Happy birthday!!

Saturday was Spouse's birthday!  And Walter's birthday!

This year I planned a very social weekend away for Spouse's birthday but kept all the details a secret.  I told him to simply pack casual clothes and don't try to figure everything out.

So Sat morning we drove to the DC area where we used to live and arrived just in time for lunch at the Taco House with our friends Jeff, Shaun, Brandon and David.  Spouse was happily surprised to see them, and of course equally happy to eat at our longtime favorite Mexican restaurant.  I'd emailed in advance to be sure the owners (who are also friends) Juan & Gloria would be there, so we had a nice reunion with them too.  Unfortunately I took no photos.

Next we drove over to have a short visit with our good friends Bugsy & Roger.  It had been about a year since we'd seen them at our house so we enjoyed a nice, relaxing visit at their home.  Again I took no photos.

Then we drove several miles south to the area where I grew up, but that has changed quite a bit.  Spouse knows that our friend Carl lives there so he guessed we were either going to Carl's house or meeting him somewhere for dinner.  But instead, we arrived at a hotel and checked in.  After a few minutes of relaxing and changing our clothes, we went to a hip bar/restaurant nearby.  Waiting for us to arrive was Carl, Kerry & Hugh, Kelly, Kim, Justine & Liz, Harriet & Bob, Ana & Jose, Javier, and Emily & Brandon!  This time I managed to take a few photos but they're pretty bad.  

L-R: Kelly, Javier, Harriet, Bob, Jose, Ana, Hugh, Kerry

L-R:  Carl, Kim

L-R: Kerry, Justine, Liz, me

The birthday boy

I didn't give people time to look at the camera or smile, I just snapped away.  As you can see from the table, alcohol was involved which likely contributed to the (non-)quality of the photos, but at least its better than no photos.

About 3 hours later everyone left except Kerry & Hugh and Carl, so the servers moved us to a smaller table where we ordered a couple desserts to share and continued visiting.  We had a lovely, lovely birthday dinner, as well as a fun day overall.  We got back to the hotel and crashed.

The next morning we showered, checked out, and headed back north to Spouse's sister's house.  Waiting for us there was his sister, her husband, her 2 sons, and Spouse's brother and his wife.  'The family' had a yummy brunch and visited for a couple hours before heading home to DE.

Spouse complimented me on the terrific birthday weekend and said it was probably his favorite ever.

Sharing Spouse's birthday, although completely overlooked this year, is Walter who turned 5 years old.  We adopted him in Sept but were told he was born on July 20, the same day as Spouse.  That is why Walter's middle name is the same as Spouse's first name.

Easter weekend

We were on the road by 8am Sat and arrived at Spouse's brother's house at 10:30.  We visited with him and his wife for about an hour, then went to meet friends for lunch.

Our original plans were to meet Jeff & Shaun whom we met on a cruise a few years back, and their friends Brandon & David.  However a family emergency called Jeff & Shaun out of town, so we just met up with Brandon & David whom we'd not met before.  We had a wonderful lunch at Taco House (its actual name is Cantina Mexicana) and easily understood why Jeff & Shaun thought we should meet.  

It was a lot of fun and the 2 hours passed quickly.

We returned to check on the dogs and get settled in, then went to Spouse's sister's house to visit.  We normally stay there but she was expecting a full house.  We had fun catching up on the family happenings, then returned to our home base to wash up before dinner.

We met up with our friend Carl who took us to Bar Louie, one of his favorite haunts, for cocktails and dinner.  Carl and I both had delicious cosmos.  Spouse had a Corona.

Its a lively place so there was plenty to see while we chatted and laughed with Carl.

And speaking of things to see, we noticed several men wearing onesies, so when one of the guys walked past our table in a cow print onesie I said "Nice udders!"  He laughed and thanked me, which opened the door to my question about why he and his friends were wearing the onesies.  He explained that they were members of the local rugby team and once a month they have a themed pub crawl.  This month's theme was onesies. 

This led to a broader conversation after he left about why we weren't hip enough to participate in themed pub crawls, and what possible themes we'd suggest.  After dinner we strolled the promenade and had some frozen yogurt.

Sun morning we helped Spouse's brother get ready to host the family for Easter, then made a quick run to Trader Joe's to stock up on pantry staples.  

Back at the house I put on my Easter shirt (worn only on Easter day) and took the dogs out to play in the back yard where I took this selfie.  Then Spouse & I went to pick up Aunt Mary.  The rest of the family started arriving around noon and we had a great time visiting with everyone.  The weather was sunny and in the mid 60s so it was fantastic.  

I got to hold our niece's son Alonzo who was born 2 days after Christmas.  He's such a good baby, never fussing or squirming, and he stayed awake for more than 5 hours.

We took Aunt Mary home and then headed back to DE.  It was a whirlwind weekend but an enjoyable one.

Final vacation highlights

Fri was our final day in Puerto Vallarta.  We decided to go back to Coco's Kitchen for a late breakfast.

Spouse at Coco's Kitchen

In Mexico it is customary for servers to wait until you ask them for the check, which we kept forgetting to do, so our meals always included extra time relaxing.  Then we returned to Blue Chairs beach club for our final day at the beach.  It was a bit overcast with periods of sun poking through, but we didn't mind.  It was so relaxing to sit under the palapa and hear the waves, watch the men, and go in the ocean.  

After cleaning up at the condo we headed out for the evening.  This was our view that evening:

Spouse wore his new bear tank top which looked so cute on him!

Our 1st stop was Anonimo bar for a pre-dinner cocktail.  I'd read online that the bartenders were gorgeous there, which was not an exaggeration.

Bartender at Anonimo

And trust me when I say that as good-looking as he is in this photo, he was even MORE beautiful when he smiled.  While enjoying our cocktails we had a celebrity citing!

Me and Cher

Actually, her name is Thirsty Burlington and she was out promoting her Cher impersonation show.  

She was just as funny as Cher and sounded just like her!  We were sad that it was our last night in PV and that we wouldn't be able to go see her show.

Then we went to dinner at La Piazzetta for dinner.  The menu of Italian specialties was quite extensive and delicious.  The 3 of us shared 2 appetizers and then each of us had a wonderful, authentic Italian entree.  Then we walked onto the pier at Playa Los Muertos.  It was dark and I knew my photos wouldn't turn out, so I'm borrowing this one from PeterKTravels.com.

Then we returned to the condo to begin packing and tidying up, then we had some 'screen time' on the terrace before going to bed.

The next morning our property manager/driver (who was absolutely gorgeous) picked us up at 10am and took us to the airport.  Our flights to Chicago and DC were uneventful, and we were picked up by our nephew and taken back to Spouse's sister's house where we spent the night.  Sun morning Spouse's brother and his daughter came from MD to join us for breakfast before we headed home to see our boys.

We had a wonderful trip and I'd recommend Puerto Vallarta to anyone who enjoys a relaxed, LGBT-friendly beach environment.  The peso-to-dollar ratio is terrific.  We always felt safe.  The food was delicious.  The prices were very reasonable.  The locals were very nice and everyone speaks or understands English.  This was our 3rd visit to PV (and our 2nd Beef Dip) but certainly won't be the last.

Further vacation highlights

Instead of having a light breakfast at home, on Wed we went to the ever-popular Coco's Kitchen for a late breakfast.  Its a charming garden cafe with lots of breakfast and lunch options.

Our food was very good and we loved the atmosphere.  Afterward we went directly to the beach, returning to Blue Chairs.  Again the weather was beautiful, we had food and drinks on the beach, and had fun in the ocean.

For dinner we went to Jorge's Hideaway.  Spouse & I had a wonderful meal there with the Newlyweds on our last visit so we wanted to return there with Carl.  I started with a lime mojito which matched my shirt!

Spouse & me and my matching cocktail

I typically do not post photos of food (here or on Facebook) but I'm making an exception.  I ordered the pineapple shrimp diablo which was so beautifully presented (and delicious) I thought it warranted a photo.

They cut a pineapple in half lengthwise, hollowed out the body, and filled it with shrimp, chunks of pineapple, and this wonderfully spicy and flavorful sauce, then melted some cheese over it.  It was served with red rice and a salad.  Amazing!

Afterward we went back to the condo and changed into our outfits for the White Party held at CC Slaughter nightclub.  We intentionally went late so there'd be people there, since the disco party really didn't get started until at least an hour after the official start time.  Well our strategy worked, maybe a bit too well, as it was absolutely packed when we arrived.

We danced and hung out a bit but it was so crowded it became a bit uncomfortable, so we went outside onto the sidewalk where a bunch of others had escaped.  Earlier in the week we'd seen a guy wearing a tiny green glittery fascinator.  I saw him again at the White Party wearing a tiny silver glittery fascinator so I had to talk to him about it.  First, he was impressed that I knew his miniature hats were called fascinators.  Second, he was impressed that I knew what color fascinator he'd worn to the disco party.  Eventually I asked Spouse to take a photo of me with the fascinator guy and his best friend since childhood.

The friend, me and the fascinator guy

Unfortunately the fascinator is kinda cut off in this photo, but you get the jist.  The glasses I'm wearing had multi-colored lights that flashed.  They were fun guys to hang with for a while.  We also ran into a couple of guys we'd met at the pool party the day before, Will, Alex, and Renzo.  It was a fun night!

Thurs we repeated our typical morning coffee on the terrace routine, then eventually returned to Mantamar Beach Club for a day at the beach.

Carl

Spouse

Carl and I both had foot and leg massages on the beach, then the 3 of us hung out at the pool for a couple hours with some of our new friends.

Will, Alex, Me, David, and Spouse

After showers and a little relaxation time on the terrace, we took the recommendation of a few friends and some strangers on Yelp to eat at Joe Jack's Fish Shack.  It was a charming 2-level restaurant and we were fortunate to be seated on the upper level which had no ceiling.  The food was yummy and the service was great.  I also loved the tile in the men's room:

After dinner we went to the Almar hotel, a recently completed new building associated with the Mantamar Beach Club, for a rooftop party.  The music was great, the coastline views were great, and the vibe was fun.  The recently completed rooftop bar and party area were really gorgeous.  This resort really strives to be upscale.

Alex and the bearded drag queens

Sexy muscle bears Kayvon, Spouse, Alex, and Will

As I am want to do at parties, I began taking selfies with many of our new friends.

Me and Will

Spouse photobombed my selfie with Renzo...

...so Alex took a photo of me, Renzo and Spouse

Me and Alex

Me and Joe from Austrailia whom we met a year earlier in Palm Springs!

It was a really fun party!

More vacation highlights

Mon after a light breakfast on the terrace the 3 of us spent the day at Green Chairs, next door to Blue Chairs.  The actual name is Ritmos but everyone calls it Green Chairs because most of the beach chairs are green. When it was time for some hydration I had tequila and limeade which was absolutely delicious.  

Clever use of the portrait mode for this shot

As I was getting into the ocean I realized I was still wearing my sunglasses.  Rather than get out of the water to put them away, I decided to just be careful and hold them to my face if need be.  But before I could get fully into the ocean a large wave came up and yanked my sunglasses off my face before I could secure them.  Fortunately there is no shortage of locals walking around the beach selling sunglasses, hats, jewelry, henna tattoos, and massages.  So I treated myself to a pair of "Dior" sunglasses!

My new "Dior" sunglasses purchased from a beach vendor

I picked them because they were unusual.  I hadn't seen anyone else wearing this shape of lens.  I got many compliments on them throughout the week.  After our day at the beach we stopped into Blue Chairs hotel for their Foam Pool Party.  

Crowded Foam Pool Party

We didn't stay very long because it was really crowded and there was no place to sit.  After returning to condo for showers we headed back out for dinner and ended up at Derby City Burgers (which Spouse mistakenly called Dirty City Burgers because he can't hear).  The burgers were delicious and so were the fries.  

Me & Spouse at Derby City Burgers

Afterward we walked over to Mr Flamingo, an indoor/outdoor bar which was so crowded we ended up hanging out on the sidewalk, where we met Kirk & Mark from Portland.  Then we went back to Los Amigos for another visit before going to CC Slaughter for their disco party.  Oh my god, the music was SO GOOD at the disco party!  We danced without stopping for well over an hour, in flip flops.  There was even a trio dressed in Abba-like satin jumpsuits!

The disco party

While at the disco party I had to take a picture of this guy's t-shirt:

On Tues we went to the Mantamar Beach Club for the day.  It was another beautiful day, and we had food and drinks on the beach.  That afternoon we went to the Mantamar's pool party where we had fun frolicking in the water with lots of other guys.  Afterward Spouse went back to the condo while Carl and I went for massages.  One of my favorite things to do in PV is to get a massage because they're so relaxing and so inexpensive.  An hour massage was 500 pesos which is about $25 USD.  What a bargain!  After our massages we walked next door to the Blondie's Slushbar and had a raspberry/lime/gin slushy before returning to the condo.  Deelish!!

We walked to Tizoc for dinner and had an absolutely amazing Mexican dinner.  We'd eaten here on our previous trips and it was just as good as ever.  Then we walked back to Blue Chairs hotel for Bearaoke on the rooftop.  It was hosted by Tammie Brown, season 1 contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race.  She was actually very funny!  She said everything twice; once in English and again in Spanish. Some of her 'filler' dialog as she awaited singers to enter the stage was hilarious.  We had a fun time.

Carl watching Bearaoke

No, I didn't sing at Bearaoke.  I did sign up, but it was going on 1am and the 3 of us decided to go home before my name was called.

We're back...

We are back from our fantastic trip to Puerto Vallarta!  Our time there coincided with Beef Dip (not by accident) so we had lots of fun and met some great new friends.  I'll share some of our activities, highlights and photos in a couple of posts this week.

Our flight was supposed to depart from Washington DC on Sat at 7:01am, but due to a mechanical issue that could not be fixed within an hour, we had to de-board the plane at 8am and get re-booked on a different flight that wasn't due to leave until 1pm.  So our friend Carl, Spouse & I sat in the airport for several hours until it was time to board.  Rather than arriving at 3:00 we arrived at 8:00.  Fortunately our transportation from the airport to the condo wasn't screwed up by this.  I was texting updates to the driver who was quite gracious.

We stayed in an AirBnB condo in the same building we stayed in 2 years ago.  The location is perfectly centered between the gay beach area resorts and the nightclubs, with lots of restaurant options also nearby.  We were able to walk everywhere in just a few minutes.  Here's the view from our terrace:

After checking into the condo we headed out to eat.  We had eaten nothing substantial since breakfast around 9am and it was now close to 9pm.  I was so hungry I felt like I was going to pass out!  We walked down to the beach and got a table at La Palapa.  After starting with a couple appetizers for the 3 of us to share, I had a delicious stuffed pork tenderloin.  Then we walked to the Oxxo store, which is the Mexican equivalent to a 7-11 convenience store.  We picked up some coffee, creamer, bottled water, paper towels, bread, peanut butter, danish and sun lotion.  Upon returning to the condo we sat out on the terrace until bedtime.

Sun morning we had coffee and a continental breakfast out on the terrace, then walked over to the Blue Chairs beach resort where we found chairs under a palapa.  A waiter brought us drinks and food when we were ready to eat again, and we had a lovely day at the beach.  (Tip:  the hotel rooms aren't very nice, so go to Blue Chairs beach resort for the day, but don't stay there.)

Spouse enjoying the 1st of many Pina Coladas of the week

The temperature was about 84 degrees, no humidity, and a light breeze.  The 3 of us got into the ocean too, which was a very comfortable temperature, although a bit rough.  Each of us took a tumble in the waves at some point during the week.  Mine was on the 1st day.

On the way back to the condo we passed another store, this 1 called Mini Super (an oxymoron if I've ever heard one) which had a lot more stuff than the Oxxo.  We picked up some more breakfast foods and snacks on our way back to the condo.  Once we'd all showered we headed the Beef Dip Welcome Party at the top of the Blue Chairs resort.  The music was fun and there were lots of guys there.

Welcome Party at Blue Chairs

Spouse subtly pointed at a guy nearby and asked me if I knew who he was.  I said no but he looked a little familiar.  After speaking to the guy we realized we had met him 3 years ago on our Caribbean cruise!  Crazy coincidence, right?  As if that wasn't wild enough, we also ran into a guy named Joe who we met in Palm Springs a year ago!!

Me & Spouse at the Welcome Party

After the welcome party, the 3 of us stopped at Fusion for dinner.  Like 99% of Puerto Vallarta restaurants, the dining area is outdoors which we love.  All 3 of us loved our dinners.  I had shrimp.

Carl & Spouse at Fusion

To wind up the evening we went to Los Amigos.  Its a very casual, cowboy-themed indoor/outdoor bar where we had a couple drinks, met some new friends, and mingled before heading back to the condo to relax on the terrace before going to bed.

Puerto Vallarta

A week from tonight we'll drive to Spouse's sister's house near the airport to stay overnight, and then leave at the crack of dawn the next morning for Puerto Vallarta!  If you're interested in our past visits, click here.

This will be our 3rd visit to Puerto Vallarta.  Our 1st time with the Newlyweds we actually stayed just south of PV in the village of Mismaloya in a wonderful home on a mountain surrounded by the jungle and overlooking the water.  Our 2nd time we stayed in the Romantic Zone downtown in a fabulous condo in the Signature by Pinnacle condo building overlooking the water.  This was the view from our giant terrace:

We liked it so much that this time we're staying in the same building, just a different condo.  Its a very short walk to the beach, to the resort where all the pool parties will occur, and to lots of restaurants and bars.  We won't have or need a car.  Our friend Carl is coming too.  This will be his 1st time to PV.

Like last time, our visit will overlap "Beef Dip", Puerto Vallarta's bear week. We had a lot of fun joining some of the Beef Dip parties and activities last time so I'm sure the same will be true this time.

It will be wonderful to escape the cold weather at home for temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80s in PV.  I anticipate lots of time spent on the beach soaking up the sun and enjoying tropical beverages.

Holiday highlights part 1

Sun the 23rd we loaded up the car with our luggage, gifts, food, and dogs and got on the road by 8:30, right on schedule.  After unloading everything at Spouse's sister's house, our 2 nephews joined us as we met up with our friends for our annual hippie roll and pizza luncheon.  We had a wonderful lunch with Lisa, Carl, Kerry & Hugh, Kelly, Alex, and Kim & Danny and I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes more than once.  As is our custom, we took a group photo:

One of the things that had me laughing so hard were the 'mini hands'.  Or as I called them, 'Trump hands'.  Kim brought these little plastic hands that fit on the end of your finger, which were simultaneously hilarious and creepy.  We kept finding different ways to position them for comedic effect.

I've lost count of how many years we've been doing this, but its certainly a highlight of the Christmas season for me.  And the owners of the restaurant couldn't be nicer to our wacky group.

Afterward we hung out at the house with the family for a couple hours, then met up with our old friends Ron & James and Mike & Clark at our favorite Mexican restaurant Cantina Mexicana, also known as The Taco House.  Unfortunately I neglected to take any photos of our gathering. We've known them for over 20 years and we're all very happy we've maintained our friendship despite Spouse & me moving away 12 years ago.  The 4 of them have visited us many times at home, and we were happy we all had an opportunity to meet up for dinner.  We were also overjoyed to see the Taco House owners Juan & Gloria too!  As we were looking at the margarita menu we noticed a small typo.  One of the choices was a "Caddillac" margarita. We speculated about what it was made of. Someone suggested it was made with top shelf tequila, so I joked that the top shelf liquor made it special and was responsible for the extra "d" in "Caddilac".  Then I said "Who doesn't like some extra D???" and we all had a good laugh!

Palm Springs wrap up

After the fabulous car show, we returned the rental car and went inside the airport to find our gate.  We got some snacks for the plane, then I went through many of my photos on my phone to kill time while we waited for boarding time.  Fortunately the flight wasn't full and the window seat next to me was empty, so I moved over to it, giving Spouse some much needed shoulder room.

I'm leaning over from the window seat and Spouse is in the isle seat

Our flights were fine and we were picked up by our nephew and taken back to Spouse's sister's house. We stayed overnight, then had a late breakfast with several family members before heading home to DE.  I was really eager to see Marvin & Walter!

It was a really fun trip!  Carl was a terrific traveling companion and was open to just about any suggestion or request we came up with.  We had lots of great food, saw lots of beautiful homes, cars, scenery, and reconnected with old friends.

Palm Springs: day 7, car show

After checking out of the house we went to a vintage car show which was part of the Moderism Fall Preview event schedule.  It was INCREDIBLE!!  There were so many beautiful cars, some I'd never seen in person before.  It was a little overwhelming!

Feast your eyes on all of this automotive glory...