Freemasons In Paradise V. 2.0
Freemasons In Paradise V. 2.0
Big changes to the plans, details inside
Please join us in beautiful Puerto Vallarta Mexico!
Masonic Activities:
December 13, 14, and 15. Tuesday through Thursday.
This is a change in dates, required due to travel costs. The previous dates would have increased costs by roughly $1000 per traveler. These dates are much more reasonable.
Melinda and I will be flying from SeaTac to Puerto Vallarta on December 9, 2022. Alaska Air flight number 1181. This is a direct flight, the cost is roughly $600 round trip. Flights that make a stop are generally significantly less.
We will be returning to SeaTac on December 16, flight number 127. Also direct.
As with last year’s extremely successful Masonic trip to Puerto Vallarta, we are not adhering to a rigid, dull, schedule. We hope that you will join us, and all the other Masons in exploring the beautiful City, Beach, Culture, and more, as it suits you. Don’t feel bad about ignoring us as you lay by the pool. Have fun and do what you want to do.
A highlight this year, that we didn’t get to experience last year is the extremely significant and large Our Lady of Guadalupe Festivities that run from December 1 through December 12. A highlight for us of these Festivities are the huge parades that run through the cobblestone streets of Centro (downtown) each evening.
Like last year, we will be staying in Puerto Vallarta’s Zona Romantica. This is a quite small, but extremely vibrant part of the City, fronted by a great beach, and filled with amazing restaurants.
We strongly suggest that you too stay in Zona Romantica, so you are with all of us Masons, and close to the events we have planned. Otherwise, you will end up taking a taxi, just to see everyone.
Hotel Recommendations:
This is where virtually everyone stayed for our 2021 trip. We had almost 50 Masons and Wives in the place. It is not a fancy resort. It is a typical Mexican style hotel. Most people last year chose to stay in Junior Suites with a water view. If you don’t request a water view when you reserve, you won’t get it.
This hotel has a more resort like feel than San Marino. We had Masons stay there last year, and they enjoyed it very much. It is directly on the water.
Sister property to Los Arcos. This very small hotel is not on the water. Melinda and I have greatly enjoyed staying there. It is small, and does not accept children. We find it quite wonderful to sit in the rooftop pool, with no kids splashing around.
This hotel is right on the beach. Melinda and I have not stayed there, but we have toured it. Last year, we did have Masons stay there, and enjoy it, additionally, a Mason I know who visits Vallarta every year, always stays there.
All of the above hotels are quite near to each other.
Melinda and I have walked through this hotel, but have never stayed. We thought it looked quite interesting. You might want to consider it, but we can’t give any more details. It is not as close as the other hotels, roughly four blocks away.
Melinda and I, as we often do, will be renting an apartment while we are in Vallarta. The apartment we’ve rented is extremely close to the hotels recommended above.
We have rented through PVRPV on multiple occasions, and always been extremely impressed with their services. Additionally, we know other folks from Washington who exclusively use PVRPV. We give this company our very highest recommendation.
If you want to go this route, here is how you find what is available, near us, and everyone who is staying in one of the above hotels:
On the main page, put in your travel dates. This will bring up everything available in the City on those dates.
On the page that opens up, click ‘Location’ on the left hand sidebar.
Highlight “Old Town.” and nothing else. Then re-do the search.
This will ensure that whatever property you are looking at will be near the group. (Just as an FYI, the name of the part of the City we are staying in is Zona Romantica or Romantic Zone. But idiot tourists who don’t know that this part of the city is much, much newer than Centro call it ‘Old Town.’)
Please also note that like all of Vallarta, Zona Romantica is filled with steep hills. If you are considering an apartment, but can’t tell from the map if it is on top of a steep hill, and are concerned about that, you can just ask the PVRPV people. We have always found them extremely helpful, and completely honest when answering questions about individual properties.
PVRPV will expect a 50% deposit when you book, and ask for the balance 30 days prior to arrival. Again, we have never had any issues dealing with PVRPV, nor have any of our friends. You might however want to call your bank before making this charge on your credit card with a Mexican based company.
Schedule1:
December 13 - In the afternoon we are going to discuss together, the elements that a Lodge needs to embrace if it hopes to create truly compelling Lodge Experiences. These experiences will in turn, attract more members to the Lodge, and assist greatly in active member retention.
These will be specific, actionable things, that any Lodge member can take back to any Lodge, to create truly Legendary Freemasonry in his community. Legendary Freemasonry that men will want to be a part of.
While us Masons are holding these discussions, Melinda will be with any of our ladies who want to join her, on the beach, shopping, snacking, and probably a lot of drinking! Following the discussion, we will join them.
December 14 - We will have the second half of our discussion about creating Legendary Freemasonry. I’ve found that as I sleep, I always dream up new questions and concepts. By dividing the discussion, we will benefit from the time taken to consider what we learned the day before.
Again, Melinda will be with our ladies.
December 15 - Emeth Christmas Party, featuring The Gecko Band. Everyone loved the Gecko’s last year, and we are thrilled that they will be able to spend an afternoon with us again this year. Ladies and kids are of course welcome to join in this fun!
All of these events will take place at the beautiful Palm Nightclub, and include a full no-host bar. You might want to consider returning to the Palm for one of their fabulous shows one or more of the evenings we are in Vallarta. We usually attend at least one show each time we are in the City, and last year, we had a large Masonic group attend one night.
My mother, who lives in Vallarta is also working to arrange a private Tequila school for us. Not yet sure about the details, but expect it, and expect it to be a lot of fun.
For those who would like to join us, we will be going out to dinner at a favorite restaurant each evening from the 13th to the 15th.
Who is invited:
Freemasons of any Regular Jurisdiction their wives and families. All are welcome. Unlike in 2021, you need not be a Washington Freemason.
Last year, most but not all Masons traveled with their ladies, and we had children from ages 4 to 18.
Tickets:
For those who hold a paid subscription to Emeth $160 for the Mason. $40 for his lady.
For those who do not hold a paid subscription to Emeth $200 for the Mason. $50 for his lady.
No tickets needed for the kids.
To reserve your spot, please reply to this message, or otherwise email me with your desire to join us. I’ll then email you my mailing address, and you can send me a check for your tickets.
I understand that this is a rather old school way of doing things, but paying for the band, waiters, space, and everything else we will use as a group is much more complex in Vallarta than it is here.
Tickets must be purchased no later than November 22, 2022.
Please purchase early to reserve your spot.
Merch:
Our VW Brother, Andre Dewald who makes the world’s finest Masonic shirts has agreed to make us some Merch!
He’s offering his extremely high quality embroidered polo shirts, with a unique Freemasons in Paradise logo for $65.
He’s also offering T-Shirts, again Freemasons in Paradise for $25.
If you would like some fine Andre Merch, just let me know when you buy your tickets, and include the extra funds along with your size. We’ll get you your shirt(s), before we all leave for Vallarta.
If you want the merch, you’ll need to purchase it no later than November 1, so that Andre has time to craft your shirt, and mail it out to you.
Passport:
U.S. Citizens must have a valid Passport to travel into Mexico. If you don’t yet have one, but want to go, you need to apply ASAP.
Due to the fact that you might not be traveling on the same flight, or on the same dates as I am, last year I compiled the following information, that you might find helpful:
Questions?
Please feel free to ask any questions you might have. You can do this by:
Commenting on this post.
Replying to this message.
Emailing me at bailey (dot) cameron (dot) m (at) gmail (dot) com
The schedule remains subject to change of course, but will be awesome!
About how much total for two "
About how much total for two "