Friends

It’s late afternoon and I’ve enjoyed another peaceful day at the pool. Bob and Phil have not returned, so I’m hoping that they are enjoying themselves. It appears there have been no messages to the room. I’m assuming the boys haven’t been arrested for pilfering sweetener, creamer, or God forbid, silverware, while at lunch, or I’d be seeing a flashing red light on the phone. After posting the blog this morning, I found our friend Drew and his family painting pottery and swimming at the pool. It was nice catching up with Drew, his mother, his wife, and three wonderful children. The fierce looking fellow featured in the photo is Drew. He had applied a healthy amount of sunscreen to his unprotected scalp, and appears a bit anemic.

Drew is one heck of a nice guy … and my personal bodyguard while in Mazatlan. Both Drew and his lovely wife, Brittany are experienced bodybuilders, who compete and place consistently, in advanced amateur competitions in the US. Drew’s mother, Donna, is intelligent, attractive, and a sweetheart. She resides most of the year in Colorado. Donna is passionate about horses, currently having twelve on her ranch. I am concerned that once I introduce Bob to Donna, he will fall in love. It’s best that I warn her about Bob. And, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to mention that my buddy Phil can be a prankster. Under no circumstances can he be trusted to be telling “the truth”, especially when the “truth” pertains to me.

Drew and Brittany have three beautiful children; London, Range, and River. London and mom, Brittany, show their horses individually, and in mother-daughter competitions regularly … and as is common in the family, often place at the top. The boys, Range and River are affable, active, and well-mannered. The three children love playing in and around the pool at Emerald Bay. All three make friends easily, and are fun kids to be around. Oh yeah, did I mention that Drew and Brittany are great parents, and that Donna is a special lady … enough said. Angel and I really enjoy this family and consider ourselves to be very fortunate to have met them while vacationing at Emerald Bay.

As I’m writing this, the fellas have returned from their adventure. Their tour was a good one. They first visited Anoje, a small village, with church, bakery and library. They ate breakfast at the Masson restaurant in the village, visited a tortilla factory, and then moved on to a local tequila distillery. At the tequila joint they bought three bottles of the good stuff, and took in ample samples of the liquid, while on the premises. Next were the artesian wells, and a huarachis (shoe) and saddle factory in a neighboring village. Lunch was at Hacienda Las Moras, a restored tequila plantation, and 36,000 acre ranch. The property offers a $140 a day, per person, deal, for food, lodging, and horseback riding … transportation to and from the airport included. In addition to all of the previously mentioned sites, the boys visited several churches and another large ranch. Best of all, and to my total disbelief, they didn’t pay a dime … other than about $30 dollars US for drinks. Only Bob and Phil could pull this off! Bob does have a standing offer to Kathy and Barb, that he will “defray” the cost of the tour, if they are charged.

It was another good day in Mazatlan.