Playa del Carmen

It is nice to have a little summer break in January.  This year friends invited us to share their condo for a week in Playacar.  Who could say no to that? We didn't really do very much but hang out at the beach and eat lunch apparently, but here are a few pics.
We took a ferry ride Cozumel.  We had been there a couple of decades ago when it was a sleepy little Mexican town, but that was before the cruise ships started making it a regular port of call.  The ferry ride was a little unpleasant because the water was rough, but we managed to find a little beach and lunch.

We took a couple of obnoxious tourist photos

This is a Mayan fertility temple

and this is what happens in the crowded shopping district of Playa del Carmen.

We stayed in the gated community of Playacar with John and Gayle Woolf where lunch could fill the whole afternoon.

and  we admired ourselves in the jungle around the resort.

I talked everyone into a day at Tulum, my very favorite beach in the world. More lunch and beach.

 And Calvin talked everyone into an afternoon at the spa.  It was just as good the second time around.

 Afterward we went to Puerto Morelos for dinner, sunset watching and evening entertainment of the square.

Playa del Carmen isn't what it used to be either, but it is still kind of fun. We found a nice garden spot to have lunch. 

And enjoyed the entertainment around the plaza

A pretty good way to spend a week in winter.

The Wrights visit Reno

We enjoyed a winter week with the Wright family, who got to come visit winter for a little while and then go back to sunny Santa Barbara.There was bike riding and skiing and other fun things that didn't get photographed, but we did manage to find the camera when Alice and Jimmy were around.  One sunny day we went to the ice rink for a little skating.

After lunch we headed over to Scheels to ride the Ferris Wheel. By that time Jimmy was asleep so Alice got both parents for the ride.

One afternoon we went to Virginia Lake to see the ducks and play at the playground.

On Sunday Calvin decided to have a photo shoot of Alice in her winter dress.  There were a lot of really cute pictures but this was Calvin's favorite.

One day we got artistic with window crayons. This is Princess Alice and Princess Grandma Calli drawn by Alice

And we had a little quiet time just enjoying the grandkids

As you can see from the pictures it wasn't really wintery at our house until the day they left, but we finally got a picture of the Wrights in winter.

Sometimes I wish I could just visit winter too!

The next generation

I love the fact that Rosie and Kelly have been friends since they were little girls.

And that they still like to hang out in the hot tub.

And I especially like the fact that the next generation of Wrights and Mulliners can have fun together too.