The House Will Be Done . . .

"So the house will be done by time we get there on December 22?", I ask once again. I've been asking this same question at least 10 times over the last month. "It should be pretty much done.", responded the voice on the phone. I ask, "We will be able to move in when we get down there on December 22?" The voice responds convincingly, "Sure, oh yes." I have my doubts yet I want to be hopeful; Sharon doesn't believe a word and is convinced the house will not be done.

Dec. 20, we arrive in Puerto Vallarta and spend the next two days at an all-inclusive hotel; wow, did we overdo everything! We also got our car out of storage and shopped around for food and other necessities. We did most of our shopping at Walmart, and since Sam's Club is next door, Sharon suggested we walk over to buy a tent, flashlight, and other camping stuff, just in case the house is not done. Also, our friend Rowan was in Vallarta, so we picked him up and he spent a night with us at the all-inclusive; he on spending a week with us in Tenacatita.

December 22, Sharon, Rowan and I begin the drive through Puerto Vallarta and south on Mexico Hwy 200. The weather is warm, the sky is bright blue and filled with soaring vultures. It was a fun ride through mountainous terrain covered with deciduous forests, and through lush, green agricultural valleys filled with banana plantations, and coconut palms. At our rest stops we saw colorful song birds, hummingbirds and hawks. A tarantula crossed the road in front of us, but not all were in agreement it was a tarantula, Rowan thought it was a crab. Four hours later we round the last few curves on Tenacatita road and we catch a glimpse of our house.

For Sharon and me a completed house is the culmination of a long, difficult project; more importantly, we plan on spending 2 1/2 months living in our beach house, so no house means camping, or a stay in the small local hotel. Rowan is planning on spending a week with us and has not planned on a week stay at the local hotel. Also, the three of us had planned on hanging out in our beach house, fishing, and visiting. Anyway, we slowly approach our driveway, and in unison we groan and say, "It's not done!". There were no walls, we could see through the house to the ocean. The house was framed, it even had a roof, and a concrete floor, but that's all it had! There were no walls, no toilets, no water and no electricity. Only an empty shell of a beach house. Oh this was bad! Really bad!