Feb. 9th
Up at 3:30 am and headed to the airport about 4:20. After being de-iced, our plane left Des Moines about 6:45 am headed for Dallas/Ft. Worth. Had a good flight and got into DFW on time. Our departure gate was within walking distance of where we came in so that was nice. Left DFW and arrived in PVR about 12:55 pm. There were 4 planes that arrived about the same time with another 6 right on our tail. Getting our luggage was a challenge as none of the turn styles were marked with what flights so it was like the lottery trying to find your luggage. Finally got our luggage and went to the red light/green light and got the green light. Got a taxi and headed to the resort. Got there about 2:00. Everyone was anxiously awaiting our arrival. Had our rum punch drink and greeted the bellmen and front desk folks and headed up to our room to change clothes and walked around saying Hi to the rest of our family and friends. Left the resort about 5:15 to go to JR’s meet up at Casa Isabel. Got to meet JR, Isabel, Libby, as well as several other people. Casa Isabel is so beautiful. Our amigos Fred and Sandy arrived about 6:30. We thought maybe they had left since we were 45 minutes late. Turned out Sandy thought the start time was 6:30. Talk about an awesome view from Casa Isabel. After a few cocktails, we decided it was time to go get something to eat. We hailed a taxi cab and headed to Si Senor’s. It was great to see Lalo, Raul, and Martin. It was just like being home again. We had a calamari appetizer that was oh so good!! Then Tom and I had the seafood dinner for 2 and Fred and Sandy had the poblano shrimp. We had quite a feast! Also had 2 more grande margaritas plus a complimentary bottle of white wine so Mrs. Crown was feeling no pain as I hadn’t eaten all day. As we were leaving, I took quite a fall down the stairs and am lucky I didn’t break any bones. I bruised my left arm pretty good and toasted my right buns as I landed on a votive candle. Not a good way to start your first night in PVR but I survived. Headed back to the resort and Tom hauled me up to our room and put me to bed. Then he went down to the Pub bar and met some people and then over to Club Nitro. Not sure when he got home but found him asleep on the verandah in the lounge chair sometime during the wee hours of the morning.
Feb. 10th
Believe it or not we were up bright and early and I didn’t have a hangover. Thank goodness for the good tequila in the margaritas at Si Senor’s. We headed to Wal-Mart for our daily doughnut run. Had a waffle at the breeze bar on the beach. Decided to go see if we could find Sylvia and Mark and here they came walking up to our resort so we made plans to get a taxi and head down to Burro’s for our 5:30 meet up. Spent the rest of the day around the pool visiting with new friends and friends that are down there about the same time every year. It was great to be home. Hooked up with Sylvia and Mark about 4:45 and headed down to Burro’s. Got there and looked around to see if anyone was there yet. Set up some tables and chairs. We wore our “Mr. and Mrs. Crown Paradise” name tags down there so as we were walking around this nice young lady asks why we have name tags and she doesn’t. Then she realizes who we are. Her name on the web site is “MontanaKimmie”. It was great to meet her and all her friends. She said she lurked on the web site but had never registered so we convinced her to sign up when she got home. Welcome to the board “MontanaKimmie”!! We had a nice turn out for the meet up. Fred and Sandy, Mark and Sylvia, Jim and Kathy, Jimmy and Candace, Bella Luna, Ellen, Joyce, Kimmie and her friends as well as Tom and I. Sandy took me upstairs so I could tour their condo which was really nice. After we all left Burro’s we walked down to Epoca to confirm our Valentine Day reservations. Mr. Kurt Sinner is the owner of Epoca and is from the state of Washington. Had a very nice visit with him and his son. After that we walked along the malecon and had corn on the cob. It was so yummy!! Caught a taxi and headed back to the resort as we had a busy day ahead of us.
Feb. 11th
Had room service deliver breakfast around 7:15 and headed to Wal-Mart for our daily doughnut run and then back to the resort before the 8:30 management meeting. Then headed to the marina to meet Fred and Sandy to go to Yelapa & Majahuitas for the day. We had a great time and felt like we got a good deal. We booked ahead and paid $117 USD for 2 people for the day. It included breakfast and lunch, snacks, snorkeling, kayaking, and all the booze you could drink. Went to Majahuitas for snorkeling first and then on to Yelapa. We chose the “go for a hike” option so we got to see a lot of the locals, the area, and walked all the way up to the falls and threw coins into the water for the young boys to catch and find. We went to a local restaurant on the beach and had cerveza and pie from the pie lady. It was great! I did have a couple of mishaps on this trip. One time on the way there, we hit a wave and I hit my head on the bathroom door. Then when I was getting into the john boat, I couldn’t get in so this guy helped push me in. Then I was helping his wife get in when a wave hit the boat and I landed pretty hard on my butt and ended up with a big bruise on my bottom. The guy in front of me went face first into the boat. Got back to the resort to get cleaned up and ready for our 6:30 cocktail party on our verandah. Had a good turn out (about 20 people). After that 6 of us went to Salvador’s for dinner with Carlos and the gang. Then we headed over to Club Nitro for karaoke and to support our friend Jimmy. After that Tom, Jimmy and I decided to head to Andales for a couple of drinks. Got back to the resort about 1:30 am.
Feb. 12th
Up and off to Wal-Mart for our doughnut run and back before the 8:30 management meeting. Then we had breakfast with Poly. Then up to the room to change into our swimming suits and get Sunbusted by Paco. Then we went for a nice walk along the beach and then back to the resort to catch some sun and hang out at the pool. Headed out about 4:45 to head down to the malecon to meet Jeff and Bella Luna. Had a couple of margaritas at a little place across from McDonalds and then headed to Cheeky Monkey to have some more cocktails and nachos to snack on. Had a beautiful sunset. Dave and Ellen joined us and we got to meet Tony and Janice. Left there and went for a nice walk and then caught a cab and headed back to the resort.
Feb. 13th
Had room service deliver breakfast around 7:15 and headed to Wal-Mart for our daily doughnut run and then back to the resort before the 8:30 management meeting. Was just getting ready to head back to Wal-Mart to meet Fred and Sandy to catch the bus to to Sayulita and Bucerias and up walked Jeff so the three of us walked to Wal-Mart and we all headed out. A word to the wise about the bus. If going to Sayulita, make sure you get on a bus that says Bucerias and Sayulita. If you get on one that also says Punta Mita, it takes about another 45 minutes. We had several little stops between Wal-Mart and Bucerias. A mother got on with her young daughter and son and they sang a really cute Mexican song and then everyone gave them some pesos. The cost of the bus was 20 pesos from Wal-Mart to Sayulita and the bus ride took about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Once you get to Bucerias, it goes a lot faster. It was a great experience. Also keep in mind that Sayulita is an hour behind Puerto Vallarta so we arrived about 9:20 Sayulita time. Found some chairs, umbrella and table to rent so we settled in for the day. Fred and Sandy had a breakfast burrito and then we had homemade tamales, 3 different kinds of pastries, carmelized pecans and of course cerveza. We went to the local tienda about a block away to purchase cerveza as they don’t start serving beer on the beach until 11:00. Jeff was very brave and tried this huge burrito with some major hot sauce. After the first couple of bites he had sweat pouring off his forehead. Fred, Sandy, Tom and I went for a nice walk along the beach. The water is so clear in Sayulita. The surf waves were unreal. Once the restaurant opened up and started serving beers, we had them deliver us buckets of beer for the rest of the day in our lounge chairs. We talked Jeff into giving surfing a try. I have to give him an E for effort. The waves were brutal and none of us “older people” were going out there. When we came back, he said he felt like he had been wrestling with a gorilla. Caught the bus back and stopped in Bucerias to check it out and have a bite to eat at El Pescador’s. Just as wonderful as we remembered it from last year and the owner remembered us from last Feb. Must have been because we were the only American’s there amongst all the Canadians and one guy from England. Ha! Ha! Jeff decided to pass and headed back to his hotel. Got back to the resort around 7:30 and got cleaned up and waited for our friends from Canada. They wanted us to take them to Andales. Got to Andales and couldn’t even get in the door but somehow we pushed our way through. Sat upstairs and watched all the crazy people down below and had a great time. Got back to the resort about 1:00 am.
Feb. 14th
Got up and did our doughnut run and then went for our massages at the resort. They were absolutely wonderful. Went and had breakfast with Poly at Los Gallegos and then went up to the room to change into our bathing suits and then went to see Paco and get sunbusted. Went for a nice walk along the beach and then spent most of the day laying out on our private verandah and catching some rays. The Activities staff was having a surprise birthday cake for Paula so we went over to Club Nitro about 6:00 and then back to the resort for the 6:30 Valentine’s toast. Then we got a taxi and headed down to Epoca. We did the Valentine’s special which was a salad or soup, main course and dessert. The food was very good and we had a nice bottle of wine with dinner. Kurt Sinner the owner stopped over to see how we were doing so we had a nice visit with him. Then we decided to take a walk along the malecon. Headed back to the resort to enjoy our Jacuzzi on the verandah.
Feb. 15th
Got up and did our doughnut run and then back to the resort for breakfast. We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Onalles Jr. the owner of the resort. Had a very nice visit with him and Nacho, the GM of both properties. Had breakfast at the Bella Vista and then sunbusted and hung out around the pool and on our verandah and enjoyed the beautiful weather. The repeaters dinner was at 6:30 on the beach. Unfortunately, it was windy and cool that night so right after dinner we were chilled so we headed up to see Poly to warm up and have a night cap and dessert and then went over to Club Nitro for the new show Imagination. This is a new show and one that we hadn’t seen. The Activities staff did a great job! Those kids work their butts off.
Feb. 16th
Got up and did our doughnut run and then back to the resort for breakfast with Poly. Then sunbusted and walked along the beach. Hung out by the pool with Jim, Kathy, Candace and Jimmy as they were leaving that day. We were sad to see them go. Spent most of the afternoon up on our verandah catching some sun after they left. We were meeting some friends at Si Senor’s at 7:00 pm so we got cleaned up and headed out about 6:15. Got to see Martin, Lalo, and Raul as well as Raul’s little boys. They were so cute! We purchased Si Senor t-shirts from them. They are quite the little entrepreneurs. Walked along the malecon and eventually caught a taxi back to the resort and went over to Club Nitro for a few cocktails and then headed back to our room.
Feb. 17
Got up and did our doughnut run and then back to the resort to wait for Bella Luna. We had purchased a day pass for her so that the 3 of us could hang out and spend the day together. She arrived about 9:30 so we introduced her to several people and then had breakfast with Poly at Los Gallegos. Went up to our room to change into our swimming suits and lounged on our verandah chatting and catching some rays! When the maid came to clean, we headed downstairs to get a cocktail and have some lunch. We also took her over to the CPC so she could see that resort as well and meet our friends. Got back and headed back up to the verandah. Decided late in the afternoon to sit in the Jacuzzi and enjoy the beautiful sunset off our verandah. Then we got cleaned up and went to Salvador’s for dinner and then up to Paradise to have Poly make us Sexy coffee and dessert. Then we headed back to our room to enjoy the beautiful evening looking out over the ocean. Bella headed out about midnight. It was great to see her and spend the day with her.
Feb. 18th
Ordered room service and had breakfast on our verandah and then headed to Wal-Mart for our doughnut run. Janet and Andres showed up about 8:45 so the 4 of us headed to Sayulita in Janet’s car for another fun day. I can’t believe how quickly we were there. Found us some chairs to rent for the day and then went to the local tienda and bought some cervezas and then kicked back and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Andres went and got a couple of breakfast burritos. Had tamales from a beach vendor, pastries that were to die for, and then had shrimp ceviche, chips and guacamole, and french fries. Tom, Janet and Andres went for a walk and I stayed with our stuff. Headed back around 4:30 as all the activities staff from the GCP and CPC were meeting at Rachel’s for tacos and drinks our treat. Rachel ordered 150 tacos made 5 different ways (30 of each one). They came in this huge basket that reminded me of Little Miss Riding Hood. I think everyone had a good time and the tacos were oh so good. Tom was really tired and his cold was getting to him. Headed back to the resort about 10:00 pm and called it a night.
Feb. 19th
Did our doughtnut run and then back to the resort for our 9:00 massages. We decided to treat ourselves once again and it felt so good. Then went to breakfast and then decided to see if we could find Bruce’s new restaurant, Teatro Limon which we found. Headed back to the resort to change and sunbusted and vegged out most of the day on our verandah. Tom was fighting a horrible cold so he tried to rest for awhile. Had dinner with Poly and then Tom headed back to the room. After getting him tucked in, I went over to Club Nitro for Crazy games. Then back to the resort to have a couple of cocktails with friends and call it a night.
Feb. 20th
Did our doughnut run and then back to have breakfast with Poly. Then changed into our swimming suits, sunbusted with Paco and hung out on the verandah most of the day. We met Porfirio and his wife Rosa at Trio’s to celebrate his birthday which was Feb. 24th. Had a very nice dinner with them. Got back to the resort around 11:00 and went to Salvador’s to have a night cap with Carlos and then headed up to the room.
Feb. 21st
Did our doughnut run and then back for our 9:00 massages and to have breakfast. Changed into our swimming suits and then went to find Paco and Sunbust. Took a nice long walk along the beach and then back to our room to enjoy the privacy of our verandah. Enjoyed a beautiful sunset in our Jacuzzi and then got ready for dinner. Took Karen Padilla from the resort tour desk to dinner at Teatro Limon. Had an excellent dinner with Bruce. The ambiance is great! It’s like you are all in his house and he is having a private dinner party. The music was like a classy jazz place. We decided to go with Bruce’s suggestion of the chef menu. We ate and ate and ate until I didn’t think we could eat anymore. Bruce would cook and then take a break and go and visit each table. He definitely has found his niche and I highly recommend this place. Be sure and make reservations if at all possible. Enjoyed 2 bottles of chardonnay from Chili and Bruce’s company. Got to see Sandy (Winterpeg ’s wife and better half) so that worked out well. When we got ready to leave, they called a taxi for us and they were there in no time. Dropped Karen off at her apt. and then headed back to the resort to change clothes and get ready to go to Andales with Janet. Got back to the resort around 3:00 am.
Feb 22
Our last full day in PVR and definitely not ready to go back home. Got up and did our doughnut run and then went to have another massage and then have breakfast with Poly. Found Paco and got sunbusted and went for a walk along the beach and decided to spend the day on our verandah soaking up all those rays before heading back to the frigid cold and start our packing. We invited our neighbors from Canada to stop over about 6:30 and the 4 of us had 2 bottles of champagne and toasted the sunset. Then they headed into town to meet their son and we headed to dinner with Poly. After stuffing ourselves and having sexy coffee we decided to go to Salvador’s to have a final nightcap with Carlos and the gang. Porfirio had his beautiful granddaughter Melanie with him and his family so we got to see them for a bit before they headed out. Headed over to the show about 9:30. Got back about 11:00 and then went to change our clothes as Milton and Janet wanted to go with us to Andales. We had a great time! We got back to the resort about 3:00 am.
Feb. 23rd – D day…. Got up about 7:00 and did some more packing and then headed over to Wal-Mart for our final doughnut run. Got back and had one final breakfast with Poly and then walked around telling all of our family and amigos good bye! It was very hard to leave as we have become so close to all of them. No one wanted us to leave and we didn’t want to leave either. Left the resort about 12:30 after we confirmed that our flight from DFW was in the air. The airport was a major zoo and the security lines were very long. The new terminal is really nice. They just need to figure out a way to get people through security quicker. Got on our plane and headed to DFW. That went well and we actually had time to grab a bite to eat before getting back on the plane and then onto Des Moines where our neighbor and her friend were there waiting for us by the baggage claim area.
We had great flights. We were about 15 minutes late on all flights but that really isn’t bad at all plus all of our luggage arrived safe and sound both ways. The weather was absolutely wonderful. Between 80 – 85 every day and sunny. Not one drop of rain the entire time.
We can’t wait to head back since we had a big snowstorm last Monday into Tuesday and are supposed to get another one tonight into Monday. Why did we come back???
It was great to see all of our GCP/CPC family and friends as well as see some of our old friends from past years and the new ones that we met. We can’t wait to go back!!!
Mr. and Mrs. Crown's trip report Feb. 9 - 23
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michelle/tyler
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teatrolimon
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fun
it was fun having you with us you folks are cool
tom next year i hope julia and i can take you and your wife to some of our hauntds
bruce
tom next year i hope julia and i can take you and your wife to some of our hauntds
bruce
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Ozark American
- PV Beachbum
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Good Review
i will have to read it closer over the next few days to critique Mrs Crown just to see if she left anything out....
Michelle it was great to mee up with others from the BB that is for sure.. it was surprising when JRO said hey there are some other friends of ours, and when i looked over i recogized them from your pictures... good times had by all...
Bruce - thanks again for the compliments my friend... it would be nice to slip out and go to some of your special places that you and Julia like to go and hang out... get to see some of the other sides of Vallarta from people that live there and do business there... My taste buds are really craving some of your lamb buddy... and Lorrie was telling her sister this weekend on how she ate medium Filet and LIKED it... good for you buddy...
take care everybody... enjoy Mrs. Crown short novel... LOL
Michelle it was great to mee up with others from the BB that is for sure.. it was surprising when JRO said hey there are some other friends of ours, and when i looked over i recogized them from your pictures... good times had by all...
Bruce - thanks again for the compliments my friend... it would be nice to slip out and go to some of your special places that you and Julia like to go and hang out... get to see some of the other sides of Vallarta from people that live there and do business there... My taste buds are really craving some of your lamb buddy... and Lorrie was telling her sister this weekend on how she ate medium Filet and LIKED it... good for you buddy...
take care everybody... enjoy Mrs. Crown short novel... LOL
I am so ready to go back! We had a great time seeing everyone and doing all the things we did. Sandy had a great time with you and Fred. Bruce it was great to see you and meet Julia and it worked out great that Sandy was there that same night so we got to see her. We definitely will be back to Teatro Limon. Tom is going to download the pictures. He got some really nice ones of your restaurant. Yesterday it was 65 and in about 1/2 hour the temps dropped 30 degrees and then we got rain, sleet and then snow. The roads were really slick this morning. We are supposed to get another storm Wed. I'm beginning to think spring is never going to get here. We set a record for amount of snow in Feb. Thank goodness we were in PVR for two of those weeks. We are on track to have the snowiest winter ever on record. Not a good record to beat!! 
Sorry I didn't get to meet the two of you. I screwd up with my meeting with Fred & Joyce too as I got the wrong bar!! I was waiting for them at CYC's and I was supposed to be at the Cheeky Monkey. My girlfriend said at around 5:00 A.M. I shouted something and thats when I remembered which bar I was supposed to meet them in!! We ended up making friends with a couple of women that actually live really close to us and got distracted. Did the Pirate Ship Wednesday night and it was actually the only tour I didn't like and I would rather have gone to the meet up at CYC's. Oh well, you just never know....I so enjoyed my stay in Bucerias and in PV and I too have an extremely bruised butt from my flight off the ATV! It is still swollen and it will be two weeks tomorrow!!
Sounds like you had a blast after I seen you both last ,went tanning today to try to keep that healthy look going, had a great time in pv as always lets do it again next time , shooting for a week or 10 days in sept. with sherry for my b-day and then again in feb. to keep the streak going. Looking at jeff musto condos where sandy and fred stayed for sept. price is right . $1.00 more not to stay in a hotel,looking good if she gets off her butt and applies for a passport 
Last edited by JROJEFF on Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jeff Mustas, he owns or manages the units... they are down by burros beach bar... I would suggest contacting Sandy (sjl330) and get the details from her... Sandy and Fred really enjoyed living outside the box this year... there may come a day that Lojo and I do that, but until the GCP really changes their ways... we will keep going there...chrisnick wrote:Which condos? I'm already looking for next year....Another trip the the hubby and another one with the girls!
it is great to be Mr and Mrs Crown....
I got to see Fred and Sandy's condo and thought it was very nice. Their unit overlooked Burro's and the Bay of Banderas. There was a sunning deck and swimming pool on the top that was nice. They had a grill as well which would be fun if you had a group get together and wanted to grill steaks or something.....
It was up high enough so they had a nice view and they had a nice table and chairs on their deck to sit and have a cup of coffee in the morning or a cielo rojo in the afternoon/evening. Being back in the cold really sucks!! I'm ready to go back!! I think that lottery ticket that hasn't been claimed must be mine. I better go check it out!!!
