We are so happy we moved to Denver, now more than a decade ago. We had our careers in the DC area and our children were born and grew up there, but now Denver is the town that we are happy to call home. We enjoy Denver and Colorado in all seasons of the year, but the winters do seem to be long at times and you need a break.

This year, with my skiing buddy, Erin, out of the country on assignment with the State Department, the season might seem longer than usual since I most likely won’t be hitting the slopes. Below are some pictures of one of our ski trips to Copper Mountain last year, when our nephew Rob Roschy joined us. We had a great time and conditions were perfect, with a reasonable number of skiers on the slopes and lifts.

As many of you know, we have enjoyed visiting Mexico during the winter, usually contenting ourselves with stays in San Miguel de Allende and Mexico City. This year we decided to add on a 10 day beach trip. Our longtime travel buddies, Bob & Mart Larson, are always up for an adventure, so together we booked some time at very nice condo development in Sayulita, a small but bustling town on the Pacific Coast not far from Puerto Vallarta.

We were very pleased with the condo development and enjoyed our entire stay there. Our rental unit was large and quite lovely with a balcony in front overlooking the pools (one of the them thankfully heated) and a patio in the rear for breakfasts al fresco. We enjoyed some spectacular sunsets and occasional visitors (the birds on the balcony railing are chacalacas, and they have the most ear piercing of calls.) The swimmer in the pool pictured below is Sue; she always loves time in the water, and this warm pool was particularly relaxing for all of us.

We last visited Sayulita some ten years ago; since then it has done nothing but grow and expand–except for the streets–many are still unpaved and others are full of ruts and potholes, but that adds to its charm. We drove to the city in a rental car, but for the most part kept it in the garage and got around town on a rented golf cart, like most of the tourists and residents.

The town is full of tourists from the U.S. and Canada this time of year. The humidity is low with temps in the 70’s and low 80’s. We just dipped our toes into the ocean; it was still a little chilly for this wuss and some of the beaches have formidable undertows, but there were many who chose to plunge into the waves or surf.

We made a couple of short road trips up the coastal highway (Mexico 200) in search of a more tranquil scene. Our first stop was the town of Don Francisco, affectionally nicknamed Don Pancho; quite interesting, but almost as busy and tourist laden as Sayulita. The second, Lo de Marcos, about 15 miles further north of us, was much quieter, although not undiscovered. No matter the beach, there were always the vendors–men, women and children walking up and down the beach, weaving amongst the sunbathers or diners, hawking their wares. You can’t always resist–in the end, we bought a light blanket, a small carving, and some other trinkets.

Our most frequent activity wherever we found ourselves was sitting at a beach side restaurant, sipping margaritas or Micheladas (beer & Clamato juice, over ice–you have to try it to appreciate it), and talking and laughing with Bob & Mart. After some forty years, we share a lot of wonderful memories, and it’s always a lot of fun to reflect and reminisce.

It’s good to get away. At home we sit in front of the TV far too much, absorbing all the political happenings, too often getting and angry and stressed, Here, not so much, but we still catch a podcast or read an online paper, so we do know what’s happening, just not always as it’s happening.

Some of you reading this blog might not share our distress. I hope that we are wrong about the current administration, but at this moment we are afraid and fearful. I am a retired government employee; I am proud of the service I gave and appreciative of the retirement pension I receive. The people I worked with in the US government were hard working and honest, giving their best for the US citizens we served, and I know that tradition continues.

In addition, we are so very proud of Erin and her service in the U.S State Department; we pray each day that she doesn’t lose her job because some over zealous non-elected reformer thinks the State Department is wasting American dollars. We don’t think the government should be dismantled. It certainly can be reformed, but there are procedures and laws to be followed and obeyed. Congress seems to have given up its control over the purse and spending.

Let us pray for calm and order; where is conversation and the exchange of ideas–and as my Granny might have said, let us not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Our democracy is too important to lose.