Friday worked all day and drove up to Minneapolis. Stayed at the Hilton Inn by the Mall of America utilizing their park and fly program. Grabbed a bite to eat and maybe got about 3 hours of sleep if lucky since we were so anxious to head to PVR.
Sat. up at 3:30 am and headed to the HHH Airport at 4:30. Got checked in right away and off to security. Took a little time getting through that with Dad but everything went ok. They decided to pre-board Mom and Dad before everyone else which worked out great. Flight left about 10 minutes late after de-icing. Arrived in PVR about 11:30. Waited for everyone to get off the plane so then they could get Dad off. Got thru Customs and there was a sign with VIP Services for transportation for my sister and her family. We had booked this direct from puertovallarta.net and would highly recommend it without a doubt (in fact we plan to use them in March when we go back). They called their main office in the main terminal while we went to claim luggage and play the red light green light game. Everyone got the green light so that was good. Both VIP Services and Accessible Mexico were there patiently waiting for all of us. Got Dad out to the van switched over to the electric wheelchair and off to the resort to get checked in. We highly recommend Accessible Mexico for anyone needing that type of assistance!! They were great and at the end of the trip they gave my parents a bottle of wine for their 50th wedding anniversary. We were at the resort by 12:30. Got checked in and both of our rooms were ready which was really nice. We had 1703 and Mom and Dad had 2101. Mom wanted to unpack so Dad and I headed up to our room to change and then walked around greeting everyone. Found my sister and her family on the beach having a great time. This was the first time our niece and nephew had flown on a big plane, seen the beach and the ocean! They were in total awe! Seeing the vacation through their eyes was so much fun! Dinner that night was at the La Palapa Mexican buffet at the CPC. After that we went over to see the Disney show. Visited with the staff and then went back to the resort and crashed as we had been up 21 hours straight.
Sun. slept in until about 7:30 and then off to do our doughnut run. Then back to the resort to have breakfast and then time to Sunbust. I had e-mailed Martin and Paco that we were coming and they were there waiting for us. What a great way to get a tan without getting sunburned. If you haven’t given it a try, it is well worth it. You get a nice tan without burning along with a mini massage each time. My Mom even tried it and really enjoyed it! Nice long walk along the beach and spent the day on the beach and around the resorts. We had dinner with my folks at Paradise with Poly. They have totally remodeled this restaurant and it is very nice. Poly is just as wonderful as ever. After dinner we met my sister and family and took the kids to the Mexican Fiesta so Ann and Chad could have dinner by themselves at the Japanese Restaurant.
Monday we had breakfast on the verandah and then off for our doughnut run and then down to the beach to Sunbust. Had another wonderful day on the beach and around the pool. Decided to have dinner with the entire family at the French restaurant at the CPC.
Tuesday we did our doughnut run and then everyone except Tom and Dad went on the Marigalante Pirate Ship. Our private pirate was Magli and we had a great time. Sean was selected to be in the show and had a great time!. Went over to Maujuitas and went kayaking, swimming, on the treasure hunt, and played volleyball. Everyone had a great time. Got back to the marina about 5:30 and then quick showered and then headed over to Rachel’s for our get together with the Activities staff. We try to do something for them every time we are in PVR. Rachel took care of all the details. She had ordered 120 tacos cooked 6 different ways. We had invited the entire Activities staff to join us and everyone ate until they were stuffed. My parents along with my sister and her husband had dinner at Salvador’s with Carlos. They had champagne and a special cake for their 50th wedding anniversary. They said everything was wonderful. Took the kids back to their resort about 10:30 and then decided to go down to Andales with Janet and Andres to start celebrating Tom’s birthday. Ran into Bella Luna and had a nice visit with her. Got home about 2:45.
Wed. (Tom’s birthday) up and off for our doughnut run and then back to the resort for our massages and then breakfast with Poly and then off to see Paco to Sunbust. Nice long walk along the beach and spent the day on the beach and around the pool. We had 6:15 pictures on the beach and then we had a private dinner on the beach for the 8 of us for Tom’s birthday Sean and Sarah wanted to have a picnic on the beach and were excited to say the least!! Then over to Club Nitro. They had our area all decorated with balloons, streamers, confetti, candy and signs. After the show, Jorge, the manager took Tom up front on stage and they sang Happy Birthday to him in Spanish and English and clanged the pans. He had a shot of tequila and then a cucaracha. Benji doused him with a bottle of champagne. Thank goodness he was a good sport. Then we decided to go change and head down to Andales. Got back to the room to find balloons and streamers all over our bed. Hooked up with another hotel guest Stanley from Canada and went to Andales. They sang Happy Birthday to Tom as well and King David provided a complimentary shot of tequila. Got home about 3:30.
Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) up and off to do the doughnut run, back for massages, breakfast with Poly, Sunbust with Paco. Spent most of the day on the beach. We took Fernando’s catamaran out for an hour and had a great time! My folks had been invited to the anniversary/honeymooners cocktail party at the Breeze bar at 6:30 so we picked them up about 7:00 and went to dinner at Salvador’s with Carlos. Went over to the show at Club Nitro and had a great time! Jorge and Norma had Club Nitro shirts made for all the guys that said Mr, Crown and for all the girls that said Mrs. Crown. The family thought that was pretty cool. Tom and I decided to go back down to Andales once again. Got home about 2:30.
Friday (our last full day in PVR): Up and off to do our doughnut run and then back for our massages and then breakfast with Poly and then down to the beach to Sunbust, walk along the beach and soak in all the rays we could get. Went up to the room late in the afternoon to pack and enjoy our verandah. My folks had dinner with my sister and her family as we had the return guest party on the beach. Went to the show and then hung out at Club Nitro afterwards chatting with the activities staff and Club Nitro staff. Everyone signed the reserved sign that had for our group. It was hard to tell everyone good bye! Got back to the hotel about 2:00.
Sat. had breakfast on the verandah and then off to do our last doughnut run, tell everyone goodbye. Accessible Mexico came to the resort about 9:15 and got us all loaded up and off to the airport. Got right in and checked through security by 10:30. Walked around the airport and looked around and grabbed a bite to eat and was on the airplane and headed home about Noon. Had a good flight home. However, once we got into Iowa, we ran into rain which turned into snow and ice. Yuck!! Got home about 9:00 pm and was ready to turn around and head back to PVR!!
We had an absolutely fantastic family vacation thanks to all of the staff at the Golden Crown Paradise, Crown Paradise Club, Club Nitro, Sunbusters, Accessible Mexico, VIP Services Transportation (booked through puertovallarta.net), and Sun Country airlies. Everyone went above and beyond to help make our vacation superior with memories we will cherish forever!!). Tom and I are already counting the days until we go back in March!!
