Vidanta, Riviera Maya – and Hacienda Tres Rios

20-29 Nov 2017

At Nektar for an anniversary dinner

This was our second visit to the Vidanta resort south of Cancun on the Riviera Maya. We booked it as part of the "Summerfest" promotion when we bought into the Vidanta timeshare, partly to get the 6000 Vida Lifestyle dollars, but mostly as a chance to celebrate our anniversary festively. Paula and Bobby had stayed at the  Hacienda Tres Rios and recommended it. We hadn't really considered going to an all-inclusive resort but when we saw that our flight back right after Thanksgiving would cost as much as a couple of nights at H3R, we decided to splurge it!

The beach at Vidanta Riviera Maya

19 Nov, Sun – We left home in the rain around 2020 and checked into Park N Jet2 around 2115. We got an immediate shuttle ride all by ourselves to Seatac where we were dropped off at the north end of the concourse about as far from United as possible (it appeared that the driver had been dispatched to pick up a full load of people returning to their vehicles). We checked the one rolling duffle leaving us with one rolling carryon and our two small backpacks. Since the flight was full United asked for volunteers to gate check their carryon and I got mine tagged for pick up in Cancun. I didn’t think about having left my folder with our boarding passes for our second leg in the carryon.

20 Nov, Mon – The flight left at 0015 and we tried to sleep in the darkened cabin since there was no seatback entertainment and no meals – typical United flight. Got in to Houston a bit early so there was plenty of time to find a United service center and get new boarding passes printed. We were in the back of the plane bound for Cancun again and it was a full flight. No meals, but the flight was only 2hr15min long so that made some sense. In CUN we got through Immigration and Customs and managed to get by the “servicios touristicos” without having to sign up for any timeshare presentations. There was a pretty long wait for our shuttle to Vidanta and there was a heavy shower; fortunately, we were under shelter. The shuttle dropped us off at the Central Lobby and we had to leave our bags there and take the drippy shuttle train to the Mayan Palace (not The Bliss or the Grand Mayan as I thought). We got checked in and felt fortunate that we were able to get into our rooms right away, even though it was only around 1330 and room check-in time was noted as 1700. Once through check-in we had a short meeting with Roxana, a Mayan Palace concierge (x4655), who scheduled us for a breakfast meeting with someone for a Members Update on Thursday at 0830. She took a deposit of $20 which will be returned when we show up. For attending, we get 10% off everything charged to our room and a VP card which gives us some other discounts on meals and tours. Apparently there is no $75 resort fee once you are a member. Bellboy Ulises took us to our room in the nearest building of The Bliss, 1817 on the ground floor) and retrieved our luggage. After unpacking, we headed off to find some food since we hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before. I was leaning toward Havana Moon because we had not eaten there before but as we reached Balche’, we stopped there. As usual there was a little wait as the people in front of us were seated but not a long wait like at dinnertime. C.J. had the ceviche and I ordered the fish tacos, both were excellent. The drinks, not so great, strawberry lemonade (too sweet) and a chelada (beer with lemon juice over ice in a salt-rimmed glass) (too weird and salty). After the combination lunch-dinner we walked down to the beach where the water was nice and calm, unlike last March. A few people were snorkeling in the mostly clear water. We walked back up through the pool area and did some shopping for breakfast stuff at the Jade boutique. We had to return to the room to get the form Roxana had given us and then return to the Mayan Palace/Santuario to the travel agency to redeem it for the VP pass. We dragged ourselves back to our room and I crashed on the couch for an hour before taking a shower and reading for a short time. Bed felt good even at 2000 and we slept through until close to 0800.

Iguana, lake and Café del Lago buffet restaurant

21 Nov, Tuesday - Made our own breakfast, made reservations for a car for Wed., got a dinner res for Nektar for Fri at 1700 (shuttle pickup starts 1615 at pergolada), failed to get res for Thurs Thanksgiving feast (too late) (too expensive, too). At 1300 we took a shuttle into Playa del Carmen from the Lobby Central (80p per person each way) We got off on 5^th Avenida near Constituentes and walked north to beyond Calle 40, stopping at Aldo’s an excellent gelato shop. Near the north end of our walk we stopped in a shop (Tierra Huichol) displaying beaded folklore figures (including a couple of bears). The shop proprietor gave us a very interesting tour. On the way back, we walked down 38^th to the beach and tried walking south to the next street but there were too many resorts in the way, so we had to backtrack. Once we got to Constituentes again, we walked west to the Mega, a supermarket not far from Walmart. We bought some food (apples, plain yogurt, cookies and bkfst pastries) at much cheaper prices than those in the Jade deli. Shortly after 1600 the shuttle arrived and returned us to Vidanta. After cleaning up a bit we headed out for an early dinner at 1730. Blue Fish and Frida’s do not open until 1800 so we ended up at Havana Moon where the dinner and drinks were excellent (and they open at 1700). We’ll be back for the buffet breakfast, maybe on Friday.

Ball Court at Coba

22 Nov, Wed – Up at 0700 so we could finish breakfast and get over to the Grand Mayan lobby by 0900 when were supposed to pick up our rental car. I had put all of our snorkeling stuff in my rollaboard so we took that and our daypacks. The rolling carryon didn’t roll that well on cobblestones and on the wooden trails so I had to stop and get my breath a few times. Then when we got there, we had to wait for some other folks to be processed, and I realized that I didn’t have the receipt. C.J. volunteered to run back and get it; she was back before it was my turn. We took the usual shuttle out to the lobby central and waited again while other people got their cars. But, by shortly after 1000 we were on our way. It was a good two hours to Coba what with some slow traffic as we passed through Playa. The parking lot of the Archaeological Park was not quite full but there were a lot of cars and tour buses. We paid for parking and then charged our admission before I realized that it was not as expensive as I though it was going to be. After fending off some local guides, we thought better of it and hired a well-prepared guide who spoke good English for a 45-minute tour of the central area of Coba, closest to the entrance. He had a loose-leaf notebook with photos and drawings that illustrated what he was describing even when we could not quite make out the figures on the eroded stelae. The two main structures were a pyramidal temple and a reconstructed ball court with sloping sides (unlike the ones we had seen in 1982 at Chichen Itza and Uxmal). During the 45 minutes I realized that I had not taken more cash out of the safe in our room, so we were short of the 600p we needed to pay our guide. Fortunately, he was able to take US dollars; unfortunately, the exchange rate was horrible. Our guide (can’t remember his name) gave us a basic rundown on the rest of the ruins and dropped us off at the trail. There we could walk the 2km

to the tall pyramid and another km to another section and return, or rent a bicycle, or hire a tricycle taxi. We got bicycles (100p) and that made the relative long distances between sites more doable. We stopped at several ruins but the main goal was Grupo Nohoch Mul, a tall pyramid that was in good enough shape that visitors were allowed to climb to the top. Once out of the shady jungle forest, it was hot in the sun as we climbed to the top of the highest temple in the modern Mayan world. The view from the top was of a green carpet of jungle as far as one could see with a couple of other pyramids poking up through them, and a lake or two. Coming down was as challenging as the ascent. We both made use of the thick, rope that was firmly anchored at the top. From there we retraced our route a km to a fork that went east to another group of ruins. There were fewer tourists and bicycles so it was quieter. It was around 1500 when we got back to the entrance, hot and sweaty. On the way we stopped to try to get pesos at a defunct ATM in Coba, and at a craft display in one of the little towns we passed through before reaching Tulum. There we got back on the Federal highway 307 and headed up to Akumal. Once in the little town I tried three different ATMs, none of which worked. The fourth one was the charm and I took out 1000p using the USAA debit card. By then it was getting close enough to early dinner that we went to Lol-Ha beach restaurant where we had gotten good drinks and food last March. The drinks and snacks – guacamole with fresh chips, and seafood ceviche – were excellent again, but the cochinita pibil was kind of dry (and maybe we had filled up on the appetizers already). It had been already pretty late when we got there, and we were hot and tired (although the cool breeze off the water took care of the “hot”) so we didn’t seriously consider getting our snorkel gear out to see if we could spot a tortuga. Later we saw a sign that indicated that a guide and a PFD were required. We need to check into that some more because it appeared that the beach hut was providing PFDs and I didn’t see any guided groups. It was getting close to dark when we left Akumal and we still had to get through Playa and get gas. We dropped down off the highway at Constituentes and maneuvered through near rush-hour traffic to get to a Pemex station where we filled up. Then it was only 20 km to Vidanta where we turned the car in at the Alamo lot and left the keys in a drawer in their office. Back at The Bliss I picked up email and got a note from Martin asking if I was going to reply to Lorna Gillette about the plans to nominate Frank for the FAI Hang Gliding Diploma. I did that and then caught up on my journal (although I seem to have lost my Tuesday).

23 Nov, Thu, Thanksgiving Day – Up at 0730 so we could make the meeting with “David” at the Mayan Palace lobby. He wasn’t there but we were put on a shuttle and taken to a sales area above the showrooms we saw last March. David turned out to be Emilian Georgiev, a Macedonian. After introductions we walked over to the Café del Lago for the usual over-the-top breakfast buffet. When we returned to the sales area Emilian showed us some options for an upgrade to fractional ownership. The prices for a four-week fractional owner ship in the Grande Luxxe (all lower categories were sold out) laughably high so we didn’t have any trouble refusing the offers. As we were getting ready to leave, Diego came in saying that we had bought our Bliss week from someone who had returned their ownership without exercising their opportunity to buy into the Grand Mayan at 2011 prices…and we now had that opportunity. It sounded scammy but we listened to the spiel and heard how we could rent out our weeks on AirBnB or VRBO.com for lots of money that would help pay for the still-sizable expense of buying into the Grande Luxxe. It was still way too much but we didn’t need the square footage of the Grand Luxxe penthouse anyway. However, the GL Loft was available for 60% of the price. It took the rest of the day to work out the details and convince ourselves that this was a good idea. Next, we had a presentation on buying into a deal (2x1) on tickets to the soon-to-be-open theme park in Nuevo Vallarta. After bargaining for 6000 Vida dollars and a reduction in the price of $1000, we bought in. Then we had to meet with Rosario __ to go over the contracts and do a recorded phone confirmation. We also signed up for a week at Vidanta (Grand Mayan) in Cabo for next November It was 1800 before we got back to our suite and change for dinner. The Blue Fish was uncrowded – most of the guests seemed to be at the big Thanksgiving fiesta at the Café del Lago (we saw lines of people as we were passing by on the way to the shuttle that brought us back to The Bliss). C.J. got an interesting shrimp dish and I had a bowl of seafood pozole. We also had wine, sparkling water and shared a dessert. When we returned C.J. edited the last of the next magazine and then we wrote in our journals and read for a while.

Buffet breakfast at the Havana Moon

24 Nov, Fri – I woke up to go to the bathroom around 1345 and couldn’t get back to sleep because I was thinking about how much money we had just committed to getting into a higher tier of ownership. When we got up around 0800 I talked with C.J. about it and decided to go to the Vidanta business office and ask some questions. I called and got an appointment for 1230. Meanwhile we hung out until 1000 or so when we headed down to Havana Moon to cash in our privilege card and get a 2-for-1 breakfast buffet. We were surprised to see a waiting line, but it moved pretty quickly and we only had to wait a few minutes once we checked in to get seated on the deck overlooking the beach. The buffet was just about as good as the one at Café del Lago with hot dishes, made to order omelets and a pancakes-waffles-French toast station. We walked back to The Bliss (got lots of steps today) and then found out that our programmed keys on our wristbands would not work. The concierge re-programmed them, and we were good to go. We walked back to del Lago and to the basement of the Vidanta Sales building. There we got a person to answer questions but as soon as I said that I had a concern about being able to pay for our contract, she went and got Carlos Costa who apparently had authority to deal with that kind of problem. He was able to reduce our overall cost by about $24,000 by giving Vidanta two of our weeks for an additional five years (for one and three for the other, I think). That also changed the taxes so the contract had to be reprinted and signed again. The new total price (with the theme park option and taxes plus closing cost) was expensive but doable. Happy to have reduced our debt, we went for a walk around the lake stopping to watch the cocodrilos, iguanas and flamingos. By 1430 we were back in the office and going through the signing and recording again. We were out by 1500 so we

Shallow Stone Bowl dinner at Nektar

had enough time to get back to our suite and get changed for our anniversary dinner at Nektar. C.J. looked really nice in a dressy blouse and black crop pants with decorative trim on the hems. We caught the earliest Joya shuttle at 1615 and once we got to the Cirque du Soleil area we wandered around remembering our trip last March. We were the earliest customers and we got good service including suggestions for drinks and main dish. C.J. had a Joya champagne-raspberry drink, and I had a Bramble which had gin and blackberries. Of course, we got a bowl of chips and four kinds of picante sauce. Part of the VP deal got us a free beer for later (poured by the waitress with the can stuck to the palm of her hand – it looked like magic. We shared a beet salad and then had “wood burning oven shallow stone bowl” which had rib eye steak and shrimp, with cactus leaf, onions, avocado, chorizo, cheese and a hot pepper in a very hot stone bowl. It was a good size dish for two people. When we were finished, Erika, our waitress, brought out a large plate with some local fruit ice cream and a chocolate pastry, with raspberry syrup spelling out “Happy 41^st Aniversary”. We were really pleased with our special anniversary dinner even though it was pretty expensive . We got some selfies and pics of the Cirque du Soleil theater and Nektar before we caught the shuttle back to The Bliss.

25 Nov, Sat – After breakfast in our suite, we decided to walk around and check out the buildings and facilities of the Grande Luxxe. First. we walked farther along the road that borders the Bliss, passing the entrance to Grande Luxxe on the right (east). We entered the DE Luxxe buildings where we believe we would be housed if we came back here since there is no Grande Luxxe (0 BR) Loft built yet. [The floor plan we saw for the DEL looks like there are two beds, one in a separate bedroom and the other in an area of the living room that can be closed off for privacy. There are two bathrooms and a kitchen (ette?).] The concierge at DE Luxxe sent us over to the Grande Luxxe. It wasn’t a very long walk, but it was on the road, not on a wooden pathway until we reached the Spatium Spa. Then we followed the usual pathway to the main lobby. We asked about seeing a showroom with a smaller loft than the three- bedroom one we had seen, but you had to be accompanied by a sales rep. We said then that we would just go check out the pool and beach area. At first it looked like we were going to get a GL wristband, but someone else said no, they couldn’t do that. Too bad, because, when we got down to the entrance to the GL pool area, we were turned away (just like last year when we tried to get in to go to the Burger Bar). So that was a bust. We returned to The Bliss and gathered up our swim and snorkel gear. As we passed the towel cabana, we picked up pool towels in exchange for our pool cards. The Caribbean water was pretty calm, but the bottom was rocky and rough. C.J. left her water shoes on and I put my fins on and walked backwards to deeper water. The temperature was warm enough that I did not need my wetsuit shorty. We went out a short distance and under the high pier. Out at the end there was an artificial reef made of what looked like large concrete amphorae with holes. We saw some reef fish but nothing spectacular, and the visibility was okay but not extreme. Getting out of the water over the rocky area was just as hard as getting in. [C.J. says she needs to replace her leaky mask – maybe one in a smaller size.] We hung out on the beach for a while then moved to the main pool. Then, because we had the Grand Mayan wristbands, we went over to their pool area and hung out. Finally, C.J. got tired of doing nothing and we headed back to The Bliss for a shower and catching up on journals. On the way back, a coati crossed the path right in front of us. We were pretty excited (until later when we were on our way to Jade Deli, we ran into a family group of close to twenty coatis!) After an hour or so of dozing over our computers (I was downloading my phone photos from Google Photo to my computer), we roused enough to go out to Jade and buy a deli salad to go with the leftovers we had in the refrigerator. C.J. looked at the clothes and jewelry but everything was so expensive that it seemed to be beyond our budget.

26 Nov, Sun – It was comfortably cool so after breakfast we decided to take a walk around as much of the Vidanta property as possible. The concierge was no help; she didn’t even have the Vidanta walks brochure that we picked up later at the Grand Bliss. Looking at Google Maps on my phone, using the satellite overlay, we took the wooden footpath west along the south side of El Manglar golf course. We had to detour around the wreckage of the Green Break taco stand where we ate breakfast and dinner once last March. It appears that they are doing a remodel. The footpath took us to the main entrance to Vidanta and there was no sanctioned way to get around the west end of the golf course (there were signs forbidding walking on the golf cart track or on the road). At the gate a helpful guide showed us how to take a different path back by walking on the cart tracks on the other golf course located north of the Grand Bliss. We made a stop in the lobby of the Grand Bliss and picked up a map and then continued on the wooden path over the road and back to the Lago where we popped in to visit the flamingos and then returned to our resort rooms. We checked with the concierge and she had our bill printed out, so we could check it over. She said that we just have to let her know when the bell boys can pick up our luggage and take it to the Lobby Central where we will catch a taxi to HTR. After resting for a while we changed into swimming suits and went first to the Brio spa to get the 2x1 deal on smoothies – oops, sorry, the smoothie bar is not open on Sunday. Then we went up to the main pool area and found out that it was happy hour (all the time?) and got two strawberry daiquiris. After enjoying our drinks on some “long chairs” in partial shade, we moved to the pool area behind the Grand Mayan lobby, the Santuario Maya. C.J. got in the water but I just waded a little, the air was still not hot except in the sun. We returned to The Bliss around 1530 and did some packing. We may do our checkout tonight after dinner. Around 1830 we went to Havana Moon for our last Vidanta restaurant meal. We only had to wait a short time as there were tables available. C.J. had a chicken sandwich without the bread and I had a fat-noodle dish with curry sauce and thick pork slices. We were too full for any dessert and I felt somewhat stressed as we walked back. At the unit I got a call from our concierge about checking out with her, so later I did that. The bill came to about $350, most of which was for meals. A small amount was for lodging taxes, and there was an assessment for 300p for a foundation donation for local children. We also left tips for the morning and evening housekeeping (Carmen and Selena).

27 Nov, Mon – We got up at 0700 and had our usual breakfast. Then we got serious about packing as the bell boys were coming for our luggage at 0930. When they picked it up we followed them out and went over to the Santuario to hang out and read until around 1030. Then we caught a shuttle to the Central Lobby and got a taxi right away to the Hacienda Tres Rios. There was a nasty truck-car accident just north of the Vidanta entrance but we could get by to get to the retorno and head south. On arrival we turned over our luggage to the bell boys and checked in. We got our wrist band right away (so we could eat lunch) but our room was not ready. It was at least a half-hour before the lunch buffet would be open so we took a little walk around to see the two pool areas and the beach. When we came back we went to the concierge to ask about activities, like snorkeling and kayaking down the rio from the cenote. Gabriela talked us into doing a sales presentation at 0800 during breakfast; the incentive was free taxi to the airport (usually $65, she said) and a Segway tour (usually $54). We also signed up for a snorkel and kayak tour. By then it was time for lunch, and the buffet was extensive. C.J. had some freshly-prepared stir-fry while I had a likewise fresh mixed ceviche. There were lots of salads, breads and desserts to choose from. Later we went back down to the beach. Although we had been told by the concierge that there were no kayaks available for use, we found out that we could borrow a kayak or SUP or HobieCat. We had to wait a while for our Segway guide to show up sometime after the 2 p.m. meeting time but since we had the guide all to 

ourselves, it wasn’t such a concern. He took time to get us accustomed to controlling them and then we took off down the road and onto a trail that led first to the nursery where the trees and plants are being grown to replace those destroyed by hurricanes. Then we went on to several of the seven cenotes on the property. We stopped at Aguila, the one from which the kayak and snorkel tours start, and we saw Tortuga, Orquiderea (orchid), and Escondido (hidden) cenotes. The trail was narrow after Aquila and covered with water in places, so it was a pretty good adventure. On the way back, we went around the south end of the hotel and rode along the beach for a ways before making a final loop around the driveway in front of the hotel entrance with its holiday decorations. We returned the Segways to the garage and promised to try to send a review to Trip Advisor for Deva, our guide. By now our room was ready so we got our keys and went up to the second floor in Bldg2, then down to the first floor and almost all the way to end of Bldg 1. Our bags were soon delivered and we got somewhat unpacked. Then we went back out and down to the beach. We crossed to the north side of the stream that flows from the cenote and walked out on a little rock and sand mole. The water looked pretty clear but there was a lot of bladderwrack (?) washing up on the shore which was really pretty ugly. No one seemed to be swimming in the roped off beach area even though there were some clear areas. We spotted a cruise ship steaming north and could see the large resort buildings of Cozumel in the distance from the larger jetty on the south side of the stream. A walk back into the pool area took us near the bar and we picked up a rum punch just to test out our “all inclusive” status (even the drinks in the mini-bar are covered, as is room service). After touring the pool areas again – the adult pool is much quieter – we stopped at the Hacienda Grill to look at the menu which changes from breakfast to lunch to dinner and looked quite good. Back in the hotel we wandered down the hall to the French patisserie where we sampled a chocolate confection. The gift shop, Confetti, did not have much of interest although it did have a guidebook on Tulum and Coba in English. We returned to our room and I napped for a while and then caught up on this journal. Around 1900 we went out to the Hacienda Grill next to the pool area and C.J. had the special which was a combo with fish and flank steak, while I had the pork BBQ. Since we had gone easy during the day, we each had a drink. The people at the table next to us said we shouldn’t miss the “circus” on Monday night so we went back to the hotel desk to find out where to go. She didn’t know about a circus but said the entertainment tonight was the White Sands Beach Party at 2000. After getting some dessert at the French patisserie, ice cream and a milkshake, we made our way down to the beach in the dark. It turned out that there was going to be acrobats and other performers, but not before 2130. We went back to the room and C.J. worked on the alpha while I caught up on the journal and made some corrections and additions. Around 2130 we walked down to the beach where a fair number of people had gathered. There was some snacky stuff and, of course drinks. We got a few snacks while we were waiting and a glass of wine. The acts were spotty on quality, but the juggler, contortionist and especially the pole dancers were very good. After the show C.J. worked on the alpha.

28 Nov, Tue – Up at 0700 for our sales presentation at 0800. We did some preliminary paperwork in an office then went to breakfast at the Mexican restaurant on the second floor. Gia got as much info about us and our travel history and Vidanta ownership as she could and then showed us a master suite, explained that we could not buy into the ownership yet but that we had to first be members. We went to another building and got down to numbers. I don’t remember exactly but the opening offer was for two weeks plus another two weeks for ten years at around 10,000USD. The final offer was about $5000 for five years with a bunch of free weeks and a cruise and 2x1 airfare thrown in. If we had not just encumbered ourselves with all the debt from upgrading at Vidanta, we would have been interested. [As Gia said, the cruise alone was worth the $5000.] Still, we already have probably more weeks than we will use. It’s always difficult to turn down what looks like the deal of the century (and that may be the way the sales agent sees it too) but Gia didn’t play the sympathy card and got her manager to sign us off. I had to write down a reason – “We had just upgraded to Grand Luxxe at Vidanta last week and could not afford to take on any more debt.” We went back to our room around 1100 to decompress, and get ready for our snorkel float from Cenote Aguila to the playa. At 1230 we gathered outside the front entrance and got a ride on a trailer behind a jeep to the cenote. The guides issued us masks, new snorkels and flotation belts. No fins were provided nor permitted for some reason. A group of people in kayaks launched just before us and C.J. and I were in the back of the six other snorkelers, so the water was not as clear as we expected. Also, it was not fresh water but somewhat salty. And the water was pretty chilly – I was glad I was wearing my shorty wetsuit. At one point the kayaks got jammed up and we had to wait while they got themselves sorted out. The current was enough that we did not have to work hard at all to move on downstream. It was probably only a half hour before we came out of the tunnel of red mangrove and were at the sandy beach where the river emptied into the sea. Thinking that I might as well go for a swim in the ocean since I had my suit on, I walked along the beach, but the water was black with bladderwrack (?) and did not look like it would be at all good for swimming. We went back to the river beach and signed out a sit-on-top kayak which we then paddled back upstream to the cenote. It wasn’t too bad going against the current but I was glad to reach the outhouse at Aguila. Returning with the current was quick but you did have to be careful not to get going too fast and fail to make a corner. After we returned the kayak, we walked up to El Forno, the outdoor wood-fired pizzeria near the pools and shared a HTR pizza and a couple of drinks (we’re catching on to this All-Inclusive resort thing). After a late lunch we stopped by the hotel desk to cancel our 1600 kayak tour (we had already done it on our own; much more fun). We made another stop at the French Café de Paris patisserie for some dessert and then returned to the room where we hung out our wet stuff to dry on the balcony where we were hoping the wind would dry it out before the sun went down. C.J. finished the alpha and took a shower and a nap. While it was breezy, the air was pretty damp so things did not dry all that well. Even indoors the damp swimsuits and the wetsuit were not drying and felt kind of dank. We turned on the air conditioner and that seemed to do the job. Meanwhile, it had started raining outside – the first rain since the day we had arrived at CUN. Around 2000 we went to dinner at Albirje, a gourmet Mexican restaurant. C.J. had a dish with flank steak and a chicken tamale and I had a filete de camarones with rice and vegetables. Both were excellent, and the portions were not so large that we couldn’t enjoy sharing a Williams Pear and a chocolate-crusted flan. After dinner we completed all but the turning in of our keys and the snipping of our wristbands at the front desk. There was a small charge for ecology which I paid in cash. We returned to the room and finished packing. I checked in with United and paid the checked bag fee. We went to bed before ten which would give us a big four hours of sleep. I left a request for a wakeup call and also set my phone alarm.

29 Nov, Wed – Just before 0200 the desk called; I got up and took a shower and C.J. got up soon also. We finished the last of the packing and pulled on our fleece over long-sleeve shirts, ready for the cool of the early morning and the air conditioning. Our taxi was not very late at all and I think we got to the airport even before 0345 since the check-in area had not yet opened. The big duffel bag weighed almost exactly 50 pounds so we didn’t have to do any re-arranging. At the gate I was able to have my rollaboard gate-checked at no cost. That took some of the stress out of the boarding process, knowing that I didn’t have to worry about whether there was going to a space for my carry-on in the overhead compartment. One of the cafes had a sign saying don’t leave Mexico without trying their hot chocolate, so I tried it and found out that I wouldn’t have missed anything. We ate the last of the cheese and some of the tostada rounds that we had bought at Jade (they were still nice and crisp), and I had a couple of cookies with the chocolate. Our flight was in the clouds for much of the way – or maybe I just dozed and didn’t notice. Houston was also foggy right to the ground. We cleared Immigration and Customs in IAH (we need to remember to look for the inconspicuous signs that show where the Global Entry kiosks are because this is the second time we’ve missed them and had to backtrack). We didn’t have all that long of a wait for our flight to Seattle and I spent time recharging my noise-canceling headphones and failed to charge my phone or set up the Flyover Country app for the IAH-SEA leg. We passed over a lot of bare, desert-y country but couldn’t tell where we were except once I got a GPS fix showing we were in central Colorado. The next place that I could positively identify was when we passed over the Saddle Mountains where the Columbia cuts through. There was some snow to the north and a fair amount of fresh snow in the Cascades. There was quite a bit of cloudiness west of the mountains and it looked like it may have rained recently. We got in around 1215 PST and I charged my phone enough that I could call Park-N-Jet2 and get picked up. By then there was some sunshine but it still felt pretty chilly. We decided to eat a big lunch at Five Guys (there’s one in Issaquah as well as Renton and Southcenter) and shared a double baconburger with the usual pile of excellent fries. That way we wouldn’t have to cook another meal – we’re out of practice after 10 days of traveling at resorts. We picked up our held mail and when we got home I built a fire to get some of the chill out of the house. We went to bed early to make up for the sleep we lost the previous night.

The trip to the Mayan Riviera was a nice break from the usual gloomy late autumn weather in the Pacific Northwest. We are a bit shocked that we decided to upgrade our Vidanta ownership, but this time we will be disposing of our other timeshares, so that is an advantage. The experience of going to an all-inclusive resort like Hacienda Tres Rios was interesting but probably something we won’t do again. Still it was worth it and actually didn’t cost us anything because if we had returned directly home on the 27^th from Vidanta, our increased air fare would have cost us more than our stay at H3R.

The Holidays in California

21 Dec – 10 Jan 2017-18

Ginny and Wally invited us down for another holiday get-together. To make the most of the long trip, we decided to use some of our Worldmark points to stay in the desert and visit Joshua Tree and Anza-Borrego. WM at Indio had room so we were all set. The only thing I had forgotten was how big California was - it was a long day's drive from the Bay Area to Indio  - we might want to break up the trip with some flying at Marshall on the way.

21 Dec, Thu – We got up early enough that we could breakfast, finish packing and get to our 0900 Tai Chi class at the Senior Center before we got on the road. Fortunately, the day before the WA DOT had finished cleaning up after the tragic Amtrak derailment on the overpass crossing I-5 at Dupont so we didn’t have to take a time-consuming detour around the scene. We got gas at Costco Covington (2.599) and made a few pit stops along the way but we didn’t make any major stops until Roseburg where we got gas (2.459) at Costco and treated ourselves to hot tea/peppermint frappucchino at Starbucks. C.J. really needed some hot tea for her sore throat and rapidly worsening cold. It was almost dark when we reached Ashland Hills Hotel around 1830, and still cold. We had driven from sunshine into fog as we approached the Columbia River and all the way south to beyond Eugene. We had dinner at Luna Café and returned to our rooms to rest having not found any exciting Ashland solstice craziness scheduled.

22 Dec, Fri – We got up at 0700 and had another good buffet breakfast before getting on our way sometime after 8. The roads were clear but there was some snow on the ground up around Mt. Ashland. Mt. Shasta just had a light coat of snow up at 6000 feet or so. We made the usual rest stops and then got off the freeway in Vacaville to go to Costco for gas (2.699, 4 cents more than back at Pilot in Dunnigan). For some reason, the GPS led us to a dead end and we had to turn around and rely on my phone to find our way around the back side of Costco to the busy parking lot. After filling up, which didn’t take long,  we easily found a spot to park and went in to buy some fruit, chips, dip and a can’t-pass-it-up deal on a pair of insulated water bottles for $10. It was just another hour to San Anselmo and we only ran into a little slowdown on SR 37 across the north end of San Francisco Bay. Wally and Ginny had a nice pot roast/stew/soup for dinner while we visited. Three of us played Mexican Trains with each of us winning at least once.

23 Dec, Sat – after a late breakfast of eggs cooked with veggies, bacon and various kinds of toast, C.J. and Ginny went out to shop for supplies needed for Wally’s favorite birthday cake – a Swartzwalder kirschtorte. I spent some time exploring links to The Lost Coast where Wally and Ginny want to go backpacking. I found out that there is more to it than the northern part between Mattole and Shelter Cove; there is also the part within Sinkyone Wilderness State Park to the south. Later I went out to Safeway to get cooking oil for the cake mix. After a reprise of the previous night’s dinner, Ginny, C.J. and I played Scrabble, actually, Super Scrabble. It was a long game and we went to bed around 2300.

24 Dec, Sat, Wally’s birthday – We all got up early so we could make the shower schedule work and still get out of the house in time to go to Bogie’s for breakfast with Mike and Kim. C.J. mixed up and baked the three pans of cake for the Schwartzwalder kirschtorte. Breakfast was wonderful and we exchanged some gifts; Kim and Mike gave us a big jar of granola and C.J. gave them some cookies, of course. We returned to the house and around 1230 drove across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Palace of Fine Arts Theater where the “Forever Tango” show was supposed to be. When we found the right entrance, we also found a sign saying that the show had been canceled, or postponed until May (a big disappointment because Ginny had paid a small fortune for the tickets). We enjoyed an hour of strolling around the grounds of the Palace looking at the faux Romano-Greek rotunda and pergola as we walked around the small lake. We returned home and hung out until 6 when we drove back down into San Anselmo to have dinner at Baan Thai. Amazingly, we ran into Terry Fulton at the same restaurant.

25 Dec, Sun – We had another great breakfast with bacon and a scramble. Then Ginny and Wally opened their presents. Ginny gave C.J. a really nice purple top and I got one of those Luci inflatable, solar lamps for camping (and condo night light, etc.). We spent some time preparing the stuffing for the turkey. Ginny received a Garmin InReach Explorer for Christmas and Wally and I looked at how it could be activated. The neighbors came over for a visit and some snacks. Later, Cousin Scott arrived from SF without the terrible traffic of two years ago and we had an excellent Christmas dinner. After cleaning up we had some more of the Black Forest Cake for dessert. Then we played a game of Mexican Trains before Scott had to leave around 1900.

26 Dec, Tue – We slept in a bit since Ginny had to go to work. Wally got his (Ginny’s) InReach Explorer registered and used us as a reference so Ginny and I should each get a free month. [I tried sending a test message to me through Garmin but it did not go – the InReach continued to blink red.] In the afternoon we took a walk up the hill behind the house (I had a terrible time with chest pain and feeling like I was going to throw up. Once we got to the Yolanda Trail, and were heading on the level or slightly down I was good to go) We walked down through the small redwood groves to Six Points and then down to the trail/road junctions at Five Corners, about two miles. We turned back there rather than push on down to Alpine (?) Lake and back by another route. We stopped for a snack just above Five Corners on the way down. (I felt fine returning uphill.) When Ginny got home we had Christmas dinner leftovers. Later Ginny, C.J. and I player Super Scrabble.

27 Dec, Wed – After a breakfast of fresh bagels and lox, Ginny and C.J. went out to exchange the (XXL) top that Ginny had given C.J. Wally and I met them at the Safeway parking lot and Ginny drove us all the way out to the trailhead for the Tomales Point trail at Point Reyes National Seashore. We got a late start so we didn’t try going much farther than 2.5 miles where we stopped at an overlook to have some cheese and crackers, etc. On the way out we saw lots of tule elk, some gopher-y looking critters and a lone coyote who walked up the trail right in front of us and only detoured to get around us. The sun set a little after 1700 and it got pretty dark before we reached the now-empty parking lot. It was a good thing that the first quarter moon was so high and bright. We could see our moon shadows as we walked. The restaurant that Ginny wanted to stop at was closed so we just took a chance and tried a new place – Vladimir’s in Inverness. It seemed like the local bar but there were a dozen nicely dressed tables and the menu was all Czech dishes. Ginny had the Chicken Paprikash, C.J. and I shared the Moravian cabbage roll and Wally tried the Kolbasa sausage dinner. All were good and came with soup and salad as well as a loaf of hot bread. We even had a sample of the apple strudel. Credit cards were not accepted and I didn’t have much cash. I gave Ginny what I had but she wound up paying for more than half. Wally drove on the way back and forgot that he had to drop me at Safeway so I could drive the Kia back up the hill. When I reminded him he made an abrupt turnaround and ran over a pole in a parking lot. Fortunately it must have been plastic because he didn’t even notice it. Back at the house C.J. and I spent some time packing.

28 Dec, Thu – We had to leave on Thursday because Ginny had promised a friend that she could have a place to sleep when her husband went in for surgery. We had some more bagels for breakfast and Ginny didn’t get going until 0815. We stripped the bed and put the sheets and towels in to wash before we got going around 0915. I picked up some more cash at US Bank in downtown San Anselmo before heading off to the Richmond Bridge and down I-580 (not much traffic) to I-5 and a long 8 hours through the Central Valley. Just before the climb over Tejon Pass (on 5) we stopped for gas (3.359 for 6 ½ gals). To avoid the evening rush hour (well, most of it) in LA, we cut off 5 at 138 and went east to Lancaster and Palmdale. We ran into some slow traffic here and there and an extended slowdown when we hit I-15. But by then we were almost to our destination and our GPS took us right to 3714 Bur Oak Rd and Tierra’s AirBnB. She was out but texted us directions to open the numerical door lock. After moving our clothing bags and cooler in, we went back out and drove to the nearby (4 mi) Costco and got gas (2.799) and picked up a teriyaki plate for dinner at WaBa Grill next door. We brought it back and heated up the leftovers from C.J.’s Pad Si Ew to make a big dinner. Tierra came in while we were eating in the kitchen and told us to make ourselves at home; she introduced us to her tiny dog, Button. Later we caught up on our journals.

29 Dec, Fri – We didn’t get down to the kitchen until after 0800 for our oatmeal. Then we spent a bunch of time trying to figure out what to do. The forecasts all indicated that the flying would not be any good with wind out of the east and north. I even checked Elsinore. We started off by driving north up into the San Bernardino National Forest to the Lytle Creek Ranger Station where we picked up some maps and hike descriptions (and some Smokey swag for the bears). I thought it would be an experience to hike a short distance on the Pacific Crest Nat Scenic Trail so we looked at the maps for a place where it crossed a road. We drove up the Sheep Canyon gravel road a mile or so but turned back when we realized that the map was not drawn to scale and we were going to have to drive narrow, steep, sandy roads. Next, we drove around to the south and then back up toward Cajon Pass on old Rte 66 trying to find Swarthout Canyon Road. After several false tries, we finally found the dirt road and followed it past Lost Lake to where we thought that the PCNST should cross. We thought we saw it off in the distance but never saw where it crossed the road. We hit the paved Long Canyon road which descended to Rte 138 just west of Cajon Junction. We turned west and drove the very short distance to Mormon Rocks Fire Station where we ate lunch in the shade (it was cooler up at 3300 ft than it had been down in the valley at 2000 ft). Since they were out of the brochures for the interpretive trail, I downloaded a pdf on my phone and we walked the 1.5-mile trail which climbed up to a ridge and then stayed on top of the ridge (at least we did). When we got back down to the car it was around 1530 so there was still time to drive the Rim of the World Scenic Byway from Cajon Jct up past Silverwood Lake and over a 4000-ft summit to Crestline. I thought I could find the Crestline launch but it wasn’t listed as a site in my PG Map phone app. On the way down Rte 18 C.J. spotted two PGs soaring at Marshall – so much for the forecasts. We continued on down and drove in to Andy Jackson AirPark where we found people who knew us from the Rat Race. We hung out around a propane fire with Dusty and Cathy?, Don and Rebecca. We also ran into another couple from Bellingham who had flown from Crestline earlier. We got signed up and waivered up and booked a ride on the noon shuttle for Saturday using my phone on the Crestline Soaring Society site (crestlinesoaring.org). We got a good tip about The Thai Place on University and Kendall behind the Pollo Loco. It was pretty good (Chow mei fun and Pad Thai). We got back to our Airbnb around 1930.

30 Dec, Sat – Up at 0730 so we could get over to Andy Jackson Airpark by 1000 to be in plenty of time for the shuttle. There were a lot of people already hanging out and some were flying down from Marshall (including the couple from Bellingham who said they were heading for Santa Barbara where the TFR had been lifted and people were flying). More folks arrived and lots of them were driving up including some instructors. We checked in and got in one of the two vans, one driven by Rob McKenzie, the other by the other van owner. Everyone went first to Crestline where it was quite chilly (1000 ft higher than Marshall) and blowing a pretty steady 15 mph. Most of the PG got back in the van with us and headed down to Marshall; Rob and all the other HG stayed to fly from Crestline. [To get to Crestline we took 18 and then 138, made a left across traffic at a turn onto Crest Forest, then left on Valley View Dr and left uphill on Playground Drive to the obvious TO and parking.] It appears that you now have to go up to the cloverleaf at 138 to turn around so you can get to the rough dirt road to the top of Marshall, but maybe it’s possible but not legal to cut across through a gap in the highway divider. We hung out on launch a while watching people take off, and a couple of top-landings before eating some lunch and starting to get ready. A bunch of others decided to go at the same time so it was a bit of chaos as the conditions weren’t totally consistent. I took off right after C.J. at 1417 and tried to find the house thermal to the right. I thought the air was rough, but that was probably more about not having flown since October at Tollhouse. I got below launch and flew over to Cloud to the north. There was mixed lift and sink, sometimes I’d get a climb and sometimes I’d fall out of the thermal. I worked just above the Regionals launch (I think) and then went a bit farther north where someone was climbing. That was good for a while and I let C.J know; she was at Regionals then. Never content to stay with a climb, I tried heading back across the face of Cloud sinking all the way. Eventually I got down to where I was groveling in front of the 750. I found enough to keep me alive and, when C.J. and another glider joined me, I pushed south a bit and found something that was going up faster than what C.J. and co. were working. Eventually I got high enough to go back to Regionals, then there was more sink and I was low again, then another climb got me high enough to cross a big canyon below launch to a ridge with an extremely detailed medicine wheel picked out in rocks. No lift from the magic, though, so I dove back to the 750 and hung out long enough to clock an hour flight by sinking as slowly as possible to the LZ. Meanwhile, C.J. had gotten high again from a point where she thought she was going to have to land. She stayed up for another 20 min after I landed in the light breeze. [I tried to send my usual preset message on my InReach but it did not go again, I emailed CS at Garmin about the problem.] After packing up C.J. returned Mary’s call and I hung out with Dusty, et al. at the propane campfire. As it started getting dark around 1700, it got cool-but nothing like you’d think of for winter cold (apparently it’s been really cold and snowy in the northeast). No one seemed to be sticking around or planning to go out for dinner so we stopped at a WaBa Grill on the way home and got two Chicken Bowls to go with our leftover Thai food. After dinner we still had a pile of chicken and rice left. We googled Safeway/Vons to see if there was one in/near Indio and checked to see if Costco was going to be open. We also looked up Soboba and got its location so we can find it on Sunday – a good way to kill time since we can’t check in until either 4 or 5. [Alan Crouse told me that Soboba is likely to close since the pilot-owners have not been able to secure insurance through the RRRG (Recreation Risk Retention Group).]

31 Dec, Sun – Up at 0730 again to get packed up and on the road by 0946. We took I-215 south to the 210 freeway then I-10 east to Beaumont where we turned south and the GPS got us right to the flying site. There were only a few people there and all were doing sledders from the 650, the highest that the ATV with a trailer is presently able to go. Later someone launched from the top (“1400”) and soared for a while. We signed in and filled out a day use form and signed a paper waiver and then recorded a video waiver(!). C.J. and I hung out while students and other mostly low-airtime pilots shuttled up and then flew down. Around 1300 or so we were ready to give it a try but no one was around to drive the ATV. Fortunately, Ed Wood and another guy came down just then from where they had been working on extending the ATV track higher up the hill and gave us and two others a ride to the 650. We had already decided that we wanted a better chance at soaring and that meant hiking up at least to the next higher take off. It was only 150 ft of elevation and five switchbacks. We did it in under 10 minutes. C.J. took off first after a couple of reverse inflation aborts, and found a thermal right in front of launch. She eventually climbed to above the towers on the summit. I let a student go next while I got ready and then had to abort my launch when I noticed a stick tangled in my lines. The sun was occluded by the high clouds by this time (so, fortunately, it wasn’t killer hot) and I found only spotty ridge-lift and never got above launch. I scratched my way down doing figure-8s and managed to eke out 11 min before landing in the dusty and calm, large LZ. One good feature, besides the shade structure, is the grassy area to fold up one’s wing. When C.J. landed she cleaned the dust off her wing with one of my t-shirts from the laundry bag. We got headed toward Indio around 1545 taking the scenic route over the San Jacinto Mountains on Rte 74 reaching about 5000 ft. Once down in the valley we stopped at a Von’s for some groceries and then Costco for more groceries including a rotisserie chicken. It was dark when we pulled in to the huge Worldmark by Wyndham resort. Check in was easy but to get our parking tag we had to see the concierge who signed us up for a presentation on Mon morning over breakfast. We’re supposed to get at least $50 for attending (which we can use to pay for a ride up the Palm Springs tram to 8500+ ft). We found our building and carried (elevator) some stuff up to our third floor two BR unit then went back with a cart to bring a bunch more stuff up. Later we had to go get our wings (and there was still stuff remaining in the car!). C.J. made a salad with the spinach, bananas, orange and pineapple, and we ate some of the chicken, some leftover rice, and a slice of the Costco French bread. After dinner C.J. did a couple of loads of laundry – we’ve already been on the road for 10 days. We got to bed after 2300 not really thinking about New Years Eve so were awakened by fireworks and shouting at midnight.

1 Jan, Mon - We got up around 0700 so there was plenty of time to get ready to go to our Worldmark update at 0830. We ate scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and fruit while we watched a presentation. Afterward Mari gave us an update and answered questions. The push this time was for us to move up to Diamond Elite from Silver. That would mean adding 15,000 credits at $3.68? each and, since WM no longer sells in less than 10,000 credits, we would have to buy 20,000! After we declined the deal Mari took us to see the Indio penthouse unit (there are 8 here). When we returned, Mark told us that we had missed several telephone offers (we never return WM calls) to buy at a reduced rate. He said that he could maybe get us grandfathered in at $2.26 per credit for 15,000. Or $2.50 per credit for 8000 and a chance to try out the diamond level for 2.5 years, then buy the other 7000 at the same price. Great deal, but we are not buying any more credits. No additional pressure, and we left to pack up for a hike on the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCNST). [We did receive a $50 gift card for attending the presentation.] It had been pretty chilly during the morning even with the sun shining so we took along warm clothes – and the trailhead we were going to is at 5000 ft. We drove back up I-10 until we encountered a traffic jam and then switched to the surface streets to get to Rte. 74. We stopped at an interesting Native American interpretive trail above a deep canyon. There were only three cars in the parking lot when we arrived around 1315 and a group of four in one car were just returning from their hike. They said that the ranger had told them that the trail to the north was more interesting for a short hike than the steeper route to the south. That decided the issue for us and we walked north through high desert plants including some prickly pear, manzanita, scrub oak, and pinon pine (plus other stuff we did not recognize. There were a lot of switchbacks and contouring but not a great deal of gain or loss. We eventually reached a rocky, granite jumble where we had a late lunch, then continued on for another ¾ mile through more rocks. We turned around at 2.75 miles and 1545, and were back at the car at 1705. On the way home we stopped at Albertsons to see if their flyer deals were the same as Safeway’s in the Bay Area. They weren’t (but they were the same as Von’s) We bought some ice cream, and another 99-cent pineapple. I made a drink that started out to be a margarita but with added heavy cream and a handful of pineapple all frozen/blended. It was tasty. C.J. heated up the leftover WaBa Grill chicken teriyaki and made a big spinach-fruit salad.

2 Jan, Tue – Up at 0700 but not on the road until after 0930. We headed for AAA and it took half an hour to get there using the surface streets – not sure why the GPS and phone didn’t suggest the freeway. Anyway we got a Tourbook and a couple of maps then stopped to fill up the tank at Ralphs (2.899). It was 30 miles or so to the I-10 exit for Joshua Tree National Park. We stopped at the entrance station/mini visitor center to show our pass and pick up the maps and newspaper. We also bought a road guide, but passed on buying a more expensive Sonoran desert flower/plant book. The ranger had some ideas for short hikes and where we should make stops. We stopped at several roadside exhibits: the ocotillo patch, the Cholla Cactus Garden, a view of a mining operation among others. At White Tank campground [all CGs were full except for the southernmost one at the Cottonwood Visitor Center (at least when we were there)] we stopped to do a short hike to Arches Rock. It took longer than we had expected since we found ourselves wandering around like so many other visitors trying to find the arch. When we did find it, we climbed up on it; the coarse granite made it easy to scramble without slipping. From there it was only a short drive to the Split Rock picnic area where we hiked a two-mile loop through big shattered granite intrusions. By the time we got back to the car it was getting close to 1545 and we hadn’t covered the most scenic part of the park, the area with thousands of Joshua trees. We made only a token stop at the crowded Skull Rock and continued on to the long side trip to Keys View. When we reached the top, we found that it was a favorite place to watch the sunset from and there were no official parking places left. We were lucky to find a spot down the road on the shoulder. The sunset was not all that impressive but the view to the south to the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains and down to the Salton Sea was good. We found a spot out of the chilly wind and enjoyed having our warm clothes with us. Once the sun went down it got dark quickly and we headed for home exiting the park at the town of Joshua Tree (even though our GPS wanted to send us back through the park) The 1.5 hr drive felt longer in the dark but we were back to our WM unit sometime after 1830. C.J. made a chicken casserole/stir fry and a salad. We were both pretty tired. Maybe we would need a less active day on Wed.

3 Jan, Wed – I had thought that we were going to rest up a bit by going to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, but C.J. was up for another day in Joshua Tree. We didn’t get a very early start (around 1030) and we took the I-10 and Rte 62 to the town of Joshua Tree where we lucked into a parking spot for the crowded visitor center. We were able to pick up a guide to the Geology Tour Road from a ranger and were on our way quickly. There was a line of cars waiting to get in the entrance station but if you had a pass, you could bypass most of the line. We thought that we might do a short (1 mi) hike at Hidden Valley but the parking spots were all filled up [The park seemed a lot more crowded on Wed. than it had been on Tue. But maybe we were  in the more popular section of the park.] We drove on to the Geology Tour Road which was signed as 4x4 recommended, but was no problem for our AWD Sorento (as well as a handful of Foresters and Outbacks we met). The road went downhill for 5 or 6 miles and then did a loop across a playa. We stopped for lunch which we had after a short hike up through a monzo-granite “boulder pile”. Later we passed an obvious contact zone between the m-granite and the older (1.6 by) Pinto gneiss. We stopped again to walk in an area that had been mined but we were more interested in looking at some cacti that had reddish spines and were vaguely barrel-shaped. At the far point of the loop we took some photos of C.J.’s bears on a teddybear cholla and in the limbs of a Joshua tree. After returning to the main park road we went back to the Hidden Valley picnic area which now had parking spots available. After a false start, we found the trailhead and walked into a, well, hidden valley. Just before the president had signed JTNM into existence in 1936, a rancher had blasted an opening into the m-granite-rimmed lush, grassy pasture protected from the drying winds. It was a nice walk and we saw plenty of rock climbers and people carrying bouldering pads since the area is a big climbing mecca. The light was fading as we got back to the car, more noticeable than the day before since Wed had been overcast all day. If we had been in a different climate we would have been expecting rain. We stopped to buy some groceries at a Staters Bros in Yucca Valley on the way home and then filled up with gas at Ralph’s again (2.899) in La Quinta. We were home by 1900 and I made another batch of non-margaritas while C.J. changed the casserole by adding some tomatoes to the chicken-rice-black beans from the night before. We thought we might go to the PSAT on Thu but the online ticket sales site showed all tickets sold out until 1700 on Fri. Okay we’ll have to consider what plan B is in the morning.

4 Jan, Thu – Up at 0715 to a bright, sunny day. It seemed like a waste of a good day to hang around instead of going somewhere interesting so we got packed up and headed for Anza-Borrego State Park, about 1hr30min away. The route took us along the Salton Sea and at one point the car GPS showed that we were 232 ft below sea level (the surface of the Salton Sea is supposed to be -235. We stopped in the badlands at an overlook and then pushed on through Borrego Springs to the park headquarters and visitor center. We watched a short film about the park through the seasons and walked a nature trail which gave names and info about native plants. A ranger suggested the classic hike to the oasis 1.5 mi up Palm Canyon. We drove through the campground to the trailhead ($9 for parking/day use fee for seniors) and put on boots for the hike up the wash and along the rocky trail that stayed in the bottom of a dry canyon. The oasis had maybe 20 big California fan palms and there was running water. The big excitement was that we could see Penninsular Bighorn Sheep on the slopes above the oasis. I had left my camera in a tote bag, so we had to rely on C.J.’s Fuji to get some pictures. We ate lunch there and started down. At the Palm Bridge (over the dry wash) we took the right fork on the alternate trail which climbed a bit more than if we had stayed on the standard trail. Both trails were now in the shadow of the cliff above and it was pleasantly cool compared to when we had been climbing. We reached the car and changed out of our boots, drank some cold water from our insulated bottles and headed for home. First we tried to find an ice cream shop in Borrego Springs but the one we found was closed. We took a look at a bunch of sculptures on one side of Christmas Circle, then we drove south out of town to see what that route looked like. It looked pretty flat and desert-y so I wouldn’t plan to go that way again. Back on Rte. 86 along the Salton Sea it was getting dark (1649 was when the GPS clicked over to post-sunset colors). We got back to the condo around 1730. I had received an email from CS at Garmin about my InReach that was not sending (or receiving) messages. I tried syncing and doing a soft reset (hold X and down arrow for 30 sec) with no success. I sent an email back asking for the next step. Later I made reservations for lodging in Modesto and Ashland. Dave and Janet invited us to stay with them on the 9^th so we will have a relatively short driving day to get back to North Bend on Wednesday.

5 Jan, Fri – Up at 0700 so we could get to the valley station of the Palm Spring Aerial Tramway around 0930 to buy tickets for the first run at 1000 if possible. We were there on time, paid for parking (5), a surprise, and used the American Express reward card we received from Worldmark to buy tickets for the 1010 tram (1000 was sold out). We had not known before that the tram ran every ten minutes. Eighty people fit in the tram, and the floor revolves so you get a 360 degree view on the ride from 2600 ft to 8500 ft. It was a beautiful day with a bright blue sky, at least it was at 8500 ft. It was not particularly cold but it was comfortable as we walked down the long paved ramp from the mountain station and headed off to the San Jacinto State Park ranger station. We got our required but free wilderness day permits and took the Round Valley Loop in a CCW direction. I was surprised to find that the trail was mostly uphill and not down a valley as I had expected. The forest was mixed Jeffrey Pine and White Fir, and there was a lot of granodiorite – the usual grey color, not the pink of the monzo-granite at JOTR. Once we reached Round Valley where there is a back country campground and water (“purify before using” the sign said), we sat on a downed tree in the sunny meadow to eat lunch. The loop was supposed to be 5 miles in length and I had considered taking the trail at the midpoint up to Wellman’s Divide (one mile and 600 ft elev gain) for the view. It’s also one route to the popular destination of the summit of San Jacinto (10,800). We were at 9100 at Round Meadow. Seven miles with the additional climbing and descent sounded like a bit too much so we just continued the loop after lunch. We returned to the ranger station and signed back in with plenty of time to walk a short (.75 mi) nature trail and a longer (1.5 mi) Desert View trail which went to five notches with views out over the Coachella Valley as far as the Salton Sea and as close as the many wind turbines on the way to Banning Pass. We finally returned to the mountain station, climbing up the horrible ramp (where’s the elevator?) to the visitor center. We watched a couple of movies and then got into a long line for boarding the tram. It took about 90 minutes to get on, and by then it was dark so we got to see the lights of Palm Springs and all the other Coachella Valley cities as we descended. We drove directly home, had our last blended drink and ate the rest of the never-ending casserole. Tomorrow we plan to stick around and explore the resort and maybe go to the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Nat Mon visitor center then get packed up for our trip north starting on Sunday.

6 Jan, Sat – So that’s what we did. The day started out cloudy and we could see a big cloud cap on Mt San Jacinto, so today would not have been a good day for riding the tram or hiking around the wilderness. We walked through the Lazy River Market, the activity center, and the swimming pools/lazy river area. The sun had come out but we didn’t feel much like swimming or floating. Later, around 1500 or so we drove to Costco for gas (the price was up to 2.939) and some CoQ10 and Olay Regeneris. By the time we got to the SRSJNM it was almost 1600 and the sign at the entrance said that the gate was locked at 1600. We parked across the street and walked in to catch the last gasps of the art show that had been there. There was a really nice large wreath covered with toy stuffed owls. We followed a nature trail out to the parking lot and then took the Henderson loop trail along a narrow wash and over a divide to return along another wash. We got back to the car before dark. On the way back we drove through the El Paseo “high-rent” shopping district which had lots of seasonal lights, mostly white, around the palm trees which lined the street. Back home we packed up as much as we could and I used a cart to take it down to the car. C.J. later worked some more on her article about the USHPA awards for 2017.

7 Jan, Sun – We got up at 0630 and were on the road shortly after 0800. I-10 to I-210 over Tejon Pass and down the Grapevine, sunny this time unlike a previous trip with the trailer when we negotiated freezing rain and snow. At the intersection, we took 99 north to Bakersfield where we stopped to get gas at Costco (2.779) and then found one of the two Freddy’s Frozen Custard places and had turtle sundaes for lunch. The Central Valley scenery was flat and boring the rest of the way northwest to our overnight stop in Modesto at the Baymont Inn and Suites ( booked through Wyndham Rewards). We rested for a while (we arrived around 1600 so it wasn’t yet time for dinner) before choosing a Mexican restaurant from Google Maps, El Rosal, just a few minutes away. We had forgotten what a huge meal one typically gets at an American Mexican restaurant so we were stuffed on the two dishes we ordered, carnitas caseras and plato ranchera. We were back at the motel by 1900 and C.J. was in bed by 2030 – a tough day for eyes and throats as we drove through the smoky/smoggy area that had been hit by recent wildfires. Probably because it was a Sunday, we didn’t hit any traffic slowdowns all day, and the weather was mostly sunny becoming overcast later in the afternoon. By evening the temperature had dropped sharply and we had put our warm clothes on to go out for dinner.

8 Jan, Mon – We woke up to rain, the first we’d seen since leaving North Bend almost 20 days ago. The breakfast at the Baymont was quite good, much better than average. There were scrambled eggs and sausages, two waffle bakers, juice, yogurt, hot chocolate, peeled hard-boiled eggs, and the other, usual breakfast things. We left sometime after 0800, stopped for gas at Costco across the freeway in Modesto (2.639) and then drove through rain and some traffic to Sacramento where we ran into heavier traffic and used the HOV lanes to keep moving. The only really slow part was where we merged onto Rte 50 and I-80; that was busy even when we came back from Bass Lake in the middle of the day. We made a couple of pit stops, but mostly we just cruised along I-5 in the rain until we passed Mt Shasta. The temps were high enough that even Siskiyou summit was clear of snow. Ashland Hills Hotel and Suites (booked through Lastminute.com) let us check in early about 1415. We headed immediately downtown and parked a short walk away from the city plaza. It was pretty chilly so we had donned our vests and jackets, as well as hats and gloves. The shops were fascinating to windowshop and we spent a bit of time in Durbar (?) a tea-salt-spice shop with a really helpful manager. We bought some fancy rice and salt for Dave and Janet, and a wooden toast grabber for us. Then we walked up the creek to Lithia Park and walked part of the nature trail as far as the upper duck pond. The most amazing find was a fountain that produced carbonated mineral (lithium, sulfur, and more) water. Apparently Ashland was originally going to be a mineral spring spa, but it didn’t work out. We spent a little time trying to choose among the 100 or so restaurants for dinner and settled on Hearsay, recommended by the Durbar manager. After dropping off the package at the car we still were the first customers in Hearsay at around 1700. We shared a local special of beef and potato soup, arugula and other greens, nuts, goat cheese, and apple salad (6 for the extra salad). The entrée was meatballs and bucatini pasta (with a soft egg yolk on top). And the dessert was a chocolate-salted caramel tart. We also ordered wine and a pear cider. It was a really enjoyable dinner. As we drove back to the hotel, the car gas light came on so we’ll have to check the range in the morning. Our room (#159) at Ashland Hills had a clogged toilet. I called the desk around 2200 and a guy came down and plunged it out but the next time we used the toilet, it would not flush and only drained out slowly. We dealt with it as best we could through the night.

9 Jan, Tue – After we got up around 0715, and showered and dressed, I called the desk again. While we were gone to breakfast, someone came in probably with a snake and got the toilet working (we may have received a discount for all the aggravation because our bill was about $10 cheaper than I had expected.). We left around 0930 on another overcast day, but not rainy. We stopped for gas at Costco in north Medford only to find that the Costco was gone! We got the address of the new Costco from the front of the building. It’s located in Central Point on the east side of the freeway but not conveniently near an exit (2.639?). It was drizzly/raining most of the way to Portland. Janet reminded us of her address and the GPS got us there around 1500. We had a great visit and delicious dinner and spent the night in Beth’s old room. [Beth and Ben live somewhere north of where we used to live in Portland and she is pregnant, due in April] [Todd and Emily with their two children live near Golden Gardens Park in Seattle, close to where Dave and Janet moor their boat].

10 Jan, Wed – Up around 0700, we had Dave’s granola with fruit for breakfast. We were on our way by around 0900, avoiding the traffic on 26 by taking Skyline Drive down into the city and then I-405 across to 5. We made it all the way to Olympia before having to refill the gas tank (2.639). We were home shortly after 1300 and got unpacked while the house warmed up. There was some snow on Mt. Si down as far as the slides but it didn’t look like there had been much winter weather. Still, it had been a good time to get away to sunny California [although, we left just as the rain moved in down there causing devastating mudslides south of Santa Barbara]. We got in a bunch of good hiking and sightseeing as well as two bonus paragliding flights along with visits to Ginny and Wally and Dave and Janet.

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11 Jan, Thu – We went over to the senior center for our Tai Chi class to find that Carlye had not shown up. Later we found out that she had taken a full-time job somewhere. We got our $50 check back. I sent my Garmin InReach back to the company (after trying REI to see if they would do an exchange). Garmin said that a refurbished InReach was on its way to me.

13 Jan, Sat – Nice weather so we finished up our chores (I took down the roof Xmas lights and filled some holes in the road and then cut up some fallen branches) and then drove over to the Snoqualmie Casino and walked the Traditional Knowledge Trail. It had good interpretive signs but did not indicate that the trail stopped at the bridge over a stream. We walked all the way around the casino back to the car.

14 Jan, Sun - Inspired by some emails from the HG community, we took off in sunny, warm weather for Saddle Mountain. It was blowing and gusting from the east in North Bend but the forecast was for N and NE wind, not too strong at Saddle. There were lots of people skiing at the Summit in the clouds on what must have been fast-melting snow. We stayed in the low clouds all the way to Rye Grass summit where the cloud base was a bit higher. Crossing the Columbia, the winds looked to be in the right direction and not too strong, but we could see that there was a cloudbank sitting on top of Saddle below the launch. Parking at the closed (due to general fund shortfall in state financing) ORV park and LZ, we waited a while for Chris and Patricia to catch up. They were quite a ways behind us so we pushed on to Mattawa, bought an expensive box of Triscuits and met Rick Ely on the R SW road. He reported that the hangs were sitting in the compression cloud on launch and that the wind was 14-18mph. He was going to Kiona where Doc had reported that it was clear and the winds were light. After considering the drive up the rough road to a possibly blown-out Saddle launch and a one hour drive to Kiona, we turned around and followed Rick. We got to Kiona around 1400 and watched two PGs kiting down low, then take off and soar. The road had a barricade marked “closed” but a local said that had been put up when the road was snow-covered and then never removed. Chris and Patricia had caught up with us by then and Chris decided to carry part way up the trail while Patricia went for a hike with Penny. We drove ¼ mi up the road to where a PG car was parked at the end of the fence and carried up to where the other guys had launched. Both of them landed near us before we got off (Matt Huntington, and a newer pilot, Andy). Both relaunched and did not get back up. C.J. took a good forward launch and flew down almost to the LZ and sidehill landed. I put my still-packed wing in my bag and returned to the car. Chris had a sledder from his higher launch as well. Following Matt and Andy’s car we went up to the saddle launch where the wind was too strong. Back down the road to another roadside launch, Matt managed to get off after several attempts but it was no longer soarable. We bagged it and headed home stopping for gas at Love’s in Prosser (2.699, just a few cents more than Costco in Union Gap). We got home around 1900 – a lot of driving for one sledder.

16 Jan, Tue – Got my refurbished InReach and worked on getting it activated. Ended up having to online chat with Laurie who did the switch for me. I synced the new InReach with Earthmate and did a test message. It’s ready to be used. In the evening we went to our first KT Squares of 2018 and we even managed to do decently at the Advanced tip after the Plus dance/workshop.

17 Jan, Wed – In the evening we drove into Issaquah through heavy rain for a performance of The Gin Game at the Village Theater. C.J. received an insulated VT tumbler for being a sponsor. Strangely, we were listed in the rarefied atmosphere of those who had contributed $500 or more!

18 Jan, Thu – I had an appointment at B of A to get info about my new 0% interest balance transfer Bankamericard at 1130. I found out that I could not directly use it to pay for all or some of the balance due for Vidanta. But I could charge part of the balance to my Costco/CITI card and then do a balance transfer to the Bankamericard, thus giving us almost 15 months to pay it off. 

We’ve been reading Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams on our e-readers, plus we have Bingham’s book Lost City of the Incas and a bunch of National Geographic maps. Tonight I used Google Earth to look at Machu Picchu and try to determine what the hike to the Sun Gate from MP might be like. It appears to be “only” a mile with a gain of 800 ft. We have an opportunity to do that on our second day.

19 Jan, Fri – We went into Issaquah to check out the KC Fire HQ facility that we are going to use for the annual reserve parachute repack seminar. It looks like the building out behind the main building is a better fit for us. It has a truss support for the roof which gives us more options for places for us to hang the simulators. The chief said he has to check with his facilities person to make sure that it’s okay to hang from the trusses.  We also went to the Apple Store so C.J. could find out about bringing her Macbook in for cleaning (they don’t do that anymore) and how to make a Genius Bar appointment to discuss getting duplicate photo files off her hard drive (install the Apple Support app). We also went to Sears to return my wrong-size mock-T from Lands End, then on to Joann where C.J. did not find sturdy frogs for her new cape. We stopped at Costco for some groceries and I bought a couple boxes of floodlights and a case of 5W30 Mobil oil, both on sale. Back home we finally ate the frozen pizza that had been hanging around the freezer for weeks; it wasn’t great. While eating we watched the intro and first lesson in the Great Courses DVD Essentials of Tai Chi and Qigong.