Jean and Dick Visit - Oct 2021

Dinner at Porto

Keith's parents came to visit us in Chicago over Halloween weekend.  They arrived Thursday afternoon, just in time to get settled in, have a glass a wine and head out to dinner at Le Bouchon, a French restaurant just a few blocks from our house.  We shared a yummy mussel appetizer and roasted duck for dinner.  We both had to work on Friday so Jean and Dick went out to the History of Chicago museum.  That evening, we had more wine and then went to dinner at Temporis where we had a delicious multi-course dinner along with wine pairings.  

Interior Architecture Tour

On Saturday, Keith went for a walk with his parents on the 606.  We had cheese for lunch and then went on an interior architecture tour downtown where we got to see some pretty cool interiors ranging in architecture style.  The tour took about two hours and was very well done. That evening we had dinner at Porto where we tried some interesting and very tasty dishes - jamon iberico, grilled fish, roasted vegetables, and mussels in a can.  

Frank Lloyd Wright's Oak Park Home

On Sunday, Keith went on another walk with his parents on the 606.  We then did a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Oak Park, followed by an audio guide of the neighborhood to see some of the other houses he designed.  When we got home, we had some more cheese for lunch and then relaxed that afternoon.  Shawna cooked dinner for that evening so had to get the dinner going in the afternoon.  That night, we had Caribbean lamb stew and black beans.  The stew is a recipe that Shawna got from Joyce who made it for her birthday weekend in the Outer banks - it was very tasty!

Lamb stew

Jean and Dick left Monday morning to head back to TX.  It was so nice to have them visit.

Cabo San Lucas - Oct 2021

We had not been to our time share at Hacienda Encantada in over two years so we decided to spend a week in Cabo with John and JoAnna - our first 'international' trip since Covid!  We had to work from there a few days so we upgraded to a one bedroom with an adjoining studio so that we could work in the living room and bedroom at the same time.  The only unfortunate part was that Shawna could not get her laptop to connect to the hotel wifi so she had to tether to her phone which was quite slow.

Hacienda Encantada

We arrived on Saturday, later afternoon - flying direct from Chicago on American.  John and JoAnna had arrived a couple of hours earlier and waited for us at the airport while getting a head start on the beer drinking.  When we arrived, they had a beer waiting for us which we quickly gulped down and then we got into our private transfer van where the driver also had a few beers for us to drink while we rode the 45 minute ride to our hotel.  After checking in and getting settled into our room, we went out to dinner at Los Riscos (at the hotel).  

For the rest of the trip, we stayed at the resort - we thought we would go into town one day/evening but opted not to do that.  We had purchased the all inclusive food/drink package which ended up being a good deal financially but not a good deal diet wise!  Each day (when we were not working), we relaxed by the pool - trying each of the three pools - our favorite being the one by Phase 1 that has an infinity pool overlooking the ocean.  We also ate all of our meals at the hotel - our favorites being the pizza place and the taco place.  One evening, we did the Mexican buffet and show which was entertaining.  

Phase 2 Pool

Phase 1 Pool

Since we had last been there, they had built a new building across from the main lobby that had a bar in the lobby (with live entertainment some evenings), a rooftop pool and a rooftop restaurant.  We tried both the restaurant and lobby bar a couple of nights - both of which were good.  John and JoAnna ended up doing the obligatory 'tour' of the property and were pitched that we should upgrade.  While the deal sounded tempting, we opted not to partake!

To get back into US, we had to take a Covid test which the resort offered onsite.  Aside from it being somewhat inefficient of a process, it was convenient.  We all tested negative - we were told that no one had tested positive which made us suspect of the quality/rigor of the testing!  We got home on Sunday evening - having had a really nice and relaxing time - albeit one with too much food!