Puerto Vallarta

The summer adventures weren't over quite yet for me. In August, through a convoluted chain of events, it happened that my parents and sister spent a few lovely days together in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We enjoyed some walks along the beach (early morning; it is hot there in August!)

One afternoon my sister, mom, and I went snorkeling at Los Arcos and saw some really interesting critters.

On the first evening we enjoyed a dinner with people that Laura works with, who were also in Puerto Vallarta as part of the long story having to do with why we were there too. Anyway, they were staying in probably the most fantastic house I'll ever spend time in, right on the beach with amazing views and a lovely pool and an entire wait staff on hand who were nice and would constantly bring you delicious drinks and made us an amazing dinner right on site. It was super fancy and a real treat. And there were lots of nice, interesting people to talk with. Cocktail party at sunset. 

We celebrated my sister's birthday twice in Mexico, and both times there was a bona fide flare in the cake.

We ate some really good food on the trip, but the best was at Cafe des Artistes, which really was some of the best food I've ever had in my life. The best was this pumpkin prawn soup. It doesn't look like much, I know, but I would consider going back to Puerto Vallarta just to have another bowl.

We did a little bit of shopping and sat around on the beach a bit and just relaxed. It was a really nice few days, and pretty unique for just the four of us to be together. It was a bit of a pre-wedding celebration (Laura got married a few months later, blog post on its way). There is something so comfortable about the rhythms of one's own family. I think we all felt lucky to have a few days to spend together, and chilling on the beach in Mexico was a nice way to do it! Love you, family!