From Getting Started to Paradise on Land: Never Give Up

Last month was a bust as far as selling the boat. No one has been able to find or talk to the man that wanted to buy our boat. It seems strange but we are moving on. Dave was talking with our friend that sells boats in Florida and he gave some suggestions about redoing the advertisement so Dave passed the information onto the La Paz brokerage office and they started right away revamping the advertisement. They finished it within a day and then put the new ad out on the internet for all to see on Yacht World. They will give it a while to see if they get any new business. In the meantime we do have a guy who is interested in buying the boat------yes---the one that was being a jerk but he has changed his tune and wants to work with Dave and the broker. He and his wife want to cruise Mexico again and would love to do it in our boat. We will have to wait to see if he actually is serious about it until after May 5th. He and his wife are taking a trip and won’t be available until around May 5th. Dave had told him that the boat was to be sold at $150,000, but since talking with this man, the price was negotiated at $147,000. That is as much as he could pay because he will have to have the rest to pay closing costs and if he wants a survey done and all that kind of stuff. So we shall see. So far we haven’t had anyone else step up and say they want to buy it. We have to go down to La Paz the first part of May anyway to either put the boat on the hard for the summer or make arrangements to take it to San Diego. Dave has been in contact with the people in San Diego and they said they just sold a Hunter 460 and would love to have another one to sell. But the clincher is the moorage is going to be really expensive and if we want to have the boat cleaned it will be more. So we aren’t too excited about taking the boat to San Diego. We have to weigh all the pros and cons. If the man buys the boat then that problem will be solved. By the way-----the man who wants the boat lives in San Diego. We told him if the boat came up there it would be listed for a higher price so it would behoove him to buy it now while in La Paz. Heheheh!!

April has been pretty quiet. We had one day of sprinkles due to the low that was hovering over San Diego, and a couple cloudy days, but for the most part the temperatures are in the upper 70’s, low 80’s with some wind at times. The tides were low the first part of the month so I enjoyed walking the beach and searching for treasures but the only bad part about the low tides is there are high tides and the beach has been washed clean. No worries though as I need the exercise and I have been trying to walk further each time I walk the beach. My back is much better since I got the cortisone shot in September, but I think it is starting to wear off a bit because my back has been tender. So I walk to a reasonable stretch of the beach and then head back. I am still going to try and walk down to the big estuary again, hopefully before we leave to go north for the summer. I have good days and sore days with my back, but when I start to walk and it feels good I will go as far as I can and hopefully make it. I wanted to take a desert hike too this winter but that never happened. Too late to do it now because it is warming up and the snakes are coming out.

We have had the coyotes back singing in the early morning hours. There seems to be some young ones and our neighbors have seen a mom still nursing her pups. They all look so healthy it is hard to believe but apparently they are getting enough to eat. Right now they can catch sting rays just along the water’s edge of the beach. It is amazing how they catch them and you can tell when they have been hit with the stinger as they roll in the sand and rub their heads and faces on bushes but it never deters them from catching more. There have been some jack rabbits running around here too to add to their diet. It is interesting to see how nature changes. We use to see road runners once in a while, now we see them quite often. I’ve seen them in our yard searching for lizards and bugs. It’s pretty cool. Also we have seen coyotes’ with their meal in their mouths crossing the road as we go to town. Dolphins are back in the bay and by next month the whale sharks will be too. It will be nice when we can finally afford to get a little fishing boat so we can go out on the water to not only have Dave catch fish but to see the sea life. We hear other people who have been out fishing come in and say they saw turtles and whales.

I took the beater truck into town to get both tailpipes secured again while I played train with the gals. The road, since it isn’t paved, causes everything to shake loose. It was nice to drive home on the road and not hear the tailpipes bouncing up and down.

Dave and I had to drive to Guerrero Negro to get money, so we made it worth our while, and stopped in at the electrical guy that sells washing machines, stoves and refrigerators plus parts. Dave was able to get a 2 speed motor for our washing machine so I am anxious to have him put it in. It should work this time.

I was going to wash the clothes the old fashion way with the bucket and plunger, but when I returned from my beach walk, Dave had taken out the old motor and put the new one in. So guess what I did!!!!! Yep-----and everything worked great. So now I can do laundry in luxury. Yay!!!!!!

Today, April 13 is my brother-in-laws 85th birthday!!!! Happy Birthday, Hig. It is so good that he is still kicking. We almost lost him a few months back. He’s not ready to give up yet!!!!! Now that he and my sister are married I think he wants to enjoy their married life together. That is kool!

Heading into town this morning to buy groceries, half way there one of my tailpipes breaks and is bouncing around so I had to go really slow. Luckily Sammy was open so I took it there and told them what the problem was and they said they would fix it. I had a meeting with Alejandra to plan the meals and a birthday party for our good friend Phil and also shopping to do. They told me it would be ready in an hour. So I walked to the restaurant and she wasn’t there. So I asked if she was coming back and they said yes. But they didn’t know when. So I told the gals I would be back. I walked to the Museum and saw another good friend

We were invited to a pizza party across the bay the other night. Our friends Rainy and Dennis have one every year. It is so much fun and I got to help her make the pizzas this time. She made the dough ahead of time and when everyone is ready to eat she pats individual shaped rounds and she asked me to put the cornmeal on top of the oven paddle (don’t know the official name for it) and then on top of the dough then each person puts the toppings on they want and gives their finished pizza to Denny to cook. They have a brick oven in their front yard which is really cool. So Dave and I had fun visiting with everyone and enjoying the good food. The evenings don’t last too late as most people are in bed by 8:30-9:00pm. We are waiting for our Italian friends to get back here so we can party with them. Now THEY know how to do it!!!!! We usually get home around 11-11:30pm when we go there. They will be here at the end of the month for the summer.

We had everyone that is here in our neighbor, get together for a happy hour last night and it was good to get to talk to each other. Two of the people that are here will be leaving soon so we all wanted to get together before that happened.

This morning was a perfect time to walk the beach. I didn’t walk as far as I have been because my back was sore, but I needed to stretch my back muscles since I haven’t walked for 2 days due to wind.

I am still creating things and have started back on the counted cross stitch for Dave again. Let’s just say it will be a long while before it is finished as I don’t work on it continually.

I have kept busy with my crafts and playing cards and train with the ladies. One of my friends that lives across the bay asked me to make a couple trophies for the end of their golf tournament and I told her I would. So I had a hard time sleeping that night as all kinds of thoughts went through my head of what to make. She said she wanted them gaudy. Hmmmm. The next morning after breakfast I went to the art room and started to put more feathers on a bird I had made but didn’t sell at the art show, then added a button hat and it turned out cute. Then I made a fish and I am not going to describe it as you have to see it. Then I started a large turtle in case she didn’t like the bird. I knew she would love the fish. So she stopped by one day and I showed her what I was working on and she said she wanted the bird and the fish. So there ya go. They were a hit with everyone, especially the winners. I had fun making them and to know they would be appreciated made me happy. She traded me the trophies for 2 of her hand painted wine glasses. Such a deal!!!! Here are the pictures.

Our Italian friends, Paolo and Angela just arrived here from Rome. Another Italian friend, Tony, came down with his son and daughter and his wife’s ashes. His kids had never been in Bahia before. Their mother died a few months back and Gilda wanted her ashes spread in the bay. As soon as Paolo and Angela get settled they will have a small ceremony and a quiet burial at sea in the morning on the 2nd and then a dinner at Paolo and Angela’s.

The spreading of the ashes was done in the morning at 8:00am and everyone who had a boat, went out with Tony to a spot he has chosen, in the middle of the bay and said a prayer in Italian and spread Gilda’s’ ashes. It is a sad day for those of us who knew her. She was a great lady and she is missed. We didn’t make the spreading of the ashes but we were invited to the dinner. Paolo and Angela and Tony and his kids put on the dinner in remembrance of all the good people and times Gilda enjoyed. We all reminisced and remembered her sayings and laughter. We were the last to leave and it was good to just sit and catch up with Paolo and Angela. They got married about 3 months ago in Rome.

Our friend Christopher came down from San Diego to work on his house here in Bahia. He can only stay a week at a time due to a job and home there. His mother died about 2-3 years ago and she willed the house to him and he loves coming down to fish. He is redoing all the inside of the house and putting in new wiring and trying to make it like a regular home. His mother, Ruth, was an outdoors kind of person so she cooled on a BBQ grill for all her meals, outside, and only had a sink and refrigerator in the kitchen area. It is pretty rustic. The house will be nice when he gets it done. When he comes down we always invite him over for dinner. Two days before he was to leave we fed him hamburgers. He is about the age of my first son and he reminds me a lot of Ernie.

The guy that was supposed to buy our boat has never been heard of and no one knows where he is as he doesn’t answer phone messages or anything. But as I said there is a couple in San Diego who are interested and they contacted Dave to see if he could buy the boat. Dave told him it was $150,000. The guy (Barret) said he couldn’t match that but could do $147,000. He low balled the price in the beginning. So Dave said it was a possibility. Well this couple was going on vacation somewhere where there was no communication so they would be off the grid until May 5. Barret discussed with Dave what to do about payment and all that kind of stuff and since the ad was being renewed Dave told him to wait and have them go on their trip and when they get back, if the boat hasn’t sold by then they can do the deal. So we are waiting to see come May 5 whether or not this guy has changed his mind. So stay tuned!!!!! Good things are about the happen!!!!

Here are some of the items I have made this month!!! Enjoy!