To the river and the beach

SANDY: Yesterday was kind of an unusual day. Dad dressed in his shorts and sneakers and that's generally the key to going to the beach.

COCO: Oh, Yeah!!! And we create quite a ruckus. We're going to the beach!! We're going to the beach!!

JODIE: It didn't go quite as we thought. Oh, we three girls were in the back of the Jeep and we were making a lot of noise. We REALLY like going to the beach and we DO get all excited. But when Dad drove out of the campground, he drove past all the streets that lead to the beach. That came as a shock and Sandy, Coco, and I got very quiet as he drove out of town and then took a left on the highway. Perhaps we were just going for a ride.

SANDY: A ride is OK, I like a ride. I like the beach better, but I like a ride, too

COCO: It wasn't just a ride. Dad took us to a river a few miles from the campground. He left us in the Jeep while he checked out the river. We could see the water and we were in an uproar, waiting to get in the water. The noise inside the Jeep was deafening!!

JODIE: The younger girls have no patience!

COCO: What the......you were making as much noise as Sandy and I were!

JODIE: I must have gotten caught up in the excitement, I don't quite remember.

SANDY: I'll continue if they're going to argue over nothing. Dad came back and started the car and drove the Jeep right down to the water. When he opened the rear hatch, the three of us FLEW out of the back and raced to the water. It wasn't quite what I expected.

COCO: No, me neither! The water was shallow, never getting up to my chest and the bottom was muddy. The water was nice and cool, but there was not enough to swim.

JODIE: That's right! Upstream the river was narrow and deeper and there was a nice current, but we couldn't get there because the land was fenced off. Where we were the river was very wide and very shallow.

COCO: Then Dad called us back to the Jeep, but I pretended that I didn't hear him. The river wasn't great, but it was better than going back to the campground.

JODIE: I'm ashamed to say that I didn't return to the Jeep either.

SANDY: I didn't hear anything!

COCO: I'm not surprised!

JODIE: Girls..... Dad solved the problem. He started the Jeep and took off. As much as we like the water, we DO NOT WANT TO BE LEFT BEHIND. AS he drove away, he left the rear hatch open, and when he stopped all three of us very quickly jumped in. I thought our swimming was over for the day, but Dad had one more surprise for us.

SANDY: Yup, on the way back to the campground he took a left turn and drove to our spot on the beach. We were in the surf in a dash, then we played fetch with the balls.

Here we are on the beach chasing sticks. Dad didn't take any pictures at the river. We did have a geat time, though.

This is Archie and we have an amazing story to tell about him. Some time before we got here he was hit by a car and his back end was pretty broken up. His people were sure that he would have to be put down, but they brought him to a local Vet. The local Vet couldn't help them and referred them to a vet in Puerto Vallarta. Xrays showed a lot of broken bones in his rear, but not his spine or legs. I guess it's the bone that connects the hips and legs and spine. There was no way to put a cast on it. The Vet put on rubber gloves and went in through the butt and very carefully put the broken bones back in the proper position, without surgery. A week later they went back and the Vet had to make one minor adjustment and now Archie is a lively pooch. To see him run and jump, you'd never think he had a problem. Amazing!!!

COCO: I don't know about tat kind of treatment, but I suppose that if it works........

SANDY, COCO, and JODIE: Hasta luego from the Perras at Punta Perula