Valentino’s for lunch.

Wednesday is our ladies lunch day and this week’s choice was Valentino’s.  It overlooks the water and is situated at the very south end of the Golden Zone at the north end of the malecon.

Valentino’s (picture off the net) is a well known night spot for those of you who like to party. 

We were here for lunch!

We took an old Cerritos bus today which got us to Valentino’s as it turns left here and does not travel along the Malecon. 

We are on the opposite side of the street and must cross four busy lanes of traffic.

Made it and Valentino’s awaits.

Looking south along the malecon…..what a view. 

Some of the ladies were already waiting for us.

Eddie and Marion chat.

We peruse the lunch menu and order drinks.  Eddie and Regina. 

Now you can see that some of us have drinks and some of us don’t.  The drinks trickled out over about a 20 minute period and we had to keep reminding them that drinks were missing. 

This is Angie.  I hope I look like this when I reach my 8th decade.  Hell….I don’t think I look that good now.  She is beautiful now….imagine what she looked like 50 years ago!

Jeannette gets her vino tinto….finally!  Jeez….were they pressing the grapes or something.

My chicken enchiladas with poblano sauce.  It was very good.

The food came out in relatively good time compared to the drinks which were very slow except…..Johanna’s order was wrong and some ladies had trouble getting cutlery. 

Marion’s delicious shrimp.

Regina joined us today and she had the shrimp as well.

Poblano chilaquiles shared by Ruth and Diane.

Jeannette’s lunch was horrible last week so this week she cut her losses and ordered a hamburger.  Good.

Enchiladas rancheros.

Across the street is MacDonald’s and it has an …Auto-Mac or ….drive through!

Now for the bill.  Those of us who ordered mixed drinks were stunned at the price.  90 pesos for a pina colada….heck my lunch cost less than that.  Note to self…if I come back….don’t order a mixed drink.  Beer was 25 pesos. 

So what was the consensus.  The setting overlooking the water is stunning, the food was very good, the mixed drink prices ridiculous and the service was not good.  However we did agree that we’d rather have crummy service than crummy food!  Yes, we were a large group but we were the only ones in there and it shouldn’t have been a problem. 

Lunch was done and we split up to do this and that.  I wanted to go to the store that Richard and Carol had recommended to buy frozen tuna.  It was located just next to MacDonald’s and I bought a flat, flash frozen l KG. package of tuna for 112 pesos.  Should be good.  Jeannette and I went back to wait for the bus with the other ladies and Diane decided to dash to the store for tuna as well.  Everyone boarded the bus and Sharen said she’d take my frozen fish home for me as Jeannette and I were going to stop along the way.  Jeannette was looking a small leather wallet and I needed to pick up my repaired diamond ring at El Delfin.  Jeannette didn’t find what she wanted but my ring was ready and it is beautiful once again.  A new small diamond to replace the one I lost, claws checked and the ring cleaned for $500 pesos.  A bargain.  Next year I’ll bring other jewelry for sizing and repairs. 

Jeannette and I hopped an old Cerritos bus home and it was a wild ride.  Connie would have bailed and got on another bus!  He was really flying and I don’t want to know how fast he was going.  Add to that the fact that the driver was so short he could hardly see over the steering wheel.  Ah Mexico!

Health update and people leaving and a ….nail in the motorcycle tire.

I haven’t said much about anything over the last week. 

As far as Eric’s health goes his sinusitis has calmed down, headache isn’t too bad but the vertigo is still a problem although not as bad as it was.  After the first few days he learned how to deal with it and once the sinus problems slowed down it was a bit easier.  It is a right side vertigo and very likely BPPV  http://vestibular.org/understanding-vestibular-disorders/types-vestibular-disorders/benign-paroxysmal-positional-vertigo

It does not bother him too much when he is vertical but getting up from a right sided lying down position things whirl around.  It may go away on it’s own or….it may not!  He continues with allergy medications, ear drops and nasal sprays.  Beyond that he has returned to all normal activities, lifting weights, riding his bicycle and motorcycle, swimming and walking the beach.  We have both decided that no matter what happens with health you have to maintain as normal a lifestyle as you can.  As we all age life will continue to throw us curves…some small…some huge but we must look forward.  I do admit that is a hard thing to do at times.  

As for me I tried Celebrex but it ramped up my esophogitis so I have gone back to very small amounts of dicoflenac (25mg) every three days and am okay.  Not ideal but I do what I have to do.  

Friends have been leaving over the past week or so but there have been lots of overnighters and one weekers staying in the park.  This is the busiest it has been since we started coming six years ago.  Good for Felipe (owner) but a bit more of a challenge for us.  We are very quiet people. 

Almond chocolate bars for sale.

  This sweet little girl was selling chocolate bars for her school a couple of weeks ago.  Mom and little sister were helping her.  17pesos a bar….I gave her 20 and everyone was happy.  Just like home!

Ramona is relaxing before she and her slaves….Connie and Manny load her into the motor home and head north.  She definitely knows something is up!

Bye Manny!

Eddie and Bosco say Bye to Connie. 

Yesterday Frank and Sandi left with Carol and Richard. 

Everyone gathers to see Frank and Sandi off. Frank and Sandi along with Manny/Connie and Denis/Marilyn are the first people we met on our way south through Mexico six years ago.  We met in a Pemex just south of Los Mochis and all ended up in Las Jaibas in Mazatlan.  All lovely people and they have become very good friends.  Ain’t life funny! 

Here come Carol and Richard to join up with Frank and Sandy.   Safe travels.

Today we were going to take a motorcycle ride to see the Baluarte Suspension Bridge.

“On January 5, President Felipe Calderón received a Guinness record certifying a suspension bridge in western Mexico as the world’s highest. The honor was bestowed on the Baluarte Bicentennial Bridge, which links Durango and the neighboring coastal state of Sinaloa.”

Back in Feb. of 2013 we took a ride and checked out the first part of the toll road and tunnels.  Those pictures are on the following blog.

http://kathyericstravels.blogspot.mx/2013/02/we-check-out-first-stretch-of-toll-road.html

Today’s ride to the bridge was on our list of things to do and we’d left it late so that it would be warmer as we rode up into the mountains.  But….the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry!

Eric was checking tire pressure on the bike before we hit the road and ……

discovered a nail in the tire. 

He hauled out the motorcycle jack to get the back tire off the ground.  Marked the area with a silver felt pen.  Checked the tire pressure which was good.

And pulled out the nail.  No hissing or bubbles from applied spit.

The part after the bend was imbedded in the tire at an angle.  He let the bike down and still no hissing or loss of pressure.  However, we won’t chance a long ride today.  He took the bike for a short ride and checked the tire pressure which is still okay. 

Tomorrow we’ll try a short ride to El Quelite for lunch and see what happens. 

So the day is ruined……wait a minute….of course it’s not.  It’s sunny and we can go to the beach.  Silly me!

Lunch at the Palms Resort or….the Holiday Inn.

This weeks choice for lunch was the Palms Resort and it was added to the list by Ruth for it’s lovely ambiance.  The restaurant is situated under a very large palapa overlooking the ocean and it has a very lovely view.   She thought that since this is a large hotel the food would likely be good. 

Everyone gathered at the front of the park at our usual 11:30am and we just missed the green bus so we took an auriega (red truck) instead.  We didn’t have far to go as The Palms is at the north end of the Golden Zone. 

Nine of us in the red truck.  The two ladies on either side of Diane (dark blue top) are friends from home in Wisconsin.  The one on the right looks a bit pink from the sun!  Nice ladies.

We are seated and checking out the menu.  This is a tourist hotel so there are a large amount of North American choices available.  However, the menu is in Spanish as well as English. 

My usual Wednesday lunch drink….piña colada.  Delicious!

Drinks are served and we are waiting for lunch.

Sitting behind us was a couple who were interested in our group of ladies.  They wondered if we were on a tour!  Yes, the cruise ships were in town today but…we weren’t on it.   I explained our Wednesday lunch dates, our diversified bunch and that we were trying a new restaurant each week.  The couple was from Alberta and asked if we had heard of Angelina’s Latin Kitchen.  No one had eaten there but it was mentioned in Contessa’s  (fellow blogger) blog that I read and it is apparently very good.  In the end I gave them the link to my blog so they could amuse themselves with accounts of our lunches out.  She is having enchiladas suiza ….looks good. 

Marion’s Mexican Plata.  She said the Chili relleno was much better than the one at Topolo’s and the total plate was more manageable than the one that she had at Pancho’s on the beach.

A delicious looking shrimp salad.

 

Sharen’s shrimp and chicken burger.  Yummy!

My lunch….mango chicken.  A bit sweet for me and the mango sauce was likely canned.  Diane had the same lunch and thought some fresh mango chunks would have been nice.  The chicken was a bit tough.  I had no problem finishing my lunch but I thought I’d comment on the preparation!

Chicken Caesar salad.

 

Ruth’s shrimp pineapple dish.

Jeannette had chicken parmesan and the chicken was dry and overdone.  No Bueno!  She couldn’t eat much of the chicken.  It would usually be served with a tomato sauce and have melted cheese. 

So….the meals were good overall and most people enjoyed them.  Most entrees were in the $120 to $130 peso range.  Service was good and the setting was lovely so in the end a decent place to have lunch.  

The waves were large and there was a brisk wind on Wednesday and this sailboat had no sails up.  At the beginning of the week the swell was so huge the harbor master must have radioed that he was closing the smal boat harbor.  There was a huge rush in to the marina to dock while we watched from our usual position on the beach.  Not a day for a swim either! 

Looking back to the lobby.

A beautifully constructed palapa and it’s probably stunning at night when all the lights are on.

Looks kind of ominous but it was really a nice day.

Sharen and Marion contemplate the grounds.

Bills are paid and time to go.

A nice area to have a cocktail.

At this point some of us went home, some continued on to shop and I walked up the street toward the Golden Zone.  My diamond anniversary band that I wear as a wedding band had lost a small diamond and I was on my way to El Delfin for a repair estimate.  I wasn’t too sure how far it was but it turned out to be a 15min. walk so it was doable.  Valerie had suggested I go there as she’d had repairs and appraisals done there in the past and she was very satisfied.  The jeweler took a quick look at the ring and said he would replace the diamond, clean the ring and check it over for just over 500 pesos.  I left it with him and will pick it up early next week. 

I continued on walking for a ways looking in all the touristy shops as I never do this anymore.  Did I buy anything….no but it was nice to look. 

Back on the green bus to head home.

Just before the first overpass coming home I could smell what seemed like burning brakes.  A quick stop by the driver who was then on his cell phone as we moved forward.

We pulled to a stop just in front of the Venado’s car wash and there was a huge cloud of smoke behind us.  Everybody off the bus!   We were told we could get on the next bus as long as we had our bus ticket.  Lots of people digging through their pockets at this point.  

We were told it would be about a ten minute wait but it turned out to be only about two.  Everybody loaded up and repairs to be done.  

A bus ride home is always interesting.

P.S. -  I have added the thank-you letter from Gerardo and Lupita to the blog….http://kathyericstravels.blogspot.mx/2015/02/dick-and-val-bring-maravilloso-regalo.html

A nice thank-you for a lovely gift.

Health Update

Ten days ago we took a trip to Celestino Gasca and had a wonderful day.  Both of us felt great.

But….that night Eric experienced severe vertigo in the night when he rolled over.  Never had vertigo in his whole life.  Next day severe sinus congestion, sore left ear, vertigo and just generally unwell.  No mucous but he had a headache and dizziness along with the vertigo.

We tried cleaning his ears with hydrogen peroxide (per Dr. Oz) and although there was some wax removed there was no improvement. 

He was immobile for a couple of days and then we decided to try a package of broad spectrum antibiotic along with his usual nose spray for allergies.  Next two days minor improvement. 

One week later we went to see Dr. Olalde.  He was given a shot for allergies, allergy medication, vertigo medication and ear drops.  It is now Thursday and he is not a whole lot better.  So….what to do.  I guess we’ll wait until Monday and then go to see an ear, nose and throat specialist.  We have researched the internet and are aware of something called BPPV which is loose crystals in the ear which may cause vertigo but an inner ear problem can do the same thing.  He is riding his bicycle as he is not real dizzy unless he changes position or lays down and then sits up.  

After the doctor’s visit we walked back to the malecon and had lunch.  Back to El Molcajete Loco where my lunch group ate a couple of weeks ago.

Tacos Gobernador.  Eric had Marlin and I had shrimp.  It was as delicious as it looks….cost $90 pesos each plus a limonada.  

Waiting for the bus on the Malecon.  A very windy day.

Today (Thursday Mar. 5th) the vertigo is much worse, his vision is blurry, he has a very thick head, his arms aren’t working great because of being slammed by a big wave but …..he doesn’t have a really big headache!  He says that’s an improvement…..go figure!

As for me well…..I did discuss my ongoing joint issues and my self medication with Dr. Olalde.  I did mention in the past that I now have Barrett’s Esophagus and that limits my options for taking anti inflammatory drugs which are the only thing that helps.  Dr. Olalde suggested Celebrex and gave me some samples which I will try.  My rheumatologist told me that the pain I was experiencing was just from getting old!   Well that’s all very nice but I do know the difference between old age pain and inflammatory pain.  Sigh…..at least in Mexico they will try to dispense drugs that may help and not just pat you on the head and send you home.

This is all quite crazy.  Oh….did I mention that Dr. Olalde thought that maybe I should see a psychiatrist to help with my Barrett’s esophagus.  He seemed to think that too much acid production was due to being upset and worried.  Well that is partially true but I never had any esophogitis until I had taken a huge amount of prednisone.  The problem now is a loose connection between the duodenum and the esophagus that lets acid into an area where it shouldn’t be.  Some may think I can benefit from seeing a psychiatrist but it’s probably not for health reasons!

Have I mentioned that “ Getting Old Ain’t For Sissies!”