The first week of February, we journeyed with Doug's sister and brother-in-law (Jude and Den) to Puerto Vallarta, for a mid-winter toasting in the sun. It was a little rainy when we arrived, but by sunset had cleared up a little. Day 2 was glorious, basking in the sun, enjoying the food and drink from our all-inclusive resort (Riu Vallarta). Doug and Judy played in the waves, making sacrifices of their glasses to King Triton. Thankfully, Doug had brought an old pair, and Judy found a vendor selling sunglasses (probably ones that had washed up on the shore!)
Day 3 we went to the city, but the pouring rain made for poor sightseeing and shopping. Unseasonable weather, to be sure. That afternoon Doug and I had a massage and scheduled hot tub time with Judy and Denny.
There were fun evening performances, and that evening we headed up to the room around 9:30 or 10:00. Doug and I sat on our 4th floor balcony enjoying our last glass of wine when a breeze suddenly came up from the south. Before we knew it, the breeze had become wind, so we tucked our chairs into a cubby at the side of the balcony. I went into the room as Doug took the small table to the side. When WOOSH! Gale-force winds and rain suddenly came down upon us, stranding Doug on the side of the balcony. He could not manage the 4 feet back to the door, for the winds would blow him back along the railing. I held the door open and pulled the curtains in close, so they didn't whip off in the wind, yelling to him to be sure he was still there. For 20 minutes or so this continued, and during that time, Jude and Den were pounding on our door thinking we should all evacuate. I didn't hear them until finally, Doug was able to crawl into the room and we got the balcony door shut. They came in and Jude sent Doug to the shower to warm up and chill out, while Den and I tried to sop up the 2 inches of water that had accummulated in the area near the balcony door. It was a terrifying experience, but thanks be to God, no one was hurt. As we went out into the hallways, there were others who had been caught in the storm as well, and everyone was walking around somewhat in shock. How quickly a disaster such as this (and Haiti and the tsunami in Thailand and Katrina...) can change your world.
In wrapping up our time, we did go whale watching on Day 4, and although it was a bit chill and misty, the viewing was excellent and we all had a great time. (Even Denny, who very quietly and politely threw up in a plastic bag most of the 4 hours.) We were to leave at noon on Day 5, but that morning had some sunshine, so we made our way to the beach to soak up the rays and enjoy the last of the ocean waves. Nice flight there, nice flight back. All in all, a good time with good people. Maybe it should have been called Xtreme Vacation. (Oh, and BTW-Den found Doug's eyeglasses, missing one lens, a couple of days later. They had washed back up, we guess, and someone had set them aside.)
