Our Day Was Brighter Nine Years Ago

Google insisted that was 17°C today, but I don't believe it was that warm. There wasn't any precipitation yet there was little sun today. We drove uptown to check on Regina Street. New Westminster has a grid of fairly hidden residential streets. Many folks transit through the busy streets because our little city sits in the center of the Lower Mainland. Regina Street is lined with cherry trees and we went to see how the spring blossoms were going. Due to the late spring and cool weather the annual visual treat has not yet arrived. The display was not ready for any pictures. 

So, I chose this photo to include. It was not taken today; rather, this is where we were nine years ago on this date.  This was our bungalow on the east bank of the Nile River in Luxor Egypt. We spent our second retirement winter in Luxor, Egypt. It was a great rental for five months. I do rather miss living there.

 

Happy New Ears!

I hadn't opened Spotify to listen to an entire song in a very long time.  I can tell that is about to change, though.  I am preparing to get back to pumping some sound directly into my ears.  

I have a fairly good pair of Sony headphones that I bought seven or eight years ago.  However, they've been gathering dust for very long time even if only their box got dusty.

Those black, extra-bass, over-the-ears were comfortable but I got them in the days when my cell phone had a mini jack.  So although Bluetooth headphones have been popular for a decade or two, I am late in joining the bandwagon. 

Yesterday, my new, lower-range set arrived in an Amazon box.  I snapped a photo. They were on sale and, for some reason, the white ones were 30% cheaper than the others.  Overstocked, I assume? The colour didn't matter to me. I guess white is supposed to be a sign of purity!  So, perhaps they will actually fit me to a tee.

I realized my Spotify playlists seem to place me squarely into the nursing-home demographic.  All those songs from the 70s (the decade not Fahrenheit) must have been what I was listening to the last time I was actively streaming.  I had to change that and I'll let me tell you how:

During our very first early-retirement winter, Jay and I stayed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It was a great introduction to a new lifestyle.  I got used to daily walks in the delightful weather when days hovered in the 70s (Fahrenheit not the decade). Back then, I refused to pay for mobile data and wound up pirating MP3s via our laptop, so I could curate my own playlists.  A song had to be residing on my phone if I were to listen to it.  When ambling around with even older headphones, I learned a lot about the 'current' music scene of those days.  I really enjoyed what I heard.  So today, I found a Spotify playlist that contains the same music.  It is called 'Summer 2014'.

My new headphones, lovingly named, SNOW WHITE, have primarily played music that's around one decade out-of-date. I guess even my favourite new music is pretty old.  Anyway, today's listening experience should increase my automatically-curated Spotify playlists by about four decades.

Heading Back to the Los Muertos Pier

Although we are experienced travellers, we still get pretty excited when preparing to fly. You see, Jay just got our boarding passes on the Air Canada website. We fly to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at 9:20 am tomorrow morning which will mean getting out of bed at 5:15.  Oh my!  We have direct flights both going and returning. At around four hours and forty-five minutes, the time in the air is nearly identical to a trip to Montreal. 

Tomorrow our plane will assuredly head south rather than east. We have reserved seven nights at the Playa Los Arcos Hotel in the Romantic Zone. We much prefer the original area.  The stretch of beach by the new resorts is way too far away from the picturesque town. The area to the south of the Cuale River was also our old stomping ground during our first retirement winter abroad.

Interestingly I found an old photo from near the spot where we'll be for Jay's birthday. Yet, the top picture was taken fifteen years ago! This was taken when we first discovered Puerto Vallarta. Our Carnival Cruise ship was there for a mere two-day port stop out of Long Beach, California.   It is interesting to see an image showing the old pier jutting out into the water at Los Muertos Beach.

 

February 2008

 

January 2015

The newer design soon became an iconic landmark representing the tourist destination.  We saw it on two or three trips to the Mexican beach town.  The bottom photo was snapped during our retirement winter spent in PV.  We haven't seen it since though!  Fortunately, as soon as we stumble out of our hotel onto the beach late tomorrow afternoon, this view should be waiting for us.

A Direct Flight South Next Tuesday

Next week, at this exact time, we should have checked into our hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Jay's birthday is on September 8th which will be during the middle of a planned week-long trip. 

It has been quite some time since we last visited. In fact, we were last in the Pacific coastal town during our very first retirement winter!  We were a little slow in getting our plans ironed out as we stopped working in October 2014.  We left Vancouver on US Thanksgiving Day and returned home on April 24, 2015.  That means we are nearing eight and a half years since we last strolled its most popular beach.

I couldn't resist including some pictures from those days.  Puerto Vallarta was an excellent start to our retired life.  We now make sure we stay someplace sunny and warm for four or five months every year.

 

Canadian Snowbirds

Finally, October is showing. I mean that, at last, wet weather has returned to the Lower Mainland. 

I remember how interesting it was to arrive here after more than a decade of living in the arid Middle East. The first rainy winter seemed like a blessing. I guess they still are as they provide sufficient H₂O for prolific, nearby rainforests. Over the years, we learned to cope with the dark winter deluge, if not get completely acclimatized. 

Yet, as soon as it became obvious we could retire early, we knew that we'd try living the wet half of each year in different locations and climates.  Jay and I will celebrate our retirement dates this month. It seems somewhat unbelievable that six years have already passed. They've been some of our best years ever. 

As rain is now pelting our windows, I'm thinking back to our first retirement winter in Mexico. Although the upcoming one will be vastly different, there may be a number of similarities. 

 

Near and Far - Day 148

Winter is now officially over, at least for us.

This is my final entry with the winter 2014-15 tag. In fact, if all goes as planned, this blog message should automatically publish just as we are flying away from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Our watches will then go back two hours to Vancouver time for the summer. After five months here, that will be special.

This week is special for other reasons as well. I first arrived at work in Taif, Saudi Arabia during April of 1985. This means, I first met Jay exactly 30 years ago this week. We've been on a most interesting journey ever since. I want to express my appreciation for the amazing ride.


We have obviously changed very little in three decades.

OK, Thank You for Stalking Me - Day 147

I remember when I first had the Google Now page on my phone. I wasn't impressed by being able to ask my phone about the capital of a country or the time of sunset in some faraway place. Not really. I look up a lot of facts in an average day and hardly ever use voice search. If I'm with others, as is generally the case, people always ask, "What?"

I was much more impressed when my phone started giving my commute details without prompting. Because of my phone's movements, it figured out that I was teaching only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So, it started offering me the estimated driving times shortly before I had to leave. Creepy? No! I like the idea that a device can become useful without intervention.

Of course, I turned on permission to rummage through my gmail account. Even if I don't complete an actual travel purchase, Jay sends me the email confirmation.


Just now I started getting information about tomorrow's flights on my tablet and phone. Google Now first learned the basic data a month or so ago, but has saved the info until it became useful. It's also continuing to add details as they become available. I feel we are just seeing the dawn of an era where life is going to be truly and positively impacted by technologies such as these.

It appears now as though we are flying out of Terminal D; I do hope we fly into that Dallas/Ft. Worth terminal too. We have never transferred through that airport, but we are lucky. We will meet up with an friend who works for American Airlines and he'll be on our flight for his commute back to Vancouver. That was entirely coincidental! Maybe in a few years, my phone would've told me this as soon as we booked the tickets or even suggested a date to make it work.

Oh, and thanks Google for throwing in the current temperature in Dallas.

Ain't Clicking My Heels Just Yet - Day 146

The cupboards are starting to look a little bare around here. I think seeing a near-empty refrigerator is always a little sad too. We have started thinking more concretely about getting back to New Westminster. There's no place like home. Well there's not until Thursday evening, actually.

Moments ago, I ordered enough niacin to last at least through the end of the summer. It should arrive by post after we get back up north. I have been taking a gram and a half of vitamin B3 daily for years now. We don't do dietary supplements, but niacin proved itself effective in helping to reduce my triglycerides. For a decade I used to buy the product at local drugstores. Then, a year or so back, it became difficult to source the original nicotinic acid formulation. I stay away from the flush-free variant for two reasons: 1) It is not effective in changing blood lipids, and 2) I like the flush. There's nothing like a free additional buzz with my morning caffeine.

I just hit BUY. It is so satisfying ordering something online. I like the power of the click that sends my money and expedites the dispatch of my package! It feels so very efficient.

Writing this entry made me wonder what my very first online purchase was. I think that after getting to Canada in 1996, I ordered a National Geographic globe directly from their website. I still like having it around the house. Although Google Earth is fine for most tasks, it's still a bit informative to have a little tactical reinforcement on where a place is located.

Anticipating Rain - Day 145

I copied this from my weather app to Facebook this morning.

I said, "Yeah of course. Flights to Vancouver are on Thursday. We saw four rainy days in the last 5 months, so I guess ..." in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.


Within minutes, I had this reply from my cousin: "Payback for all those snide winter comments."

Punta de Mita - Day 144

Sundays have been days to get out and about in Puerto Vallarta. As this is the last Sunday of our winter here, we chose to go to a place not yet visited.


Banderas Bay has about 100 kilometers of coast. Puerto Vallarta is not far from the middle. There is no access to the southern edge of the bay as it is still wilderness and we've been only as far as Yalapa by boat. After all this time, we'd been past the bay to Sayulita to the north but never to Punta Mita. So, we decided travel to the northern point today.





We first caught out bus in front of the Walmart near the cruise ship terminal. It went directly. It was nice to get out to that area. We walked along the beach and through town for about an hour. On the return trip, we stopped by the Sirloin Stockade Buffet in the Galleras Mall. We treated ourselves to a very big, very late lunch. We are rather approaching a special occasion.

Personal Quote #90

"When an extraterrestrial alien race finally makes first contact, I hope we find them furry but without cat eyes."

Dennis Sylvester Hurd (1959- )

This cat loved having its ears flipped back but didn't like us laughing at it.

Not Just for the Birds - Day 142

"Near the Arches", 17 Apr 2015
Next Friday should I take a photo of trees, they'll more likely be Douglas firs than coconut trees.

Then next winter, we'll likely trade those in for time among date palms.


"Night Comes to Cairo", 8 May 2014

Why Only a Red Star? - Day 141

Lots of technological development has occurred in my lifetime. Yet, I believe one of the most important is digitization.

I was searching for a work-related document from 1987 so I could confirm some personal information. During my search I came across a folder of PDF files which I'd uploaded to my domain server years ago. In it, I found perhaps the first example of my academic achievement.

It's a little astounding that I located a copy of a first-grade worksheet corrected by Mrs. Pratt. Today, I can share it online from an apartment in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. This type of electronic trail will probably not seem so special for kids who growing up today. They will take such things for granted.

20 Weeks x 7 = Day 140

It's Wednesday. Jay's gym membership is still active and when he goes there, I go here. Again and again.

Things I'll Miss - Day 139

It's a little too early to make a list of things I'll miss after our winter in Puerto Vallarta. I'll save that for next week.

I am missing something though. I had carefully cultivated a ponytail by not cutting the length of my hair for at least a year and a half. Recently, my hair had become somewhat of a pain. (No, it wasn't THAT long.) I meant the weather over the past few weeks has gotten noticeably warmer. The actual temperatures aren't a great deal hotter but we have had a dry heat all winter. Now, it's getting humid. I found my head was getting sweaty. It was taking so long for my hair to dry after a shower as well.

This morning, I had my hair cut quite short. I left a tiny spike of hair in the very back to attest to its former length, but I no longer need use a hair band. I feel a little light-headed presently and I keep feeling the phantom weight. I possess no photos of it either! So, here is one of Aguacate Street in Old Town, Puerto Vallarta. I was walking back from having my hair cut on this familiar road. I will miss my daily walks here too.

Planning Ahead - Day 138

We didn't have a whole lot of time to find our Puerto Vallarta apartment after we committed to requesting early-retirement. From New Westminster, I had had a running email conversation with a property manager here. Of course if one has a budget like Oprah, there are always posh, million-dollar suites available. That doesn't describe us at all. So, we were a bit fortunate this place remained available. In fact, as we were late to the party, we lucked into needing to pay for just five months whereas half year arrangements are the norm.

Now that we're nearing the completion of the first winter, we are more sure about the dates and familiar with the required logistics of leaving. We needn't wait until the fall before making plans. In fact, we began thinking about next year during this one. If we were heading back in this direction, of course, it'd be easy to scope out new places while in town. We're not.

Actually, we are planning on being seven time zones ahead of this place. Still, with Facebook messenger and web pages, one can nearly seal the deal with an ordinary notebook computer. I'm going to include pictures of next year's basic abode. I find editing images is an excellent way for me to better visualize the future.

So, here is some photographic evidence of the fact we will enjoy warm days in very simple surroundings from November 2015 to April 2016.

End of the Season - Day 137

Our downstairs neighbours have returned to Toronto. Things really are quieter around here. For one thing, Mexican kids will have to go back to school tomorrow. This means the thousands of families who were here for Easter break have gone home too.

We have just one more weekend left ourselves.


We are starting to get excited about the idea of returning to British Columbia. A quick look at the 10-day YVR forecast shows that we needn't be in too much of a hurry as it's going to be a little rainy during the upcoming week.

Getting ready for the summer will be fun this year, though. I had said that I might be available to pick up a summer class as that's a time when a few instructors might wish to get away. Those words must have been said in the heat of retirement. Why would I want to be preoccupied during the optimum time of fun and festivities?

Some Year in the Future - Day 136

This dialogue takes place in the spring of 2021 as are trying to decide where to spend the upcoming winter. We are viewing airbnb.com on the television to see the going monthly rates for stays in a possible location. The conversation goes something like this:

Jay: That one's good; it includes all utilities too. Nice area!

me: Remember that place we spent the first winter after retiring, in Puerto Vallarta?

Jay: Yeah. It was on the south end of Aguacate Street.

me: For that winter did we have to pay our own utilities or were they included?

Jay: We paid for our own electricity as there was a meter for each apartment.

me: Was that all?

Jay: No, it had a gas stove and hot-water heater and we divided the propane bill. The cable and Internet was free.

me: I do remember it was an apartment-sized stove, but it was gas? Let me check on Flickr.


me: Yup, you're right.

Jay: As usual.

Nineteen Weeks Later - Day 135

She was a baby when we came. Now she's a mother in her own right with three mouths to feed.


The cats aound here seem be be rather cared for by the entire neighbourhood. These felines aren't feral and make the rounds for food and care. Unfortunately, no one takes care to have them spayed or neutered. Winter resident tourists like us, are plentiful on this part of our street. We will be going home in less than two weeks but many folks have already headed north. The Mexican neighbhours also keep out food and water for the local cat population, but soon there'll be too many. Sigh.

Looking for the Nile - Day 134

Maps; I have always loved 'em.

As a kid I thought being able to draw and represent a piece of the world on paper was extraordinary. I learned that one could say things by using maps as a medium. I'd have much rather read an atlas than a story in junior high. I partially blame my wanderlust as a result of dreaming about places in the world first seen on a map.

Of course, I've said how awesome Google Maps is many times. I appreciate the company for search, but respect them more for figuring out how to show me the world inside my browser or app. It does seem that Google never rests. Inspiring technology like GPS navigation now seems old hat. Still, I can only imagine what features will materialize over the next few years. This is truly, amazing stuff.

I can start with an image from space and jump right down to street level. Something like this never existed even in the scifi from my youth. Unfortunately not all cities have been scoured by a Google van. In today's case, it is a shame. We are already in our research phase for where we'll spend next winter. It's interesting to see a place in context to the larger planet.


Click on the image above, and Google Maps will open in a new browser tab. Ensure that you are in "Earth Mode" to see as satellite images. Then, you may slowly use the + option to zoom in more closely. Each click will bring you closer and closer to the place we will rent. Hopefully, you'll land right in our future neighbourhood.

[NOTE FOR APP USERS: Google Maps generally defaults to showing the image in a medium-range view. You may try keeping the pin centered and pinch or un-pinch to see the location as it relates to a more intimate or more global view.]