Puerto Vallarta

It was time for a much needed break - so off to Puerto Vallarta for a change of climate and attempt to clear the mind. Here are a few photos.


Ning got to hold an iguana (for a fee - watch for locals bearing 'photo ops'). This creature was quite tame and fun to hold.



PV had a few 'vegetarian friendly' places - always a challenge when I travel. Using the 'Lonely Planet' guidebook, some veggie friendly places were identified. This one was off the beaten track, quiet, very tasty, inexpensive, and all of the options were vegetarian (as opposed to my finding the 'one item' that did not contain meat).

I did learn to say "Estoy vegetariano' but along with that is needed 'No como carne. no como pesco. no como pollo' to bring home the point. Another very good restaurant was "Barcelona' which served "tapas" which were small entrees (or large appetizers) with a wide selection of veggie options (for me) and seafood and meat options (for Ning).





This trip was definitely needed. Even if I didn't clear ALL of the unwanted mental baggage out, I did find some rest and some perspective. I got to try some (limited" Spanish. People were very friendly. The food was very good, overall. We did a LOT of walking up and down hills. The sun was great. The ocean was warm. The scenery was beautiful

Not much lawn here. Time off from blog.

 

"State of the yard" and house, as of today. There is more lawn than can be seen in the photo, although it is gradually heading into the "delawnification" category.

I'll be off from the blog for a week. Hopefully there will be a bunch of ripe figs next week. 

Man's Best Friends

Baigo
Charlie

Northpole Apple - ready to pick

This "NorthPole" is a columnar apple with what is called a "MacIntosh" flavor. It was developed originally from a MacIntosh parent with a lot of selective breeding. Mostly, it grows straight-up with a few short branches that I've been pruning back even shorter to maintain the cordon structure.

Last year the apples did not seem very tasty - bland and grainy. For some reason, this year they are crisp and really do have an "apple' flavor, and worth the effort.

Raintree Nursery lists this as an early october ripening apple - so it's right on time.

This tree has a small "garden footprint' and is happy in the rose bed (which also contains the miniature peaches, a current, and quite a few other 'non-rose' plants).

Blog therapy. 880 visits in 2 months. Bike stats / vitals

This blog was started late July 2006. So far, 880 visits (Im not sure how this works - the same site also states 990 in a different area). Click on image for more detailed view. It's like having friends and family visiting, which is fun.

In a stressful world, thinking about the things that I write about calms me down, makes me feel like I'm sharing something important, and focuses my mind.

Bike this week: 60 miles of commute to/from work; plus 15 miles on Sunday = 75 miles. BP today 131/84 HR 74. Weight no change in a month, still about 207#.