TRAVEL

It has been a busy year for us 'jetting' around. What with our RCI bonus time and our Best Fares dot com specials from Dallas, we have been blessed with the opportunity to travel at minimal cost. Once the Wright Ammendment was repealed, it opened up the flight competition between Southwest Airlines and American Airlines. We have been lucky enough to visit London, Madrid & Mala'ga, Spain; as well as flying into Minneapolis/St. Paul and driving to NE Iowa, and flying back to the beautiful Northwest to visit family & friends. And we just got back from another relaxing trip to Cabo San Lucas. This year we also spent time in Todos Santos and La Paz. Toby and his 'squeeze' Jocelyn Teel spent seven days with us at Playa Grande in Cabo. They went deep sea fishing (as opposed to catching!) , hung out with us old folks at the pool, played cribbage, and Jocelyn swam with the dolphins at the dolphin tank at the Cabo marina. And did I mention the occasional drink and nap too? We've already made reservations for next May, and it looks as though Toby & Jocelyn will be back too!

When we're in the Baja, our favorite hang-outs are Art & Beer on the highway between Cabo and Todos Santos, and the Office on the Beach in Cabo! And this year while staying at the Hotel California we were lucky enough to have one of the Baja Road Races come through town, ALL NIGHT LONG! The big 4 by 4's and dune buggies came through town with 'open exhaust'. What fun! While staying in La Paz, we made friends with the couple across the hall at the hotel. Al & Yvette from Southern California had sailed down the Pacific Coast and around into the Sea of Cortez. They had their 46' sloop out of the water to have the hull painted. When we left to head back to the airport in San Jose Cabo, they hitched a ride with us as they were going back to California while the boat was out of the water. We now follow their blog about their sailing adventure.

We only touched on our March trip to Europe above, so here is a little more. And BTW - we had an awesome time! We were in the London area a total of three nights and days, seeing all the usual and popular tourist destinations, and we rode the 'tube', the double-decker buses, and the trains. We spent eight days in and around the Mala'ga area, also known as the Costa Del Sol. We took daily road trips to Seville, Nerja, Tarifa, Mijas and more! We saw the Rock of Gibralter, Africa, the Balcony of Europe, hill-side villages, street fairs, and more! The ham, the red wine, and the tomatoes were all to die for. We also spent two nights and three days in Madrid. We rode the high-speed train from Mala'ga to Madrid, and we mastered the round-a-bouts with our rental car!