More Wanderlust!

Craig and I have had two free tickets on Southwest just burning holes in our suitcases since last January. I originally signed onto their credit card because I needed the tickets for family emergencies in the Midwest. Since then our lives have changed. Craig retired, so we have the time to drive to and from instead of me flying by myself.

I tried waiting Southwest out hoping they would open that mythical flight to and from Cancun that I've been hearing about, but after doing some research, I realized my free tickets would expire before that ever happens. So we started mulling our options. We thought about flying into Seattle and meeting our son in Whistler, B.C. in late August, but he was already booked. California and Colorado were out because we can easily drive there. I originally looked at Florida, one of two states in the U.S. I haven't visited, but then dismissed it because Key West was the only destination I really desired and it's so pricey! We even looked at Maine in September, but can you spell arm and a leg?

The other day, I was perusing Southwest trying to think of a destination for these rapidly fading award tickets and I came upon a post on their forum. Anna Maria Island? Never heard of it, but people were raving about it! I googled it and are you kidding me? I didn't know Gulf of Mexico water could look like that! And the place appears to be very quaint and laidback, not to mention much more affordable than Sanibel or Key West.

After checking their online ticketing last night, I truly thought there was no way my two standard roundtrip award certificates would translate into two roundtrip tickets to Florida with their new points system, but wonders never cease.

Cue Eddie Money! We've got two tickets to paradise in late September! I even scored a full size rental car for a week for $130 including the tax! So far the tab is up to $145 for the roundtrip tickets and rental car. Smirk smirk. Now I just need to find that wonderful little beach cottage.

Anyone ever been to Anna Maria Island, Florida or thereabouts? These photos, of course, are not mine because I haven't been there yet!

They had me at pastel adirondacks and that white sand beach.

The shape of the island reminds me a little of you know where!

Even the color of the water looks oddly familiar.

I'll keep you posted! On a sad note, my laptop is going in for repairs today. A loud whining fan indicates it's overheating, and I'll also be getting a new battery in the process. I'll still have my netbook, but most of my photos are on the laptop, so my posting could be a little erratic for awhile!

The House of Art

This abode stands directly across from the dog bark fence in Bisbee, so I'm guessing the same artist could be at work? It's very interesting, but I need a translator. It's definitely a statement about the two sexes, perhaps some modern day takeoff on Adam and Eve? (You've got the nude female and one side and the male on the other with the garden flower in between.)

This female is obviously not allowed to speak.

While this princess seems to be caged.

And our Eve looks like she's given birth to a litter.

?????????

And Adam has skulls (symbols of death?) at his feet. Actually, I'm now looking at this male and noticing a crown of C.D.'s (crown of thorns?) on his head. Could he represent Jesus?

Interesting, but what the heck!

Bisbee Walkabout

We love our morning walks in Bisbee. Number one -- the route is up and down hills at a higher elevation, so it's great exercise. Number two -- it's reasonably cool, unlike Phoenix this time of year. And last but not least, there's something unusual to look at around every corner!

We catch a great view over the town as we make our way up the hill.

A naked lady in the window!

Beer cap mosaic design on this door. (Now I know what to do with those caps that someone keeps flipping into my silverware drawer.)

I multi-task, shopping while we walk. These bolsas were $4.00. Sold!


Wall murals all over town!

Okay, this piece of art is amazing! The Hillary car. This person is obviously a fan!

The international sign for don't pee on my wall?

And what a sight! A woman was walking her pet goats to town. They stopped to munch on roadside greens while she waited patiently.

License and Registration Please?

Saw this dog in Bisbee and just couldn't resist!

Good Eats and Fun Friends

We just got home from a Friday night out at the Tee Pee Mexican Restaurant in Phoenix. The food was very tastey! We met a lovely young couple at the bar who own a wonderful little breakfast/lunch restaurant on Isla Mujeres! I think the name of it is Barlito's?

But seriously, it was wonderful getting to see Tiffany and Brad again and also meeting some other Phoenix people who visit Isla. Thanks to Tiff and Brad for organizing the get together and including us! We can't wait to get back to Isla Mujeres in three months so we can satisfy our Barlito cravings and see them again.

Speaking of good Mexican food, we ate at Santiago's twice on our trip to Bisbee this week. We discovered the restaurant on our first trip to Bisbee four years ago, and this time, we stayed at the Hotel San Ramon above the restaurant. It was very convenient, especially when a big monsoonal storm blew in Tuesday night just as we were finishing dinner.

As always, the food was great! The first evening, we sampled the Ceviche, Enchilada Suizas, and Bandera Burro. I didn't take any photos since we were eating with friends. The second evening, we both ordered the taco platters. All the dishes were wonderful. If you're headed that way, we highly recommend Santiago's for dinner!

And now -- off to bed. It was after midnight Isla time when we all left the Tee Pee. It's way past my bedtime!

The Life's a Beach Wagon

One of our favorite things to do in Bisbee is walk the hills. The town's elevation is about the same as Denver (a mile high), so it's 15 to 20 degrees cooler than home and we can take long morning walks without overheating.

Tuesday morning while walking the loop around the town, I spotted an old blue VW van. The body shop across the street actually had its garage door painted to match the van. As I was snapping photos, I suddenly noticed the decal in the back window! Take a look!

I think I need one of these! (The van and the decals!)

One Man's Trash

Bisbee is an art wonderland! The art's avant-garde, and it's all over town. Everyone knows the saying one man's trash is another man's treasure. Artists built a fence for the local dog park out of wood scraps, old C.D.'s, old fan blades, paint, stuffed animals, old bed springs, and who knows what else! The wall of an old building completes the fourth side, and they decorated that with graffiti!

Leaving Suburbia

We took a left turn out of suburbia and Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore! I literally woke up dizzy Monday morning and staggered through the morning routine to the car, but road trips wait for no man! By the time we hit Benson, Arizona and rolled into the Safeway parking lot for a Starbuck's, Craig yelled, Where's your camera!

I always miss the good photos. There she was -- the one that got away. A very large motorcycle mama with plaid beer advertising pants and tattoos blanketing her arms from shoulders to wrists. Craig evidently thinks I have a death wish? A few more miles down the road and a frappe later, Craig whipped a U so I could get a snapshot of Digger's hearse.

We spent the rest of the day on the restaurant/bar tour of Bisbee, catching up with friends who sailed away from Washington State in 1999 on a large wooden sailboat bound for the Pacific side of Mexico. They spent four years touring from one port to the next until they landed in Southern Arizona in 2003. We've been in Arizona five years now, so it's about time we caught up!

Here are some of the day's photos that didn't get away!

My dizziness blew in with a large dust storm on Sunday night. I think Craig will probably wake up dizzy today. I wonder why? Tee hee.

Stay tuned!

Casa Luna Turquesa

I always tiptoe around where we stay on Isla, especially while we're there. It's mostly for privacy and security reasons, but there's also that selfish part of me that wants my favorite place to be a secret so it will always be available for me when I want to stay. That cat's obviously out of the bag because I've been told this secret place is one of the most popular rentals on the island, so it's about time I posted a complete review on this blog!

The place we keep returning to year after year on Isla Mujeres is Casa Luna Turquesa! It's a lovely home located towards the south end of the airport strip in an area populated by pricey Caribbean front residential homes.

I first noticed the house on one of my round the island bike rides back in November 2004. It was under construction at the time, but I wondered if it would come available on the rental market? We'd stayed at Casa del Sol the spring of 2004, so Craig and I both were hooked on staying oceanfront away from the hotels in El Centro on a quiet beach. I'd also discovered seaglass in 2004 and knew the airport strip beaches were chockful of it.

Sure enough, I eagerly watched the local booking sites and Casa Luna Turquesa popped up as a vacation rental on Isla Beckons in 2005. I quickly decided to book one of the studios for a month in October/November 2005. Unfortunately, Wilma struck two days before my trip, wiping out my plans for a month of bliss. I'd rented through Isla Beckons and the house was not damaged by the hurricane, so the owners graciously rescheduled my rental to April 2006 with no extra charge for high season rates.

That month at the Luna Turquesa upper studio in April 2006 was sheer heaven. We broadened our horizons from El Centro to the colonias, shopping at the little tiendas, eating tacos at the balllpark, and taking our morning walks out the Caribe side and cutting back through the colonias. We spent our early mornings on the upstairs porch eating breakfast while we watched the island pass by on the street. Later, we walked into town for beach time on Playa Norte, then returned to sit by the pool in the afternoons. The water in front of the house was flat enough for Craig to snorkel most days. Having stayed there for a full month, I can tell you the pool was always clean, the maids were there twice weekly to insure clean linens, supplies, and spotless rooms, and the property manager dropped by frequently to make sure everything was good and ask if we needed anything. We were very sad to leave at the end of our month.

One of the little secrets that keeps us returning to Luna Turquesa year after year are the narrow sliding windows high above the sliders in the upstairs studios. The narrow windows can safely be left open (there are also rods in all the tracks of every slider to ensure safety) to hear the crashing waves! I feel perfectly safe staying at Luna Turquesa even if I'm by myself and have never had any security issue.

Luna Turquesa's even gotten better over the years. What amazes me is that it's so well maintained. Everything still looks new! We've stayed in a few oceanfront properties that easily look 10 years old after a couple of years from the corrosion and wear and tear, so I realize the amount of work it must take to maintain that high level of consistency! Wireless internet and DVD players have also been added to the upstairs studios for extra entertainment options.

We recently stayed in the downstairs in June and it's equally wonderful! All the living areas in the downstairs have beautiful views of the blue Caribe, and both bedrooms are ensuite with their own private bathrooms and huge closets. In addition, the downstairs has satellite television, which was a nice surprise since it carried the Seattle stations I'd been missing since we moved away five years ago.

The area around the location has also blossomed with some good restaurants in the colonias within walking distance. Da Luisa is just two doors to the south up top Casa Ixchel. John Cain was playing Saturday Happy Hour there in June. I also noticed morning yoga classes at Casa Ixchel under their palapa while we were eating breakfast at Da Luisa. The Mango, which serves excellent breakfast, lunch and dinner, is only about a 15 minute walk to the south. Monchi's, located just south of the Mango, has good Mexican food. The cut street to the bayside of the island is just south of Luna Turquesa in the colonias, so Seso Loco, Chuk Kay, and The Soggy Peso are also within walking distance. El Centro's only about a 20 minute walk, and it's also easy to hail a cab in front of the house. At the time of our last trip, we paid about 20 pesos to El Centro and also the supermercado and Basto's in La Gloria. Taxi rates have risen since our trip, and I think the going rate is now 25 pesos.

Here's a link to Casa Luna Turquesa on VRBO. The pictures below are mostly of the exterior because the interior photos on all the booking websites for the house are totally accurate. What's pictured there is exactly what the house looks like to date! And last time I looked on the booking sites, there's a 15% low season discount in place!


The upstairs porch -- our favorite spot to watch the island pass by in the mornings and evenings!

The sunset view from the rooftop out over the bay.

Craig lounging in the pool in June. If you're staying on Isla Mujeres in the hot summer months, the Caribe side is the place to be! Afternoons spent dipping in and out of the pool with the nice breeze feel at least 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the heat in El Centro.

Another gorgeous summer sunset from the rooftop!


In addition to listening to the crashing waves, waking to the sunrise every morning is another special perk!

View from the pool!

The infinity view from the upstairs studios. It's fun to watch fishing boats and the occasional cruise ship pass by.

Another sunrise!


View from the balcony to the beach in front.

The upstairs south studio. Notice those narrow little sliders that can be opened for ventilation and the sound of the waves! I apologize because the bed's a little rumpled and my interior photos are not as good as those on their websites.

Anyway, that's my little secret revealed in its totality. We've stayed all round the island in accommodations from semi-rustic to the higher end places on Playa Norte, but we keep returning to Casa Luna Turquesa for its consistent serenity and beauty.

The Friday Update

It's 8 a.m. and 92 degrees. I'd rather be floating on Playa Norte!