March 15 to Present

Took awhile, didn't it? I mean, how long does it actually take for a person to "get settled"?

So, ducks are still kicking around. There are MANY of them and we loved it. We are very happy to be home. Settling in to our "normal" routine. Best thing is being around family and friends again. Gee, we really missed everyone.

Doug and I have spoken many times about what we liked about this trip and what didn't work for us. So here goes:

- Fast transport there and back. Although neither of us really enjoys flying, it is nice to get there so quickly. It's the hurry up and wait part we don't like. Have I packed correctly, is the bag too heavy, etc, etc. I am a slightly nervous flyer. I feel every single bump and bit of turbulence while in the plane. "Is that normal? No one seems to be panicing (except me), flight personnel are smiling." Must be alright...

I also liked the fast transport back home. One day we woke up in Mexico and the same day we were sleeping in our own bed (surrounded by the ducks, of course). Loved that.

- Less planning once we are there. This one is for Doug as he is the R&D officer when we are driving. I do a slightly poorer job of navigating. All the planning and costs were mostly up front and decided upon long before we left. While it is expensive to fly and book accommodations, it is also very expensive to drive. Gas prices are no longer our friend (were they ever?), vehicle maintenance, out of country vehicle insurance, etc, etc. 

- Lots of time to enjoy the chosen area. We did enjoy the Melaque area. We really tried to get into a "home-type" of routine. I think we did okay at this, most days. Tried our best to support the local economy, stores, restaurants, vendors. I think we also did a very good job at this. We never forget that we are visitors to someone else's city or country. We treat our time there with the utmost of respect.

- Staying in one place. A big "other side of the coin". We did not like the staying in one place for so long. Yes, we talked a big smack about taking trips around Mexico once we were there and settled but we never did. Our other experience in visiting Mexico has been driving ourselves in our trusty vans. It just means when we grew tired of one place we could leave and go discover somewhere else. We also missed having our own "stuff", how our van was packed with what we needed. 

The biggest miss for us both, no wheels. There is quite the feeling of freedom in that for us. 

We always said that we felt it was important to try flying someday just so we could compare. We have tried it and now we know. Maybe as we get "older" we will try something again but never for 3 months. WAY too long......

There you have it. Since you read this far (take a bow) I can reward you with a few fun pictures.

Out on one of our local trails with the dudes.

Yes, it was slightly cooler than we got used to

but loved it anyway. Maybe it was the copany!

Home, just down the street fron us.

Lovely White Rock

April 3 to 6: We already have our first camping trip in the books! An Easter/Spring one. A short, 3 day excursion up to a local park. Not our usual provincial park but still a nice park, half hour from home.

Easter bunny pancake for the littlest dude!

Beautiful walking trails around

Brea island Regional Park

Some extra friends came for the day.

Enjoying the river in Fort Langley.

Our Kootenay dude also

had a bunny visit!

Well, now you are up to date. Not much to report but lots of camping coming up so stay tuned for that. We are heading up to the Kootenays at the end of the month to see Rudy and Teagan. We are really looking forward to that trip.

Thanks for tuning in everyone. 

Peace out friends!

Thought for the Day: It takes two years to learn to speak and sixty to learn to keep quiet...Ernest Hemingway.