I forgot to add about 3 things to last month so I will include them here.
August was a busy month. We went to visit our friends Brent and Bre that live in Anacortes, Washington. We lucked out because their daughter Jessica was home from college. We’ve known her since she was 4 years old. The weather was beautiful and warm and unbeknown to us, the day we arrived, was their 25th wedding anniversary. We got to help them celebrate at Anthony’s restaurant and the next day we took their cutty cab fishing boat to Fisherman Bay in the San Juan Islands. It was fun going back there as we have been a couple times in our boat on vacation. It is a resort and they have a pool and hot tub. Bre, Jessica and her friend and I went swimming at the pool. Then we hung out and just enjoyed the day. We spent the night and left the next day. It was good to see them again. Here are pictures of Fisherman Bay and Brent and Bre's boat.
E.J. had a Soccer championship tournament and his team won. E.J. is playing a year up and he did well. He was tired but happy. Here are pictures of his team and the trophy!! Look at that shirt too!!!!! Pretty proud. The picture that has E.J. facing the camera with his shirt, you can see his brother Eian behind him holding a soccer ball and making faces. HA!!! Such a goof ball!!!
I had a chance to watch Jon coach his soccer team. Since the games were on Bainbridge Island, which isn’t far from where I was, he asked me to come and watch. They had 4 games scheduled. Two were in the morning and then again later that afternoon. I could stay for the morning games but not the late afternoon ones. Jon is an assistant coach with a soccer buddy that goes back to high school days. They played on the same soccer team. The guys have 2 teams. One is eight year old boys and the other is 10 year olds. The 8 year olds won their game but the 10 year olds didn’t.
While Jon was coaching the games I got a chance to visit with Susannah, Jon’s future wife. We had a great visit and when the 2 morning games were over we went to Poulsbo for lunch. It was a very nice and special visit.
We are heading to Everett for the Labor Day weekend on Ron and Noreen’s boat (m/v Seareen). The weekend promises nice weather so we are looking forward to a good time. Once we arrived we came into our assigned slip and the other yacht club members that arrived before us helped grab our lines.
After getting settled, we went to cocktail time on the party dock and visited with those who were there. There was a Pub within walking distance so that is where we went for dinner. The four of us, Ron, Noreen, Dave and I sat together but we could see some of the other yacht club members dispersed throughout the place. We had a wonderful meal and conversation then went back to the boat to relax.
We awoke to blue skies the next day and it was nice but there is a hint of fall in the air. The conversation for the day was what to do. Paul and Laurie said they were going to go up the river in their dinghy. Dave and I had never been to Everett in our boat travels when we lived in the Pacific Northwest so we were looking forward to some sightseeing. Ron, Noreen, Dave and I donned our life jackets and climbed into the dinghy. Noreen was going to take the pugs, Jack and Calypso (Cali for short) but decided against it.
It turned out to be a very good thing they didn’t come along. The six of us headed out after lunch. What a lovely ride up. We saw some old boats and just interesting things. Here are some pictures.
After we explored all we could, we headed back to the marina. The wind had come up and it was blowing from the west which we were heading into. It was a pleasant ride heading up the river but a nasty one coming back. Noreen and I were sitting at the bow of the dinghy with our backs facing the bow, Ron was steering and Dave was sitting on the opposite side of Ron. As we traveled towards the marina the waves were splashing all of us constantly. It was a ride from hell. Not only did the wind create waves but the boats that were zipping up the river were making them bigger. Needless to say by the time we got back to the boat we were soaked through and through and late for a potluck. At this point all we wanted to do was shed our wet clothes and get warm. We all showered, got dressed and decided we were not going to go to the party dock to sit in the wind and cold. So we had dinner on the boat and later we had company. It was an interesting day to say the least. We would not have any stories otherwise. Noreen was glad she decided to leave the dogs home.
The next day there was a large farmers market within walking distance of the marina so we went to check it out. There were a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, a few craft items and food booths. We stopped for lunch at a Mexican booth. Everything we got was really good. We never get tired of good Mexican food!!! After lunch we headed back toward the boat. We walked to a marine store that was just past the marina and we looked around at all the stuff. Next to the marine store was a little grocery store so we went in looking for hamburger buns. They didn’t have any. The nearest grocery store was about 4 blocks away and no one wanted to walk that far. So we decided we would use the bread we had on board. There is a BBQ tonight on the party dock and we are cooking hamburgers. After returning to the boat there was a bubble blowing contest on the party dock. You know----the kind you give to kids to make bubbles. Well I won first prize with my boobie bubble. It was a double bubble which looked like a pair of boobs so I yelled out I had made a boobie bubble and I guess they liked it. I won first place and the prize was a scratch ticket, a couple smiley face maze games and a bubble blower. Didn’t win anything on the scratch ticket but I had a lot of fun!!!! We gathered after that for dinner and everyone brought what meat they wanted to grill and a side dish to share and sat, ate and talked. The weather co-operated as it wasn’t really cold and windy and the sunset was absolutely beautiful.
The next day was Labor Day, Monday the 3rd and we headed back to the Brownsville Marina. We had a fun and interesting weekend. We found out that Everett gets windy in the afternoon which makes it chilly. The trip home was uneventful and it was a beautiful day to be on the water. After getting into the slip and getting everything tied up and hooked up, Michael (my step son) his wife Dani and their son David came for a visit. Michael and David had been down to see us a few weeks ago without Dani because she had to work so this was a real treat to see them all together.
Unfortunately we had plans for dinner which were made before we left for Everett. We didn’t know we would be seeing them until we got a call saying they were coming down. Dinner was scheduled for around 6:00pm or so and Carolyn, J.T., their son Christian, came down just before Michael, Dani and David got there. Noreen had been doing laundry at their condo and she hadn’t gotten back yet so we were just waiting. It was a little crazy with everyone there but at least I got a chance to talk to Dani and interact with David. He loves fish and wants to look in the water all the time. There were a lot of jelly fish floating and some small fish. All he could say was “fish, fish, jelly fish”.
Noreen got home so it was time to go to dinner. We are going to Famous Dave’s BBQ restaurant in Silverdale. We had to say goodbye to family. It was a shame it was such a short visit, but it happens. It was good to see the three of them. David is getting so big. He is a stubborn little man too!!! His parents have their hands full!!!!
What you are seeing is David having a temper tantrum!!!
We had a wonderful dinner and it was fun. Before leaving, we asked the waitress to take our picture. One was a goofy one and the other not so goofy. They are a little on the dark side but I think you will be able to make us all out. That was Dave and my final meal with our friends as we leave tomorrow afternoon.
Noreen had to go to work so we had said our goodbyes to her before we went to bed. We had a wonderful stay with them and enjoyed our time together.
We had a few things to do in the morning before we left but were finally ready to leave after lunch. Dave said he would be satisfied if we just got as far as Portland for the night. We gave Ron a big hug and told him we would call him once we got to a hotel. We stopped at a hotel just outside of Portland and enjoyed a really nice room for a great price. We relaxed and then the next morning headed out around 8:00am with Dave driving until he got tired.
I called my sister, Colleen, in Ukiah to see if they were up to company but they weren’t. Hig is still having problems and is heavily medicated. I am so glad we stopped on the way to Washington. I pray all goes well with them.
We stopped in Red Bluff for the night and continued on journey to San Diego the next day. We stopped to see our good friends Phil and Creela and had a nice very visit. Before leaving the next morning they gave us some lemons and tangerines from their garden as a farewell gift. They will be in Bahia sometime in October.
After leaving Phil and Creela’s house, we crossed the border and headed for hotel, Santo Tomas, in Ensenada. Once checked in we went to Walmart and Costco to do some shopping. We couldn’t get a lot of stuff because the jeep was packed but we managed to get some items we can’t get in Bahia. We had a lovely dinner at McDonalds (cheap and tasty) then went back to the hotel and relaxed. The next day we were headed home.
The weather was good for the most part. We saw clouds to the south but it didn’t look too bad. When we got to Rosario to fill the gas tank we noticed the gas station lot was full of mud. The people were scrambling to clean it up with brooms and backhoes. What a mess! Dave found out that a torrential rain squall came through just about an hour ago and dumped a lot of rain for 4 hours. After filling the tank we got through the town and all seemed well until we saw a huge band of black clouds ahead and knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. We were heading toward the storm that dumped all that rain back in Rosario. We finally caught up with it and it rained so hard we couldn’t see the road ahead of us but just a few feet. Luckily there were a couple of semi trucks in front of us so we just stayed behind them. It reminded me of driving in Sacramento through the ground fog and only having a semi for a guide. It took a while but we finally made it through the storm to clearing skies. Thank goodness that was over. We finally turned to go to Bahia de Los Angeles with blue skies and nice temperatures. There were several places along the way before we turned for Bahia that had water running over the road. If we had waited another day we would have been in trouble with the road. Everything was going well and we could see the Sea of Cortez in front of us which means it wasn’t far before we would be home. Without warning, Dave saw too late a chunk of road missing due to a washout. He tried to slow down but couldn’t enough to cross over it at a decent speed. We hit it hard to where both of us grimaced going over it. We were concerned about the tires but everything seemed to be o.k. until Dave said the jeep was pulling to the right. NOT GOOD!!!! To me it would have meant the tires were out of alignment. To Dave, because he has had experience with flat tires, said it was a flat. Sure enough the passenger side front tire was really flat. We must have hit a sharp rock and it sliced the tire. Well this wasn’t good because the jack was buried under everything we packed. So this meant we had to unload a bunch of stuff out of the back of the jeep to get to the jack. Then Dave proceeded to find the spot to jack up the jeep. Because we have never had a flat tire on the jeep we didn’t know for sure where to place the jack. So we got the manual out and Dave was in business. Once the jeep was jacked up, he took the spare tire off the rack and rolled it over next to the flat tire. Dave proceeded to take the flat tire off and put the spare on. Luckily the sun was shining, we had no threat of rain and it wasn’t really hot. It was only in the 80’s which is cool for this time of year. Thank the good Lord for that. We put the flat tire on the mount where the spare tire was and secured it, put the jack back where it belonged and repacked the jeep. Then we were on our way again. Whew!!!! I found out I could not change those tires as they were too heavy for me. I did help jack the jeep up though. Luckily Dave was there. We stopped in town and filled the gas tank and then headed to the store to buy bread and milk. Then it was on the bumpy lumpy road to the house. Town is only about 10 minutes away from the house but with the road it takes us about 30 to 45 minutes. All is well with the spare tire and we made it home. Our gate guard came over to the house and helped us unpack. All this time clouds had been building overhead and we knew the storm we went through was catching up to us. We just got the jeep unloaded when the sky opened and it poured with thunder and lightning. The jeep got washed and so did my windows. We had heard it had rained a lot the month of August and in proof of that the desert was very green. It was absolutely beautiful!!!! We had a couple washouts on the road just past our house in our little compound but Ramon shoveled some dirt to fill them in.
It rained again the next day and night and we could see that the flats heading to Rincon was filled with water. Rincon is across the bay from us. This is not a good thing for those who live in there because they have to cross the flats in order to get to town. Also no one can get to them either to deliver water or propane. They end up stranded until the flats dry out. Sometimes it takes a month or more. The propane truck came out that Monday after we got home but was stopped by Ramon telling them the road was not travelable. We and the people in town were able to get propane which was good. We hadn’t seen the propane truck for months. They are trying to get back on a schedule again because the people in Rincon have the large stationary propane tanks and the truck is the only way to get them filled. They will be happy to get propane in October.
Everything is pretty much back to normal now. It has been hot and humid but we can feel coolness in the breeze so we know the weather is going to change here pretty soon. About another week and I think it will start cooling considerably. Then the north winds start to blow and it does get cold.
Dave has been out trying to catch fish but so far has only caught one Sierra. It is a white meat fish and very good!!! Creela and Phil, our Bahia neighbors are heading down shortly so Dave will have a fishing partner. Yea!!!!!
The gringos that have places in Bahia are starting to come down for the fall and will only stay until just before the holidays. All who come down in October will be gone after Thanksgiving if not before. They come back either in January or spring and stay until it gets too hot for them which is usually no later than the 1st of July. Actually the hottest months are August and September. The rest are bearable. Well we think so anyway. Everyone has their heat tolerance!
Larry and Lois, our landlords are coming down soon and they have a man that is interested in seeing the house. So it will be interesting to see what he thinks and whether or not he wants to buy. No worries!!!! Everything works out the way it is suppose to and we are not worried about it.
The Lady Washington leaving Brownsville Marina.
E.J. had a Soccer championship tournament and his team won. E.J. is playing a year up and he did well. He was tired but happy. Here are pictures of his team and the trophy!! Look at that shirt too!!!!! Pretty proud. The picture that has E.J. facing the camera with his shirt, you can see his brother Eian behind him holding a soccer ball and making faces. HA!!! Such a goof ball!!!
I had a chance to watch Jon coach his soccer team. Since the games were on Bainbridge Island, which isn’t far from where I was, he asked me to come and watch. They had 4 games scheduled. Two were in the morning and then again later that afternoon. I could stay for the morning games but not the late afternoon ones. Jon is an assistant coach with a soccer buddy that goes back to high school days. They played on the same soccer team. The guys have 2 teams. One is eight year old boys and the other is 10 year olds. The 8 year olds won their game but the 10 year olds didn’t. 
While Jon was coaching the games I got a chance to visit with Susannah, Jon’s future wife. We had a great visit and when the 2 morning games were over we went to Poulsbo for lunch. It was a very nice and special visit.
We are heading to Everett for the Labor Day weekend on Ron and Noreen’s boat (m/v Seareen). The weekend promises nice weather so we are looking forward to a good time. Once we arrived we came into our assigned slip and the other yacht club members that arrived before us helped grab our lines.
After getting settled, we went to cocktail time on the party dock and visited with those who were there. There was a Pub within walking distance so that is where we went for dinner. The four of us, Ron, Noreen, Dave and I sat together but we could see some of the other yacht club members dispersed throughout the place. We had a wonderful meal and conversation then went back to the boat to relax.
We awoke to blue skies the next day and it was nice but there is a hint of fall in the air. The conversation for the day was what to do. Paul and Laurie said they were going to go up the river in their dinghy. Dave and I had never been to Everett in our boat travels when we lived in the Pacific Northwest so we were looking forward to some sightseeing. Ron, Noreen, Dave and I donned our life jackets and climbed into the dinghy. Noreen was going to take the pugs, Jack and Calypso (Cali for short) but decided against it.
It turned out to be a very good thing they didn’t come along. The six of us headed out after lunch. What a lovely ride up. We saw some old boats and just interesting things. Here are some pictures. 
After we explored all we could, we headed back to the marina. The wind had come up and it was blowing from the west which we were heading into. It was a pleasant ride heading up the river but a nasty one coming back. Noreen and I were sitting at the bow of the dinghy with our backs facing the bow, Ron was steering and Dave was sitting on the opposite side of Ron. As we traveled towards the marina the waves were splashing all of us constantly. It was a ride from hell. Not only did the wind create waves but the boats that were zipping up the river were making them bigger. Needless to say by the time we got back to the boat we were soaked through and through and late for a potluck. At this point all we wanted to do was shed our wet clothes and get warm. We all showered, got dressed and decided we were not going to go to the party dock to sit in the wind and cold. So we had dinner on the boat and later we had company. It was an interesting day to say the least. We would not have any stories otherwise. Noreen was glad she decided to leave the dogs home.
The next day there was a large farmers market within walking distance of the marina so we went to check it out. There were a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, a few craft items and food booths. We stopped for lunch at a Mexican booth. Everything we got was really good. We never get tired of good Mexican food!!! After lunch we headed back toward the boat. We walked to a marine store that was just past the marina and we looked around at all the stuff. Next to the marine store was a little grocery store so we went in looking for hamburger buns. They didn’t have any. The nearest grocery store was about 4 blocks away and no one wanted to walk that far. So we decided we would use the bread we had on board. There is a BBQ tonight on the party dock and we are cooking hamburgers. After returning to the boat there was a bubble blowing contest on the party dock. You know----the kind you give to kids to make bubbles. Well I won first prize with my boobie bubble. It was a double bubble which looked like a pair of boobs so I yelled out I had made a boobie bubble and I guess they liked it. I won first place and the prize was a scratch ticket, a couple smiley face maze games and a bubble blower. Didn’t win anything on the scratch ticket but I had a lot of fun!!!! We gathered after that for dinner and everyone brought what meat they wanted to grill and a side dish to share and sat, ate and talked. The weather co-operated as it wasn’t really cold and windy and the sunset was absolutely beautiful. 
The next day was Labor Day, Monday the 3rd and we headed back to the Brownsville Marina. We had a fun and interesting weekend. We found out that Everett gets windy in the afternoon which makes it chilly. The trip home was uneventful and it was a beautiful day to be on the water. After getting into the slip and getting everything tied up and hooked up, Michael (my step son) his wife Dani and their son David came for a visit. Michael and David had been down to see us a few weeks ago without Dani because she had to work so this was a real treat to see them all together. 
Unfortunately we had plans for dinner which were made before we left for Everett. We didn’t know we would be seeing them until we got a call saying they were coming down. Dinner was scheduled for around 6:00pm or so and Carolyn, J.T., their son Christian, came down just before Michael, Dani and David got there. Noreen had been doing laundry at their condo and she hadn’t gotten back yet so we were just waiting. It was a little crazy with everyone there but at least I got a chance to talk to Dani and interact with David. He loves fish and wants to look in the water all the time. There were a lot of jelly fish floating and some small fish. All he could say was “fish, fish, jelly fish”.
Noreen got home so it was time to go to dinner. We are going to Famous Dave’s BBQ restaurant in Silverdale. We had to say goodbye to family. It was a shame it was such a short visit, but it happens. It was good to see the three of them. David is getting so big. He is a stubborn little man too!!! His parents have their hands full!!!!
What you are seeing is David having a temper tantrum!!!
We had a wonderful dinner and it was fun. Before leaving, we asked the waitress to take our picture. One was a goofy one and the other not so goofy. They are a little on the dark side but I think you will be able to make us all out. That was Dave and my final meal with our friends as we leave tomorrow afternoon. 
Noreen had to go to work so we had said our goodbyes to her before we went to bed. We had a wonderful stay with them and enjoyed our time together.
We had a few things to do in the morning before we left but were finally ready to leave after lunch. Dave said he would be satisfied if we just got as far as Portland for the night. We gave Ron a big hug and told him we would call him once we got to a hotel. We stopped at a hotel just outside of Portland and enjoyed a really nice room for a great price. We relaxed and then the next morning headed out around 8:00am with Dave driving until he got tired.
I called my sister, Colleen, in Ukiah to see if they were up to company but they weren’t. Hig is still having problems and is heavily medicated. I am so glad we stopped on the way to Washington. I pray all goes well with them.
We stopped in Red Bluff for the night and continued on journey to San Diego the next day. We stopped to see our good friends Phil and Creela and had a nice very visit. Before leaving the next morning they gave us some lemons and tangerines from their garden as a farewell gift. They will be in Bahia sometime in October.
After leaving Phil and Creela’s house, we crossed the border and headed for hotel, Santo Tomas, in Ensenada. Once checked in we went to Walmart and Costco to do some shopping. We couldn’t get a lot of stuff because the jeep was packed but we managed to get some items we can’t get in Bahia. We had a lovely dinner at McDonalds (cheap and tasty) then went back to the hotel and relaxed. The next day we were headed home.
The weather was good for the most part. We saw clouds to the south but it didn’t look too bad. When we got to Rosario to fill the gas tank we noticed the gas station lot was full of mud. The people were scrambling to clean it up with brooms and backhoes. What a mess! Dave found out that a torrential rain squall came through just about an hour ago and dumped a lot of rain for 4 hours. After filling the tank we got through the town and all seemed well until we saw a huge band of black clouds ahead and knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. We were heading toward the storm that dumped all that rain back in Rosario. We finally caught up with it and it rained so hard we couldn’t see the road ahead of us but just a few feet. Luckily there were a couple of semi trucks in front of us so we just stayed behind them. It reminded me of driving in Sacramento through the ground fog and only having a semi for a guide. It took a while but we finally made it through the storm to clearing skies. Thank goodness that was over. We finally turned to go to Bahia de Los Angeles with blue skies and nice temperatures. There were several places along the way before we turned for Bahia that had water running over the road. If we had waited another day we would have been in trouble with the road. Everything was going well and we could see the Sea of Cortez in front of us which means it wasn’t far before we would be home. Without warning, Dave saw too late a chunk of road missing due to a washout. He tried to slow down but couldn’t enough to cross over it at a decent speed. We hit it hard to where both of us grimaced going over it. We were concerned about the tires but everything seemed to be o.k. until Dave said the jeep was pulling to the right. NOT GOOD!!!! To me it would have meant the tires were out of alignment. To Dave, because he has had experience with flat tires, said it was a flat. Sure enough the passenger side front tire was really flat. We must have hit a sharp rock and it sliced the tire. Well this wasn’t good because the jack was buried under everything we packed. So this meant we had to unload a bunch of stuff out of the back of the jeep to get to the jack. Then Dave proceeded to find the spot to jack up the jeep. Because we have never had a flat tire on the jeep we didn’t know for sure where to place the jack. So we got the manual out and Dave was in business. Once the jeep was jacked up, he took the spare tire off the rack and rolled it over next to the flat tire. Dave proceeded to take the flat tire off and put the spare on. Luckily the sun was shining, we had no threat of rain and it wasn’t really hot. It was only in the 80’s which is cool for this time of year. Thank the good Lord for that. We put the flat tire on the mount where the spare tire was and secured it, put the jack back where it belonged and repacked the jeep. Then we were on our way again. Whew!!!! I found out I could not change those tires as they were too heavy for me. I did help jack the jeep up though. Luckily Dave was there. We stopped in town and filled the gas tank and then headed to the store to buy bread and milk. Then it was on the bumpy lumpy road to the house. Town is only about 10 minutes away from the house but with the road it takes us about 30 to 45 minutes. All is well with the spare tire and we made it home. Our gate guard came over to the house and helped us unpack. All this time clouds had been building overhead and we knew the storm we went through was catching up to us. We just got the jeep unloaded when the sky opened and it poured with thunder and lightning. The jeep got washed and so did my windows. We had heard it had rained a lot the month of August and in proof of that the desert was very green. It was absolutely beautiful!!!! We had a couple washouts on the road just past our house in our little compound but Ramon shoveled some dirt to fill them in.
It rained again the next day and night and we could see that the flats heading to Rincon was filled with water. Rincon is across the bay from us. This is not a good thing for those who live in there because they have to cross the flats in order to get to town. Also no one can get to them either to deliver water or propane. They end up stranded until the flats dry out. Sometimes it takes a month or more. The propane truck came out that Monday after we got home but was stopped by Ramon telling them the road was not travelable. We and the people in town were able to get propane which was good. We hadn’t seen the propane truck for months. They are trying to get back on a schedule again because the people in Rincon have the large stationary propane tanks and the truck is the only way to get them filled. They will be happy to get propane in October.
Everything is pretty much back to normal now. It has been hot and humid but we can feel coolness in the breeze so we know the weather is going to change here pretty soon. About another week and I think it will start cooling considerably. Then the north winds start to blow and it does get cold.
Dave has been out trying to catch fish but so far has only caught one Sierra. It is a white meat fish and very good!!! Creela and Phil, our Bahia neighbors are heading down shortly so Dave will have a fishing partner. Yea!!!!!
The gringos that have places in Bahia are starting to come down for the fall and will only stay until just before the holidays. All who come down in October will be gone after Thanksgiving if not before. They come back either in January or spring and stay until it gets too hot for them which is usually no later than the 1st of July. Actually the hottest months are August and September. The rest are bearable. Well we think so anyway. Everyone has their heat tolerance!
Larry and Lois, our landlords are coming down soon and they have a man that is interested in seeing the house. So it will be interesting to see what he thinks and whether or not he wants to buy. No worries!!!! Everything works out the way it is suppose to and we are not worried about it.
The Lady Washington leaving Brownsville Marina.
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