The RISE fundraiser

We have become involved in the organizing group for the RISE orphanage/children’s shelter. The event is an evening party with food, open bar and entertainment. This year is the 3rd annual event. The hotel being used this year has much more space and it was all on one level. That made planning the layout much easier.
Harold and I were busy on Friday picking up things from RISE to be taken to the hotel. We loaded our car full, almost as full as on our trip down here! After all the work, we took a siesta and went to CyC (Cuates y Cuetes) to meet All Vallarta board members. All of us in attendance were local or temporary locals. After a drink and some good conversation, we went to Sr Sweeney’s to see if our friend James was working. He wasn’t there, but we stayed to eat anyway. After dinner we walked over to the Malecon for some fresh air, and who did we run into but James! He needed a ride home, but our car was full of piñatas and trash cans.
Saturday was the big event. Starting at 9 a.m., we loaded and moved lots of stuff! Harold made several trips to restaurants and homes to bring things in. We helped set up tables and chairs, decorate and organize. During the event I was in charge of selling tickets and Harold was a go-fer. Everyone seemed to have a great time. There was plenty of food and booze to go around. The weather was perfect. After we chased the last guest home, we had to clean up the area. There were plenty of volunteers so it went quickly.
Sunday morning we thought we had to help some more, but ended up not having to do anything else until Monday.
Since we were already in town, we walked up and down several streets to look for interesting shops and restaurants. It was somewhat overcast so it wasn’t really hot.
For dinner, we went to a small, out of the way place called La Parota de Pancho Villa. It was good, we had a combination seafood platter. But it was disappointing in that the prices were much higher than we expected.
Monday morning we met the event organizer, Chris, and picked up another load of things to be returned. After Harold’s dentist appointment we took things to RISE and returned pans to restaurants. Finally, we went to the Krystal and took full advantage of the hot tubs they have.
By the evening, we were rested up enough to meet a group of folks at the Burro Bar. There were some All Vallarta board members and some people from another bulletin board. Everyone had a great time.
We met one man whose family was getting an unexpectedly long vacation. The day they were scheduled to leave, their daughter was ill. They went to the airport anyway and while there, she became sicker and was getting very weak. A doctor was called and she was admitted to the hospital. Needless to say, they did not go home. She was in the hospital for 2 nights with a bacterial infection. Now they are awaiting word of when they can get a flight home. It is looking like their trip will be 6 days longer than expected. Thank goodness for travel insurance!