We made a Costco, Walmart and Home Depot run to Ensenada. We left on Monday, the 2nd and got into Ensenada around 2:30, 3:00pm. It was a very windy ride up and some of the time Dave had trouble keeping the jeep in our lane. There were only a couple semi trucks on the road and they were going very slow. You could see the wind was moving them side to side. I figured if it got worse, they would have to pull off the road and wait until the winds died down. It wasn’t a fun ride. But we made it safely and as soon as we got to town we got a room and then went to Walmart and did some shopping. I had a list of stuff I wanted in addition to what some of my friends needed. Luckily I was able to get most of the things they wanted. After Walmart, we went back to our room. We didn’t want a lot to eat for dinner and didn’t want to spend much so we had dinner at McDonalds. After dinner Dave got some ice for the ice chest since we had some things to keep cold, and once that ice was dumped we went to our room and chilled. No pun intended!! Ha!
We were up by 6:30am the next morning and walked to McDonald’s and had breakfast. Then it was off to Home Depot as they open at 7:00am. When we pulled into a parking spot and got out of the jeep, there was a Mexican guy who wanted to know if we wanted our jeep washed. Dave asked how much and he said 25 pesos, $2.00 U.S. So Dave told him yes. We ended up getting the paint to finish painting the guest house, and a couple roller pads. We snooped around a little looking for certain things and then left. When we came out the jeep was clean. Yahoo!!! Dave paid the man and we were on our way to Costco. We had to wait about 10 minutes for it to open. The crowd forms at the door just at it does at home. Just waiting to be the first ones in. We finished around 10:30am and headed out of town. Dave figured we would be able to make it home by 5. There was much less wind and more semis on the road, but we made good time. It started out as a beautiful sun shiny day, and the further south we went the more clouds were forming. Dave remembered reading about a pineapple express moving through which explained the clouds. When we arrived home it was cloudy, but after asking our neighbor about the sun he said we had half and half. That was good because that meant we had charged our house batteries. It was good to be home again and Dave was really glad he didn’t have to drive again for a while.
Happy 12th birthday to our grandson Eian, today, May 5th. It is Cinco de Mayo for the gringos and the Mexican people don’t celebrate it.
Dave left this morning to get water to fill the pila. He usually calls when he is at the top of the hill coming home. I heard him call Larry on the radio but got no answer. Then he called me. He told me he was stuck at the top of the hill with a muffler on the ground. There are 2 mufflers on the truck and one of them finally broke loose but was held in place with a strap. He couldn’t go anywhere until he could get the strap holding the muffler, removed to take the muffler off. So I told him I would call Annie and Elwin, our friends to see if Elwin could help. Dave needed a hacksaw. Elwin said he had a hacksaw and would go and help Dave. That was really nice. About 20 minutes or so later Dave was back with the muffler in the bed of the truck. Apparently nothing had been going through that muffler because when Dave grabbed a hold of it, it was cold!!! We were thinking about taking the truck to town tonight for the viewing of the old timers racing car exhibit, but now we won’t be. After we pumped the water into the pila and put things away, I walked over to Phil and Creela’s house and invited them to come with us tonight. Dave said we would take the jeep. So they are coming with us. It will be fun. When I got back to the house, I read my book, and Dave read a little then went outside. I didn’t know what he was doing, and when he came up he said he had been taping around the windows and doors of the guest house getting it ready for painting. So I went down and he showed me what he had done. He only has a little more to go and then we can start to paint. It is going to look really nice when we are done. Around 3:30pm Creela and Phil walked to our house and we left in the jeep for town. Some of the race cars were already parked and on display so we took a look at them. Pretty awesome! Here are some pictures.
More cars were arriving so we decided to have a couple margaritas while we waited for more to show up. Then we ended up having dinner and visiting with some of our friends and were able to hear some of the old timer guys talk about their trip. They don’t race any more, but they still like to do the rally each year. They come into town, stay overnight, and then start out early the next morning for Loreto. That is a long ride on a dusty bumpy dirt road. Not comfortable. After dinner we walked around some more and then went and did some grocery shopping and I picked up my laundry. We got home around 7:30pm. It was fun!
This morning around 8:00am the rally had started and you could hear the cars and motorcycles zooming by. Some of the guys zoomed while others just took their time. Dave and I joined some of our neighbors along the side of the road to watch and wave to the racers as they passed by. When we were done eating dust, and no more cars were coming, we left and came back home. The rest of the day was spent washing clothes, reading, making salad for dinner, and trying to stay cool. We have a breeze blowing but it still is a warm day. It is 89 degrees in the house and all our windows and skylights are open.
Dave and I painted the guest house finally and it looks really good. Dave’s choice in colors turned out to be great. The neighbors like it and Larry and Lois do too. At least now the wood is protected.
We have had some south winds the last few days and some strong gusts, but not enough to cause us to sleep in the trailer.
One day it was breezy and we had some of the skylights open, in particular one of the large skylight facing west, and I was working on my cross stitch and Dave was on the computer when we heard a crack or pop. I asked Dave what it was and he didn’t know, but I noticed a couple small pictures blew over on the shelf so I figured that was it. Later on Dave took my computer to the trailer so he could play his war game and I was still cross stitching when a breeze came up and then I heard a loud pop. I got up and looked around to see what made the noise and then I looked up and noticed the skylight lid was partially detached from the base. I went down to the trailer and told Dave what happened and he came to the house to take a look. We figured we could just climb the ladder and walk on the roof. So we got the tallest ladder we have and I climbed to the top and started to climb on the roof and determined I wasn’t going to be able to get to the skylight that way. The small portion of the roof was too steep to climb without support. To make a long story short, we ended up calling our neighbor Phil to help us and we tied a rope to the posts on the deck and Dave was able to get on the roof by holding onto the rope. It took a while but he fixed the skylight. He looked at the others and they looked fine. We will have to get some more rivets just in case it happens again. We told Larry and Lois what happened and they were relieved it was fixed. Thank goodness the wind wasn’t blowing harder or we would have lost the lid and ended up with a huge hole to cover.
The weather is warming nicely. One day it will be warm with very little breeze and then the next it will cool down with a north breeze. The birds are waking us up at 5:30am with their songs. Not appreciated at that time in the morning, however. Snake sightings have been reported, but we have yet to see one by our place. I did see a trail at the end of the drive, but no snake. Scorpions will be next to come out. Probably next month and for sure in July and August. We’ve had some coyotes hanging around, as they know our neighbor has a cat and they want it for a meal. Joanne had her cat roaming around her house and she noticed the coyote and called to him, and then went chasing after it so she scooped him up before he could get far and the coyote wasn’t happy. He stood not too far from her house just yipping away and letting everyone know how unhappy he/she was. We have never experienced anything like that before. The desert is full of wonders and surprises.
Now that I don’t have crafts to make for a show, I am back to working on my dragon/castle cross stitch. I finally finished the main picture and now am starting the back stitching, or outlining for those who aren’t familiar with the process. I have also started playing my guitar again. I have to start all over again, since it has been years the last time I played. I am putting music to a song I wrote, before we went cruising, about the San Juan Islands, in British Columbia. I am also reading a lot of books too. I have finished all the series books by Janet Evanovich, to Fourteen. That was fun. I have one Christmas story by her to read yet, but I am taking a break and reading book number 7, ‘Harry Potter, and The Deathly Hollows’. I read it a long time ago, but Lois let me borrow it so I figured it would be fun to read again.
We had some friends over for dinner the other night and it was fun. Rainy and Dennis are people we have been wanting to get to know better and when I found out they were heading home to San Diego soon, I invited them out along with our neighbor Creela and Phil.
What a thrill I got yesterday, May 21. It was mid afternoon and I was heading out the door with my book to sit on the deck and read, when I looked up and across the bay and saw a spray of water. I got excited and told Dave I thought there was a whale. I got my binoculars and looked and sure enough there was a whale and he/she had a friend. It was too far away to get pictures, but I sure had fun watching them play or feed or both with my binoculars. Dave watched for awhile and I told our neighbors so all of us were watching them. At one point one of them breached and then there was a lot of tail whapping on the surface of the water. It was thrilling. They must have carried on for at least 15-20 minutes. It was awesome!!!! I love it here!!!
Dave and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary today! May 24th. We invited Creela and Phil, Lois and Larry and Anne and Elwin to help us celebrate. They came over around 5:00pm and we had snacks and drinks. I shared our wedding pictures with them and after an hour or so, they said goodbye. It was fun. It doesn’t seem like it has been 20 years. I guess that is a good thing, right?! Ha.
Dave and Phil have been out fishing on Phil’s boat and they caught some bonita. It’s like a small tuna. Phil took his home and is going to smoke it and Dave and will have it for dinner in a day or two. After Phil finished smoking the fish, he invited us over to sample. It was really good. He covered one batch with a spicy rub and the other with brown sugar and dried peppers. They were both very good. That evening we cooked our fish and put a morroccan-style rub on it. It turned out delicious. I took a small piece over to Creela and Phil and they liked it. She wants the recipe.
The weather has been beautiful and warm. There has been a couple times when there was no wind and it was pretty warm. But thank goodness that doesn’t last long.
Sunday, the 29th, Larry and Lois invited us over for a Memorial Day party at their house. It was a small one and we got to see some of the people that live near us but don’t see much. It was a good time and we had turkey hot dogs wrapped in turkey bacon. They were good and it was nice they were healthy. Food was good and we all had a great time. We are leaving for Santa Rosalia in the morning so today I packed and made a casserole, and a macaroni salad to take down with us. That way we don’t have to eat out every day. Saves money.
The jeep is loaded and we are on our way to Santa Rosalia. Arturo has washed the boat and it looks really clean. The tarp we tied across the deck was clean and still in tack. All is good. Now we don’t have to scrub the boat this time. I will be washing the cockpit out tomorrow and that is all. NICE!!!! It was windy when we arrived but Dave looked at the weather forecast for the next couple days and the wind is suppose to subside tonight and be less tomorrow and Wednesday will be perfect to take the boat out and make water. We are looking forward to that. The boat hasn’t been out of the slip since we parked it here last year.
This is Memorial Day and I want to thank all the men and women who have served our country in order for us to enjoy freedom. The sacrifices that have been made have been great and all Americans should be grateful. My oldest son was in the Air Force reserve, but thankfully never had to be deployed, however, my stepson was and served his time in the National Guard in Iraq and it was one of our happiest days when he came home safe and sound. Then we had to live the nightmare again with his second tour of duty in Kuwait, and again the Lord brought him home safely. We hope he never has to go back again!!!! I think he has done his time!!! It is a true nightmare for all families when their loved one joins the service and has to go to war. It is a shame it has to be that way, but I am so thankful for these men and women who love our country enough to fight for freedom. May God continue to bless those who have served and those who are serving now. I am proud to be an American!!! Thank you again for your service!!!
The cockpit is clean and the sun shade is hung as there isn’t a lot of wind today so it will be warm. It brings back memories. Speaking of that, I was having my morning coffee in the cockpit and as I sat enjoying it and the weather, I started to think about our life aboard. It has been a really good one. I was feeling a little melancholy about the boat. It has been good to us and got us through some rough times. I really hope the next person is good to her and enjoys her as much as we did. I miss the adventure of cruising, but not all the work and up keep. I’m thinking it is getting closer to someone buying the boat with all these thoughts!!!! You never know!
Our neighbors, Lynn and Cliff, who are from Canada, started cruising in 2009. A year after we did. They also are in love with Mexico and want to find somewhere to settle on land. They had plans, as we did, to cruise the world, but things have a way of changing. They are a fun couple and we enjoyed talking to them. Their boat name is s/v Taya.
This afternoon should be relaxing. I am planning to get my exercises out of the way, then read for a while, and possibly work on my cross stitch. It is a beautiful day and I am looking forward to taking the boat out tomorrow morning. Carlos told us that tomorrow, June 1, is a celebration for the Mariners. They will bless the water, so we can’t leave until that is finished, and should have a festival in town. We will be out for about 4 to 5 hours, and after our water tanks are full we will return to our slip and join in the fun.
