There were a couple of parties going on in the marina. One boat on the dock behind us had their radio blasting and there was a lady on board that had a screechy laugh. It was a little on the irritating side. It made me wonder how I sounded laughing when we had parties at Brownsville on the dock and in the park. Around 11:00pm they finally went to bed. You could hear another boat having a party but it was far enough away it was o.k. Then in the wee hours of the morning I was woken by a loud thump, thump, of a bass. The party was at its max and that went on for a couple hours or so. I was thrilled!!!!! NOT!!!! I finally got back to sleep and Dave never heard a thing!!!
This morning was beautiful and there was a little breeze. The high winds have stopped and now it is just 5-10 knots that are blowing through here.
I fixed Dave and me some breakfast of scrambled eggs with chorizo, cheese, verde salsa and seasons. Then I buttered some French bread and put it under the broiler for toast. It was good. After breakfast I washed dishes then I took everything off the bed in the back guest room and vacuumed off the mattress and under it. Then I put everything back on the mattress when I was done. I thought I would find a lot of dead bugs like flies and moths but I didn’t find any so I was glad. I feel better now that the sand and dirt and stuff are off the mattress and I know it is clean under it too. Then I vacuumed the floor and washed and dried it. Now the sand and dirt are gone and I have a clean boat again.
After I finished with that I sat and read my book then I crocheted for a while. Dave was in the cockpit talking to Brian, our neighbor on the boat next to us when I heard Brian say there was a swarm of bees coming. Dave hollered for me to close the hatches but I reminded him we have screens in them so it was o.k. Brian left for his boat and told his dad and uncle to close hatches and the door. We saw the bees over at the sailboat across from us and then we saw them head our way. We came down below and closed the companionway hatch and just stood and watched as we were being inundated with bees. Dave sprayed some insect spray and it got rid of some of them, but then more arrived. Obviously they are looking for a new home. They were pretty aggressive. We waited and Dave sprayed some more until we ran out of it then there wasn’t anything else we could do. We were basically trapped in our boat. Pretty soon enough of them left, that Dave was able to get out and go to the marine store to see if they had anything that would rid us of the bees, while I stayed below. When Dave got back he said there was nothing so we ended up filling a spray bottle of vinegar and water as Dave had heard that is what the locals do to get rid of them. So we sprayed and sprayed and some went away. Then we only had a few to deal with. Dave lowered all the screen curtains to try and keep the rest out and as they entered the cockpit we killed them. We kept spraying the screens and the bees wouldn’t land where we sprayed but they wouldn’t go away either. So we went for the straight vinegar. That worked a little better but the only thing that made them go away was when the sun went down. We decided to take the screens off so the bees wouldn’t think it was a place to build a nest and see what happens tomorrow. That was the strangest thing. We have had a few bees before in the cockpit but not like this. We had a lot of bee carcasses to clean up and made sure we wore shoes. If the bees do come back tomorrow, they won’t have anything to hang on to for building so they will probably go away. When we have waited a couple of days to make sure they won’t come back we will put the screens up again. I guess they like white!!
After all that excitement, I fixed Dave and me a cocktail and we relaxed and enjoyed it. Neither one of us were really hungry enough for a big dinner so we had crackers and cheese.
Now we are relaxing with a glass of wine. Dave has been reading the news online and I have played a couple of games on the computer and checked my emails. Nobody loves me tonight.
There isn’t much we are going to clean on the outside of the boat before we leave. We will just clean it real good when we get back.
Tomorrow I will probably clean the shower and heads and then I think the inside of the boat will be clean so I won’t have to do that when I get back. Sometime before Friday we have to go to the bus station and get our tickets to go to the airport in Cabo. Then we have to figure out what and how to get a bus back from the airport to the marina on our return.
Well another exciting day in paradise has come and gone. Tomorrow holds new adventures and stories.
Monday, November 2, Day of The Dead or Dias de Los Muertos.
Today is a holiday. The marina wasn’t fully staffed like it normally is but the essential workers were there. We didn’t do much today. I read my book and did a little crocheting. Dave visited with Shawn and Heather, the authors of ‘Sea of Cortez’, our cruising guide. They have updated the last one and it is now in print. The only problem is it costs $50.00. We’ll have to wait a little bit before we can buy it.
I cleaned the sump pump because it isn’t draining again. It is so frustrating because it hasn’t been that long since I cleaned it last. Oh well. I took a nap later in the afternoon and when I woke up I went walking on the breakwater. It was a nice walk as there was a breeze but not enough to keep the bugs away. When I got back to the boat I lit the citronella candle and got a mosquito coil out and lit that. There are mosquitoes as well as bo bos. Those are little tiny black flies that don’t bite but just irritate you when they fly up your nose and into your ears.
We had a nice evening and just relaxed. Tomorrow we are taking the 9:00am shuttle to town.
Tuesday, November 3.
We caught the 9:00am shuttle but not before the driver had to jump start the battery. He dropped us off at a CCC grocery store that is closer to the marina. It was a nicer store than the other one we had been going to which was further out. We got a couple of things and then snooped around to see what they had. Then we left. We were now on a quest to find the restaurant called ‘California Chicken’. They have the rotisserie chicken that is really good. So we walked several blocks. Dave thought it was by the further CCC store and I felt it was closer to downtown, but Dave is usually right on a lot of things and he knew I thought it was near the cathedral but you know when you have a strong feeling you have to go with it. So we walked and ended up at the farther out CCC store. We asked people where the restaurant was but no one could tell us. But while we were at CCC I got some ibuprofen and salmon oil pills. Something I forgot to get at the last store. When I went to check out and pay for the items, there was a lady that talked to us in English so I asked her where the Purina dog chow store was downtown and she didn’t know but she said we could probably find it in the yellow pages. We knew the restaurant was across from a place that sold Purina dog chow. So we thanked her and left. We were walking back from where we came, after finishing shopping at CCC, when the lady I spoke to in the store drove up and asked if she could give us a ride. We said yes but we still weren’t sure where we were going. She told us she would take us to 5th of De Mayo Street which is the heart of town and drop us there. We had a nice conversation and we found out she has a male friend in Seattle living near a lake and when she comes to visit he will take her up in a hot air balloon. She is Mexican and so is he. So she let us off in front of the bus station which was perfect because we needed to check on times the buses left and the cost. So we thanked her and left. We got a schedule of the bus going to the airport and we decided to pay for it right then that way all we would need to do is come on Friday and catch the bus. The bus will leave at 8:15am from La Paz and get us to the airport around 12:00. Our flight is around 2 so that is plenty of time. After we left the bus station we walked up the street toward the main part of town. I recognized the area as I walked around there to find a craft shop to get a bigger crochet needle. I tried to find the shop again but couldn’t but that was alright. I didn’t want to drag Dave all over looking for it. So we crossed a street and Dave was leading the way and remembered we had walked up the street with John and Sandy Eltrich looking for a place to eat. Well as we walked down the street Dave noticed the store that sold the dog and cat chow and then I looked to my left and there we were right in front of the restaurant. I told Dave “This is it”!!! So we finally found it after walking all over town. We went in and sat down then ordered water and lunch. I couldn’t eat all of mine so I had it boxed. We left and walked back through town and then we ran into a couple of cruisers we know. Lena and Larry and their dog Morgan, off m/v Hobo. We chatted with them for a while and then had to say goodbye. We walked down to the malécon and stopped in at an ice cream store and bought a scoop of ice cream each. Then we sat outside and ate it. Dave finished eating his ice cream before I did and he was ready to leave so I just took mine with me. We crossed the street to the malécon and walked the rest of the way back to the marina. By this time we were pretty tired and our feet were hurting. I wore sandals but Dave wore his tennis shoes and his toes were rebelling. So we got a couple things accomplished and had a nice lunch and ice cream. When we reached the marina we went to the office and asked if a cab would be here early in the morning so we could take it to the bus station. The gals said that there are usually a couple of cabs that come every day early in the morning and wait outside the gate. So that is taken care of. When we got back to the boat we collapsed. I started to read my book and Dave got on the computer to do his thing. Pretty soon I was sleepy so I took a nap. When I got up I took a shower and the sump pump didn’t work again and Dave had to stand outside the shower with the floor board up that is over the sump and hit it so it would drain. I just cleaned it yesterday. Oh bother!!!!!! I will clean it again tomorrow but won’t be taking showers onboard until we get the new sump pump installed. So it will be off to the restroom by the office for that little chore. After my shower I walked up and got some ice and when I returned to the boat I made Dave and I a drink. Then we had dinner and all is quiet now. But wait!!!! What do I hear? It is another sailboat coming in to the dock behind us. They were stuck out side of the marina in the mud. They ran aground. They had a couple of the local guys assist them in. The couple has an old Hunter 42 and are from San Diego. They need margaritas so we invited them over to our boat to get acquainted and drink!!! They didn’t come down with the Baja ha ha people. They left just before them. It will be fun to hear of their trip down the coast and all. I’ll fill you in tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 4.
Marti, her husband Ian, and their friend John came over to our boat for boat drinks. I fixed them the long awaited margarita. As they were heading to the marina they got into some really shallow water and ran aground so weren’t able to make it into the marina until just before sunset. So they really needed a drink!!!! Dave gave them a quick lesson on the charts for Mexico. You can’t follow a Mexican chart like the ones from home. Marti will be staying on the boat for 6 weeks while her husband and John go back to San Diego. John was just crew and Ian is going back to work. Marti said that if she enjoys boat life, they will let their son take over the business and they will cruise. So that is neat. She is new to the cruising life. We had a wonderful visit. After they left I went below to read before going to bed.
We had high overcast today and hardly any wind. It was warm enough to get me sweating when I did stuff but not profusely. I cleaned the sump pump then the shower and heads. So now the inside of the boat is clean enough for my return. I washed and put away dishes. I started to get some things together for our trip home. I made a short list to make sure I didn’t forget the important things like my camera. I put boric acid on the dock under the cleats and on the lines going up to the boat. We decided to leave the cockpit screens off until we return just to make sure bees don’t nest so I put them in a couple of garbage bags and stowed them down below.
We checked on the water level in the house batteries only to discover they needed quite a bit. We didn’t have battery water so I walked up to the store and got some and when I got back we filled them and now all is well. I’m glad we checked them because one of the batteries was really low. We will end up buying batteries when we get back as those are getting old.
We’ve had to light the citronella candle and put out the mosquito coil every night. Even before the sun goes down we have bugs which makes it uncomfortable sitting in the cockpit unless we have both of those things burning. The nights have been wonderfully pleasant. It isn’t too warm or cold. Just right!!!! I sound like I am telling the Goldilocks story. HA!!
I got the suitcases out and am starting to gather things and set them out so as not to forget anything. I am getting excited!! Not to come home to cold, but to see our family and meet our new grandson and see as many of you as we can.
Tomorrow is laundry day, get the cockpit cleared of the spinnaker sail and the square boat cushions which are in a carrying case and then put the pedestal cover over the console and wheel. We don’t want anything to be in the cockpit that could hide critters like cockroaches. Then I will be giving food away that won’t keep while we are gone. We have seven fillets of sierra that if we can’t get someone to hold them for us, we’ll have to give them away. Then I need to defrost the freezer and refrigeration and when the freezer is defrosted we will turn it off and leave it open. The refrigerator will be fine for the two weeks we are gone as there won’t be anyone opening it several times a day.
Dave and I are having a nice evening listening to music and having a glass of wine. We are just relaxing. Tomorrow will be a busy day.
Thursday, November 5.
Today is going to be busy but not hectic which is good. I did laundry this morning after fixing breakfast, then I defrosted the refrigerator and gave the little bit of cabbage, carrots, eggs and a package of tortillas to our new neighbor, Marti. She was busy cleaning the boat and enjoying her time without the men being there. She is on her own for 6 weeks now and agreed to watch our boat while we are gone. She got her freezer fixed today and we are waiting to see if it freezes enough to where we can give our frozen fish to her to keep until we return. We asked the office if they had a place we could keep it and they said no. So right now Marti has the thermometer in her freezer to see how cold it will get and if that doesn’t work we will have to give it away. Bummer. I still have the freezer to defrost tonight and then that will be done.
Dave and I are packed so it is just the last minute stuff to throw in the suit case tomorrow morning. We will leave here at 7:15am to catch a cab to the bus station and then the bus leaves at 8:15am. It should be an interesting trip. We’ll see.
Tonight we will make sure we have all our important papers packed and get the computers packed up and then relax. Marti is coming over later after dinner to share a bottle of wine with us to wish us adios.
Friday, November 6. La Paz, San Jose Del Cabo to Seattle.
We had a long day today from the time we left La Paz to when we touched down in Seattle. The weather was absolutely beautiful leaving Mexico into San Diego, but after leaving San Diego we saw clouds and the closer we got to Seattle more clouds and downpour of rain. Yeah I wrote the ‘R’ word!!!!! Ron met us at the airport and whisked us off to the marina where the Brownsville Deli was having their Friday night crowd with music by the local marina guys. It was really good to see the old crowd again and get hugs from everyone. Cheryl was working and Kim was off so we will have to see Kim tomorrow. We stayed for a little while and then it was time to go down to the boat. Noreen was away for the weekend at the ocean with her sister and wouldn’t be back until Sunday night sometime. Once on the boat we unpacked and then relaxed and did some catching up with Ron. We enjoyed seeing the pugs Jack and Callie. Callie is a new addition to the family. It is definitely cold here and wet!!!! Ugh!!!!
Saturday, November 7. Bremerton, Brownsville Marina.
Dave and I had a really good sleep. We woke feeling rested and fresh but wished there was sunshine, but you can’t have everything.
We went through the mail that Noreen has been holding for us and I looked through all the magazines and Dave spent a lot of time on the computer and phone trying to find parts that we need for the boat. I made some phone calls and the guys had been watching football. Ron offered to drive us to Marty and Inez’ home to pick up our car, and on the way to the car we stopped at the deli first to see Kim and give her a hug. Then we were off. After Ron dropped us at Marty and Inez’ he left. We visited with Marty and Inez for a little bit and then got our car and drove back to the boat.
Once back on Reely R’s, Ron and Noreen’s boat, we had a delicious dinner and then we sat around and watched some T.V. and visited for a bit before going to bed.
Sunday, November 8.
Noreen is due home today sometime. Well probably tonight according to Ron. She isn’t driving so it is when her sister gets her back home.
Ron went to the Sea Hawks game in Seattle and I walked on the ferry and met Ern, Jon, E.J. and Eian, on the Seattle side to watch Jon play a soccer game. He is number 13 in the red jersy and black shorts and straighting his sock on the bench. Ern had hurt his ankle in the last game so he is out for quite awhile.
I got to see some of the kids that Ern and Jon played soccer with when they were in grade school and it was neat to see how they have grown into really nice young men. When Jon was finished with the game, Jon, Ern, the grandboys and I, went over to one of Jon and Ern’s friends’ house to watch the Sounders game.
They had taped it. Unfortunately the game wasn’t a good one and they lost. When the game was over Ern drove me back to the ferry and dropped me off. I gave hugs and kisses to my guys and got on the ferry. When I got to Bremerton, Dave picked me up and mentioned that Ron invited us to go to dinner with him and his son and family at Brother Don’s in Bremerton on Kitsap Way. On Sundays they serve 2 for 1 burgers. So we met him there and I had my hamburger and onion rings that were absolutely fabulous!!!! When we were stuffed we left and came back to the boat. Noreen hadn’t gotten home yet, but shortly thereafter, she came through the door. It was so good to see her!!! We sat around and did a little bit of catching up and had some wine. Then it was time for bed. Noreen has to work tomorrow bummer.
Monday, November 9.
Today Kim is supposed to have breast reduction surgery. She is looking forward to when it is over, healed and being much more comfortable.
Noreen went to work this morning and Dave had an eye appointment to have his lens from his cataract surgery looked at because it is foggy. I had planned on seeing Judy after her sewing class at 4:00pm, but I got a call from her this morning saying her student canceled so she could pick me up at 1:00pm at the deli and we could go back to her house so we could ‘catch up’. We had a wonderful afternoon sharing pictures and stories. Arlen is looking so relaxed, now that he is retired. That is really cool. After we got our visiting out of the way Judy took me to Safeway to get a couple of avocados for Ron so he could make guacamole, then Judy dropped me back at the marina. It was so good to see and visit with her.
When I got back on the boat Noreen hadn’t gotten home yet from work but soon after I got onboard and took my coat off she arrived. We sat and talked and caught up a little more and then we had dinner. We watched T.V. for awhile and then it was time for bed.
Tuesday, November 10.
Today was another rainy day. Sometimes it would pour and then let up so you would have a breather from getting wet. I had an eye appointment this morning and everything checked out great and I don’t need to have new lens yet. When I got done with the eye doctor I came back to the boat. Ron was there but Dave hadn’t returned from his appointment with another eye doctor. He was to find out when he would have the lens cleaned. It is common for the new lens to get dirty and need cleaning after a year if implanting it. Ron had his projects lined up so I sat and crocheted. When Dave got home we decided to go to Walmart and look for indoor/outdoor thermometers which we will use for the refrigerator and freezer. We found them but only the single models and we are hoping to find the dual ones. We will wait to see if we can find the dual and if not we will end up buying the single units. Next it was time to go to the toy section and find the game ‘Mexican Train’ and buy one. Then we went back to the marina and Dave got out and went back to the boat and I got behind the wheel and drove back to Walmart to snoop and ended up getting a lot of items I had on my list to buy. I picked up a baby outfit and some lotion for Dani then checked out. After leaving there went to Fred Meyer to look for some other things I was interested in. I found fluorescent light bulbs for the heads on the boat and then I checked out and came back to the marina. Once on the boat the guys had been doing whatever, and it was close to dinner time. I worked on catching up my journal for the blog and Dave and Ron worked on the shower which Ron had discovered some mildew so they are working to getting that taken care of. I had a bite to eat and some water and then Carolyn and J.T. came down to visit before we walked to the deli for Taco Tuesday. We got to the deli and ordered and then sat down and had a nice visit, had dinner and some wine and then left there and came back to the boat. Carolyn and J.T. came back to the boat with us and we talked and had a good time. Then it was time for Carolyn and J.T. to head home. Since tomorrow is a holiday, Noreen doesn’t have to go to work so Judy is going to pick us up at 9:30am at the deli while the guys first go to the eye surgeon so Dave can get his lens cleaned and then they are off to Seattle to get boat parts. Noreen, Judy and I are going shopping tomorrow. They have a new goodwill that just opened and I want to go and see what they have. There are a few items I would like to get but don’t want to pay a high price for them so I will check it out. Then we will stop for lunch somewhere and Carolyn is going to join us. So it should be a really fun day for the girls. Well it is bed time now. I hasta go to bed now, as Noreen would say!!!
Wednesday, November 11.
The sun was shining this morning and for most of the day which was great. Today is girls’ day out. Dave had an eye appointment this morning early to have his lens cleaned. Then he and Ron were off to Seattle for copious boat parts. Judy, Noreen and I were on a shopping spree. I needed to get a few clothes items so we went to Goodwill first. I was able to get a lot of summer tops and a couple of dresses. Then we went to Olive Garden for lunch and Carolyn joined us and we had a lovely lunch and visit. Then it was time to leave. Carolyn had things to do after lunch so we gave hugs and we went our separate ways. Noreen, Judy and I came back to the marina because the boat heads had to be pumped out and the port was supposed to be there at 2:00pm. Judy and I stayed at the Deli while Noreen went down to the boat. Well we waited and waited and still no Noreen. Then Dave called and said that she was waiting but no one has showed up so could I go the office to let them know she was waiting. So that is what I did and Jerry let me know in no uncertain words that the guys had been held up at the gas dock and would be there shortly. Something was eating at Jerry because he normally is not grouchy. So I ran into SaraNell and asked her to tell Noreen they were on their way. SaraNell lives on the same dock as Ron and Noreen. Then we ended up calling Noreen to let her know. So finally after 3:00pm she met Judy and I at the deli and we left in separate cars as Judy had a sewing class to go to around 4:00pm. We needed to finish shopping for the day. We went to WalMart and Noreen was able to get her shopping done. Judy and I will finish shopping on Friday. So at 4:00pm we had to say goodbye to Judy and Noreen and I came back to the marina in her car. It was a great day!!! We had planned not to go to the Wednesday night dinner as we already had spent money at the Deli on Tuesday for the Taco Tuesday meal. Money only goes so far. So we had a wonderful dinner that Noreen fixed which was crab cakes. Yum!! After dinner we watched T.V. had some conversation and then went to bed. Noreen had to get up early to go to work in the morning.
Thursday, November 12.
Dave and I went to the ford dealer to see about trading our T-Bird for a truck. Well we test drove a really nice Sport Trac truck and then when we got back to the dealership they did their number crunching and said they could only give us 21,000 for the T-Bird. Well that was too low of a price so we said goodbye. We will have to either try to sell it outright or wait until spring or summer to go back to the ford place to make a deal. Being it is a convertible, now is not a good time to sell or trade so we will have to wait. Oh well. We went back to the boat and I did laundry and Ron went to the Yacht club to prepare potatoes for the Thanksgiving meal and Yacht club meeting tonight. So while the clothes were washing I helped peel potatoes and cook them, then I made gravy. I dried the clothes and folded them. Then it was time for dinner. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with lots of food and desserts. Then we had the meeting and after that we cleaned up and went back to the boat. We sat around for a little while before going to bed.
Our Daughter-in-law is in the hospital where she will be induced. So our grandson will be here soon.
Friday, November 13.
The sun came out and it was cold but at least we didn’t get rain. YeeHaw!!!
Baby has finally arrived!!! He was born at 6:30am, weighs 8.5 pounds and is 20.2 inches long. He is healthy and so baby and mom are doing well. When they are up to company they will call and let us know when we can visit. She had a rough time and she and Michael are exhausted. So I went ahead and got together with Judy and went shopping so I could finish getting things on my list and Dave was going to mail boat parts to the Palmira marina in La Paz. Judy and I had a great time shopping and we stopped for lunch. After lunch Dave called Judy to let her know that Michael had called saying it was a good time to see the baby. So Judy dropped me off at the UPS store where Dave was mailing the parts and after that Dave and I went to the hospital to see our new grandson. It was so good to see Michael again and Dani and to meet our little D.J., David Jonathan. He is so cute and he looks like Dad and has Dani’s chin.
We heard him use his lungs and we both got to hold him. It was so neat. Because I didn’t have our camera and the baby gifts we said we would leave and be back in an hour. So that is what we did and when we got back to the hospital Dani’s mom was there, along with her friend and Aunt and then Michaels mom showed up with her sister, and one of Dani’s friend showed up so we had a full room. We took a couple of pictures and visited a little bit and then gave our love to Michael, Dani, and D.J. and said goodbye to everyone and left. Then we went to the Brownsville Deli and had a glass of wine waiting for Ron and Noreen to show up. Ron picked Noreen up at the park and ride and stopped at the pizza place to pick up his order and then stopped at the deli before going to the boat. There was music at the deli and we were thinking of going back there after dinner, but after getting to the boat and having dinner we decided we didn’t want to go back up so we stayed on the boat. We watched T.V., played with the dogs, visited and then it was time for bed. Ron and Noreen have to get up in the morning to go to a Bamitzfa over in Seattle and will be gone all day and part of the night. Dave and I are planning on seeing our two grandsons, E.J. and Eian, their dad, and Uncle Jon at Uncle Jon’s house. So we will have a great afternoon. I am really looking forward to that. Then we will come back to the boat and chill and take care of the dogs and wait for Ron and Noreen to come home and tell us all about their day. Should be interesting stuff. We have another week left before we leave so we are trying to see as much of family as we can. Well I am off to bed. Saturday, November 14.
Ron and Noreen are off to Seattle and we took off for Tacoma to spend the afternoon with the boys. We spent the afternoon watching football and talking and Jon, Eian, and I went to Costco so Jon could get a dog bed for his dog and some pizza for lunch. He doesn’t belong to Costco so it was the perfect time to go soe I could get him in. We went back to his house, had pizza and took pictures so I could have some after I’m home and then we had to leave. So we hugged and said goodbye and came back to the boat.
Dani, Michael, and DJ left the hospital for home this afternoon to start their life together as a family.
When we returned to the boat Ron and Noreen weren’t home yet so we tried to take the dogs for a walk and Jack did not want to go because it was cold, but Callie had to go so we went for a walk. She didn’t want to be gone long so it was a short trip. Dave fixed the dogs their dinner but they wouldn’t eat. They were waiting for Ron and Noreen. So we watched T.V. then Ron and Noreen got home around 9:30pm and they told us about their day. They said it was interesting. We shared our day with them and then it was time to go to bed.
Sunday, November 15.
The weather hasn’t been the best since we have been here. It has rained mostly and it is cold!!!! We did have some sun breaks a couple of days but it wasn’t warm.
We talked to Laurie Coykendall yesterday and decided to get together for brunch this morning after they were done with church. So when Laurie called, we met them at the Silverdale bowling alley. Laurie and Gary look really good. They both have lost weight but Laurie has lost a lot of weight. I hardly recognized her!!!! Good job guys!!!!! We are going to dinner on Friday with them after they get home from work. That will be fun. After brunch was over we said goodbye and headed back to the boat. Once on the boat Dave looked on the internet for different vehicles in a price range we could make a trade and found some we wanted to look at, at the Toyota dealership in Bremerton. Ron and Noreen were going to be working at Noreen’s house that they are trying to sell, so we decided to go car shopping.
When we arrived at the Toyota dealership, we looked at the FJ cruiser jeep on the showroom floor. It was really nice. We talked to a dealer and told him we are looking for a vehicle that we can drive off road in Mexico. The only problem with the jeep on the showroom floor was it was bright yellow. Can’t hide in that!!!! Plus we would definitely stand out down there and it would show the dirt. Well we told Adam, the dealer that was helping us; we wanted to trade in the T-Bird, so he looked at it, wrote down the mileage and went to the number cruncher guys to see if we could make a trade. They worked really hard for us to make it work, but the trade in value was still 21,000. We would have had to come up with a lot of money for the difference. By the time we got the news it wasn’t going to work out, it was dark and raining hard. We went back to the boat, had dinner with Ron and Noreen and told them about our experience with Toyota. We would definitely do business with them again if we get a chance. We did get a hit on the T-Bird, on Craig’s list but Dave thinks it was bogus as they asked questions which Dave answered but we never heard back. Oh well.
It was an interesting day.
Monday, November 16.
This morning I had to get my blood tested to let me know what my cholesterol level is, so I went and had that done at 8:30am and then came back to the boat. My doctor appointment is at 2:00pm this afternoon.
I got a clean bill of health from the doctor and my blood test result was not in yet for cholesterol so I didn’t get the talk about going on statins. Whew!!!!! I’m sure I will be hearing from the doctor online tomorrow. I hope the results are good.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the boat. I crocheted a scarf and started another one. We spent time with Ron and Noreen.
Tuesday, November 17.
Dave had a doctor appointment this morning and was given a good bill of health. So we are both healthy!!! That is always nice to hear. While he was at the doctors I went online to find out what my cholesterol test result was and wasn’t happy with the news. My cholesterol is up even more this time than last March when I had my last test and the doctor wants to know if I will take a statin. I dropped him a line after I thought about it and decided that maybe it is time to give in and start taking a statin. So I asked what he suggested. The nurse came back and said he was out of the office until Wednesday and would contact me when he returned.
Tonight is taco Tuesday at the Brownsville Marine Deli and Dave and I, Ron, Noreen, Judy, Arlen and their granddaughter Karisa are joining us. I got together with Judy in the afternoon and spent some time picking up a couple of items I needed to get at the mall. Karisa came with us. When we got back it was almost time to go to the deli but I had Judy drop me off at the marina and I went down to the boat while she went home to get Arlen. Around 5:30pm or so I headed up to the deli to meet Judy and Arlen. They had been there for a little bit and had already had dinner. Dave, Ron, and J.T. showed up around 6:00pm and Noreen met us there when she got home from work. Carolyn had another commitment so she couldn’t join J.T. for dinner. We ordered our tacos and had a great time. It was like what we use to do when we were living there at the marina. The deli still serves Wednesday night dinners but we decided to get tacos and skip Wednesday night dinner. Can’t afford to do both. When we were all finished we said goodbye and Judy, Arlen, and Karisa, and J.T. went home and Noreen, Ron, Dave, and I went back to the boat. We sat around and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
Wednesday, November 18.
I got a call from my doctor’s nurse asking if I would be available this afternoon around 1:30pm for a phone consultation with the doctor. I told her yes. So we will see what he has to say.
We are going to Marti and Inez’ house tonight and will stay until Friday morning. There is a squadron dinner meeting, Thursday, which we will be attending. So we packed our overnight bags so we would be ready when we got back from visiting with the dealer at Toyota. Dave had been searching online and found some used jeeps for sale so he made an appointment to talk with Adam, the guy we dealt with last time, however it was his day off but his co-worker would be there to talk to us.
Not much time was wasted in chit chat and when we told him what we wanted to look at he took us to the used car lot across the street and let us look at the jeeps out. We found the one with the low miles on it and looked it over carefully then took it for a test drive. We liked everything about it and when we got back from the test drive we sat down to discuss trading in the T-Bird. While the numbers were being crunched, I had my phone consultation with the doctor. He said everything was good except the LDL which is the bad cholesterol and if I could tolerate Niacin, he thinks that is all I need to take. He wants me to build up to taking 1,000 mg. Wow!!! I told him I would get some and after being on it awhile would have my blood tested again and see how I am doing. So that worked out great. I don’t have to take a statin yet and the doctor is willing to work with me.
When I got off the phone with the doctor, Dave told me what had transpired with the black rag top. It will be fun to drive and it is perfect for Mexico and what we will need it for down there. Since Davey test drove it, I drove it off the lot to the marina. Very fun driving!!
When we returned to the marina we showed Ron, then Dave took me to Judy’s house so I could finish showing her pictures of Mexico and she wanted to finish showing me pictures of her cruise. Dave returned to the marina, picked Ron up then they went to the sport store so Dave could get some fishing supplies. They had a good time and so did Judy and I.
When Judy and I were finished sharing pictures and adventures, I called Dave to pick me up. When we got back to the boat we got our overnight bags and headed for Marti and Inez’ house. When got to their house we sat around and talked and showed them pictures and then we sat down and had a wonderful steak dinner. After dinner Dave taught them how to play Mexican Train domino game. We played until 1:00am. We had a lot of fun.
Thursday, November 19.
I was tired after playing the dominos game, but not enough to fall asleep right after getting into bed. So I tossed and turned. Eventually I fell asleep. Then it was time to get up. Dave and Marti were up and talking. I got up and dressed and joined them. Marti had to work but all he had to do is go across from the house to the barn. Inez had an aquatic class, and Dave and I had some running around to do. So after having breakfast, everyone went their separate ways.
We left and went to the dealership to drop off the outside cover for the T-Bird and the extra key. Then we left and drove back to Poulsbo and stopped at Albertson’s to get dessert for tonight’s dinner meeting which is their annual Thanksgiving meal. Then we went to storage to pick up our uniforms then went to Rite Aid so I could get my niacin. They didn’t have anything smaller than 250mg in the time release so I got that. I will start taking it tonight. Then we went back to Marti and Inez’s house and sat and talked with Inez for a little while before she had to leave to go set up the tables for dinner. When Marti was finished working, he changed clothes and then Inez got home and put her dish in the oven to cook while she got ready. We changed into our uniforms and Dave discovered he had left his shoes back at the boat. He does not like to be out of uniform. He taught for so many years in Scouts that if you are going to wear a uniform, wear it correctly with the right items and tennis shoes were not part of that. So I went with him and told Inez and Marti we would meet them at the yacht club. So off we went. Dave got his shoes and we got to the yacht club around 6:00pm. Dinner is at 7:00pm. We saw all our favorite squadron people. It was so good to talk with them and find out how they were doing.
We had a wonderful turkey and ham dinner with all the fixins, and then we listened to an old friend from Dave and my past, Peg Tillery. She was our guest speaker on how to do our part in keeping soil from eroding away on the beaches and more. It was very interesting. After the meeting everyone did their part to clean up and get everything back to the way it was before, then we left and went back to Marti and Inez’. After we got out of our uniforms and back in comfortable clothes, we all sat around the table and talked until about 12:00am. Marti didn’t have to go to work in the morning and Inez didn’t have anything pressing either.Friday, November 20.
I slept in until 9:00am. When I woke up my head was spinning and I was dizzy so I didn’t want to get up yet. I wanted everything to settle down. I wondered if I was having a reaction to the niacin. Dizziness is one of the side effects. Dave and Marti were talking in the dining room and Inez wasn’t up yet either. I finally dragged myself out of bed and got dressed and joined the guys. I had a cup of coffee and my head was still a little out of sorts but was getting better. Inez came downstairs and joined us and after she had a cup of coffee, she fixed us bacon and eggs with grits and toast. Dave and I had only a little bit of grits as we are not big grit fans. It was a good breakfast and afterward we sat and talked. Then Dave and I packed and had to say goodbye. Before leaving they offered to store our jeep while we were gone. That was nice. So we told them we would let them know in a day or two. We leave to go back to La Paz on Monday. The weather sucks here!!!! Did I tell you that???!!!
We have talked to Dani and Michael about seeing them on Saturday and asked if Jon and Ern could come too. Dani said she would make a spaghetti dinner and I told her I would pick up some French bread and salad. We will be able to spend some time with our new grandson, Davey.
We met Gary and Laurie at Silver City Brew Pub in Silverdale at 7:00pm. We had an hour wait. Friends of Gary and Laurie, Sandy and Jeff, were joining us. After waiting what seemed like forever, we finally were called to be seated at our table. We had good conversation and food. By the time we left and got back to the boat it was 10:00pm. We found Ron sitting on the couch with Noreen’s head in his lap sound asleep. Dave and I had a night cap and talked to Ron a little bit then we all went to bed.
Saturday, November 21.
Dave and I are going to Dani and Michaels around 2:00pm so we can spend some time with Dani and the baby as Michael has to work but will be home around 5:30pm. Ern, Jon, and Kathy, his friend from grade school, will be there closer to the time Michael gets home from work.
When Dave and I arrived, Dani was feeding Davey so we visited with her and when Dani was finished, I held him for a while and then passed him on to grandpa.
He is so cute. I brought a little bit of laundry with me to do while we visited and then I helped Dani make dinner. Ern, Jon, and Kathy showed up just before Michael got home so we got a chance to visit with them a little. When Michael got home we had some time visiting with him. It was so good to have all of us together. We watched football and talked. 
We had a great visit and I was glad to have a chance to hold Davey. Once dinner was over Dani went and lay down for a bit while Kathy and I cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher. Dani came out later to help us but we were already finished. We sat around for a little while after dinner and then it was time to leave. It was so good to see everyone. We said our goodbyes and left and came back to the marina. We finished packing and then enjoyed company from Carolyn and later J.T.Monday, November 23. Seattle to San Jose Del Cabo and La Paz.
Today started around 6:00am. We packed the last minute items in our suit cases and had a cup of coffee, then left for the airport. Ron and Noreen drove us to the airport and we said goodbye and we went to stand in line and they were off to start their day. We had a wonderful visit and will miss everyone but in all honesty we are looking forward to being in warmer weather and sunny skies. We had a 3-1/2 hour plane ride to San Jose Del Cabo airport, and then we got on a shuttle to go to the bus station. Once at the bus station we waited about an hour for the bus to come in. We were going to take the 5:30pm bus but it had been canceled so we ended up taking the 6:00pm one to La Paz. We didn’t get to see anything as it was dark, but when we arrived in La Paz we got off the bus and took a cab to the marina. Finally we are home again. Our neighbor and friend, Marti greeted us and brought us some wine and left over shrimp linguine. We didn’t have anything to eat except a couple of cookie bars and some water so we were hungry. Around 11:00pm Marti said goodnight and I checked the refrigerator to see how it was doing and it felt pretty warm. So I ended up defrosting it. It was frozen solid. Now it is defrosted and things can get cold again. I ended up throwing out the mayonnaise as I was afraid it got too warm and I didn’t want to chance using it. But everything else was fine. So around 1:00am I finally went to bed. I was tired. It had been a long day.
Tuesday, November 24. La Paz, Marina Palmira.
We woke to partly cloudy skies and a lot of sun breaks. The temperature is in the upper 70’s and it is nice. I am sooooo tired. I slept well last night but need more sleep. I got up at around 8:30am and Dave was up before that. We had our coffee and a bowl of cereal then started to empty suitcases. We got them all unloaded and most of the items put away. We opened the hatches as the boat had been closed up since we’ve been gone so we needed to air it out. It was warm down below but not bad. After putting things away, we had lunch which was crackers and peanut butter as we need to go grocery shopping. Then I took a nap.
I feel so much better now and tomorrow I should be back to normal. I have to go grocery shopping and Dave is going to put our new VHF radio in.
We were invited to a dock party tonight and I have nothing much on the boat to make an appetizer, but I decided I had a jar of baby corn and some green olives so I would serve that. At 5:00pm we met up the dock from where we are moored and joined in on the party. We met the new comers to Mexico (Baja Ha Ha) and some cruisers who have been cruising for a while and returned to Mexico. It was fun sharing stories and experiences. It seemed so late but when I returned to the boat it was only 7:30pm. Not quite cruisers midnight (which is at 9:00pm). It was a laid back day and we will be getting back into the swing of things again soon.
Wednesday, November 25.
Today is cloudy and windy but still warm. Perfect weather to clean the boat, but instead we are doing boat projects like putting in the VHF radio that we bought, and while Dave is doing that I will take the marina shuttle to the grocery store to get a few things as we are out of most everything.
Tomorrow is the cruisers Thanksgiving and I am bringing a big pot of mashed potatoes. I am going to try and get a turkey breast to cook or a small turkey, so we can have leftovers for sandwiches and casseroles.
Well Dave was trying to get the new radio in and it isn’t going well. When the radio that came with the boat was put in, they messed it up so it is making it almost impossible for Dave to get the new one in. Oh boy!!!! I think it is time to go grocery shopping!!!! When I return I will know if he was successful or not in getting it in. I hope so. The mike on the old radio was going out so while we were home Dave tried to just get a mike but they wanted and arm and a leg for them so he bought a new one. It was cheaper to do that. Now if we can’t get it installed, I don’t know what we are going to do!! It is always something!!
When I returned from the grocery store Dave had the radio installed. He was still having a couple of problems with it but managed to take care of them. Now we can talk to people and not have them say we are cutting out. Life is good. I was able to get a 14 lb turkey which I think was their last one. I got lucky because all the rest of them were 18 pounders and that won’t fit in my oven. So we are going to have our turkey dinner on Saturday and we invited Marti and another cruiser named Mike over to help us eat it.
I am in the process of crocheting hats for my grandsons for Christmas. I brought back a lot of yarn that Judy had given me so I will be able to make my purses, scarves, hats, and other stuff too.
We will be going to Bahia de Los Angeles next week to meet the owners of the house we want to lease from them, and ask a bunch of questions. We will have to take the bus from here to Loreto then rent a car to go get there. This trip will let us know if we really want to get this place and sell the boat. Either way, it is a win situation for us. Our life is definitely not boring. So stay tuned for more information.
Thursday, November 26.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! It was a cloudy day today until mid afternoon and then we had some sun breaks. There was a nice breeze which felt good. It is warm, not hot.
I took our dirty clothes up to the laundry room in hopes I could get it done before the dinner this afternoon but no such luck. There were 3 Mexican women doing loads and loads of laundry so I took a shower and took my dirty clothes back to the boat and I will do them after dinner.
I finished crocheting one hat and now am starting another one. I peeled potatoes, cut them up and boiled them and made mashed potatoes for the potluck. I got dressed for dinner and Dave went up and took a shower and then when we were both ready, we gathered our stuff and grabbed the potatoes and off we went. People were already in line to get in. We paid and found a place to sit. At the entrance they give you a playing card and that is how they send people get their food. We were given Jacks so we were the 3rd group to get food. There were tons of desserts and lots of food that they even had some left over. Even the workers and office personnel got to have dinner. It was nice. We saw some cruisers we cruised with this summer and last year. It was fun. After everyone was finished, Dave and I said goodbye to our friends and got our pan that had the potatoes in it and took off for the boat. Well I did, but Dave stopped to talk to someone. I wanted to get my dirty clothes and come back to do laundry as there was no one in the laundry room. I brought the clothes up and sat and crocheted while the clothes were washing and drying. When they were done I took them back to the boat. I forgot that Dave didn’t have a key to get in the gate at our dock, and he didn’t say anything when he stopped at the laundry room to see how things were going, but he had no trouble getting through the gate as there were plenty of people walking around from our dock to let him in.
I am back on the boat now and it is only 6:30pm, dark and it seems so late!! We are so stuffed!!! We are listening to music and relaxing now.
Friday, November 27.
It is a beautiful day. The sun is out and it is comfortably warm. There is a little breeze which makes it that much nicer. Dave was going to go to Lopez Marine but decided he would go tomorrow instead. I won’t be going with him as I will be cooking our turkey dinner.
We mailed a package with boat parts while we were home and it still hasn’t arrived here at Marina Palmira yet. It was held in customs at Tijuana, so when we got back Dave worked with the ladies at the marina office to get the paperwork that was needed to get it moving again. So Dave was on the internet several times today checking to see if any progress was being made, but none yet. He is concerned it will never clear customs.
I chopped the vegetables to go into the dressing and cooked them so they will be ready tomorrow morning to add to the stuffing mix. I made a canned apple pie and had to make the crust from scratch as I couldn’t find prepackaged ones that I normally buy. I am so glad it isn’t really hot today or I would have bagged the pie. It turned out good at least to look at and we won’t know how it tastes until tomorrow. I’m sure it will be fine though. I also prepped the turkey so all I have to do is stuff it in the morning. After all that and washing dishes, I sat down and crocheted only to discover the hat I was making was too small. So I ended up ripping it all out and starting it again. I decided I would take a break from it though as I had been working on it for 2 or 3 days now. So I read a little. I am reading ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott. I never read it as a child so I will now.
Dave is going to take me out to dinner. We are going to the La Panga restaurant by the marina office. They are having their Friday night BBQ. We invited Marti to join us so we went up around 6:30pm or so and had a wonderful meal and conversation. After dinner we went back to the boat and relaxed. I crocheted a little and then read before going to bed. Dave played his sub game on my computer.
Saturday, November 28, 2009.
Dave got up a little late this morning so he didn’t take the shuttle into town to go to Lopez Marina. I kind of think he would like me to go with him so we might do that on Monday or Tuesday. A lot of places close on Sunday and Mondays here.
I peeled sweet potatoes and yams and boiled them then put them in a casserole dish, added butter, brown sugar and baked them in the over for about 45 minutes. I made the dressing and stuffed the turkey and took the leftover stuffing and put it in another casserole dish and baked it with the potatoes. When those two items came out of the oven I put the turkey in. I peeled white potatoes, cut them up, added minced garlic, put them in a pan, added water and let them sit until it was time to cook them. So pretty much everything is done until the turkey comes out of the oven and then I will cook the potatoes and put the stuffing and sweet potatoes back in the oven. Marti is bringing vegetables. She was cooking them last night when we invited her to go to dinner with us and I told her to just finish cooking them tomorrow and bring them when she comes for dinner. So that worked out really well.
The clouds are rolling in and we are expected to have about 20% chance of rain tomorrow. That will be great because it will be a good day to do boat washing and get the screens cleaned and back up.
Dave made arrangements with the ladies in the marina office to rent a car for Wednesday to drive to Bahia de Los Angeles. I’m excited. It will take about 8 hours to drive there but will stay overnight in the house as the owners already had mentioned we could do that when we came up.
Our guests Mike and Marti showed up a little after 5:00pm for dinner. Everything was ready. Both Mike and Marti are married but not to each other. They are married singles. Mike’s wife doesn’t like sailing, and Marti’s husband is working in San Diego. Mike is delivering a boat to San Felipe up at the northern end of the Sea of Cortez next week and as Captain he has recruited his crew and Marti will be one of them. This is an opportunity for her to learn more so she will know more things about her boat. We ate dinner and talked and then we had dessert and talked some more. It was nice to share our dinner with these people. We had a good time. Shortly after dessert, which by the way was o.k., Mike and Marti said goodnight and left. I wasn’t going to do the dishes until morning but the sink was so full I couldn’t even get the tea kettle in it to fill it with water for coffee in the morning, so I decided to wash some of the dishes. Well I started washing and figured I would just do them all. Now I don’t have to worry about doing them in the morning. I sat and crocheted after that and Dave played his sub game on my computer. When I finally got tired enough to go to bed it was about 12:00am. I got ready for bed and told Dave goodnight and crawled into bed and left him to hopefully win the battle. He is definitely more of a night owl than I am.
Sunday, November 29, 2009.
We woke up to grey skies but it wasn’t gloomy. Actually we had a few sun breaks every once in a while but it was cold!! Yes! I did say cold. The wind was blowing and there was no sun and it felt like winter.
I had planned on cleaning the bimini and cockpit, but with it being windy and cold, I figured the cushions wouldn’t dry very well so I’m putting it off until tomorrow – maybe. Depends on whether we go to town or not. Anyway, it did warm up later on and I was thinking it might be good to go ahead and wash the bimini and all, and then the sun went away and it was cold again. Plus it was early afternoon and a project like that needs to be started in the morning to make sure all is dry by 3:00pm, otherwise it will stay damp. We have had a bit of dew in the morning. Well that is my story and I’m stickin to it!!! Dave wasn’t all that energetic today either. So we took our time in doing anything until late in the morning. I crocheted and he played his game. I guess there are different levels or stages to this game and he was making progress. Anyway it was his way of killing time and relaxing.
I defrosted the refrigerator then the freezer then siphoned the water out of the sump pump that both the refrigerator and freezer drain to. This is the broken one and a new one is on its way if it ever gets here. As of yesterday Dave tracked the package to be in route to Mexico City. Yeah! Go figure. It leaves Tijuana and goes to Mexico City. It’s like back home when you send mail to Bremerton, it goes to Tacoma first and then reaches its destination of Bremerton. I guess it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, some things never change. After I had finished with the one sump pump, I moved on to the one in our stateroom and cleaned that. We also need to replace that one too as the float is not working very well. So with all that done, I went back to crocheting and then I thought it would be a good time to wash clothes. So that is what I did. I walked up to the laundry room and there was a Mexican lady doing loads of laundry and she was on her last 3 loads. I thought about waiting because one of the machines had 11 minutes left on it, but decided I wanted to do my clothes all at the same time so I decided to go take a shower and then go back to the boat and come back later when she was gone. So that is what I did. When I got back on the boat I fixed Dave and I a cocktail and I crocheted some more. While I was up taking a shower, Dave had taken the first step off the stairs inside and sanded it. He is prepping them to be oiled. They were looking rather dreary and worn. Eventually we will have to sand down all the wood and oil it. We thought there was varnish on the wood, but we think it is teak oil. The wood needs to be done so we will tackle one room at a time.
I wanted to eat dinner before going back up to the laundry room, so I fixed us dinner then washed the dishes and headed up to do laundry. There was just one lady who had a load of wash and the other two machines were open. Yahoo!!! So I sat and crocheted and waited for the clothes to wash and dry. Then I folded them and went back to the boat. Marti had let us borrow her movie called ‘Love Actually’ so we are watching that tonight. Dave had it all set up and ready to go when I got back and I made popcorn because you can’t watch a movie without popcorn!!!!!
Cute movie!!! Thoroughly enjoyed it!!!! It’s a Christmas movie. Anyway after that Dave got on his computer and I am typing the blog. I am waiting to get tired as I had a coke and it affects me like when people drink coffee and can’t sleep. Oh joy!! I asked Dave if he wanted to go into town tomorrow and go to Lopez Marine and a couple other places and he said it depended on how he felt and also if he can get one of the ladies in the marina office to call and see if the parks pass office is open. Then we will make the decision to go do our running around tomorrow or Tuesday. Tuesday evening the car rental place is going to come and pick Dave up and take him to sign papers and all for the rental car. So that is going to be cool.
Well I am getting a little tired so I guess I will go to bed now.
Monday, November 30, 2009.
It is a beautiful crisp sunny morning. People are working on their boats and we are too. I scrubbed the screens and hung them back up and Dave took off the other 3 steps to sand and clean them then apply teak oil. While he has the steps off I am going to scrub the cockpit screens, and then rehang them. We took a break for lunch and now it is time to get back to work. It is perfect weather to work. Not too cold or hot. I now can shine the stainless steel companionway hand rails. Dave managed to do one side of the hand rail awhile ago but stopped to pick it up the next day but that didn’t happen for whatever reason so now it can all be done at once. The steps are looking really good. It will be nice to have them looking good again. Dave sanded the first step in place as it couldn’t be removed and put a coat of teak oil on it. It was a little tricky getting up and down the stairs but it is only for a short time. There is a stainless steel frame for each step but you really had to watch where you put your foot. Then we need to sand, clean and teak oil the last two steps in place as they can’t be removed either. That project will have to wait until we get back from Bahia de Los Angeles.
Another month has gone and now we are seeing more people decorate for Christmas. It is fun to see the lights and Christmas trees lit up. Christmas is a beautiful and magical time of year.
