Happy Birthday Hanalei

I had to share this with everyone.   Hanalei turned 2 on April 17th and her Daddy wrote this email to her in the morning..... How times flies.  I love you Baby Girl!

Hello Hanalei, 

As I write this, you are sleeping at Nana & Papa's home in Panama City Beach, Florida.  Since you just doubled in age today, I believe that you are old enough for an email account as well as a Facebook account...so here you go!

Momma & Dadda love you very much and are glad you chose us to be your parents!  We are thrilled to be on this journey with you as we learn from each other throughout the years to come!

Create a Beautiful Day Today as well as Every Day of your Life!  Always Remember...Everything in Life is a Choice!  And as Momma says..."Happiness comes from Within"

Love & Aloha,
Dadda
BTW, have you checked out our blog lately...you have some cute pictures & videos of yourself?  http://www.swanlifestyleblog.com/

Hanalei...Loving Mexico

Hanalei is loving Mexico, traveling and all the new amigo's and amiga's she is meeting.  Here she is with her purse her morning "YoYo" and a flower in her hair.

I feel so blessed to be able to provide her with a life of experience and adventure.  She will be 2 on the 17th of this month!! By the time we end this journey she will actually be 4.  I am thrilled to imagine what will transpire in the next 2 years with this little piece of clay!!!!  

She had fit in quit well here, because she doesn't like to wear tops so all the European's think she's from their side of town.   

Hammock's are everywhere here, and Hanalei calls them Wee's.  It's the best entertainment I have ever found.  This is the sit up Wee, you put her in a long one, wrap her like a burrito and whip her as high as you can get her and she will stay there for hours!!   We love Weeeee's!!!!

Semanta Santa from Rhonda

The Holiday has come to an end, but WOW was it wild here and such a cool experience.  Here's 2 video's Rhonda Style and Swano Style.  We had the pleasure of experiencing all the craziness off our patio!  Thats me at the top.

Hollywood For Surfers

If you have been following Facebook, I put a post about Puerto Escondito turning into the Hollywood for Surfers!  Well that was no joke.  This is a huge week for the surrounding area and it has gone mad here!!  

From the topless chicks at the pool and beach to a parade with girls throwing out Corona cans....yes they were throwing them to the crowd like a Mardi Gras Parade, it was wild and we got to witness it all right on our patio.  We are staying on the top floor and have the front patio with perfect views of the beach and action.  

Here is a video and some pics to prove it!!!

Our Aussie Mates!!

Big Props to our Aussie Mates!!!  We already miss you!

Right when we got to Hotel Ines, Swano connected with 3 Aussie Mates.  Now if any of you know Swan, he loves telling his stories, especially about him living in Australia when he was 20.  I mean really, he is married with a 2 year old now, so to get 3 guys 21 and 23 years old attention he was stoked.  It was hilarious because I walked up and thought "Who are these Aussie guys with Mustache's...that doesn't seem right.  They set off on a several m

onth trip and all decided to have "Mo's"  It was funny and it seemed as though the chica's were into it!!

So of course we had to give them different names, since that is just what we seem to do to people. (Heck my friend Michael has been Reggie to me for 11 years)   

 Nath was 23 and  we called him Hillsie after one of our deck mates on our Indo boat.

 

Next Was Andrew, or Rolf (who has been our best friend since I have know Brian

)  He didn't so much look like him but just had the Rolf demeanor.  (Made me miss you Rolfie Dog) 

Last, but of course not least was Jamie, or Ped.  He looked so much like a Pedro that his mates gave him the name and we couldn't top it!!  

We will definitely see you boys when we are in Bali or Sydney.....

Swano's 2nd week in Review...Mar29 - Apr5

Two weeks into Puerto Escondido and we are really finding our groove here.  We plan on staying here for 2 more weeks before we head back to to the states for a bit of time with my side of the family in Florida.  Here is a quick day to day rundown of what has been happening with us here.

Sunday, Mar 29th (Day 127):  Woke up around 7am and walked across the street for breakfast @ Los Tios where we are gazing at glassy overhead waves in front while sucking down a fresh, Fruit Smoothie (Licuado de Frutas).  We enjoyed a bit by the pool and then went out for late morning surf session to catch a few fun ones.  After the wind died down a bit, I paddled out for the evening glass off and was treated to a beautiful overhead tube about 25 minutes after sunset.  I was the last one out and could barely see what was happening out there.  To cap of the evening, the family went to Greko's for dinner and I enjoyed Chicken Tacos with a side of rice and beans (Tacos de Pollo con arroz y frijoles) for 40 pesos (just under $3USD).  Do not mistake...this is a nice oceanfront restaurant with beautiful wood decor.

Monday, Mar 30th:  Woke up at the crack of dawn to surf overhead glassy waves just in front of our place...no tubes though fun waves.  Since my blood is a bit thin being in the tropics for the past 4 months, I pulled out my jacket wetsuit to bare the chilly offshore wind.  After the surf, the family went back over to Los Tios for breaky....where we spent over 30 minutes attempting to find the #13 pool ball that Hanalei misplaced somewhere.  It has been a week now...and the ball is still missing.

The highlight of the day...internet installed in our room today!!!!

Tuesday, Mar 31st:  Instead of my usual weekday morning surf at the crack of dawn, I elected to go for a jog on the beach to the north, Playa Principal, where all the fishing boats are docked.  On my iPhone, I listened to 'The Secret' (www.thesecret.tv) on the Chapter of Gratitude.  As I went for a jog and then just walked about the fishing village with the people bringing in their evening catch...I was just filled with gratitude for enjoying this possibility that we have chosen to be here experiencing another culture.  I came back to Hotel Ines where I enjoyed a fresh Orange Juice and a cup of coffee (Naranja y Cafe) with the happiest (feliz) bartender at Hotel Ines, Ordaz Margara.  He is a great bloke! 

For the evening, I worked our business for 3 hours from the poolside and enjoyed a couple Pina Colada's before we headed out to dinner!  Not a bad day!

The Surf IS pumping!!

The Surf is really beginning to pick up!!!  Swano got his first action of the big stuff today.  There is more to come.

This place is turning on!!!  This is the Easter weekend and Puerto is getting prepared one of their biggest weeks of the year! It is Fiesta Time down here.  People are coming in from all over the world, Europe mostly and many from Mexico City.  All the European's are topless so Swano is stoked.  

Hotel Ines

(Click on the Hotel Ines Title of this blog. Then click the picture.   This is a camera that is posted on the top of our hotel and on our balcony of Habitacion #402.  If we are at the end you can see us, and of course see Swano in the Tubes. )

We had an amazing time at Hotel Santa Fe but of course Swano had to be DIRECTLY in front of the main wave (Mexican Pipeline) so we moved.....You should have seen the taxi, with 6 huge bags, a car seat and a board bag with 3 surfboards sticking out the window...it was so classic the locals were cracking up. 

Below is a picture taken from the front of the patio...not a bad view, just wait until the surf pics up this weekend!   That is Swano working in the hammok and Hanalei taking an evening Jacuzzi!  (it doesn't get very hot, so its more of a cool bath with bubles)

  

                                                       

Hotel Ines is owned by a German couple and is just as good if not better than the last (that seems to be coming up for us)  We are truly DIRECTLY in front of the surf and it is spectacular.  Now the internet issue is always an ISSUE!!  They say great internet and WiFi, but we are now beginning to realize that the Mexican's exaggerate a little bit! or maybe it really is great here.   So we had Pablo and the cable guy out again to fix the line and give us a HOT connection other than WiFi.  

Business as usual!  We are working through SKYPE and it seems to work well, as least from our side.   If you want to get in a good space to prospect, it dosn't get any better than this!

Kids with No Boundaries & No Filters!!

I was going to blog about this experience I was witnessing while on the beach with Hanalei this morning, but I could not put it into words, so I just decided to create a video and let you feel the moment!!

Day 135 and 2.5 weeks to go in Mexico!