From out of the ashes

Even in the mist of bad comes good. I believe this, so although I have shared my horror story of our timeshare, it is only fair to share a little of the other side.

You see.....there are some people who need a little help to get out of their comfort zone and go to places they may not have gone to before; So it was with my hubby and I.

When we bought the timeshare it came with the first years membership to RCI and a book showing all the wonderful places you could go. I spent hours with my nose in that book! It also included an extra vacation of one week at a facility for $199.00. Well, I wasn't as smart then, and didn't do my homework on the Internet to find out the location, reviews and etc. of the resort so I chose the Mayan Sea Garden in Mazatlan, Mexico
The grounds of the resort were beautiful but the suites left a bit to be desired and it was located very far north from town. A couple of highlights was how the people gathered on the beach just before sunset to see the sun drop into the ocean and then cheer:) This was a nightly ritual........and the restaurant on the facility served pretty good food..........Warning!!! Margarita's in Mexico are not the same as in the US....much stronger!

We even made friends with one of the beach hawkers and he shared about his life selling stuff on the beach......very interesting. Although we were pretty isolated there, my hubby took the initiative and said "Well, we're here, lets make the most of it" and we checked out the tours available and booked several different ones...one of them included lunch in a small little town where the children greeted us on donkeys:) and we saw them making bricks by hand and many different other ways of their life apart from tourism.. We also found how US money in tips were special treats and greatly appreciated (maybe not the case these days). We took the Pulmonias several times

into town to try out some of the restaurants and although the Mayan Sea Garden is not our pick of resorts......Mazatlan is one of our very favorite places to visit and we have been back several times apart from the timeshare....(PS the Shrimp Bucket restaurant is not to be missed if you go).

Our first real exchange of our timeshare was to Whistler, Canada. I had never heard of the place before but loved the picture it showed and did do my homework and thought we might enjoy it here.

Club Intrawest-Whistler
What an awesome experience! We flew into Vancouver and then drove up to Whistler. The drive itself was wonderful and we were pleasantly surprised at our facility. The cutest little two bedroom condo with a balcony that had a pine tree view. Now when you are a desert rat like me.....that is heaven. It also included a fireplace for the cool evenings and two little towns walking distance from our unit. Our place was next to the ski lift area (one morning it included a grazing black bear) and even though it was spring time with very mild weather and blooming tulips......there was lots of snow up on the mountain where we watched people snowboarding and skiing with a cup of hot chocolate. There even was a ski lift for people with bikes and only went up the mountain so far and then they would race down. Such diversity would be hard to match. Morning walks, afternoon car rides, real homemade soup at a little out of the way restaurant, sitting in the crisp air nice and cosy in the hot tub mmmmmmmm good memories. Of course Whistler has had a big make over since our visit.........they are going to hold the 2010 Olympics there.

to be continued................................................................................