(Originally written Thursday, October 27)
The next day, we hung out on Nikki beach again. We ALL fell asleep on the beach (luckily for us, we were under the umbrellas, so we didn't cook in the Mexican sun), drank too much, ate too much, and basically acted like beach bums. I called us seals... cuz we ate, sunned ourselves, drank, swam, and repeated as necessary.
As the evening approached, we made plans for the evening. Inna has a friend who retired here. Richard (Inna's friend) was a stage producer in the Caribbean and in Las Vegas during the heyday of stage shows. Between his shows and other investments, Richard made a pretty penny, and has an absolutely stunning piece of property in the foothills of Puerto Vallarta. Richard gave us all a tour of his property, which was like nothing I've ever seen in person -- like something out of Architectural Digest -- and we had coctails and chatted for a couple of hours. For the most part, I listened to Richard and Chris chatting about life experiences, investing, history, the stage, and thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance.
Next, we were off to the home of the owner of the restaurant I mentioned earlier. It turned out that Richard knew Louis (the owner of the restaurant) and Richard had planned on joining us once he found out that we all knew each other, but plans fell through. I'm a bit disappointed about this. I had planned on listening to some more of Richard's stories, and I didn't thank Richard for his hospitality before I left his place, because I expected to see him again at Louis' house. I hope that someday I can see him again, so I can thank him for the hospitality.
But when we got to Louis' place... Man! Words can't describe it. He's got a house that's four stories, with a full bar that's got its own liquor license! The kitchen and dining room are almost as big as the first floor of my house! He's got permanent, dedicated staff on the property to take care of the place as he goes traveling around the world.
The picture above is part of the pool. The water flows over the side of the pool, down a tile wall like a waterfall, and gently splashes into a wading pool one story down. You can see into the living room, the bar, and the balcony from the pool. Absolutely incredible!
I've got to take a moment to mention Carlos. Carlos is Louis' right-hand man. They live together, and are an absolute RIOT together. They act like an old married couple, but at the same time like best friends... they're kind of like the odd couple, with a generation gap and a Mexican flair.
But here's the thing... Louis (from what I understand) is old money. Carlos is from a relatively modest background, and by the graces of Louis, has come into money. They've got wealth beyond my wildest imagination, and they took Chris, Inna, the wife, and me into their home as if we were long-lost friends. I can't remember the last time I was so at home and overwhelmed at the same time. I mean here we are, sitting with true global jet-setters, chatting as if we had met a while back at the local pub a while back and had become friends. As I'm writing this, I'm still getting butterflies over how REAL these guys were... both Richard and Louis. No pretenses. No hoity-toity attitude. No condescension. Just real people who happened to cross paths and enjoyed each others' company. For one night, we lived the lifestyle of the truly rich and famous, and we were treated as equals. It's a memory I'll take to the grave.
After that night, Chris and Inna left, and the pace slowed down a bit for the wife and me. I'll tell you a little more
about that in my next installment.
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