Home Away From Home [Sayulita]

 There is something about the culture in Sayulita, Mexico... the quiet mornings, the sound of waves rolling in and crashing violently on the shore in front of an empty beach. It's all so peaceful! Afternoons on the beach, Jack Johnson playing on your BluTooth speaker, and laying in the sun... trading waves on the rented surfboard, and walking into the surf shops with sand on bare feet. Then we return to Casa Blanca Hotel and shower, get dressed up cute, and pile into a golf cart to ride into town. "DePoy's are here! Crash." The evenings in Sayulita are crazy! Live music and interruptions, sensory overload! The smell of pollo on an open grill, sizzling carne asada, and various concoctions of fruity drinks! When all is said and done, we ride around aimlessly in the golf cart, taking the back roads and getting lost. It is only the smell of "Hot Churros"that can lead us back to the north side, followed by gelato of course. 

It all feels like home. Or at least, a home away from home. It's a familiar place, and a rhythm we know. A chorus we can sing. A past, present, and future memory.

Every day we wake up to check the surf report. In the distance we can see a myriad of swimmers near the shore, and surfers taking turns around the reef.  "What's on the itinerary today?" The answer is always, sunshine and surf and good food. 

This time we were joined by Skot and Carie Lokers, as well as Dwight and Betsy Beal. They added so much charm to the vacation, and it was so fun to introduce them to our happy place! We walked through the jungle (got lost), overrun by massive palm trees and unripened coconuts and dirt trails that fork and split and shhhhh, listen - hear the sound of the waves just west of us! We must be getting close!

On our final day, we took an uber transport to the small fishing village of El Anclote (Punta De Mita). We spent a few minutes bartering with local fishermen to take us out on their boat to see the migrating whales. We had an amazing experience two years ago, and now we have returned with friends. 

Once we got out to the Marietta Islands area, our boat guide nestled the boat into quiet waters. We waited for a stirring, then suddenly: volcanic eruption from the Pacific Ocean! A giant humpback whale leaped from the depths of the salt water, and did a full rotation breach in the air before splashing down right near our boat! This sent all of us eyewitnesses into a collective gasp, as we were literally sprayed with the splashing water around us! 

For the next four hours, we were held captive to the majesty of creation. At one point Dwight led us in the acappella version of "How Great Thou Art!", and then we all went snorkeling for a while...

These days, I am soaking in every minute with my girls. Because I realize that in the next few months, everything is going to change. The next time we return to Sayulita, you will probably be with Jacob and hopefully this will be a place to which we can return for many more years to come. I want to introduce your children and their children to our home away from home. I want to watch the look on your face, as you watch the look on the faces of your children... experiencing the wonder of it all. 

Life is good.

And these are "the good old days."

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