Hard work DOES pay off

I hate to even name a blog post like this one.  It feels like such a millennial (or what is the next generational group called?) thing to say...

So take it from a Gen X / Boomer’s point of view.  We really mean hard work.  Decades of it.  Late nights, accepting direction from our boss (even the ones we didn’t like), forgoing new cars and fun vacations to raise kids (even other people’s kids).  We have suffered the loss of Marci’s mother, a stroke, injustice, and pain.  But we are happy people.

I’m not looking for a pat on the back - just an understanding of what it took to be able to do this.

Ok, off the soap box.

We’ve been coming to Cabo San Lucas since December of 2014.  We had just sold our Strasburg home (after a year of our wonderful kids helping us remodel and repair) and used a small bit of the profits to take a vacation.  Then we bought a time-share (I know, I know...) but WE LOVE IT.

The property is called Grand Solmar  and it is absolutely decadent.  Stunningly set against tan sandstone cliffs and a private beach on the Pacific Ocean - it is just gorgeous.  We bought at the right time too - the area was just emerging from hurricane Odile and the economy was desperate for an influx of cash.  There was a fear that the US tourists would not come back and that would kill the three towns that rely almost entirely on US tourist dollars.

  

A lot has happened in our life since that trip.  Some bad (Marci’s stroke) and some good (our grand-baby Aniyah) but luckily we get a week in this paradise no matter what!  We tend to go during Marci’s Spring Break. 

Anyway, we decided after the difficult year we’ve had, we are going to take a week and immerse ourselves in this place. In this moment. Leaving everything else in another place and time.

We paid for the “meal plan” (think all inclusive) so that all food and beverages are included in a daily price.  That means this blog will be filled with food photos (and foodie smiles).

We will celebrate Marci’s 50th birthday on Monday, our 30th Anniversary Friday (except it isn’t until next week), and being alive and able to enjoy this magnificent experience EVERY DAY.

We hope you enjoy!

A day in the land of Dickens- To London!

I was flying back to the US through London, and it was to take place on a weekend, so my Chief of Staff (John McDonald) suggested I at LEAST see a few things in London.  It was a fantastic idea, and I'm glad I did.

It was only about a day and a half, so I decided to see Big Ben, walk by Whitehall, and eat at a five star Indian restaurant. The second day was reserved for the British Museum. OMG - this is a bucket list stop.

Enjoy!

Big Ben - cold rain

Big Ben at Night

Police Racing past Westminster Abbey

I even got to see a Royal Procession

And then there was the British Museum...

Admission has ALWAYS been free

A word here.  If you have followed this blog, or know me, then you know I am a lover of ancient things.  Most especially, ancient Anasazi things. But I will save money on a hotel to get a guide to take me to see the amazing past of a great place and Marci and I spent nearly a day at one of the greatest museums in the world (Museo de Antropologia) but walking around the British museum does make me wonder when collecting history becomes plain ole theft.  I read a GREAT book about this very notion (Craig Childs' Finders Keepers).

The people of this small island empire sure did get around. And whether theft or preservation - they amassed perhaps the greatest collection of GLOBAL HISTORY ever attempted.  The photos below are ORIGINAL works of art from every corner of the world.

EGYPT - attracts the most visitors:

So many mummies you can't count them!

The South Pacific you say?  How about Easter Island...

The Roman Empire and Early Christianity:

From a building in England

The earliest known depiction of Christ - 300 A.D

Chinese Porcelain

The Greeks

Looks like the Anasazi Effigy James found! 

English History

Shakespeare's Bust 

Even British Museum History - this was how items were first displayed

Over 6000 years old

And to finish my trip - I got a birthday/Christmas present at Henry Pordes Books (about a mile from where Charles Dickens lived and wrote) for myself!

TALE OF TWO CITIES (Published by Chapman & Hall, Piccadilly

with an inscription from 1870)

And British Airways to Denver (10.5 hours).

The upper crust cabin

Until Mexico with Joshua - UNDAUNTED!

Policing with a Kilt...

I have been back from Scotland for  almost two weeks.   It was fast, it was fun, and it was the most impactful training I've ever had as a police officer.

I have been giving it a lot of thought. And as a Deputy Chief, there are some small things I will be changing immediately to point us in the direction that Police Scotland take (and trust me, it is very impressive and thought provoking).  But I also write this a day after ANOTHER mass shooting (this one an hour's drive south in the city where I was born).

I am not going to detail what I learned (yet).  But I will share some of the great experiences I had...

Tulliallan Castle- Home of Police Scotland Training - where we stayed

                    

The 'suspect" above is armed with a knife - the officer with Pepper spray.

In Scotland, they do not use firearms when confronted by "Petrol bombs" (we call Molotov cocktails):

An amazing week.

Friday evening I took a trip to Edinburgh to shop.  Wow...go to Scotland!

A wee hop over the pond...

I have been told I am the true to life version of Forrest Gump (not sure if it's 'cause I'm a bit slow - or always in the right place at the right time?).

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago the Chief asked me to fly with a select group of US police executives to Edinburgh Scotland. The idea is to study how an unarmed police force deals with armed suspects in an attempt to see if we can reduce fatal police citizen encounters.  I thought long and hard (less than .003 seconds) and said YES!

So, here I am. Boarding a British Air flight to Edinburgh via London. I'll keep you all posted!

Scottish Police College at Tulliallan

If a doctor gives you a month to live - mortgage everything, grab your loved ones, and head to Culebra

I blush when I admit that I fancy myself an amateur travel writer. It stems from a love of travel and a love of books. So, please forgive that most of my posts seem positive and make you want to go there.  Isn't that the point of a travel blog?

And then there was Culebra.

I remember the gasp I let out when I turned the corner and saw Teotihuacan.  Or the beauty of Manawaiopuna Falls in Kuai. The Grand Cayon, the Buchardt Gardens in Victoria Canada, and the red fall leaves in New England...

And then there was Culebra.

Perfection

Once I arrived, I fully intended to walk about the Island. Its pretty small, and I like walking. But the lady in the airport kindly suggested I consider a golf cart.  GLAD I DID.  I could have walked, but the cart gave me the chance to REALLY see the whole Island. And it is a GEM!

Octopus Salad - YUM

End of the day~

I decided that I would never wash the magical sand of Culebra from my feet. So that I might carry this day forever (Ok, I actually already showered, but it sounds like a travel writer - huh?)

Tinker Belle's Hot Tub

I am going to work backwards tonight. I just can't start anywhere other than the most amazing spectacle I just witnessed.

The BioBay in Vieques PR (more specifically just outside Esperanza) cannot readily be described.  It is a bay with the highest concentration of biolumiensence in the world. These tine critters emit light in a complicated process - when they are disturbed.  You should see the rain.

The water glows, but it doesn't just glow. And it only glows when disturbed.  It also sparkles and flashed when a school of fish scatter as the boat disrupts a night time feeding. It was too dark to capture on film - but put this on your bucket list. It is the northern lights IN a lake.

The boat to bio-bay

But I had to travel, by car, the boat, then taxi, then foot just to get to the bio bay.  Here is that journey... And before you envision some remote back woods shack - I watched most of the Broncos home opener on satellite TV and texted Marci.  Technology...

Ferry Boats

Puerto Ricans LOVE their meat. These are both roadside stands.

Chicken BBQ

Lechon ()Roasted pig)

The bay coming into Viewues 

Hurricane victim

The lighthouse in Isabella II

And people.  I met this couple at the Ferry terminal heading to Vieques. We got to chatting, and ended up on the same tour of the bio bay.  They are very cute and were so fun to talk to. Their marriage was "arranged" four years ago - and they are happy as can be.  They made me want to go to INDIA so bad!