Friends Kent and Pam, who had us over for dinner and loaned us suitcases for our vacation!

Our friends, Kent and Pam, have always traveled a lot, and even more so now that they are (mostly) retired. A couple years ago their extended family had a discussion about how you should term taking a vacation, when your life is mostly a retired “vacation.” Of course, that is likely to be the perspective of those who are still actively engaged in the work force.

And it is even more likely to be the perspective many of you may have about those of us who travel full time. Are we perpetually on “vacation”?  We don’t consider it so but absolutely understand if you do. This is just the way we live – with its huge advantages and some drawbacks.

We still have to do all the normal stuff like doctor and dental visits, vet appointments and truck maintenance – and we did LOTS of that during our month long stay in Boise. The truck had some warranty covered repairs and also got new brakes, new tires, and a new air bag suspension system for the real axle.   Whew – the truck cost us a small fortune this month!  But, traveling around all the time with only one vehicle, we need a safe truck.

We even had new wills made by family friend, Shannon. It felt a little like a time warp because she use to play at our house when our families got together. Shannon has recently finished law school and will take the Bar Exam this summer. Congrats Shannon and thanks for doing our new wills.

The Berg, Sloan and Matthews kids, at our house one Easter in the 90’s. Our lawyer, Shannon, is in the pink skirt on the left!

Once again, our stay in Boise has been jam-packed with the dull stuff and the great stuff. We have really enjoyed spending time with Archer, Natasha and Seth. We’ve crammed in as many visits with our friends as possible.

Our friend, Karen, and me hanging out at our place!

We’ve enjoyed golf, singing at church, lunches, dinners, movies, and even a weekend camping trip with Darrell and Cindy to one of our favorite places, Three Island Crossing State Park.

One of our happy places! Camping with Darrell and Cindy at Three Island Crossing State Park.

But then, we really did take a vacation! We own a timeshare at a very lovely resort in Mazatlan, Mexico. One of our minor challenges, while living this lifestyle, is figuring out how and when to use our timeshare week – because we wouldn’t consider leaving Elko just anywhere! Many thanks to friends John and Deb for providing Elko with his own vacation while we took off for Mexico!

The travel and logistics worked out better for us to trade our week in Mazatlan for the sister resort, Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach, in Los Cabos. We’ve been here several times  (just last year in fact) and they’ve added some new dining options on-site so that was nice. Although it is popular, we do not choose to go “all-inclusive.” We’ve run the numbers on two separate trips and found that we save money by just paying as we go – nor do we need to eat and drink more than we do.

Happy Hour! Miami Vice – Half Pina Colada and Half Strawberry Daiquiri

Throw in a “two for one” happy hour by the pool each day and we are just fine!

We also like to mix it up and go into town and eat a few times. Salvatore’s was recommended by someone we met at the pool so we took the shuttle into town and then walked to the restaurant. Fortunately, the people who recommended the restaurant also told us the portions are very large so we ordered one Caesar Salad one one plate of lasagna to share. It was very definitely enough!

Bottom layer of meat, layer of pasta, huge layer of cheese, layer of pasta, topped with marinara and cheese

During the first part of our week the weather was delightful and we enjoyed pool time, reading and walking around the resort seeing the large collection of birds on-site.

Sunset Beach Resort is on the Pacific Ocean side of the peninsula. The water is not safe for swimming but we still enjoy walking along and catching sight of the frequent cruise ships.

Depending on the time of year,  baby turtles run this beach.

We saw at least one cruise ship a day!

The second half of the week turned very windy so we spent less time at the pool and more time in town and on our balcony  enjoying the view.

After verifying that the priest would speak English, and not Spanish or Latin, I went to Mass on Sunday morning at the resort.

A water main broke outside our building during the week and resulted in brief periods of mud water, no hot water, and then no water at all. We ended up moving to another room for our last night. It was all a little inconvenient, but not a big deal. After all, we were on vacation – a real vacation – and Handy Randy didn’t have to do the maintenance.

Remember, I said there were a few disadvantages to living this lifestyle? I know I am really stretching here, but one of the things I use to enjoy was buying a Christmas ornament or local artisan piece as a keepsake on each trip we took. That just isn’t feasible now due to space concerns and the fact that we go to so many places. I rarely buy anything. Usually I have to be content with sending grandson Archer a postcard from everywhere we go and occasionally finding something that he just can’t live without.

However, Randy recently broke the large decorative plate we had bought from a marina vendor in Cabo a few years ago. So, we went back to the marina, found a vendor, and bought a new one! And then because I wasn’t sure which would be best, I bought the tray and smaller plate from a vendor at the resort. I found room for all three in our trailer!

We are enjoying a few more cram packed days in Boise and prepping to leave here on Sunday. May plans include Winnimucca Nevada, Sparks Nevada, Bend Oregon, Sumpter Oregon, and Memorial Day Weekend in McCall Idaho. Hope to see you along the way!