“The best place for a birthday party with a piñata”

Krystal Through the Ages

When we went the first time to the Krystal in PVR, we were at the stage of one kid-one adult in the swimming pools.  After twenty years we have four schedules to coordinate to eat dinner together.  Many families have joined us at the Krystal, most continue to come back like we do and all added great stories for our shared memories.  The Krystal is a part of our family story and I would like to share a couple of the beach stories with you.

The beauty of the beach can be seen in every picture of the Krystal PVR on the Banderas Bay of the Pacific Ocean.  The sand can be dug out and used to build pits for burying treasures and friends.  It leads to rock infested breaks where crabs can be chased sideways; the river that sometimes makes it into the ocean and sometimes doesn’t but always has a great slope to run down; and the best place for a birthday party with a piñata.  My son’s birthday piñata was a highlight of our trip for many years and one of the ways we settled into our time in Mexico.  Front desk staffers grinned at our cumpleanos celebration and guided us to the street where families lived who made piñatas on site so we could order even the color that was his favorite that year.  We would all jump on the bus to go downtown and then up the hill to the store that stocked the bags of yummies that would fill the pottery jar inside the piñata and then could be brought back to school for the paper that was always assigned “My Vacation”.  The hardest decisions were how much of “even hot to Mexican taste” mouth burners should be included.  We owned a beachfront unit and with more staff help could hang the filled piñata from a rope slung between palm trees.

Each kid was blindfolded, spun way too many times in circles and tried to hit the piñata with a stick.  The dads got to take turns too swinging the piñata up and down and also in circles to avoid getting hit.  Today, the ever-so-grownup kids story is the year that the oldest broke the stick when he was wa-a-ay off from dizziness and hit one of the palms.  Knocked himself over into the sand and had to hide to get it all shaken out of his clothes.  Even the ground staff who came the next morning to help us get everything down laughed out loud at this description of birthday exuberance.  We all claimed this wonderful Mexican tradition of fun as our very own in our American lives.

Each year, after the multifamily conference, privileges were granted.  Always the first question was how far groups (four decreased to two) could go without an adult being present. More and more sections of the Krystal were added over the years and culminated in going to the beach with a friend but no supervision!  All of the Krystal was thoroughly explored and responsible beach safety becaume a sign of maturity and growin up.  Now our three bedroom villa is needed so our son and daughter can bring friends and have place for sharing with this company.  Staking out a place on the beach is one important task of the morning hours so that this precious part of the day’s circuit is known.  All of the walkways and outdoor porches give another chance then to talk to people you passed on the beach and make connections to other groups and families on vacation.  Typically we come down Easter week so the Krystal and the whole town is filled with some American and lots of Mexican families celebrating together.  Our Krystal explorations are now about people.  Both of our children chose Spanish as their language to study through school, so meetings can now lead to conversation and more connections continued after we leave.

Our years at the Krystal with the magical setting and staff that reach out to enrich every day have been such a special part of our families growing and learning and sharing with  other families.