Long over due, we know, we know 
Here are our photos from Puerto Vallarta to celebrate our first anniversary. Enjoy!
WARNING! Scammers in Puerta Vallarta airport!!
Eric and I have never been to Mexico before and after researching which hotel to stay at and what/what not to eat we never saw anything about actually getting into Mexico. I have never been to any other locations in Mexico so I can only speak for the Puerta Vallarta airport however be very careful with who you trust!
We got off the plane and walked towards the signs that said baggage claim. Since we did not have any baggage we proceeded towards the exit where we were going to meet the car to take us to our hotel. We walked through the first of three double-doors to the “exit” and were greeted with a man in a vest who had a badge on and a logo on the vest who asked us which company was meeting us and asked us for the voucher we had to confirm who was meeting us. We told them what the name of the company was, Olympus Travels, a partner of American Express. We were ushered over to this row of people behind a counter who all wore a vest with a badge, it made it all seem very official. We were speaking with a guy named Germaine who told us our car was en route and that it would be there in 15 minutes but since it was our first time visiting PV he would show us the map and give some suggestions on where to go. After 5 minutes we realized Germaine and all the guys in the vests were trying to rope you in to sell you a trip or an activity while you are in town, by doing so they also earned a commission off of it. It was all a very well set-up process they had there and it all seemed legitimately set-up by the airport officials which really frustrated me. We finally walked away from Germaine only to go through a second set of double-doors to be greeted AGAIN by another man in a vest who asked to see our car voucher and that our car would be here in 15 minutes. Let’s just say that I had enough of this “help” from the guys in the vest and their scam was quickly blowing-up in their faces as we replied, “well how come Germaine in there just told us the car would be here in 15 minutes…15 minutes ago?!” This new guy tried to persuade us otherwise but we just walked away and through the third and last set of double-doors to where we found our chauffeur.
If you are traveling to PV soon DO NOT BUY INTO ANYONE’S SCAMS AND JUST KEEP WALKING UNTIL YOU GET TO THE DOORS THAT LEAD OUTSIDE!
Thankfully we did not buy anything from anyone but it definitely gave me a bad taste. Fortunately we had a great anniversary trip with no more scams!
the 1st anniversary
Can’t believe it’s already been a full year. Time definitely flew by, and yup, we’re still head over heels. So to celebrate, we decided to head down to Puerto Vallarta for a few days. We had planned to take a mini vacation for our first anniversary, but couldn’t really decide where. We figured that since we now live in Houston, we should probably take advantage of the fact that we’re sort of in the middle of things, and a lot closer to destinations in Mexico.
And so we finally decided on Puerto Vallarta and stayed at the gorgeous Riu Palace Pacifico. We actually booked the entire trip through American Express, so it included flight and transportation too. It was heaps easier than trying to figure out all the logistics on your own, considering you hardly have enough time in the day to do most other things.
Anyways, pics to come soon, but for now, here are a few that we snapped on my phone.
Complimentary champagne on check-in!
View of the lobby
Lady luck!
And here’s a quick video we shot of the view from our room. We didn’t book this room originally, but got upgraded once the hotel found out we were there to celebrate our first anniversary 
fall weather eats
I just had to post this from Jennilee’s fb (plus it’s actually been a while that the blog got some love). Since Jennilee is from upstate NY, September usually signals for her the start of cooler weather, apple cider donuts, and apple picking! Of course, we don’t really have much of that down here in Houston. Right now it’s still sunny and in the 90′s and seems like it will be that way for the next month or so.
Well Jennilee was feeling a little home sick, so she decided to add some New England flare to our Sunday night dinner. She originally just wanted to create a single dish, but wound up cooking up a storm. So last night’s dinner menu was Jennilee’s ode to Fall: butternut squash mash, apple stuffing, braised apple cider cabbage, and stuffed pork.
…and some prosecco to top it off
…by special request!
Parker and MJ have been slowly adjusting to their new surroundings and asked us to post a few pictures just to let everyone know how they are doing.
Parker took the longest to adjust, goes to show you can’t teach an old dog (I mean, cat) new tricks! He refused to eat for a few days and most recently kept throwing-up for another few days (but he goes through these fits every so often). He seems to finally have adjusted although he still gets freaked out by the ceiling fans!
MJ LOVES the space. You will often see her just start running from room to room or hiding out on the window sill looking out at the “birds” (aka the damn pigeons that I HATE…how come I cannot get away from them?!) or sprawling against the wall to cool off.
