Happy New Year

We had a great trip to Mexico for the holidays. We spent Xmas in Merida and Tulum, Mexico. The Yucatan Pennisula is an awesome place ... in addition to being the home of the most important event in earth's history (.... evidence of the metoeor impact which wiped out the dinosaurs (ok, well, not everyone is sure this is how it worked) can still be seen in the cenotes, or underground caves which are virtually ubiquitous on the penninsula... ) the Yucatan is endlessly interesting with Mayan. Mexican, European, and middle eastern influences. Highlight of the trip - aside from chilling on the beach with no phones, no email, no CNN - was a cooking class we took in Merida. (www.los-dos.com) Great day learning about very unique food and tradition. The guy that runs it lives there, in an incredible house ... this is his center atrium pool. You need one there, too, as it is steamy, steamy hot. We stayed at a new place this year, which has room for three families - which is good luck, since that's how many were there. Think of it as a Mexican Camp High Sierra. With 24 hour power, an actual refrigerator, and working stove/oven, we were in true luxury compared to our previous digs in Tulum. And the best part is that the Caribbean was literally out the back door. The distance from the house to the water at high tide was probably the same as from Joan's front door to Las Palmas Dr. Auggie has a great time whenever he's in "Big Mexico", as he calls it, particularly in Merida - which has street musicians in nearly every square ... here he is cutting a rug to some drummers. Note excellent form ...