San Ignacio with Connie/Manny & Mitzi and Frank & Sandi

On the road to San Ignacio around 10:30 with about 60 miles to go.  Eric and Manny up front and Connie, Mitzi and I in the back.

Coming up behind Frank and Sandi.

First stop just before San Ignacio and the little place we call " Radish Town" has radishes!  Last month when we came through there was none and the field was fallow so they must be growing them where we can't see them.  Huge leaves on the bunches.

Jamaica, nopale and sort of ripe tomatoes for salsa.  Manny bought us and himself a bunch of radishes for 10 pesos each.  Eric just loves radishes!

Heading through the big arch and over the bridge into San Ignacio.  Connie and Manny have been to San Ignacio before but it was many years ago. 

What a good little traveler Mitzi is.  I brought her a towel to sit on and she just cosied up and didn't make a peep.

Parked in the bottom square and time for lunch.

Mitzi gets to stretch her legs.  Connie soon picked her up as the pavement was scorching hot.  Don't want to burn those little tiny feet.

Frank and Sandi waiting up ahead.

Eric and Manny headed into the restaurant with Sandi and Connie while Frank and I went over to get beer at the store.

Connie with Mitzi quietly sitting on her lap.

Time for a little refreshment.  We should have bought extra for Connie but we didn't know she even drank beer.  She had coco cola and  Manny had Jamaica.

The guys chatting and catching up.  We've all been friends for 10 years.

Hi Frank!  I thought the fellow in the back ground looked about as Mexican as anyone I've ever seen. 

Frank had fish.

Manny had chicken milanesa.

Eric, Sandi and I had camarones empanizado. Some how I missed Connie's chicken fajitas.  While we ate Mitzi sat quietly on the floor.  No food for the table as Connie said they'd made that mistake with Ramona and it was not going to happen again.  Ramona passed away in July and she was a favorite....lots of personality.  The meals were all good but this day they didn't bring us any chips and salsa or guacamole which they usually do.  Odd.

Connie off to the washroom and Mitzi with Manny.

Thought the little girl was cute with her " goobey...or soother" in her mouth.

Jesus up on the hill in the distance.  So...we decided to head up and have a look at the view. 

Whenever we've come to San Ignacio in the past it's always been on the bike and a trip to the look out is not something we would have attempted without knowing where we were actually going.

A beautiful view from the look out and down below you can see the church in the square.

Looking back to where come into town and the bridge over the Piaxtla River.

Every town has one of these colorful signs.  

Oops I caught Manny taking a picture too!  Really quite the view from up here.

The huge Jesus.

Time to load up and head home.  On the way back we took a quick run into San Javiar just like we did with Ian and Linda. On the way in we went through a little town called Cabazan and it was really pretty and...it had a nice restaurant that we'll try in the future.  All in all a really nice day and everyone enjoyed themselves....even Mitzi!

Sunday Concert at Angela Peralta " Father & Son"

The last Sunday concert that we attended was on February 9th and it was Corky Siegel sings the the Blues and.... we were disappointed.  We saw him last year and were not all that impressed but at least he had his band with him. As a solo act we just felt like we were being blasted by his harmonica and piano.   I didn't do a blog as I really didn't have anything positive to say about the concert so....I just skipped it.

Sunday's performance was called father and son featuring Gordon on the french horn and his son Alexander on violin accompanied by Laura Hauer on piano.   

On the way to the theatre as we walked down Constitucion Eric saw this interesting ride.

Not a "Hog" but an unusual and economical way to travel.  A bicycle with a small two stroke engine.

We arrived at the theater on time and there weren't very many people milling around outside so we wondered if it was going to be poorly attended.  Gordon was so excited about performing with his son for the first time it would have been heart breaking for him if that had happened.  But...they must have opened the doors early and there was a very decent crowd in attendance.

That is one very happy and proud father on the stage.  In addition to his son Alexander  his brothers and other family members were in attendance. A very special family event.

To start off Alexander performed solo accompanied by the Laura Hauer on piano.    I am no judge of a violinist but I thought he was very very good and the Brahm's music chosen was lovely.

At this point Gordon performed with the pianist.  To start he was a little hesitant and even seemed a bit rusty but it didn't take long for him to get " his groove on!"

When he was joined on stage by his son Alexander he was just beaming.

A very accomplished violinist.

When father and son performed together Gordon seemed to really excel.  He is a very accomplished musician as well with a long history in the music field as his write up in the program shows. 

You can see the brothers standing to applaud their family members on stage.

The pianist was excellent as well.

Don't " Father and Son" look happy!

The concert was finished and in our minds it was very well done.   Very, very enjoyable. 

So...now time for lunch/dinner.  We were off to Eric's favorite restaurant Chon's so he could have marlin burritos.  I had a pargo or red snapper steak breaded and fried and it was delicious.  A really good meal as usual.  Another lovely Sunday afternoon and then it was time to head home on the bus. 

Ladies Lunch at La Marea Friday Feb. 28th.

Ladies lunch at La Marea.  We ate there last season but because of it's beautiful setting it ended up back in the draw bag.  We have discussed making next season's choices new restaurants only as that was the purpose of ladies lunch back at the beginning.  We'll see how that goes!

The travel to La Marea was in an auriega or red truck.  You can take the green bus and climb all the stairs up to the restaurant but no one was up for that.  Sandi and Ruth.

As the Golden Zone is now under construction from El Cid Marina to Valentinos with two lane traffic instead of four we knew the trip would be slow.  But...it was a lovely day and a pretty drive.  Marilyn 2's  friend Robin and Jeannette. 

The trip took an hour and we were dropped off at the bottom of a short flight of stairs leading the final way up to the restaurant.

The ladies can shop anywhere!

Up we go.

A spectacular setting with 360 degree views. 

A beautiful sunny day but up high with a cool wind blowing it was cold.  We all huddled against the railing but we all should have had a sweater.  Some were colder than others.  Sandi checks the menu.

You can see El Faro to the west.

A very extensive menu and it took some time to figure out what we wanted.

It is a long way down.

Today I had my usual...a pina colada.   That's Sandi behind it.

So what did I have for lunch?  Well today it was sushi and this is an El Faro roll with all sorts of seafood which I split with Ruth.  5 pieces each and it was as delicious as it looks.  220 pesos.  I try to order food that I would not make at home and this fit the bill.

Shrimp and chips for Jeannette.

Cathy had California rolls.   Very good!

Robin and Marilyn 2 shared fish and chips.  Marilyn 2 is Marilyn York's sister in law.  How odd that they both have the same name but...not really as I am Kathryn and Eric's sister is ....Kathryn!

I was finished early so I decided to order dessert.  The choices are all from Dolce Mama and I thought I had picked a piece of cheese cake in a strawberry sauce.  Turns out it was a dense cheese cake like cake and the strawberry sauce was actually red paper.  I ate about half but it really needed a....strawberry sauce.

Poor Connie was the last to eat and I think they must have missed her order.  A beef and avocado wrap that she said was very good when she finally got to eat.

Somehow I missed Sandi's lunch which was breaded shrimp with rice and vegetables.  The shrimp were delicious but....the rice was cold.  At this point everyone was ready to get out into the sunshine and head down to catch the bus.

Connie, Ruth and I were outside warming our bums on the concrete bench.  Good friends.

Ruth is always chuckling about something or another.  Fun gal!

So...down we went and it wasn't as easy as it looks.  The rise of the stairs was too deep and the run was short so it was very hard on the knees and legs. 

There's Connie on her way down.  Everyone made it but some slower than others if they had a bad knee or joint.  Not a bunch of spring chickens anymore but all in good shape. 

We walked around the corner and caught the green bus home and by the time we left the main market it was full.  As it was a Friday afternoon and there was two lane traffic in the Golden Zone it took an hour and a half to get home.  That's a lot of travel time for a ladies lunch!  The food was excellent and the setting beautiful so...it was all worth it.