Today is March 5th, 2022. I decided I should get off my butt and write up a blog post as it has been almost a year since I wrote the last one, lots has changed since then. I had to go back and reread the last post to see where I had left off. Last year we were in La Paz, Mexico planning our return to the states and planning our trip to Asia in the fall. We were able to sell our boat, car, household stuff, tools and gave away the rest. This was after staying three winters in La Paz. Returning home we pulled our motor home out of storage, picked up our vehicles and were back in our campsite at Thousand Trails within a week as if we had never left. We spent the summer with the family and grand kids going boating, swimming, dirt biking, go carting as well as helped our daughter and son in law clear their property. Lots of great family and friend connections. As is our normal now we freeze when we go home, our bodies have acclimated to tropical climates. As was the case for everybody, COVID was an ever present issue. We got vacs but worried for grand kids that eventually got the virus. Lots of friends also got it and a few died from it. Like everyone else we look forward to putting it behind us. We had planned to head out for Asia this season, but COVID put an end to those plans and travel to Asia closed down. So we changed our plans and headed back to Mexico, however this time a bit further south to a little town called Zihautanejo (pronounced Zee Wat Tin Nay Ho). We had been here on our boat headed south ten years ago. We had great memories of the place and looked forward to coming back. The town was made famous in the movie Shawshank Redemption. It was at one time a sleepy little fishing village like Cabo and many other major tourist destinations in Mexico. Next to Zihua (as locals call it) is Ixtapa a major tourist spot. We don’t spend much time over there preferring the smallness of Zihua. It has grown a lot since we were here before, but is still a small walk-able and safe town. Within a couple of weeks being here we had a hurricane hit (Rick). We spent a nervous night hunkered down in our apartment watching the weather on our computers. We lost electricity a couple times and had no idea how bad it was going to get as it hit Zihua as a Cat 2. The next morning we headed out to explore the damage. Lots of still flooded streets, roofs torn off buildings, trees down, power wires down, but all in all it could have been much worse. Within a few days the locals had everything cleaned up like it never happened. Our first little place was in a local Mexican family “compound” with kids, dogs, grand parents, four families all living there and us. We loved it but discovered one problem we could not live with. The toilet was so close to the wall your knees hit and after Leiann developed bruises decided we needed to find something else. Within a mater of a week we had found better accommodations and rented it till the middle of April when we would be leaving. Leiann wanted to go see the Monarch Butterflies so we set up a trip with a couple friends. We found a tour guide “Carlos” who agreed to take us for a great deal of $300 a piece. We had been quoted $600 elsewhere, so this was a deal. The first day we visited the “copper town” where local artisans have been making copper items, vases, plates, bowls, artworks for many years. The buildings of the town are of the 1600s and are UNESCO protected. Streets are cobble stone, buildings are all white and red with rough hewn timber ceiling beams. Also we visited a beautiful park and waterfalls, arriving in Morelia in the late afternoon. We did not expect Morelia to be what it is, a Spanish conquest dating to the 1500s. A grand square with beautiful churches and a historical area. We could have spent an entire day here alone. But we saw what we could in an evening hitting bed early as we had to be up at 6am to head up the mountains to see the butterflies. After a three hour ride in the van we then changed out to horses to get up the steep mountain (at 10,000 feet) to where the Monarchs return every year after their 2,000 mile flight from the US. For Leiann getting on a horse was a huge deal, first horse ride in 22 years. That is how much she wanted to see the butterflies. We needed to get up there before the sun hits the butterflies. They gather together in large clumps on the trees to stay warm. When the sun hits them and they warm up they take flight in clouds of butterflies, an amazing sight to see. We hung out for a couple hours taking in the experience. Then we mounted our horses and descended a very steep trail with drop offs that Leiann loved, LOL. Then the next day we hit an Aztec temple, a town where they made Katrinas and another 16th century town with a large central park. We had lunch, walked and shopped a little, had ice cream and got back in our van to head home from another great adventure. We spend much of our time here going to live music events in the evenings and beaches in the day. A tough life for sure, LOL. When we had gotten here COVID was at a low point, The Omicron variant not having gotten here yet. We came looking forward to the annual sail and guitar fests. There had not been one last year due to COVID but everyone one was looking forward to this years return of festivities. We got here in October our typical departure date from cold and rainy PNW Washington. But Omicron finally showed up down here and restrictions went back in place. Mandatory masks in public and restrictions on restaurants and grocery stores. The likelihood that Sailfest and Guitarfest would happen were up in the air. Like in the US cases and deaths climbed and fell quickly. The Sailfest was able to happen with some minor limits and restrictions. We volunteered for the event and participated in several activities. Guitarfest however has been canceled. A few musicians that had already flown in are having some small (rather covert shows). We were at one last night and plan to attend another on Saturday. My sister Darcy and her friend Mick came to visit for 8 days so we spent time touristing, added some music events and of course pool and beach time. We will not speak about the margaritas at the pool day. Our friend Richard is here coming from La Paz via boat and will stay a while. Then Geri, Linda and Penny showed up too, so we are keeping them out late and hanging while they are here, doing what we do best, beaching, music, tacos, darts...whatever we can find to keep them out of trouble. The end of March another friend Linda will be here for a short visit. So all in all we have been having a good time here enjoying the warmth. We now have another 5 weeks until we once again make our return to the US. We plan to make the most of it and know we will be missing the warm sun when we get home. We told the grand kids that we would stay home for Christmas this year. After watching all the snow and cold weather they had up there last winter we are thinking maybe we might just do Christmas and then head south. We don’t really want to head to Asia that late in the season so are looking at other options, one being heading to the Caribbean for a few months. We would love to go to Cuba but politics will not allow that so we are contemplating Puerto Rico. We shall see. Lots of time between now and next winter. So there you go, that’s what we have been up to for the last year. Stay tuned for more “Chrysalis Adventures!