Chris, Meghan and I are driving to the Washington Coast near Seattle with the plan of going sailing.
This map is where we are going Puget Sound near Seattle.. Megan booked a Air B&B on Puget Sound, where we are meeting our sail charter. I found out what a “Sound” is, the water type. A Sound is like a bay but deeper.
Stopped in China town for lunch. We planned Dim Sum, but it wasn’t open. We went to Chinese restaurant, must have been authentic because I didn’t recognize anything on the menu. It was great.Darling beach/bay cottageThe house has a lovely balcony overlooking the sound.
View from the balcony
Chris and Megans roomMy room
Chilling on the balcony. Megan found this great place.
The train didn’t leave until 4pm. The Amtrak train was nice but slow, unlike the bullet trains in Japan and Europe. It stopped twice for repairs. I arrived about 3 hrs late.
Scenes from the train through the window. Pics are a bit hazy.The train follows along the Columbia river.
Chris and Megan picked me up in Pasco. We drove to West Richland, Washington. where they live.
The next morning, we went to a farmers market, bought delicious fruit and veggies.
After the farmers market, Chris made dinner. Grilled tenderloin, caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes, roasted purple potatoes, grilled squash, with Washington peppers, a roll from the bakery, and Washington wine. We ate outside on their patio. The weather is beautiful and cool, I’m sure it’s sweltering back at home in San Antonio, Texas.
Today we toured around their town. This is Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) where Chris works.Chris drove me to see the company where he works as a computer programmer. It’s a huge campus with many buildings.Out to an early dinner at a seafood restaurant.
Chris and Meghan
Fried calamari and crab dip
I had King salmon. A lovely dinner with a view of the river.
Back to Chris and Meghan’s apartment. It’s two bedrooms and two baths. This is their cat, “Purr..O”, Had a fruit plate late that evening.
Chilling with the Kitty
Watched Sherlock Holmes before bed. Tomorrow, we are going to Seattle, they rented a house on the beach for 3 days, and chartered a sailboat for the following day. Sounds so much fun. Stay tuned!
My best friend, Denise and her husband Mike, moved from Austin, TX to Portland, OR. to be near their daughter and son in law and help with the 3 sets of twins, born 2 yrs apart. This is my first visit since they moved.
Denise and I met in 1978 at Hermann Hospital in the Houston Medical Center., where we worked. At the time we were both newlyweds and new nurses. she and her husband had just moved to Houston, during the boom, from Buffalo, NY. We’ve been friends since. We’ve been there for each other during good times, the birth of our children. And also for the sad times of loss of family members.
Our first night we had dinner by the riverWe had delicious pizza, just like Italy.
The next evening, we had a cruise on the lake.
Denise and MikeAbove are our hosts on the lake cruise, Randee and Bob, parents of their daughter’s husband.
Evening.
Lovely evening with friends
Another day.
Denise and Mike house in Portland.Beautiful yard, so green and lush.Out to a fabulous dinner of fresh King salmon. I’ve been yearning for wild caught fresh salmon fron the Pacific Northwest. In Texas, we mostly get farm raised and the freshness is questionable. This salmon was delicious!!!!The 3 sets of twinsBed time for babiesKissing the babies good night
Story time, after jammies on, getting ready for bed.
Leaving the next day. They are all so darling. Good Night.
Preparing to leave Paradis, Puerto Morelos. Wanted to have one more peek under the surface of the ocean. My month here, flew by. I’ll be back next year. Leaving the pier, to the coral reefInto the water by backward rollI see you, fishy, hiding under rockChasing a Blue TangTwo huge Spotlight AngelfishBack to the pier.
My neighbors from home, Joe and Scott are at a resort outside of Puerto Morelos. The came into town to check it out. I showed them Casa Velero. We had snacks and drinks and walked around town. Hope they come back on a future vacation
Today, Ace and I visited the Kin Ha cenote, an underground river. Some have a cave and some are open. It’s fresh water and feels so nice.
Ace arranged for a tour. It was an international group of about 15. We were picked up by a bus and delivered to the Kin Ha Cenote.
This is one of the openings to the cave cenote.
This log across the opening was where you may jump into the water. After watching a few people jump, all young I might add. I jumped. The scariest part was walking over to the place to jump in middle of that log over the cenote.
Be careful on the steps, but it’s the better way down.
Instead of going straight into the cenote, As I did. you could first take a zip lie into the jungle. Ace gave it a try. I was ready to get cooled off in the water, so opted for the cenote.
Into the cave.
The opening is where there is an option to jump in from above.
The platform where you can enter into the cenote water. There are underwater lights, the water was turquoise. Can’t tell from the picture.
Ahhhh, refreshing! So many interesting cave formations to see.
Tried to lighten this picture, so can see the cave’s beauty and the clear water.
This is where you can jump in. Was fun.
Next we rode ATVs to the next cenote. It’s an open one.
While we were on pavement highway, it was pleasant. I’m amazed at the thick jungle. However, when we started on jungle roads. It was difficult to hang on. Ouch, my wrists.
There are 3 levels of platforms. This was a very high, But I jumped.
When I hit the water, my brain hit my skull from the inside….or at least that’s what it felt like. Think I’m “one and done” with jumping that high. My neck hurt later, glad I’m going for a massage tomorrow.
Ace also jumped, but no pictures.
The cenote, a very high canyon wall.
We had an option of zip lining into the cenote. We both did, got pics of Ace.
Looks really graceful.
Ace was the best sport and tried it all. She did a great job of driving the ATV.
These are our fellow travelers. 3 guys from California by way of India. And a lovely family from BC, Canada.
We ended our day with tacos served to us. Overall it was fun exciting day and a fabulous time to remember. It cost $60.00pp. Was worth it to me. Quite an adventure.
Waiting for lunch. Taking a minute to remember how lucky you are being here.
It was a long day. Was tired upon returning. Had fish tacos from Caribelos next door.
Ace is leaving in the morning and I’m having a massage.
Ace room, upstairs by the pool
Juan, massage therapist. He’s great. I had a massage and a body exfoliation, my skin felt like silk after!
In case you’re tempted to make “cabana boy” comments….this is his wife. They work together.
Picture are by Ace. Out at the ocean front. We went out to eat at La Sirina. They had a free salsa lesson. Went upstairs on their patio on a lovely and windy night.She brought her guitar and sings beautifully.On another note, The pier, lovely, with a bit of seaweed.Two days later heavy seaweed arrives. They’re all trying to clean it up, it’s not too pleasing for the tourists. Smells like dead fish.
Ace, named Angelina, arrived. We previously worked together at the radio station, KSYM. Then she became the associate producer on my radio show, Night Moves. We found that we have a lot in common, like Mexico for travel, love to snorkel, and care about the coral reef environment. She’ll only be here 5 days, so we had to cram a lot of activities into a short time. She arrived late at night, so the next day we went snorkeling.BarracudaThese fish were huge. Can’t really tell the size from the picture.Barracuda hiding and just peeking out from the coral. Here they are growing coral to create a new reefA trumpet fish, long and greenNow there’s two Trumpet fish joined together behind the coral. Wonder what they’re doing?Finally got a fish to look at me and smileThe spotted fish in the right corner, I’ve never seen before.We ended a beautiful day after looking under the surface of the Caribbean seaBack to the pier. The seaweed came up over night.Just 2 days before, not so muchJust 2 days before, a little seaweed but not so bad.
Donna arrived last week, but only could stay 5 days due to school commitments. We tried to do all the fun stuff and ran out of time.
Ate breakfast at my fav breakfast place, El Nicho
Omelettes are excellent.
Visited the Iguanas on the patio. Wanted to get closer, but concerned that he might jump on me or run awayHad picture taken in front of the famous Puerto Morelos sign.
Last view of the pier and Caribbean sea. Goodbye Donna, hope that you return next year.