Bienvenido a Mooevo Vallarta!!

Not to "toot my own horn" but I am one well-travelled cow already! November 1-8 marked the annual trip to Mexico and Jen & Matt took me along for the ride. This year's adventure took place in Nuevo Vallarta but, as you'll see below, most of the fun happened in the bars around the area. Who would've thought that you'd go all the way to Mexico to hang out in Irish pubs...

OK, I realize you can't see it but this picture was meant to convey that we started our journey at 4 dark 30 a.m.!!! Matt's head just about explodes if we don't get to the airport at least 3 hours before our flight. BTW, Jen is magic because of her skills in photography.

Here I am on our balcony enjoying the view & one of my fav beverages, Moodelo. Can't you feel the stress just melting away???

And so it begins...the scenery looks a lot better while enjoying Pacifico's & tunes!!

Let this be a lesson to all you kids out there...this is what happens when you party too much on your first night of vacation! You wouldn't know it, but it's probably only around 10pm or so...P.S.-Jen's been in bed for about an hour!

Here I am with my friends Shane & Dani (you know Matt already)...all set to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead...mmoooooooo spooky!!!

Part of Dia de los Muertos involves honoring loved ones who have passed by decorating their grave sites and offering gifts of their favorites foods and beverages. Obviously, this is not the grave of any of the friends I was travelling with as it's not strewn with empty Pacifico's & Captain bottles!!!

Another tradition of the day of the dead is the sharing of the Pan de Muerto...Matt & Jen think it tastes like feet (especially after margueritas & cotton candy)...but it's a nice tradition.

Nothing like starting off dinner with a shot of tequila as you enter the festivities. It was about this time that we started placing bets on who was going to end up passed out face down in one of the honorary "graves".

Wow, I feel so "authentic"...

Shane being accosted by the ghost of drunken nights past...scary!

Hell yeah we need another round of margueritas...keep 'em coming!!!

Kahlua + Tequila + Flame didn't sound like the best idea to me but Jen was all over it when this guy came around to offer us shots. I told her not to worry...eyebrows grow back.

Just so you don't get the impression that all we do is drink on vacation, here's the view from one of the courses where Matt & Shane golfed.

Here's Cecil, the caddy. Funny thing, Matt says he putts much better when he gets input from someone who knows how to read the green!!

Bucerias is a small town near Nuevo Vallarta & is one of our favorite spots. As if we needed another reason to hang out there, we found a new bar called Yo-Yo Mo's which turned out to be da bovine bomb!!! We never figured out if the owner's a big fan of the cello or what but with cold cervezas & American football on the TVs, we really didn't care. Plus, the wait staff was cute...Moo!

So, the resort had a cheesy "Back to the Prom"-themed dinner. But, the food is usually good and it's open bar so it met our criteria for attendance. Can you say "quatro rum punch" amigo???

Hey, what else do you do at a "prom"??

...Our good friend the bartender/owner of the Shamrock, another of our favorite "stomping grounds" in Bucerias. You'd think we'd remember her name but we're usually a little...how you say..."under the influence" when we're here.

Irish wisdom...words to live by!

Part of the decor at the Shamrock...what an honor!

Miguel Angel's, another favorite spot in Bucerias (apparently there is nothing else there!!). We didn't plan to stop here but we had walked a whole block without a drink and we remembered the hooge fresh fruit margueritas (Mmm Mango...Mmm Pineapple) & queso fresco from our last trip so, what choice did we have?

Here's my friend El Loro that roams around Miguel Angel's...we've got a few pics of him on Jen's shoulder from the last trip (you know how she gets when animals are around). Most of the time you find him camped out by the piano man who plays requests for tips. Now, if you've never heard the perennial favorite "Sweet Caroline" in Spanglish with made-up words thrown in when he doesn't remember the real ones, you haven't lived!!

Jen & Matt met Jose Leonardo 2 years ago when he was selling candy...in a bar...in Bucerias...where they were drinking...anybody notice a theme here?? Anyway, good to see him again & know that he's doing just fine. Jen wanted to take him back to the states the last time they were here since she was certain his "cousin" who was with him in the bar did not have his best interests in mind (can anybody say child labor?!?!?) Matt thought it might have been the 4000 shots Jen had done just before she formulated her opinion that was influencing her perspective.

Last night in Mexico...Sunset in Bucerias...thought I'd take a walk on the beach to enjoy the scenery.

& still sunset...with my peeps in the background fishing for my supper. (get it..pelicans, peeps...aw, forget it)

Ahh, the romance. Now where are my bitches...I mean, ladies...I mean,cows.

Just when I thought I had a free ride out of the country, they run out of milk for the coffee and everyone starts staring at me. Thank God they had enough steak to go around...