The Ducksoup Blogs

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will highlight our final 2-1/2 weeks in Uaymitun and Mérida!

I’ll start out this blog with some more beach pics…

We had another visit with Bob & Pat in Mérida to take in the Guelaguetza Festival otherwise known as the Oaxaca Food Fair!

As our time ran down, we made sure to check off a couple more things from our Bucket List.

One surprise for us was our little cat, Gatito, from last year and a few times this year is no longer “Gatito” but “Gatita” and she is going to be a Mama! Wow!

This was not a normal winter season for us, with January being mostly a month of rest and recovery. February and into March was very busy with visits from Don & Sharon, Bill & Selena, Rog & Sandy, Afie and Dave & Deb. It was good to spend time with Raymond & Pamela, Bob & Pat and neighbours Dave & Jeanette. We also treasured our time with Val & George and Julie & Curtis.

And then, almost suddenly, it was time to pack up and leave the beach!

It’s also bitter/sweet to say farewell to Miguel, Maria and the boys!

After saying our goodbyes, it was off to Mérida!

We dropped the car off to Yucatán Vacations at the Fiesta Americana Hotel, and then checked into our favourite spot, Luz en Yucatán for 3 nights!

As the weather was very hot, 38-40c, we waited until early evening to go for dinner at Amaro!

On our way back to the Luz, we came upon another wedding…

After a light lunch at La Tratto, we just had to go check out Babe’s Noodles & Bar across the street!

For our last dinner, we went to Chaya Maya for Yucatecan style food

Homeward bound!

Our plans for the travel home that morning changed due to impending terrible weather. Don & Sharon picked us up from the airport and we went straight to Wellesley to give a quick hug to Kerry and the boys… then it was off to Sarnia through snow, sleet, freezing rain, ice pellets and then heavy rain.

We were very thankful to be home safely!

Well, this will close out this Winter’s 8th and final blog! As always, we’re looking forward to return for another Winter in Uaymitun in 2026!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

My apologies for the tardiness of this post!

This penultimate blog post will highlight the visit of long time friends Dave & Deb! Oh, and Afie… and not to forget Kent & Arlene… and their friends Fred & Diane! A busy time one might say!

Our good friends Dave & Deb have been coming to visit frequently since our very first stay in Uaymitun! They returned again this year for a 2 week visit!

The next day was a relax day…

Long time friend of Val’s, Afie, was also down for a visit with Val and George and they dropped over to see Dave & Deb! As the El Norte was blowing that day, we set up on our “front patio”.

That evening, we went for dinner at the Viejo Bar in Chicxulub and a bit of music!

And speaking of another somewhat close… actually too close… friend, Boris…

… and our feathered friends who are glad to a fisherman on the beach!

And on other “special” friend… remember the Uaymitun Shuffle in the Gulf.

We did have the whole gang over for a Meet-and-Greet one afternoon!

We were able to spend time with some of our Canadian friends from down here too!

The next day was a planned trip into Mérida to visit Bob & Pat, play some dominoes and go out for dinner.

Unfortunately, Pat was a bit under the weather and they couldn’t join us for dinner at one of our favourite places, Amaro!

I didn’t grab pics, but Dave had the Lasagna and Deb the Tuna Ceviche.

A few more odds and sods of pics…

Another trip into Mérida… this time for a concert at the Teatro Armando Manzanero!

We had a great time with Dave and Deb but it had to come to an end…

The next morning, it was off to the airport!

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 7th blog for now! The next one will highlight our remaining days!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will highlight Valentine’s in Uaymitun and a reuniting of the Sibs!

In previous years, we have celebrated Valentine’s Day in many locales down here! This year, we went to Almadía in Progreso!

A short walk along the Malecón brought us to a rather famous local house that has been renovated and turned into a restaurant.

The next day, it was off to the airport to pick up brother Roger and wife Sandy!

Good friends of ours, Paul & Kari Richer, were celebrating several birthdays at a big bash at their place near Km 13. Rog & Sandy went for dinner and a visit with Val & George that evening!

One of R & S’s bucket list things was another afternoon at FACES… so Matt & Terri arranged a table for us all!

A couple of days later, we heading for a walk on the Malecón.

In a previous blog, I mentioned the raised road for truck traffic on C. 82… well this is a block away from the pier and with this slope, it will block C. 75 (aka C. 25) near where the Yucatan Vacation Rentals office is.

For R & S’s last night with us, us Sibs all went into Mérida to La Tratto in Santa Lucia Parque for dinner.

After dinner, we went for stroll down C. 60 to the Gran Plaza

Courtesy of family friend Kent Wong, we have a reprise to our Progreso Jacket pic from several years ago!

The next morning, before Rog & Sandy left to visit Julie and Curtis in Chelem, we grabbed another Sibs photo for posterity!

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 6th blog for now! The next one will highlight visits by more friends!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will highlight spending time with family and friends.

The simple life!

We view our time in Uaymitun not as vacation but as just living in our winter home! So for quite a bit of our time, life passes in a quiet routine. However, when family and friends are around, we try to enjoy all the area has to offer.

So after our great trip to Uxmal and a stay at the Pickled Onion, on our way home we stopped for a Lupper at our favourite Pub, Hermana República!

One of our must do’s for visitors is a stroll along the Progreso Malecón. In years gone by… dating back to our very first visit in 2009, again in 2012 and our first winter here in 2013… a favourite watering hole was Los Henequenes.

All gone now and being replaced by a very new, large, upscale restaurant Bacalauh which is not quite open yet!

One thing that hasn’t changed is the monument…

A great addition to the Malecón is a Santa Clara Ice Cream store!

The next morning, there was a very low tide and many, many pelicans and other shorebirds took advantage of a safe spot to rest!

The their last evening with us, Don & Sharon asked to go to Elio’s for supper!

The next day was travel home day for Don & Sharon…

While Don & Sharon were down, there was an overlap with a visit by nephew Bill and wife Selena, who were staying with Val!

It was also an opportunity to recreate our Beach Bud pic from many previous times togther in Uaymitun!

The next day, Bob & Pat came out from Mérida for a visit and a much anticipated jaunt up the coast to Pizza Paradiso!

A few pics from our daily lives…

I also need to highlight a brilliant example of corporate planning…

One last entry for this blog… Wednesday, February 12, 2025 would have been Trish’s 51st birthday!

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 5th blog for now! The next one will highlight a special day, more arrivals and a birthday!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will highlight our first visitors of the season, Elaine’s sister Sharon and husband Don!

But first, a couple of everyday pics!

Now on to our visitors and their arrival in Mérida… for years it was WS 2792 but in the middle of the year they changed the flight number, just cuz!

The next morning, it was time for chores and a reward!

After lunch, Don went with me into Chicxulub for a few errands.

The next day was a relax day for Don & Sharon and a sunset on the beach.

We were joined on the beach by our neighbours for most of the month, a family from Poland.

After a great sunset, we decided to head into Progreso for dinner at Crabster and a walk on the Malecón.

The next day was Saturday and “Jam Session” at FACES! We met up with Mat & Terri and had a great afternoon and evening!

One of the “must do’s” for Sharon & Don’s trip was a visit to Uxmal. We booked a night at The Pickled Onion in Santa Elena so we could head to Uxmal in the morning.

We’ve been coming to the The Pickled Onion for many years and it didn’t disappoint. However, longtime owner and ex-Pat Brit/Canadian, Valerie Pickles has finally retired. The new proprietor is Amy Jo Fischer.

We enjoyed a light lunch before heading to the pool!

Another great dinner at the Pickled Onion… Azteca Sopa, Pollo Pibil and other yummy plates.

We had a great brekkie on the patio and then it was on to Uxmal!

The group of pictures above are from the poorly named “Nunnery”!

Since our last visit, the area in front of the “House of the Doves” has been cleared and restored and several other Stelae have been discovered.

We had a great visit to a fabulous place… should be on the “bucket list” of every visitor to the Yucatan!

We finished off our road trip with a light lunch at the restaurant at the Lodge at Uxmal.

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 4th blog for now! The next one will highlight family going and coming!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will highlight reconnecting with family and friends!

Towards the end of last season, while in Progreso Centro visiting with Sylvia and Diego at Yucatán Vacation Rentals, we took a few pics of the construction on Calle 82, which leads from the Progreso pier out to the highway to Mérida!

The construction project was to elevate the growing transport traffic above Calle 82. It looked a long was from completion!

In the 9 months since we left, they have finished all the supporting structures from the pier to the highway, approximately 2Km. The road bed is complete and they are finishing the approach for trucks coming from Mérida!

In the meantime, all the truck traffic coming to the pier has been diverted east along the Costera, then north toward the Gulf on Calle 48 (which is now 1 way and causing problems for people getting out of the city) and then along Calle 29, which has been rename Calle 79 for clarity’s sake, to the pier.

Continuing on the theme from the last blog post… another tradition…

The weather was still cooperating and we were able to enjoy the outdoors every day!

It was a wonderful day, so onwards for another tradition… lunch at La Picuda in Telchac Puerto with Val & George!

Then it was time to browse the local vendors and a walk out the pier!

As we walked out the pier, it became obvious that when “new” has replaced “old” it isn’t always a good thing!

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder and in this case, in the eye of the patron!

Another tradition has been Steak Night at Faces on a Thursday evening! Jim cooks up fabulous steaks and ribs… yumm!

In case you’re getting tired of “traditions”, here’s another activity that is frequent, enjoyable and memorable!

From time to time, Gaby arranges for the CocoMen to come and gather all the ripe coconuts from our trees! It’s a practice that ensures our safety… a coco on the noggin is not fun… and provides them with a product to sell for the coconut meat and its juice! Win-Win!

With nothing more than a sharp, hooked knife… a bit of a sling… and bare feet… up they went and the cocos came down!

Later that week we had a long awaited sleep-over with Bob & Pat at Casa Lili in Mérida! It was so nice to visit, as they were in Arizona last winter!

After getting settled and having a great catch-up time, Bob & I went on a walkabout to find some Churros!

Once we were back home, Bob fired up his Weber grill (not envious at all) and had delicious burgers and salad for dinner!

Two years ago, Bob had a constant battle with flowers and leaves from the trees overhanging their pool… this year is a bit better so far!

The Paseo de Montejo is only a few minutes walk from Casa Lili and is a frequent destination for a walk in the evening. The next night, while on a walk, Bob sent me a pic of a wedding party stopping by one of the Marquesita vendors found on the Paseo!

The next day, we thanked Bob & Pat for a great stay and headed home. After picking up a few things at Chedraui and Costco, we made a special stop at the new Mary Brown’s Chicken on the highway to Progreso!

Home again… the winds were still a blowin’ so we had early evening coffees on the front porch!

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 3rd blog for now! The next one will highlight our first visitors of the season!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

This blog post will highlight the goings on as we settle in!

Traditions! Just what do we mean by a “Tradition”?

Merriam-Webster says that a tradition is an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior.

Every family has their own traditions that are most apparent during special family times. For us, Christmas includes our traditional Snowman Count, where all the grandkids (and now a great-granddaughter) hunt through our house and now our apartment counting how many Snowmen Nana has placed throughout!

When arriving back in Uaymitun each winter, there are certain traditions we try to keep! Whether it’s an actual tradition or not, before we leave home our thoughts naturally move through what we usually do upon our arrival:

• Wheels down at Mérida International Airport (MID)
• Make our way through Immigration & Customs, hopefully with all the luggage
• Meet up with Diego to get our car
• Drive around the Periferico and out the highway to Progreso
• Grab a few items from Bodega or Soriana
• Head out La Costera
• Arrive at Uaymarima
• Take a pic at the pool

Now one could argue that’s not a tradition, but it is what is ‘normal’ and what we look forward to! Once we’re settled in, other ‘traditions’ are also looked forward to:

• Opening our Storage Totes… like Christmas all over again
• First dip in the pool
• First dip in the Gulf
• First get togethers with friends and family
• Celebrating our Wedding Anniversary with Val & George

Traditions provide continuity, comfort and joy! So we’re all IN for continuing Traditions!

The day before Val & George are scheduled to arrive, we ambled down the beach to their beach house, Paraiso, to see how things were progressing there. We met Lourdes (aka LuLu) who is the owner of Paraiso!

We enjoyed a quiet morning at the house, before popping into Chicxulub to drop off laundry and pick up water from the Water House.

We relaxed a bit and continued the last of our unpacking while awaiting Val & George’s arrival. We hadn’t heard anything since their arrival in Mérida, but that turned out to be a phone problem. Finally, we heard a Toot! Toot! at our front door and they had made it safely!

Another great tradition is having dinner with Raymond and Paméla at La Carolina Loncheria… Salbutes, Panuchos and Empanadas!

Our dinner, with a Coke in an actual glass bottle, included “2 Empanadas Mixtas con Pavo y Queso, 1 Salbut con Pavo y 1 Tostada con Pavo” and cost us, with tip, MXN$ 150 or about CDN$ 11!

For those astute viewers, one might say “I’ve seen that pic before”… too true! Unfortunately, our waiter’s pics this time where not representative our good looking selves, so I substituted one from 2023!

January 8th, 2025… our 53rd Anniversary! We’ve been very fortunate to have been able to celebrate our anniversary here with Val & George! Once at Tecnohotel near San Bruno, once at Humo in Progreso and several times at Hacienda Xcanatún. This year we went to Elio al Mare in Progreso!

Another tradition is my morning chore… after my first cup of coffee on the patio, I head down to the beach!

That day, the caretaker next door had pulled in his nets and was cleaning his catch down at the beach!

Later in the morning, we headed into Mérida for some grocery shopping at Chedraui! We stopped in for a walkabout in the Liverpool Mall first.

We decided to have a light lunch at Chili’s in the Mall

After lunch, we went through the Circle of Death glorieta (refer to many previous posts for details) to the Chedraui Selecto grocery store. The entire front of the store has been renovated to provide more smaller stores as you enter the building.

The next day was bright, sunny and warm! It was the day of Elaine’s 1st appointment with Gaby in Chicxulub, with the traditional pic!

Last year, the town’s Catholic Church had been dismantled due to safety issues but this year the reconstruction is well underway.

Back at home, it was time for the traditional “Welcome Sharon” pic and a dip in the Gulf.

Later in the day, the “not as little” kitty, Gatito, came for a visit

And the finish to a great day… sunset on the beach!

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 2nd blog for now! The next one will highlight a trip to another traditional spot for lunch and joining good friends at another favourite spot!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun!

Welcome back to our 2025 Winter in Uaymitun blog!

We are glad to return to Uaymitun this winter after a very difficult year for our whole family. This blog is somewhat later that usual for my first entry, but we’re finding we need to take things very slowly. We hope a period of recuperation and spending time with friends and family will help us move forward!

Our journey began a little later than originally planned, however, after a brief visit with Kerry, Bryan and the boys in Wellesley, we arrived at the Cottage on Conestoga Lake to leave the vehicle for the winter.

As the snow streamers started coming off Lake Huron again, Don and Sharon drove us from the Cottage to Pearson Airport! Many thanks to their help in getting us to the airport hotel … we enjoyed some refreshments in Moxie’s restaurant in the hotel with them before they headed home.

After they left for home, we relaxed and had a great dinner at Moxie’s!

As usual, it was an early morning wakeup call… repack a few things… catch the shuttle and off to the airport.

Getting our luggage checked and getting through security was really good, as we took our bags to the Premier check-in and then used our Nexus! Much better than last year!

Since last year, the Terminal 3 windows have been frosted so you can’t get a good view of the ramps or planes… so I included a pic from last year!

We were delayed about 1/2 hour for de-icing and then we were off!

Our flight landed without terror like last year, but about 1/2 later than scheduled. A Miami plane had just arrived before us so the Immigration line was quite long and the 2nd agent looked at his watch and said “Adios”… so both planes were handled by 1 agent!

Then, remembering the debacle from last year, we waited and waited and waited for our bags to come out. They came out infrequently and with out any rhyme nor reason of order. We finally had 3 of 4 but no 4th bag… until Elaine found it in a bunch of other bags minus its luggage strap!

In any case we took our bags, made it safely through Customs and met up with Diego to get our car! He was very happy to see us again and, as usual, helped load up the car with our luggage.

After a stop at Soriana in Progreso to pick up a few items for the house, we arrived in our Winter Home!

Miguel assisted in getting our bags upstairs for unpacking and brought out our storage totes which we put away last spring. He was a great help as always!

Once we had done a bit of unpacking and retrieving some items from our totes, we had Gourmet meal of Grilled Cheese and Ham Sandwiches!

By the time we were ready to sit and relax for a bit, the Norté winds had picked up, so we enjoyed a Cappuccino Maya on our “front” porch!

This is what we’d been waiting for, for a long time! Morning coffee on the patio!

A tradition I try to keep up each year… my first dip in the pool; January 3rd!

It’s also wonderful to be able to spend most of our time outside!

One of my annual chores is to go up on the roof and check out the “gas” tank level and I always take the opportunity for a bird’s eye view of our pool area!

Later that day, we made our first trip into Progreso to pick up a few specific items and check out the changes from the previous season!

We ambled down Calle 80 towards the Malecón and stopped into Barlevento’s for a beverage and a light lunch (Quesadilla de Pollo)!

One of the biggest changes since last year is the new Chedraui store in Progreso Centro. It might be handy for people, but it sure changes the ambiance of the street!

After our rest, we did go to for a walk through the store and did pick up a few items.

The next day, it was time for a Costco run to get the necessities… Kirkland Toilet Paper, (no) Kirkland Paper Towels, Kirkland wine, Kirkland Irish Cream and various frozen items unavailable elsewhere! Oh, and some of the mini donuts!

On our way home, we had to stop and take a pic of the newest fast food addition to the Mérida landscape!

Part of settling back into our Winter home is the restart some traditions…

Well, I think I’ll close out this Winter’s 1st blog for now! The next one will highlight reunions with family and friends and another special day for us!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine

Welcome to this blog post that captures highlights from our 2024 Winter in Uaymitun!

One of our goals for our final few days at the beach house was to pack up our totes for storage much earlier than other years! Well we did it!

Miguel helped us store our ‘stuff’ away until next winter!

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That gave us a sense of calm to allow us go for one last dinner at our fav, Elio al Mare that evening!

With every visit, we promise ourselves to branch out to other menu items… but as usual, we enjoyed our favs… Chicken Parmesan and Fettuccini “Modo Mio”!

It has come very quickly, but our final day at the beach house has arrived! A day of some relaxation and final packing of our suitcases to head into Mérida!

One last gorgeous sunset on our Uaymitun beach!

Once again, we’re very thankful for Miguel and Maria who take care of our beach house each year! It’s hard to believe they’ve been here for the last 9 years! We always take a goodbye picture when we leave, but as the boys, Jesus and Mauricio, would be at school tomorrow, we grabbed them that evening!

Moving day! Well, as in moving from the Beach House to our hotel, Luz en Yucatán in Mérida!

We enjoyed our final morning coffees on the patio!

After dropping off the car at the Yucatan Vacations office in the Fiesta Americana hotel, Luis drove us to our hotel in Centro!

After checking in and getting settled in our favourite room, El Tulipan, we ventured out into the heat and walked over to Santa Lucia Parque. We had decided to have a light lunch of a Margarita Pizza at La Tratto, and it didn’t disappoint!

We had seen the construction work being done on Calle 60 earlier, when we came into Centro with Betty and Joanne. That work has now made its way to the intersection of Calle 60 and Calle 55… our street!

That evening, we went for dinner at La Chaya Maya… just a block away!

After dinner we went for a stroll through “our” park, Santa Lucia Parque!

After picking up a couple of Cappuccinos at the Bengala Cafe on Calle 60, we relaxed back at the Luz en Yucatán!

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A welcome addition to the services available at the Luz en Yucatán is their included breakfast! It was nice to be able to just walk down from our room for brekkie!

We managed to cross an item that has long been on our bucket list of things to do while in Mérida… to tour La Quinta Montes Molina house on the Paseo de Montejo! From their website…

“With eclectic architecture with a neoclassical tendency, La Quinta Montes Molina is a representative construction of the Porfiriato era and the great henequen boom in Yucatán. As it has always been a living house, it preserves furniture from the different periods through which it has passed, and in it we can find many details that help us better understand the customs of the houses of the families of ancestry from Mérida at the beginning of the century XX.”

We grabbed an Uber which dropped us off in front of the house…

Just like Downton Abbey… that was the “Upstairs”… the following is the “Downstairs”!

Upon leaving through the requisite Gift Shop, we took a few pics of the grounds!

Upon leaving La Quinta Montes Molina, we went for a stroll down the Paseo de Montejo!

By lunch the heat was really rising, so we Uber’d back to the Luz and enjoyed some time in the pool!

As the evening was promising to be temperate, we decided to take the opportunity to dine at Amaro one last time this season!

After a wonderful dinner, we went for walkabout through the Gran Plaza!

Sunday and Monday were very, very hot! Some places registered temperatures in the low 40’s C… including Mérida! Sunday morning was cool enough that we went for a quick walk down Calle 60 towards the Gran Plaza.

We paused at the side of the Teatro José Peón Contreras to see if we could see any progress in the restoration after last year’s fire! Nothing to really see, however, in the pictures below (while a little hard to tell from these pics) the ceiling in the left picture is untouched, while on the right the smoke and fire damage is evident!

We’ve frequently walked by Iglesia de Jesus the doors were never open… until today!

I was getting too hot to be outside at all, even in the Pool! We pulled a “Bob & Pat” and Uber’d up to Altabrisa Mall for a Lupper at another favourite place!

Monday was our last full day in Mérida at the Luz en Yucatan! After another great breakfast, our morning was spent repacking for our trip home.

We had such a great time with Julie and Curtis this season, we were very happy they were able to come into Mérida from Chelem to have dinner with us!

We decided to go to La Tratto in Santa Lucia Parque as it was close and there’s air conditioning… and great food!

On the way back to the Luz, we needed to navigate through the construction and wet concrete at the intersection of Calle 60 and 55!

Tuesday morning arrived early as I awoke shortly after 6AM… I sauntered down the hall to grab a couple of early morning coffee. I came back to our small patio overlooking the pool to relax with my coffee! I glanced at my Inbox… only to see a lovely message from WestJet!

We talked with the hotel concierge to reschedule our ride to the airport and then stressfully had to wait all morning for further updates… like cancellation!

Finally, my App showed the plane had left the gate in Toronto, so we quickly rearranged our ride to the Mérida airport! As usual, a cab ride from Centro to the airport certainly got the blood flowing!!!

Fortunately, the Inbound place departed earlier than the delayed time and arrived earlier than expected by a few minutes… and then it arrived!!!

We think the flight crew were under the gun to get us back to Toronto before Midnight as we flew at 40,000′ to shorten the time home! We arrived around midnight, cleared Customs & Immigration quickly, grabbed our luggage and caught the shuttle back to our airport hotel.

The next morning, Don & Sharon picked us up from the hotel and took us back to Kitchener.

After lunch, we visited with Elaine’s Mom at the lodge and then out to Kerry & Bryan’s in Wellesley.

After a short visit, we headed to Sarnia… arriving back home around 5:30.

Kristy and Andy were waiting for us in our apartment! Lots of hugs and then a great supper next door at the Grind!

Then it was time to unpack a little and enjoy being home!

Well, now I’ll close out this Winter’s 12th and final blog! We hope you’ve enjoyed our posts this season! Winter in Uaymitun 2025 is 9 months away!

Cheers!

Love to all,

-Doug and Elaine