Xmas is over, the Tree is down, The New Year has begun and its still Winter, its wet and its cold and your body says

OK I am Ready for Sunshine? A Tan. Swim and Sunbathe. A Glass of wine in your own Jacuzzi? Breakfast is an Orange or Grapefruit picked from your own Tree.

How about Sunny California in January February or March for Unbelievable Prices.

A 3 Bedroom 3 Bath Villa with your own Pool and Spa with Incredible Mountain and City Light Views. Starting at $1500 a week (Dollars) and going really Upscale to a 5 Bedroom 4 Bath for $2950 a week.( Sleeps 8-12)

We have a selection of Condos for $1000 and up a week also. Plus we have special Couples rates and Honeymoon Packages.. And Guys what about a Golf Trip for you and a Cruise for the Lady we have those combos also. How about those anniversaries, Special Occasions, Family reunions we cater for them all.

So Margaritas anyone ?????

Top your Vacation off with a 3/4 or 7 Day Cruise to Mexico starting at $545 a person for a Balcony Cabin ( less for inside and onsite cabins -no

Balcony) Visit Cabo San Lucas , Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan. Pay Dollar Prices instead of pounds.

To Find out more and to Book a Vacation to Palm Springs , Rancho Mirage or Palm Desert or a Cruise to Sunny Mexico or a combination of both or just an inquiry for a future Date Please email Carole on mailto:Palmspringsinfo@aol.com or visit http://www.PSVC.net and take a look at our /www.homes-seekers.net?> beautiful Homes and Condos and email for Special promotion Rates.

Happy Holidays to one and all from

Carole

Your ex Brit California and Cruise Connection

Your Vacation also comes with Free chilled wine upon arrival and Ladies, a FREE Spa Treatment at a nearby Aveida Spa compliments of Hi=Lights Day Spa and the Palm Springs Vacation Connection. Book now and the first 10 Bookings also receive Dinner for 2 at a Top Steakhouse in the Valley.

Pascua de Florida is the name which was given by the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon who found this region in 1513. Florida was the first settlement of the Europeans in North America ? Florida name itself is the oldest existing name given by the settlers. The state is also known as the sunshine state.

Geographically, it is located between the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida. Besides agriculture and manufacturing industries, the tourism industry of Florida is one of the biggest in the world. Florida beach apartments and Florida beach villas are full during the summer season/vacation time. The state holds an extensive coastline of around 1,197 Statute Miles. Annually, millions of tourists come to Florida to spend their spree time on the beaches and other attractions of the state. The state?s balmy weather also helps in attracting them. The summer season is hot with showers that makes the beaches more gorgeous. Apart from crystal clear beaches, other popular tourists attractions of Florida include but are not limited to: Disney World (Orlando) and NASA Kennedy Space Center Spaceport.

Florida?s beaches are stunning and easily accessible from Florida beach apartments and Florida beach villas. The state?s beaches welcome all types of people (children, single, married, older people, etc.) as they contain enough activities and fun to make their stay pleasurable and ever remembering. The following beaches are considered as the best in Florida: Clearwater Beach; Daytona Beach; Miami Beach; St. Augustine (the oldest settlement region); Santa Rosa Beach; and Cocoa Beach. People from all walks of life enjoy a lot on the beaches; further, tourists can involve themselves in activities like, fishing, swimming, body surfing, etc.

In a sentence, don?t miss the chance of visiting some of the finest beaches of the world, Florida vacation villas and Florida vacation apartments are waiting for you.

If you are looking for summer things to do outside the United States, Mexico is just there waiting for you. Mexico is a very lively country with a multi-ethnic society of Spanish, Native American and American traditions. This ethnic diversity is very much reflected on the country’s culture and food, and here are two places in Mexico that greatly illustrates the fact:

Ensenada

Ensanada is located in the Mexican state of Baja California and is just 84 miles south of San Diego. From San Diego, you can join an Ensenada Day Tour, which is a great way to start your summer vacation. The tour gives a very warm introduction to the things to do in Ensenada and its Spanish atmosphere with its alluring shops and authentic restaurants. Learn more about the people’s culture and heritage at the Cultural Center of Ensenada and find out how they are greatly influenced by the Spaniards.

Join Ensenada resident and other visitors at the Ensenada Summer Wine Festival for some wine tasting. The festival is an annual international event that is taking place on the first ten days of August this year! Aside from the regular wine tasting event, the festival also holds a paella cooking contest, a gala dinner and a sunset musical performance. If you wish to experience the wine in Ensenada with a relatively smaller crowd, you can also go to Bodegas De Santo Tomas. It is Baja California’s oldest winery, and still conducts demonstrations of wine-making traditions. Bodega De Santo Tomas also offers samples of wines from their vineyard as well as samples of their bread and cheese.

A visit to a new place always includes shopping for souvenirs or memorabilia that you would want to bring home to remember the summer vacation by. Avenida Lopez Mateos is Ensenada’s main shopping street lined with retail stores selling everything that shouts a genuine Mexican identity, such as straw hats and wood carvings. If you are looking for something more refined, Avenida Ruiz is the place to go. It is the stretch where you will find the more polished shops and cafes.

There are so many dining options to choose from in Ensenada. One of the most popular ones is the oldest cantina in Baja California, Hussong’s Cantina. Dating back to the late 1800’s, Hussong’s Cantina was the hang out of some of the world’s literary geniuses and is said to have been the place where Margaritas originated.

Oaxaca

The province of Oaxaca is located in the southern part of Mexico and is named after its largest city. The best thing to do to get to know the city is to visit Plaza de la Constitucion de Oaxaca, more popularly known as Zocalo. The plaza has been the heart of Oaxaca for over 500 years. Surrounded by stores, the dominating feature of Zocalo is the very grand old Cathedral that dates back to the 18th century.

Seasons Of My Heart proudly offers and extraordinary Culinary Cultural Travels, and Mexican Cuisine Events and Oaxacan Food Holidays. For those who love to cook, want to learn how to cook or simply love downing authentic Mexican cuisine, this is perfect for you. They have tours available almost the entire year, with recipes and menus appropriate for each season.

Visit the world-renowned archaeological site of Milta, combining both Zapotec and Mixtec structures, the San Pablo Villa de Milta. It is among the constant in every visitor’s things to do in Mexico list. The ancient ruins are just so inviting.

Looking for accommodations in Oaxaca is a walk in the park as there are very many lodging options to choose from. Hostels like the Casa de Don Pablo Hostel have very affordable nightly rates, making you enjoy more of the numerous summer things to do in Mexico.

Mexico is one of the top vacation spots in the country. It is located between the Gulf of Mexico on the Pacific Ocean, bordered by the United States on the north., and Belize to the south. It is divided into six regions.

Northern Mexico is made up of deserts, nature reserves, and beautiful mountain ranges. Cities in this region are populated by key industrial companies and businesses. Central Mexico is also known as Mexico’s heartland. It has an abundance of natural surroundings and quaint towns.

Southern Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico offers plenty of marshes and forests. This region appeals to those who fancy exiting outdoor adventures.

The Yucatan Peninsula is paradise. Here is where one can find stunning beach resorts and the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. You can also have the pleasure of scuba diving along the world’s second largest coral reef. Submerged caverns in this area create wonderful fresh water pools to swim in. These pools are also called cenotes.

The most well known destination in the Yucatan Peninsula is beautiful Cancun. With it’s beautiful beaches and resorts, it is Mexico’s top vacation spot. In addition to the beaches you’ll also find nearly nineteen miles of villas, malls, and five star hotels. Dining is fabulous in your choice of over five hundred different restaurants. Temperatures in Cancun average between 81 and 95 degrees and is mostly sunny throughout the year.

On the Pacific Coast you will find a region that is full of culture and delectable cuisine. The Pacific Coast also has some of the best beaches perfect for swimming and fishing. The Baja California Peninsula contains world-class golf courses . You can also explore and discover the Sea of Cortez. It is here you can witness the beauty of the Grey Whales. The capital of Mexico is Mexico City. It is home to two volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuati. It has some of the best weather in the world with the average temperature of 72 degrees. It also offers a wide variety of museums, such as the Museo Nacional de Antropologia and the Museo Nacional de Arte. At the Museo Nacional de Historia you can also take in an exhibit that chronicles the nation’s history and art ranging from the pre-Hispanic era to present day.

Located northwest of Mexico City, Guadalajara is the second most populated city in Mexico. It’s temperatures range from 52 to 79 degrees. Guadalajara ranks among Mexico’s three most important cities. It is home to such famous symbols like mariachi, tequila, and the hat dance. You can enjoy beautiful architecture as well as may historic and religious buildings. Whether it’s swimming, sunbathing, or exploring, Mexico has a little of something for everyone.

Enjoy the vacation of a lifetime in our private home that’s right on the beach in South Akumal, Mexico. Our villa is truly a “house in paradise”. The dazzling sunlight, blue ocean, sea breezes and abundant tropical foliage is breath taking. Walk through the bamboo and hibiscus filled front yard into a genuine Mexican home!

Villa Paraiso, a luxury Mexican villa located right on the Akumal coast only 62 miles south of Cancun, is the ideal location to spend your vacation with family and friends. Villa Paraiso is a dream vacation rental, located inside a private gated community.

The villa is surrounded by jungle foliage and white sandy beaches, with the emerald crystal waters of the Caribbean. The villa offers spectacular sea panoramas and natural light streaming in from many locations.

Villa Paraiso is the perfect place to relax after a full day of shopping, diving, and touring. These are all popular tourist activities in the Mayan Riviera, though a day of rest and relaxation on the beachfront might be preferable!

There is a new Robert Trent Jones 27 hole championship golf course, under construction directly across the highway from the villa. This world class golf course is open to the public, so bring your best game! There is also a 9 hole Par 3 course and a practice course if you don’t have time for a full game. Twelve miles north is Puertos Aventuras, where another 9 hole golf course awaits you.

Archaeological buffs will enjoy a trip to see the Mayan ruins of Tulum only 6 miles south of the villa. Tulum offers insight into the lives and buildings of the more prosperous Mayan civilization members. In contrast to the intricate carvings and superb architecture, the massive surrounding walls enabled the city’s resistance to influence from outsiders over the centuries.

The home is equipped with central air conditioning, which is unusual for Akumal. A backyard pool and Jacuzzi allow you to relax with all the comforts of home immediately available.

Upstairs, a wet bar is available to fix a cool drink made with local tropical fruits. Downstairs, the breakfast bar, dining room and fully-stocked kitchen allow for an intimate first meal of the day. You can use the fully equipped gourmet kitchen to fix your meals or have our chef prepare them for you.

In order to stay connected with the outside world, satellite television and unlimited free long distance phone service is available. A stereo, DVR player, CD player and high speed Wi-Fi service also allows you to entertain and work if necessary.

Two electronic safes allow for safekeeping of your valuables while away from the villa, though a private security service goes a long way in preventing unexpected occurrences. A daily maid service ensures you don’t have to work while on vacation.

Linens and towels are provided for all everyone up to a maximum of 8 guests. Ceiling fans are also installed to help circulate the cool air from the central service or just providing a breeze after a day in the hot sun.

Outside, a barbecue grill allows you to cook for all and invite guests to enjoy a quiet evening at “home”! An outdoor shower also enables you to rinse off after a day of lounging in the sun, or simply experience the beautiful surroundings in your daily grooming activities.

Two free in house massages, hammocks and kayaks are all available to guests of Villa Paraiso to create the ultimate dream vacation package!

Michael Webster: Investigative Reporter May 12, 2008 9:00 PM PDT

By: Jim Scherrer

Some historians trace the sport of golf back to the Roman game of paganica, in which participants used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball; however, according to the most widely accepted account, the modern game originated in Scotland around the 12th century with shepherds knocking stones into rabbit holes on the current site of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. The actual sport became officially recognized in 1754 when the Scots formed the organization known as the Society of St Andrews Golfers.

Since then, the game has grown in popularity to the point where there are currently more than 32,000 courses worldwide, of which approximately 17,000 are in the United States. Golf is now rapidly gaining popularity in the newly developing countries like China where there are currently less than 300 courses, however hundreds more are under contract; either in the design phase or under construction.

Since golf courses have 18 holes, the 32,000 courses would have a total of 576,000 holes; so let’s assume there are 600,000 golf holes in the world. Each hole may have as many as five or more tee boxes (women, geezers, regular men, championship, pro, etc) but most have only one green. Therefore, we can assume there are at least 600,000 golf greens in the world.

Almost all of these greens are merely an extension of the fairway where the grass is mowed very short and the cup is placed. There are probably less than 1,000 of these 600,000 greens that are islands. In fact, most of these “island” greens are actually manmade peninsulas with a narrow walking path to the green. They are surrounded by water but are still connected to the course by the walking path. It is estimated that there exists only a few hundred greens in the world that are true islands, surrounded by water on all sides and connected to land by a bridge.

Now, for the really interesting fact; there is only one “natural island” green out of the 600,000 greens in the world. It is the third hole at the beautiful Pacifico Course at the Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita, Mexico, located about 25 miles from Puerto Vallarta. This world class course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, meanders along the Banderas Bay and the Pacific Ocean with incredible views on almost every hole. It is such a magnificent tract that in 2008 it was named the top resort course in the world by Conde Nast magazine.

The third hole at the Pacifico course actually has two greens, #3a and #3b; the first is a normal green while the second is the natural island green. The island is a lava rock formation about 200 yards from the mainland that has access only when the tide is out. When the tide is in and the special amphibian cart is unavailable, the golfers play to the #3a green. When the tide is out and you have sufficient skill and an adequate supply of balls, the #3b green provides one of the most challenging and memorable par three holes in the world. This hole is commonly referred to as “The Tail of the Whale”.

For those of us that have been golfing for many years and have played hundreds of courses, there are only a few holes that leave memorable impressions that we’ll never forget. Most often these are very special holes that we’ve seen the pros play on television or holes that absolutely take your breath away as you stand on the tee box. These are generally the longer par 4 or par 5 holes with exaggerated elevation changes, beautiful mountain scenes, or over water tee shots. Very few par 3 holes leave such a memory, however #3b at the Pacifico course is definitely one of them; it’s a sight that you’ll never forget.

One of the most intimidating shots in golf is the approach shot to an island green surrounded by water; it leaves very little room for error! Now, try a 200 yard shot to an island green nestled in a lava rock formation that resembles a catcher’s glove out in the Pacific Ocean. If that’s not enough challenge, throw in a gentle breeze off the Sierra Madres or a nice gust of wind off the ocean and you’ll have your hands full; bring plenty of balls! (The tide was in and the amphibian cart was unavailable the day we played this hole; so after hitting the green with our tee shots, we merely gave each other the putts for birdies, left the balls on the green, and proceeded to the fourth hole!)

The scenic Pacifico course at Punta Mita will soon be joined by the almost completed Bahia course, also designed by Jack Nicklaus and also having incredible Pacific Ocean and Banderas Bay views with the city and the Sierra Madres as a back drop. Another brand new course located in Litibu, only a couple miles north along this stretch of the Mexican Riviera, is the brand new Litibu Golf Club course that was designed by Greg Norman.

These three beautiful courses located along the Riviera Nayarit, combined with the other six fine courses in Puerto Vallarta, make the region a true golfing destination. There are also a number of new courses in the planning stages that will, in all probability, bring the total to more than a dozen resort courses for visitors to play in Greater Vallarta within three years.

Ten years ago, you would seldom see golf bags arriving at the small international airport in Puerto Vallarta; this is no longer the case, with the baggage carrousels at the huge modern new airport terminal delivering golf bags all day every day, as the golfing tourists flock to this golfing Paradise south of the border.

So, if you golfers want to have the time of your life, bring your sticks to PV where you’ll find seven months of monotonous winter weather, from November through May, when the average daily temperature is 73*F with virtually no rain. You’ll have nine incredible courses to play and if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to include the unforgettable #3b hole at Pacifico; the hole with the world’s only natural island green.

During the first part of the 19th century in Mexico, at the mouth of the Cuale River, inhabited mostly by crocodiles and practically no human dwellers, lay a hidden gem.

Puerto Vallarta. Isolated from the rest of the world by the ocean, rugged sierra and American river. With silver mines and salt in the towns of Cuale, San Sebastian and Mascota, Puerto Vallarta was a secret hideaway waiting to be discovered.

From a quaint little fishing village in the 1920s with barely 2,000 inhabitants, Puerto Vallarta real estate was not the booming market we know today.

There was one road that connected Vallarta to the outside world and this dirt track was abandoned during the rainy season.

Finally, some of our American expat friends are beginning to wake up to the ranting and raving I’ve been doing about living in Guanajuato. Now, if you’ve been reading my columns on a regular basis you know from time to time I lose my mind, rather totally, and go all Pancho Villa about life in Guanajuato.

Mind you, I am not talking about normal Mexican things. I am not talking about things like stores never opening when they say they will. I am talking not about the traditional, provincial Mexican custom of never showing up on time for anything. I am not talking about never offering so much as a “How-Do-You-Do” when the kindly Mexican is asked why he didn’t call to cancel an appointment by his good anal-attentive American pal. That’s not what I mean.

I have been talking about things in my columns like getting shoved off the sidewalk into the path of a bus manned by someone who thinks he is a racecar driver. I am talking about calling for the bottled water to get delivered only to have it finally come after you’ve died from thirst and your body was shipped back to the States three months ago. That’s what I mean.

My friend sent me a story today. She is one who has finally admitted that perhaps my wife and I see this sort of stuff, and she doesn’t because she and her husband, in typical American expat fashion, stay pretty much holed up in their lavish estate (it isn’t really an estate but I am adding this in case she reads this-and she occasionally does) until they need something. When they venture out, when they pull themselves from their American TV channels beamed from space via satellite, they drive everywhere. They rarely walk so they seldom have the pleasure of being run over by a bus when a kindly Guanajuatense pushes them into its path.

Our friend went to the Mega Superstore today. Yes, gentrification has begun in Guanajuato with a superstore, on the scale of a Super Wal-Mart, to totally destroy a way of life and ancient culture in Guanajuato. She was in a line with just 7 people in it. A Mexican woman, with no groceries, was in line in front of her. When “her turn” came, she whipped out her cell phone and called her large extended family–comprised of several generations–to get up from the coffee shop and come up front to check out. So, here came her family, about 30 of them, with shopping carts full to overflowing, to cut in front of our friend and check out. Our friend did the “Guanajuato Shove” and cut in front of this woman saying, “Con Permiso” and checked out before she would have surely been thrown, shoved, and elbowed out of the way.

”In general, Mexicans are polite and formal when dealing with foreigners from the North. Newcomers from the States often take this treatment as friendliness, but it is far more complicated than that. Mexicans and other inhabitants of Latin America often wear a mask that
covers their true feelings.” – Ken Luboff

All sympathetic ranting and raving will be entertained and appreciated by phone or e-mail.

By: Jim Scherrer

Creative juices by definition are the motivating, inspiring, or enabling forces that represent the expressive side of one’s imagination; a precursor to creative thought and the corresponding ability to create something new. It only seems logical that in order to maximize the flow of one’s creative juices, he or she will be most productive when located in an area with a perfect climate and beautiful surroundings. The creator should be stress free and have plenty of leisure time; obviously, a good night’s sleep can’t hurt!