people.  The guy from the van company we booked to get us to the resort told us to keep an eye out for his father's fishing boat.  It's called Hannibal and I wasn't sure how we were supposed to try a spot it, but he showed us a picture of what it looks like.  The road into the resort, off the highway, had many speed bumps and two guard shacks.  One to get onto the road with the resorts and one at the resort.  The driver of the van has a brother in Maryland.

  Since neither of us have been to a resort before, we got some of the fancy extras.  We got a butler, her name is Caroline and her fiancé lives in Ohio.  She can take care of lots of stuff for us, like if we want more towels or to make reservations for dinner, we just have to text her.  She tried to call Bill, but he had no signal, so it didn't go through.

  She was really excited to get the mini golf cart because it goes faster.  She had problems saying Bill's name, but found mine to be much easier.

  We were supposed to have wine and fruit waiting for us, but she had to go get it.  She also got us a lot more bottles of water for our mini fridge.  I was excited about the apple soda that was already there.

  It was a bit late to make any dinner reservations, so we decided to go to the place that had a few mini-restaurants and was kind of buffet style.  You could get Asian, seafood, Italian, sandwiches/salads, or Mexican.  I have been hearing about how good the tacos are supposed to be, so I went to the Mexican to see what I could get.  I ate many tacos.  I started with the pork and then got the steak.

  We relaxed the rest of the evening and saw people we know coming in and listened to some live music.

  If you put the breakfast order sheet on the outside of your door before 3am, they leave you breakfast at the time you check off on the sheet.  There weren't many options, but there were two places open for breakfast, so that wasn't a bit deal.