Milestones and Mexico.

Dear Friends, Family, and Interested Observers,

Sorry, my blog is long overdue for a new installment. In this entry, we celebrate the month-long extravaganza that was Jim Houzner's --dare I say-- 50th birthday. Jim handled his passage into AARP eligibility with grace, despite the frequent barbs from his "public." And, let's be honest, he loved the attention -- hence, the month-long birthday. (First below, Jim with friends Jim Panella and Art; second below, Jim's longtime friend Jerry; third below, friends and neighbors Paul, Jeff, Bill, Jim, and Art)

Festivities began in the first week of Febuary with a get-together of friends at the Shamrock, a favorite bar of Jim's and mine off the Capitol Square. Along with some good-natured jabs about his age, Jim raked in a treasure trove of gifts, although some of the gifts were clearly of the gag variety. At the Shamrock, milestone birthdays are marked with the passing along of some pretty absurd togs. (First below, Jim and Jim waltz; second below, Jim goes eggplant)

The day after the party, Jim and I took up our friend Dave Loker's invitation to attend a UW women's hockey game at the Kohl Center. Dave works for Alliant Energy, a local utility company. Alliant has two private boxes at the Kohl Center that it uses for employee gatherings. Now you know why your electricity bill is so high. (Below, Dave, Ed, and Jim in the suite)

I have to confess that I had not been to a UW women's sporting event of any kind before this hockey game. I was very impressed by the quality of play, and by the fact that a women's hockey ticket, general admission, could be had for only five bucks. The UW women's hockey team has won two consecutive national championships. Would this be a fun event for nieces and nephews next winter? (Below, Ed and Bucky Badger get lippy)Shortly thereafter, Jim and I made our preparations to go to Mexico. About a year ago, Jim had made the decision that he wanted to spend his 50th birthday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. At the time he announced his decision, I was a little ambivalent. You see, I had gone down to Puerto Vallarta with Jim and friends three years before and ended getting so sick with a fever that I had to get antibiotics shot into my tush. I ended up sleeping away half the trip. (First below, Jim and I at his surprise birthday party; second below, a seahorse sculpture on the beach; third below, a sculpture on the Malecon)

In that passive aggressive way of mine, I tried to dissuade Jim from "P.V." What about the expense? How about some place different? What about Paris or Rome? Jim was firm in his wishes -- and I decided to give P.V. another chance. (First below, sunset in the tropics; second below, flora of the forest; third below, looking landward on Puerto Vallarta)

Of course, as this miserably cold and snowy winter wore on, I became increasingly glad that we had picked a tropical location for a Febuary get-away, given my "side" job helping brother Bob in snow removal. In fact, the evening before we left for Chicago to fly out, Madison got dumped on by some 13.5 heavy inches of the white stuff. Jim and I struggled to dig out my car, which was parked on East Main Street, for about 45 minutes. We only just managed to get out with the help of a neighbor and a kind Bobcat operator in the passing. After breaking free, we had to back up my little Tracer to the next intersection, because it could not gain enough traction on the ice below to move forward. (First below, Jim's nemeses, the pelicans; second below, Jim on the Malecon)

My one regret about leaving was that I was not able to help Bob remove the snow due to our time of departure. Poor Bob had to other major snowfalls to deal with during my time away, although he had arranged for help. Madison has had over 87 inches of snow this winter, a record. (First below, a ladder to the sky; second below, dancers in aboriginal dress; third below, the guys, Tom, Scott, Perron, Jim, and myself)

At 11:00 pm, after the main roads had been somewhat cleared, we headed southeast to O'Hare via the Interstate 94 Milwaukee route, as I-90 south of Madison was obstructed by a twenty-mile-long traffic jam in the northbound direction, and we did not want to take our chances. We picked up our friends Scott and Tom along the way, and we met up with our other travel companions Mary, Perron, and Patti in Chicago. We dropped off our vehicles at the house of Mary and Patti's mother, Nori, in Des Plaines and managed to get a couple winks before a cab ride to the airport. Despite a brisk check-in process, we had little time to dottle before boarding our plane for paradise. (First below, more Mexican flora; second below, a tequila sunrise before sunset) When deboarded the plane in Mexico, we basked in the warmth for a moment before heading to passport control. Despite a few clouds and a cool breeze the evening of our arrival, we had 80 degrees and blue skies the following ten days. We spent most days on the beach. However, a couple of us, Jim, Tom, and Scott in particular, had to battle various ailments for a few days. But, I managed to stay healthy! (First below, our waiter on the beach, Alfredo, makes Jim a birthday flower arrangement; second below, a reservation for 'El Perron'; third below, the beach)

Since we whiled most our days away on the beach, I'll stick to recounting only the more memorable vignettes from our trip. The first big event was Jim's surprise birthday party. Mary and her husband Perron had arranged to have the party at the hotel pool after we returned from the beach. Jim had no idea, and he wondered out loud who all the baloons were for when we entered the hotel courtyard. (First below, Jim gets ready to wack his pinata; second below, "Feliz cumpleanos, Jaime!")

Mary and Perron had ordered a pinata and carrot-cake birthday cake, and the hotel owner of opened up the bar for drinks on the house for the two hours of the party. Our group was joined by friends Gary and Brett from Philadelphia and other guests at the hotel. (Below, the crew goes out for Italian after the surprise birthday party)

The next day on Jim's actual birthday of Febuary 9, we went to one of Jim's favorite restaurants, Pipi's. Our group loves Pipi's because it's a hoot. The dining room, festooned with pinatas and colorful paper chains, is a ruckous cacophony of darting waiters, mariachi bands, and turistas. (First below, "Cadillac" margaritas at Pipi's; second below, Scott enjoys the band; third below, guacamole in the making)

After our dinner, we decided to pop into a tequila bar for an after dinner drink. Puerto Vallarta is on the coast of Jalisco state, where all authentic tequilas are distilled from the leaves of the agave cactus. In fact, Tequila is the name of a village in Jalisco where production began. (Below, from left to right, myself, Scott, Jim, Patti, Perron, Tom, and Mary)

Tequilas vary in quality according to the manner of their age and manner of production. The young blancos are clear, potent, and good for mixed drinks. The middling reposadas are neutral in body and flavor. The dark, mature anejos are smoothe and meant for sipping like a fine scotch or brandy. Jim bought me a tasting, and we all had a shot. Salud! (Pictures below, Jim drinks his birthday shots before dessert at Pipi's. The waiter grazed whipped cream around Jim's face beforehand as a joke -- he's usually not that sloppy of an eater.)

The funnest activity of the trip was the zip-line in the jungle. Puerto Vallarta is ringed by the coastal foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains, and these hills trap enough Pacific moisture to sustain dry forests. Jim had wanted to do some adventurous activity for his birthday, so a couple days after it we signed up for the zip-line tour. (Pictures below, more shots of the crew)

Jim, Scott, Mary, Perron, and I headed out to meet the tour company bus with a little trepidation. Of course, despite the fact that it was his idea, Jim was the one with the coldest feet. He was nauseous as the tour bus wend its along the coastal highway to the zip-line site. After receiving a rapid introductory lecture from a jovial crew of guides, we signed the waiver and headed into the forest. (First below, jungle plants; second below, the crew after the first couple zip-lines; third below, jungle Jim)

After our early jitters, we had a blast. We crossed fourteen zip-lines in all, and the highest line was 450 feet above a river ravine. I had no problems, although Mary had a tendency to come in too fast, and Scott had to use his arms to scramble to finish his line.

After a nasty celebratory shot of tequila moonshine, raicilla, we sat down for a nice lunch overlooking the river ravine and the jungle above. A petting zoo was brought to us at our table, and emboldened by our raicilla, Mary and I allowed a tarantula and a snake to crawl over us. Jim said, "Not so much." Our cutest animal encounter was with the spider monkeys.

Our final dinner was at the River Cafe, which was fittingly situated on the Rio Cuale in the city center. Friends Jim Drury and Greg from Madison joined us for the final meal before our departure. Jim D. also had a birthday to mark, and we were treated to a fine Spanish version of happy birthday by the waitstaff. Jim treated me to my meal, and to his chagrin, I ordered the Pacific lobster.

Well, that's it for me. It was a great trip. Thanks for reading. Until later,

jkb in madison