Our son-in-law, Javier Benito began a new business venture this year.  Javier, the owner of BENITTO'S DELI in Plaza Neptuno decided to go a step beyond the 9:00 am to 9:00 pm eatery and found a location to establish a full scale, big city style restaurant/lounge in El Centro.  The grand opening was on the 12th of May and despite a comedy of errors (actually Benitto can redefine the phrase 'Comedy of Errors') it was a success. 

16 hours prior to the opening, one of the skylights fell out of the roof.  14 hours prior to, a carpenter accidentally broke the ONLY 3 cm piece of green glass available in all of Puerto Vallarta and intended for the door.  12 hours before opening a welder accidentally ignited a jar of thinner and the fire was fairly impressive.  If something could fall, break or explode, it did right up until 7:00 pm on the 12th and then magically the lounge opened and all was well. 

Benitto, our charismatic son-in-law seems to make everything (well, except for construction) work and this new hot-spot will be amazing.  The Deli-Lounge has 2 levels and the upper loft is going to have a large library/book exchange with titles in English, Dutch, French and Spanish.  There are plans for a weekly cribbage tournament and a chess club as well.  Meetings and conferences can be held on the upper floor and either the extensive coffee menu or full bar can be provided. 

Even the washrooms are Benitto Style, he visited Vancouver recently and was taken to a club with unusual cubicles so there was no question that the new Deli should boast the same.  Phil was intrigued with the bathrooms and spent a great deal of time at the opening heckling the guests  Phil Style. 

Be sure to stop by for a salad and sandwich or just a cappuccino or Corona.  Located on Calle Josefa  Ortiz de Dominguez on the corner of Calle Juarez.

The Sports Classic?  What an incredible event….and here in Puerto  Vallarta?  It has grown over the years into a major happening and this is all thanks to an old friend and fellow Canadian, Howard Kelsey. 

Of course there are now many sports included but it all began with basketball.  Howard was a star collegiate player with UBC and eventually became a member of the Canadian Olympic Team.  Now, a resident of Guadalajara, he has created this annual event that involves hundreds of athletes from all over the world. 

Now, onto the Basketball.  Nicole and I were collegiate basketball fans of the University of Victoria team in the 80's and never missed a game (we couldn't, the other daughter/sister was a cheerleader and she always needed a ride)  So, we became dedicated fans and although we never really understand the rules of play, we spent hours commenting on the height, physique and mostly the beautiful bouncing hair of the players. 

So, 20 years have past and the 'Old Guys', Howard Kelsey and Greg Wiltshire look exactly the same, maybe better, but our big problem with this sport was the bouncing hair. 

We watched 2 games on the evening of the 25th and NO hair bounced.  Actually most of the athletes were bald and the few that sported locks had them trimmed down to about 2 cm.  Even our old idol, Howard did not have enough length to bounce.  Yep, gone are the days of Kelly Dukeshire and his bouncy hair.  Now I suppose that Nicole and I are going to have to concentrate on the actual sport of basketball. 

Actually World Cup Soccer is happening now and these guys still have bouncing hair so we may just change sports! 

We are expecting our first REAL Mexican family member soon.  Daughter Kim, owner of Ningun Pecado Swimwear and husband Petr of Viva Natura are impatiently awaiting the birth of their son Spudsky.  Of course Mom and Dad have no intention of naming this child Spudsky but considering that his father is Czech and mother is Canadian and he will have a Mexican Birth Certificate, their choice of the name Adam is pretty unexciting.  Phil and I are just hoping that this little guy speaks a language that we understand.  His first word will obviously be either 'Bikini' or 'Iguana', but we are not sure what language it will be in.