Bushman has had an awesome year

Well, what can I say?

It has been one heck of a year.  I can't complain at all - not one bit!

I have covered the continent from Canada to Mexico.

An amazing fly-in fishing trip with my Dad in Ontario.

I have taken one of my largest whitetail bucks to date with archery equipment.

I have almost finished my first book. (That one got thrown on the back burner)

Went on an incredible vacation with my wife and parents to Mexico.

Had a fabulous summer with friends and family.

Watched as my daughter 4.0 her first semester as a sophomore in college.

Saw my son get his first apartment and take his last step towards attending the police academy.

I imagine I could sit here most of the day and list things like this but...

There is only one of these things that tops them all and that is the little baby growing in my wife's belly.

We had our 21-week ultrasound done on Tuesday and I got to see my little Corabella again.  Last time I saw her was at 8 weeks and she was just a little blip on the screen.  Not so much of a blip anymore.  She looks perfect!

We arrived home from our Mexican Holiday last Sunday.

I can't begin to explain how beautiful the place was.Itwas perfect and the attention to detail was pin-point.  From the champagne arrival to the first class departure in a black leather filled Chevy Suburban.

We had a gorgeous suite with a pool view complete with hot tub and lounge bed on the patio.  A 4-post King size bed with turn down service every night.

A complete mini-bar with full-size bottles of Tequila, Rum, Vodka and Red Wine.  I did not open any of these, but I did trade one of them in for a bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme.  I enjoyed a splash of this in my coffee every morning.  The fridge was stocked with assorted beer, soda, juice, candy, and chips.  I did relieve the fridge of several beers which were magically replaced every day.  All at no charge.
We even had breakfast in our room one morning and every morning we enjoyed hot coffee, juice, and assorted pastries right in our pajamas!

There were 9 restaurants and 11 bars at our resort.  We never even made it to them all.
My favorite was the Lobster House which was situated smack dab in the middle of the giant pool.  As you would dine people would quite literally swim under your feet.  There was always a great breeze and I enjoyed several meals, including breakfasts, while staring at the ocean or watching folks relax in the pool.

In the main pool was a swim up bar and we frequented this on a regular basis.  They had a drink menu at the bar and I started on page one, in the upper left-hand column, and proceeded to make my way down the list.

While I mainly a beer drinker I wasn't exactly fond of all the choices of Mexican beer they had available.  My favorite one was not available at the resort.  I did enjoy the Negra Modelo beer with a lime twist and that was my staple beer of the trip.  However it was 85 degrees and beer went warm quick so I resorted to cocktails and other tasty drinks.

While I was there I tried, for the first time ever, a Mojito, a Daiquiri, a Mai Tai, a Long Island Iced Tea, and countless others I can't recall at the moment.  Not from overindulgence but by sheer numbers of available drinks.  My favorite drink of the week was a Hemmingway Mojito which consisted of 3 lime quarters and a few sprigs of mint smashed up in the bottom of the glass. Next he added ice cubes, a healthy dollop of Bacardi Limon and topped it with a sparkling wine and a spritz of brown sugar.  One of the most refreshing drinks I have ever had.  Another favorite was called an Iceberg.  It was a tall glass filled 2/3 way with Corona and then topped with a frozen Margarita.
Of ocurse I had margaritas anyway you can make them as well.

For dinner, we dined on Lobsters, shrimp, grouper, and steaks.  Authentic Spanish dishes one night and lovely Italian cuisine the next.  One of our favorite nights was a private Hibachi grill where the chef invited me up to try my hand at flipping eggs with his spatula.  Of which I failed miserably.

This is the Lobster House situated right above the pool. On the section furthest back in this photo,is where we ate our breakfast.

The grounds were exquisite and on one of my morning forays before the sun had risen I witnessed a veritable army of employees, cleaning, scrubbing, raking and all around tidying.  They would wipe and clean every chair, table, and beach lounger.  they would roll up a fresh towel and place it on every lounger on the beach.  I saw a tractor drive by with its headlights on, combing the sandy beach and removing seaweed.  I watched as people raked in between the chairs so that no footprints were left behind.  All of this in the dark so that their guests would awaken to sand as fresh as the new fallen snow.  I took pictures of the planting beds and commented on how clean they were with fresh rake marks.  Not one dead leaf or twig laid inside of them.



At any given time there was always someone in the pool with a dive mask on scrubbing something underwater.  At night, every bar surface was cleaned and sanitary bags placed over every beer tap.  I was awestruck at the amount of work that goes into giving me and the other guests the most amazing tropical vacation.

We took a day trip to an island located a few miles off of our beach.  A ferry, complete with live music, took us there in about 15 minutes.

 Once arrived we rented golf carts and cruised about the island sampling authentic cuisine and drinking ice cold beers.

The traffic was crazy on the little island and you really had to pay attention.

 There were numerous attractions and while we didn't get to visit them all we did take advantage of the turtle sanctuary.  A small little cluster of buildings where Sea turtles are kept and bred in captivity.  They harvest the eggs and once the hatchling turtles emerge they guide them safely into the water.

One night we took a taxi into the city of Cancun and spent some time at a casino.  It was quite an adventure as no one spoke English and my long ago acquired knowledge of the Spanish language did not help in a casino.  Mrs. Frias from 10-12 grade did not teach us Spanish for Gambling.  Nevertheless, we made memories and I wouldn't trade a minute of it.

We had a professional photo shoot done and the photos turned out wonderful, as you will see momentarily.

When we booked this vacation we found out a few weeks later that Angel was pregnant and so while we were in Mexico it was dubbed our Babymoon.  The staff at the resort even brought us a cake and a bottle of sparkling cider on ice complete with balloons and ribbons to help us celebrate.

We witnessed iguanas soaking up the sunshine on the beachfront

Nice walkways everywhere

The lazy river.  Simply lay on a raft with your favorite drink (or lady) and float.  The current does the work.

Angel got her picture with the little monkey!

The main entrance looking down the grand staircase.

Every night someone, somewhere was playing or singing.  They also had nightly shows in the theatre.

It was the trip of a lifetime.  I will cherish it forever.

Here is a video I shot as the sun was coming up.  

I can't begin to thank my parents enough for inviting us on this trip.  

I love you both very much!!!!!!!!