Thanks, Christian Rich Folks (and Dee), for Sponsoring this Family Outing

I think Dee, my mom’s partner, might know more people in Puerto Escondido than we do. He’s fantastically sociable and when he’s here on vacation, he has more time than we do to find out about cool places and things to do. Thus, thanks to him and his excellent socializing in Puerto skills, we went to several new places during this visit, places not in our normal routine.

This particular place only he and Conan explored until yesterday. It’s now a new family hang out / get away spot. It’s more or less in the city limits and it’s totally free!

It’s a high-up spot in La Punta where you get a beautiful view of Puerto, the ocean, and the mountains. It’s a perfect spot for contemplation, or photographs, or a packed lunch with friends, or a romantic make-out session.

The kids are eternally in action

Papi and the kids

The view!

Obviously, the creators of this spot realized that it was perfect for accidental baby-making and other such shenanigans, since they felt it was necessary put up a special plaque asking you not to do so.

FYI, kids! Not for fun!

This says that this spot is for considering the principle mysteries of our faith, and as such romantic dates and all that can cause disorder are prohibited. Which instantly makes me want to cause some havoc, but maybe that’s just the rebellious reflex in me. The choice of words “our faith” is interesting, too; does that mean it’s only for Christians? Or is it merely a reflection of the reality that most of this country is Christian (and mostly Catholic)?

Whatever the case, aside from the beautiful view, this is what the creators of this spot had in mind for you to ponder:

Sorry, I took the picture from the back of it. But you get the idea. Lucia was thrilled to climb up the hill.

An intense image of mother and child. Definitely something to ponder over.

We didn’t stay and ponder long, though, because Khalil is in that point of babyhood when it’s really hard to go out with him for very much time. He’s not little and docile enough anymore to be happy in your arms all day, nor is he mobile enough to go around outside without being a danger to himself and others (imagine trying to go to the nice sandy beach with a baby who insists on crawling and putting everything in his mouth). So you have a little window of opportunity where you can expect to go out and keep him relatively happy. This was perfect, time-wise, for letting Lucia climb around without Khalil getting too pissed off about being detained.

Just hanging out….

On top of the sand pile- apparently there’s more construction in the works.

It was a perfect family outing, thanks to whoever made this semi-public spot. So thanks, Obama. Oh, no, wait, that’s not right…. Thanks, guys with money to spend on faith-inspired ponderings! We’ll be back, and I’ll keep trying to resist the urge to make out and cause a ruckus while I’m under the cross.