Secrets Silversands 2016

Many people think we are on vacation all the time because we live in a house on wheels and travel to places that many only dream of going. That is like saying if you live in a stix and brix near Disney World you are on vacation all the time, not. When we are in our rig we do our own cooking, make the bed, clean the place inside and out and deal with repair issues, just like everyone else. When we vacation someone else does all that and more so we now try to get away at least once a year. A while back we bought into the Unlimited Vacation Club that gives us good rates at nearly sixty all-inclusive resorts. Our favorites are Secrets, because they are adult only kid free zones.

We have been to five different Secrets and liked them all, but we decided to return to Secrets Silversands because we like the location, the food and most of all, the people. This was part of our view overlooking the resort and one of the eight pools.

On this trip we opted to stay for two weeks and were joined by Rick and Denise the first week. In the center is the spa that we all took advantage of three different times. We both had massages and love the hydro cycle that includes steam and sauna rooms, a hot whirlpool and cold dip pool and an outdoor pool with five different water stations, all very relaxing.

With all those pools you can pick one with an Caribbean Sea view, one in a quiet corner, or the main pool where most of the fun activities and the swim up bar are located. We opted for the main pool most of the time.

This is our view of the sea. Every morning and evening we could see the cruise ships sailing into and out of nearby Cozumel. Being here and seeing the ship out at sea just reinforces the fact that we really prefer the all-inclusive resorts over the cruise 

Every evening there was a different show. Of course, because we were there for two weeks, they did repeat, but there was still plenty to keep us busy. The rock show was music from our era, the best rock music ever.

One evening was the managers' reception with food, drinks, entertainment and gambling (with their money). We have found the management to be very open and interested in any concerns or issues people have about the resort.

The circus evening was very entertaining with acrobats......

.....doing what would be death defying acts to us.

The Secrets sensuality show with scantily clad ladies and guys was a big hit. 

Denise, Nanc, Rick and I took the bike trip lead by Jonathan from the entertainment team into nearby Puerto Moreles one morning. It was a fun four mile ride passed other resorts and some private homes on a back road. 

It included the mandatory stop at the local market and a walk to the beach. Check out the lighthouses, one turned into the Leaning Lighthouse of Puerto Morelos so they left it in place and built a new one right beside the old one. 

An activity we highly recommend is the kitchen tour. They are very proud of the food service and the tour gives you an inside look at how they prepare three meals a day for 600 to 800 people. 

Of course part of the tour is getting to sample the food. Our guides were Ramiro and Ana (on the right) whom we met on our first visit to Silversands.

One of the bonuses of the kitchen tour is they offer a special meal to those who take the tour. Since the special seating can only accommodate twelve people they draw names if there are too many people. Our tour had few enough people at the end we all were treated to a great meal. And how about this?  Seated across from us are Ron, Kay, Jerry and Kris whom we met at Secrets Akumal a year ago. It was a great evening getting caught up with them over a fantastic meal that started with an assortment of appetizers, soup, surf and turf and ended with a flaming dessert. Of course as they always do the had a veggie entree for Nanc. 

At all Secrets you have your pick of seven restaurants for dinner offering steak, seafood, Mediterranean, Italian, French, Mexican, and Asian. Every meal is presented with all the flare of the finest restaurants. Antonio did the flaming desert at the special dinner, chocolate domed creme brulee (top left) and another evening flambe over ice cream just for us at Ratatouille. The food is another reason we chose to return to Silversands.

Another reason is the super excellente' activities and entertainment team. They have something going on all day including yoga, aqua cycling, water aerobics, Spanish lessons, dance classes, volleyball and much more. Here is Nanc with Nico, Ana, Jonathon and Emmanuel at the Mexican Fiesta night. 

Of course, many of the fun things are in and around the pool. Here we are with the entertainment team Nico, Mayra, Cesar, Rodrigo, Jonathon and Ana. They are a great team who made our stay a lot of fun.  Thanks to you all!

Nanc with Ceci, who just started the week we arrived, and Moreno who remembered us from last year. Prizes are given to the winners of the competitions and crazy games the team does.

Rick throwing darts blind folded!  What could possible go wrong? Darts also were thrown with the opposite hand, through your legs and three at a time, all in good fun.

Nanc won at darts one day and the prize was fish therapy, a flesh eating treatment at the spa. A very weird experience that she would not have paid for and does not plan to do again.  Too creepy!

She also won a bottle of tequila at bingo that we brought home.

On our beach walk one day we went passed this scene at a local snorkeling and fishing tour company. Seems one of their boats sank overnight.  With a lot of man power and a tractor they got it righted and drug it to shore. 

Nanc, Rick, Denise and me having a toddy before dinner. Being an all-inclusive, unlike a cruise, everything is included without any additional cost. 

Rick and Denise at Himitsu, the Asian restaurant. We went twice for the sushi and were the only people at the sushi bar where they served the food on a conveyor belt. It was a unique experience for all of us. I know many people have concerns about the food and water in Mexico, often with good reason, but Denise and Rick have been to Mexico several times and she said this is the first time she did not get sick.

While the daytime activities are around the pool and a bathing suit is the uniform of the day, the restaurants require that you dress up. Nanc sure does a great job of dressing up.

Yoga every morning was on the gazebo over the water. Nanc went many mornings and loved it.

A couple days each week a local trainer brought his Harris Hawk to the resort. He would release it and then walk around and call the bird to land on his glove. Very neat way to get an up close look at this beautiful rapture.

What is a trip to Mexico without a tequila tasting. After getting an explanation of the whole process we got to try several different kinds. One thing we learned was make sure your tequila is 100% blue agave. That Jose brand that is so popular in the US is not.

Nanc doing water aerobics. They also had aqua spinning in the pool.

The beach here is very nice and the water is shallow with almost no waves because there is a coral reef just off shore that breaks the waves down. The reef helps protect the Riviera Maya from hurricane storm surge.

Nanc on the beach. As you can see there were very few people on the sand or in the water. We spent most of our time at the pool, another reason I like the all-inclusive over a cruise.

While I did do a few activities, this is where I was most of the time, soaking up the rays in the pool. We had great weather every day with highs in the mid 80's and lows in the 70's. It never rained for very long but a couple of days there was a wind chill that made it feel like 81.

On the last Sunday we opted for a room service breakfast with mimosas. We had a wonderful stay and really enjoyed getting to spend a week with Rick and Denise. While we may go to other Secrets in other countries, we both agree when we return to Riviera Maya we will be at Silversands. 

Giving Thanks

We had another busy week with Thanksgiving, birthdays, saying good bye to some friends and getting ready to fly to Cancun for vacation.

On Wednesday we went to see Alan and Sharon's new to them RV. They replaced the old fifth wheel with an Itasca motor home. It is in great shape and they are already planning to meet up with us in Tucson in February.

They new rig looks great with two slides and plenty of storage.

On Thursday we went back to their place for Thanksgiving and were greeted by Elsie their princess and shaggy Murray their wonderful dachshunds. They always give their dogs names related to Australia where Alan was born. 

Alan getting ready to carve the bird and make the gravy.

As you can see we had a wonderful traditional Thanksgiving dinner and a bit of football, even a Steelers' win.

On Friday we said good-bye to Mikko and Cathy who were heading to Benson. As you can see Mikko is a man who only has one drink a day.

We spent the weekend celebrating our birthdays and packing for our birthday trip to Cancun. We are sure happy to be away from Mesa where the long range forecast is for highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's. This big difference between high and low temps is one reason that we like Florida better than the Southwest. 

Here is our view at the Secrets Silversands for the next two weeks. We are looking forward to some serious fun in the sun on the beach and by the pool. This is our sixth time to a Secrets resort and our second visit to Silversands.

Since this is a continuation of our birthday celebration they greeted us with champagne, balloons and rose petals. We sure love the way we get pampered when we visit Secrets resorts. 

Rick and Denise joined us from Pittsburgh for the first week and we are looking forward to getting caught up with them while soaking up some sun. We truly do have much for which to be thankful.

Friends in Mesa

We are settled in at Good Life RV Resort in Mesa until the first of the year. We have been in the area several times and have done many of the tourist things, so much of this visit has been about seeing old friends and making new ones.

Jim and Bobby are Class of 07 mates who bought a place in Sun City on the west side of Phoenix. We were looking forward to seeing them and their new winter home. It is a very nice condo that is part of the first Del Webb community.

They invited us for lunch that turned out to be one of Jim's famous meals of steak for the guys and salmon for the ladies. Jim is a master of the grill.

As you can see we had a fun time. Jim and Bobby spend their winters here and then live in the RV in Colorado in the summer. Lately Nanc and I have talked about needing to start our search for some place to settle down so we were very interested in their condo. We were very impressed with their home and all the activities and facilities that are available to owners. One thing we have decided is that if and when we find a place it will be in the East, not in the desert.

On election day Linda, whom I worked with in WashPA many years ago, came over to watch the results with us. The evening started with smiles but sure did not end that way.

Other RV friends, who we have not seen since we were here three years ago, are Alan and Sharon. Sharon was not feeling well and did not want her picture taken. They have a place in Apache Junction set up like an art studio where they are following their retirement passion, pastel painting. They sure have produced many great works since our last visit.

Here at Good Life there are plenty of things going on where we have made new friends. Three days a week they have music for happy hour and this was a party to celebrate the opening of the new Cactus Grill and Party Patio.  

Our neighbors Nancy and Gary have been coming here for twelve years to escape the Minnesota winters.

Cathy and Mike are RVers from Michigan who just started full timing this year. We introduced them to our favorite restaurant here, Red White and Brew.

Marg from British Columbia and Darrel from Manitoba met here after their spouses passed away. They are showing off a few steps to the music at happy hour. 

Wanda and Ken are also from Manitoba. As you can see they are happy to be in the Valley of the Sun. There are more people arriving every day who are here to escape the cold winter weather up north. After Christmas the place will be full.

The super moon over Mesa. We have been dealing with a couple of RV issues since we got here, one with the new oven and another with a repair we had at Duncan in Indiana last month. Hopefully both will be resolved this week and then I will write about them. We have also been enjoying the pool and getting some sun as we prepare for a vacation to Mexico next week, so life is good.

Ojo to Mesa - Hillary Rally

When we left Ojo we had a bit more than a 500 mile drive to Mesa. That's at least a two day drive for us with most of the first day on interstates and all the second day on the red roads. There is no easy way to get from the high plateau 7,000 feet above sea level in Northern Arizona down to Mesa almost 6,000 feet below. We have done it on Interstate 17 and on route 60 and this time we figured we would try the Beeline Highway over the Mogollon Rim from Holbrook. 

We were on the road early as the forecast on the rim was for 35 mph winds in the afternoon. The first forty miles was across the high plateau on a narrow two lane road. The good news was there was very little traffic

After a few miles of driving through forest on flat land we came to the Mogollon Rim and it seemed like the bottom fell out. There were two long 6% downhills that are almost ten miles long. The good news it was almost all four lane highway to Payson. 

From Payson to Mesa there where a couple long 6% downhills and then several miles of climbs and descents with a couple 7% hills. While there are many long hills, including some climbs on this road, most of it was four lane and really not too bad with the engine brake. We knew we were near the bottom when we began to see the giant saguaro cactus. 

We checked into Good Life RV Resort and got set up for our two month stay. We are looking forward to our stay and getting together with friends. We were treated to this beautiful sunset our first evening.  

We were here for our 47th anniversary and celebrated with a great meal at Dvine, a nice local restaurant that, in addition to great food, has music each evening. It is really hard to believe that this is the tenth anniversary we have had since going on the road.

We heard that Hillary Clinton was having the largest rally of her campaign on the campus of Arizona State in Tempe so we decided we would go. We arrived two hours early thinking it would give us plenty of time to find a parking spot and get to the venue. We were shocked to find the line was four blocks long.

After more than an hour we made it through security and were into the standing room only area. 

This was as close as we could get to the seats. I guess those people were here real early.

As with all political rallies there were several speakers to warm up the crowd. The first was National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia. We fit right in with this group with our NEA shirts and pins.

The next speakers were Ann Kirkpatrick, who is running for the U.S. Senate against John McCain, and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in an assassination attempt in 2011. We have seen Gabby on TV many times and it was a thrill to hear her speak. 

Finally after a long delay due to her plane being late, Hillary Clinton came on stage and the crowd went wild. She was a much better speaker in person than what we have seen on TV.

After the speech most people headed for the exits, but we moved forward to try to get a better look and maybe even a hand shake. You can see Hillary in the middle of the crowd surrounded by supporters and Secret Service agents.

We never got close enough for the hand shake......

.....but I did get a couple of closer pictures with the phone. I was surprised how close people were to her.

I got one last picture of Hillary. Being a political junkie this was a very neat experience and we felt we were fortunate to actually be a part of history in the making, seeing a female presidential candidate from a major political party. We sure were sad about the outcome of the election and are not very optimistic about the future, but only time will tell.