Visit With A View

Be careful who you invite, because if they are named Dean and Linda, they're going to show up in your town sooner or later. That is the reasoning behind our most recent trip south to a town near Manzanillo, El Naranjo.

A Bougainvillea plant that Linda found interesting.

We met Hal and Jenny Schoener on our Mex-Eco trip last year to the cities of Taxco and Puebla. It was a great adventure and when it was all over we promised to keep in touch. When we returned to Idaho, Jenny and Linda emailed back and forth. We mentioned that we were visiting our friends Don and Caroline in Westport, WA. Jenny said, "Why don't you stop by our place in Tacoma on your way back from the coast?"  Boom, next thing you know we were visiting them at their beautiful home near Tacoma. Their planned visit to Coeur d'Alene didn't work out last summer. Fast forward to Mexico and once again Jenny said, "You two should come down and visit us at the condo we rent by Manzanillo." Boom, on Friday afternoon, we arrived via Plus Bus in their area for a three-day visit.

View from Hal and Jenney's front window.

Linda was the first person off the Primera Puls bus when we stopped on the highway across from the depot. I followed and gathered our backpacks from the lower compartment of the bus. As Linda scampered across the highway to the bus station, I spotted Hal and Jenny cruising past the intersection where I was standing. Figuring they would have to come back to the station, I grabbed the packs and made my way across the highway. As Hal pulled in and we loaded the packs into the car, Linda appeared holding two return tickets for our trip back to Melaque on Monday.  Just like Linda to prepare for the return, the moment we arrived.

Linda and the Shaving Brush Tree's flower. 

We hugged Hal and Jenny and climbed into their car and were off to the condo where they stay for the winter. But first a stop at the Oasis Beach Restaurant! New arrivals need to refresh, wouldn't you say?

The Shaving Brush in bloom on he tree.

Hal drove us down to Club Santiago and their watering spot the Oasis, where we got a few drinks and met several of their beach friends. It seemed like Hal and Jenny knew everyone who walked by our table and if they didn't know them, Hal would grab the new visitor and introduce himself and our group. It was a fun exchange. Once again I remembered just how easy these two were to get to know.

We had lunch, ordering two Shrimp Dragons, which we split between the two couples. The dragons were a burrito type of food with an Asian shrimp flavor. It was amazing! Once we finished, it was off to their condo on the ocean.

What a nice place! The view looks out over the ocean and gives you a 180-degree view of the vastness before you. We spent most of the time we were at the condo looking out over this vista. It was hard to take your eyes off the sea.

Once we found our room and put our packs on the bed we headed out to the car.

The photo Hal took, of their condo complex from the drone.

We drove back up to the condo area and they showed us around the complex. It was beautiful, of course, and we had many questions about their condo lifestyle. Hal pointed out the Shaving Brush tree located below their unit. He even walked down there and brought Linda back several of the flowers he had picked. As you can see they are very unique in their look and color.

By this time the sun had set and we all were getting hungry. We climbed back into the car and drove to one of their favorite tacos restaurants, La Placita, located in the small town of Nuevo Miramar. We had a very nice inexpensive dinner while we watched the kids play in the Jardin de Miramar.

Hal and Jenny at the tianguis in Santiago.

Hal drove us back to their place and we talked and laughed until bed beckoned us.

First booth on the right, Reynaldo's Rugs!

Morning arrived and Linda hit the road for her run. When she returned I was up and talking, with a cup of coffee in my hands. Hal made breakfast as Linda described her workout path. Jenny and I drank our coffee and listened.

We mapped out our day and focused everything to the main event of the day; dinner with Pete and Rita at their condo located one floor down and at the end of the complex. Linda and I met Pete and Rita on the same Mex-Eco tour that we met Hal and Jenny. They are good friends and the two families have basically grown up together, worked with each other and kept Hal on the straight and narrow for many years. We had breakfast with Pete and Rita when we stopped in Tacoma for our drop-in visit.

Dinner time arrived and we walked down to their condo. We ate hors d'oevres and then played a game of Pegs and Jokers. Pegs and Jokers is new to us but we picked up the basics and held our own. We played women against men and the men ended up as the losers.

Pete served us a great mushroom soup followed by two different lasagnas. He said he made the main courses, but we coaxed out the truth and found that he had purchased them from the Dutch Deli in Santiago. Boy, were they both good!

After dinner, we played a game called Sequence and this time the men ended up the winners. At 10:00 PM we headed up to our unit and everyone hustled off to bed.

Gathering food for our weekend.

After another wonderful breakfast, we went down to the small rocky beach area below the condo buildings. We searched for rocks and shells taking photos and enjoying the ocean breezes. We celebrated the date because it was a ubiquitous palindrome, 02/02/2020. The last palindrome like that took place on 11/11/1111. But I read that at that time we didn't even use the same calendar we use nowadays. That was about 900 years ago and we will not have another palindrome for 101 years on 03/03/3030. We'll try to meet again on that date.

Looking for shells.

Hal brought with him to Mexico a very cool drone and we spent some time trying to fly the machine. He was able to get it up in the air and take photos of the condo unit, but we had a problem with its GPS system so he was uncomfortable flying it around much because if the battery wore out it would not automatically return to its home GPS location. We had a good time messing with the drone while Linda and Jenny waited patiently for their little geeks.

Not only was it 02/20/2020, but it was also Super Bowl Sunday!

02022020. What can you say?

Around 4:30 PM we donned our Seahawks attire (they are still our favorites) and went down a flight of stairs to yet another condo and gathered to watch the Super Bowl with a group of about 15 other folks.  Everyone brought side dishes. Hal made peppers sliced and filled with cream cheese and chorizo and then wrapped with bacon; delicious. Pete made a spinach dip that had a hot bite; you couldn't put it down. The main course was two very good crock pots of chili. We definitely had enough to eat!

Everyone watched the game and enjoyed the results. We came away having eaten a bit too much but really enjoyed the event. It was a little late to do much so we all went to bed and listened to a storm come in. Wind, lightning, and rain moved quickly off the ocean and into our night.  Temperatures cooled off and we all slept well.

In the morning Hal again fixed breakfast. We ate and talked and played cards. Our bus was scheduled to leave at 12:05 PM.

Hal and Jenny drove us to the bus stop and we hugged and said our goodbyes. We had a wonderful time and hated to have to go. They were such great hosts and we thanked them for opening up their Mexico life to us. Plans for a visit from them to us in Idaho are penciled in. We're already looking forward to showing off where we live.

I'm looking a bit, well, normal.

At the bus stop, Linda found seats and I went next door to check out the Deli. As it turns out the Dutch Deli where Pete bought his lasagnas for our dinner was right next door to the depot.

Jumping bridge, but the boys were Pollo.

I walked in and looked around. The owner was seated at a table in the center of the store. She took a big draw of her cigarette and blew a huge plume of smoke to the ceiling and then asked, "How can I help you?" I was caught a bit off guard, but recovered by pointing to the cinnamon rolls in the pan in front of me and said: "I'll have two of those." She was very nice and packed two rolls in a box, took my pesos, and I returned to the station.

We ate the rolls and made plans to take Jenny and Hal up on another invite to visit them and maybe go to a James Taylor concert in Tacoma!

Waiting for our ride.

Dutch Deli treats!