A Promising New Year

Happy New Year!!!!! May 2013, be a wonderful year filled with love, health, prosperity, and faith. It has been cold here. Not as cold as the NW but cold for Mexico. We have had many cloudy days to where we have to run the generator a couple times a day to recharge the batteries. That’s what happens when you are solar only. No electricity. It is just the way it is when you live off the grid. We have had a lot of north wind which makes it really cold. We have no heat in the house so we have been wearing sweats, sweatshirts, socks and even wrap in a blanket when the other isn’t enough. I wish I had more warm winter sweaters. If you told me, when we were preparing to cruise south, that I would need warmer clothes for winter, I would have laughed and said “RIGHT” Well folks—it’s true. From time to time it does get cold. But now that we have been here for 3 years I think most of it is due to being acclimated!! So there ya go. Good news!!!! We have a new grandson!! He was born January 6th at 6:15am, weighing in at 8lbs 4 oz and 19.5 inches long. Yahoo!!! He is the son of my youngest son and his wife, Susannah. They have named him after my son. Jonathan William Adcock Jr. We are very excited and I can’t wait to see him in February. My plan is to fly from San Diego to Seattle on February 18th and stay 3 weeks with Jon and Susannah to help with Jon Jr. then come home on March 4th. Here is a picture of our sweet boy.

We are in Santa Rosalia to repair the sump pumps and forward head and also get our FM3’s renewed. We got here on Monday, January 7 and Tuesday we went in to the immigration office to get er done!! Well we were definitely shocked when they told us we had to apply for residency as we were at the end of our FM3 time frame. Dave mentioned that when he was in last month Enrique said we wouldn’t have to worry about the new rules as we were in our last year for FM3. Next year we could apply for residency. Well like everything else in Mexico, things change. Can’t depend on anything being what they tell you. Sooooo we had to get new pictures taken which cost 250 pesos each, and then we had to go to the ATM to get money then back to pick up our pictures then back to immigrations. There we turned in our forms and they gave us a paper to take to the bank so it was back to the bank. We paid them 9,630 pesos for both applications and signed the receipts then headed back to immigrations. They checked everything out and told us to come back on Monday. We asked if it could be done sooner, like Friday and they said maybe. Of course there was a fee involved to get it done by Friday. So we will go back on Friday to hopefully finish the process. We have to be finger printed and sign more papers. Then those papers are sent to Mexico City and no one knows how long it will take for them to process and send them back here. At least becoming a resident means we don’t have to renew any more so this is the last time to do all this stuff and pay. And there are no restrictions as to how long we can be out of the country and we can even work if we want too. That means I can sell my critters and not get in trouble. So even though it is a lot of money to put down (about $750.00 for both of us) it is worth it to not have to do it again. We just weren’t expecting to have to come up with that much money yet. Everything works out and we will be glad when it is all over. We heard from the buyers of the boat. Yes!!!! You heard me correctly. The couple emailed us and said they have been delayed as her father had to have surgery to remove a blood clot and have stints put in. Plus they are trying to sell their home in Bandon, Oregon and would prefer to have that done so they can pay cash for the boat without having to sell anything else. So I guess they are serious. They haven’t seen the inside of the boat yet but have seen the pictures we have online. Plus Dave has been filling them in on what equipment and amenities we have on board. They were supposed to meet us down here the first week in January but then just before Christmas her dad got ill. So once he is recuperated they will head down. We have no idea if they have anyone interested in their house, but Dave did tell them that if the boat hasn’t sold by March/April time frame it goes to Seattle. We are really hoping they get here before February. The reason for that is if the boat sells before I go north, Dave might be able to go with me so he can take care of switching from where we bank, due to the boat loan, to a Credit Union. So we are still on hold. I have to say though that this year so far is looking very promising!!!! I still say that God is in charge and everything will work out for the best of everyone. Today, being Wednesday, Dave changed out the float switch in the aft sump pump, changed the pressure unit and motor for the forward head. It was an all day project. The head sounds better but there is a delay for the motor to work when the toilet is flushed. It isn’t supposed to do that but we will use it and maybe it just needs to get broken in. Dave said he called the company and asked them about the delay and they were baffled. So we shall see what happens with use. While Dave was working on those lovely projects, I walked to town to get a few things. I went into a lot of the stores I haven’t been in just to see what they have. I saw a lot of nice things and enjoyed just looking. When I finished shopping I came back to the boat and helped Dave, which meant I held the flashlight and got tools for him. I helped clean parts and then I did some laundry. I had sheets and towels from the house I brought down with us. Today was a warm beautiful day. There were blue skies and no wind. It was awesome. It is supposed to be warmer tomorrow and partly cloudy. The temperature should be in the low 70’s. Perfect!! I’ve been working on the Wedding record cross stitch and posted the December blog. Tomorrow there isn’t much to do. There is some cleaning to do and I already wiped down the cockpit area. It was windy and cold so I didn’t rinse it this time. I just damp mopped. It wasn’t that dirty. So I might get to work a lot on my cross stitch. Today is when we go back to immigrations to see if we can finish the process of finger printing and signing forms, but before we do that Dave is still trying to figure out what is wrong with the forward head. The motor has been replaced and a new pressure switch put in. Well about the only thing to do now is to take the whole unit apart and see if there Theis anything clogging the hoses. Yuck what a job!!! I got the job of cleaning the fittings and we actually did have an almost clogged hose. We cleaned that out and put it back together which wasn’t an easy chore. Then we tried it and guess what???? It worked!!!! It has vacuum when flushed and everything is draining and working!!!!! High Five!!!! There was some whooping n hollering going on after that!!!!! FINALLY!!! It is 2:00pm and we need to get to immigrations. We were able to get our fingerprints done and sign forms. Now we wait!!! Once they are sent to Mexico City no one knows how long it will be before we get our final cards. We are going to have to come back here around the 14th of February to get a letter saying we are waiting for our residency cards from Mexico City and we can travel to the United States. That is if the cards haven’t arrived yet. One morning we watched from our deck, dolphins feeding close to shore. It was awesome to see that. The whale sharks are gone so now all we see are pilot whales and dolphins once in a while. Here are some pictures of the zipper pulls I am making for the show. It’s been pretty quiet and not much going on. I finished the baby afghan and the wedding cross stitch and have started on the baby announcement cross stitch. I’m right on schedule!!!! Here is a picture of the afghan. They say bad luck comes in 3’s!!! Well our water heater finally quit working. So Dave had to jimmy rig it until we get a new one. We called Larry, our landlord and asked him to pick one up for us. They are coming down soon so they will be able to bring it with them. The water heater we were using came from the trailer and it is about 25 years old if not older. So it isn’t surprising it finally died. Then the second thing was the blinds in the south window broke. They are cheap so don’t last long. So Larry is bringing a blind down also. Then the 3rd thing is the truck battery. It went belly up. We were able to borrow one from a friend here and when we go to the states we will get one at Costco. Good news is Dave is flying up with me on February 18. Yippee!! No we haven’t sold the boat. The couple interested lost the dad so their trip has been postponed until March. So Dave figured he would fly up with me, rent a car, drop me at Jon and Susannah’s and then go to Bremerton and stay somewhere. Ron and Noreen’s boat is available for him to stay on or there are other places so he will figure it out. He has to get zippers for the boat from our canvas guy and so some other things while I am helping with the grandboy. We will fly home on March 4th. Just a short visit this time but we get to see the new boy and help celebrate 2 of our grandsons’ birthdays. One to be 5 and the other 16. Time flies!! Remember back when we were cruising and I wrote about elephanties? They are west winds and can pack a wallop for wind. Well we finally saw a TRUE elephant the other morning. We have heard people describe the clouds looking like an elephant trunk but never saw that until this morning!!! It was awesome!!! Most of the time we know west winds are coming because the clouds stack up on top of the mountain range and then blows all day and night or until they go away. It is neat to see and experience all this stuff. I have been walking the beach at low tide about every other day and one day I was thrilled to find a nautilus shell on the beach. You just don’t see them often so it was amazing. I actually found about 5 or 6 that day. Then I went walking the next day to find more. This time I got about 20. They range in size from medium to small size. Here is a picture. I went online and found out that octopus live in the shells. That is awesome!! The high winds we had for a couple days caused the sea to push them to the surface and to shore. They are definitely a rare sight. My neighbor Mary got some too. I have found just a couple small ones lying on the beach but I have enough so I didn’t pick them up. Let someone else find them. Today is Super Bowl Sunday and the game starts around 3 so we are going to watch it. We are rooting for San Francisco to win. Should be an interesting game. We got word this morning that our friend Ruth, the one who has cancer, is in the hospital again. Just a week ago we heard the doctors took her off the chemo and are just administering radiation. She has one collapsed lung so they thought the radiation might help her breathe better. They have given her about 2 months to live. They called Hospice but they won’t come out to care for her because she is still getting treatment. So when the radiation treatments are finished then they will come out. Ruth was still planning on coming down this month for the last time but I don’t know if she will make it. The last time she was here it took a lot out of her. She has remained very strong in what she wants to do and fighting the cancer, so who is to say she won’t make it down. Time will only tell. Well the time has told because my neighbor Mary came over to tell us Ruth was in the hospital and on life support. She is unconscious right now but she has made it known to her son, Christopher, she doesn’t want to be kept alive on a machine. The other thing is the doctor found a tumor in her head which was a good size one. Christopher was very angry that with all the tests she has had they never saw it. He loves his mom very much and is having a real hard time dealing with her illness. So the news is not good and we suspect she will die soon. It is so hard when the person going through the pain and anguish doesn’t want to die and still wants to do things. I hope she goes peacefully. God be with her and her family when it is finished. Dave and I were planning on stopping to see her after we flew back to San Diego, but it doesn’t sound like she will last that long. Darn. She is a wonderful lady and we all here in Bahia will miss her.

Another Year to Reflect and Be Thankful

Can you believe it is December already? Well thank goodness I have my shopping done. I finished shopping for the grandsons just before Thanksgiving. I shop online and have it sent to their homes. Unfortunately the adults have to wait for their birthdays to get something. Money just doesn’t spread as far as it once did. Dave has measured the spot where the house will be built. It is pretty amazing. Like I said, he is having fun. I am having fun just watching him!!!! I have been making wreaths from beads and wire to give as gifts this year. I have finished 6 so far. I was telling Mary, my neighbor, we only had a small string of lights but we were going to put them out anyway. I went over to her house the other day to borrow some spray paint for a whale I was making and she gave us 2 strands of Christmas lights, one red and the other green. That was very nice and I was excited to have more lights to display. I want to put them up so when Creela and Phil come over for dinner on the 1st it will look Christmassy. We got them up and when it got dark I turned them on. To our dismay only half of the red and green strands worked. Bummer. We’ll have to investigate tomorrow in the daylight. It is pretty with the ones that are working. We examined all the bulbs and made sure they were tightly in all the way but they still didn’t work. I took off the green strand and worked with it to no avail. Then Dave tried his hand at it and determined the wiring was wrong on half the strand on both. So we will just have to live with it. Next year we will get some good ones and toss these. Hey!!!! They were free so I’m not complaining. At least we have enough lit to make it festive. I gave all my aluminum can ornaments to our gate guard and he has decorated 2 trees outside his trailer. It looks rather festive. Mary put a green wreath and garland on the gate with a solar light attached to the gate so we can find the lock to unlock the gate when Ramon is not there in the night. We had Creela and Phil over for dinner as they are leaving on the 2nd and we gave them their wreath made of beads and wire. They loved it!!! We had a nice dinner and we said our goodbyes until next time when they come back. Creela left her sweatshirt at our house last night so I took it over to them this morning. It was good timing as they were getting ready to leave. We hugged and said goodbye again and I gave Creela back her sweatshirt. Ron and Diane are throwing a big birthday bash for Ron’s 80th at Alejandrina restaurant in town tonight, Sunday, the 2nd and we were invited. Just about everyone who has known Ron through the years showed up. It was a nice party and the amazing part about it was they paid for everything. They supplied the wine for the tables and we had 2 entrees to choose from. One was a chicken dish and the other a beef soup. Dave got the chicken and I got the beef. It was all very good. Then there was cake. We not only had the birthday cake but some of the gals brought other cakes. Everyone had a wonderful time and Ron was a happy camper. May he have many more good ones. I have been busy making new critters and made some new dragon flies. I am almost finished making ones for the Art/Craft show in March. It is getting cold in the art room and the glue isn't drying as fast as I would like it. Time to take a break for a while. I have plenty for the show. Here are some new critters.

We are in Santa Rosalia for the week. Moorage needs to be paid for the month and we have to do some repairs to the forward head as there isn’t any pressure when we flush it. We will replace the duckbills (they are rubber gaskets that allow the water to flow through one way. They expand and contract with the water pressure). Dave will also try to adjust the pressure. So that wonderful job is facing us. Then I need to clean both sump pumps. That is on the agenda for today, Dec 4. We also need to go to the immigration office to ask some questions about the new way they are doing visas. We have read that FM3’s and FM2’s are going away and for non citizens we will need to get a 180 day visa, but you can pay in advance so you don’t have to renew every year. So we will get the scoop. Hopefully they will be open. We have to come back in January to renew so we want to be sure we have all we need by then and all questions answered if possible. It is a beautiful morning, sun is shining and it is cool. It is nice not to have the heat. It makes it better for working on the boat. Tomorrow I need to rinse the cockpit. To our surprise it isn’t really dirty. So it will be a quick job. Then I have some shopping in town and if we are finished with all projects we may be leaving on Thursday, but I still have laundry to do so we shall see. Our plan was to leave on Friday unless we finished earlier. Dave walked down to the immigration office to see what they had to say about the new regulations, so while he was gone I cleaned the forward sump pump. Just as I finished Dave came back. He said nothing will change for us because we are on our last year of FM3. All the new regulations are for those who are new to Mexico. So this is a good thing for us. The only drawback is it will cost us twice as much this year. Then next year instead of going to an FM2 we will be able to apply for residency. Dave and I discussed the issue of going for citizenship, but said we really don’t need to do that. There is a lot of red tape involved and we really don’t have a desire to go through all of that. Being a resident will be enough. I tackled the other sump pump while Dave worked on the forward head. I cleaned the sump pump but the float switch wasn’t lifting high enough to drain the water. Dave took a look at it and we think the mechanism in the float that makes the level go up and down is being hampered in some way and it can’t be taken apart. So we need to order a new one. We have a complete sump system we tried putting in some time ago, when we were having similar issues, but it was too big for that space. Oh well. Dave will have to go online to see if they even carry the parts. I sure hope so because there isn’t any way to modify the space where it goes. After helping me he went back to working on the head. I helped hold the flashlight and give him the tools he needed but outside of that there wasn’t much for me to do. I decided I would walk to town and look for some disinfectant wipes. There is one store I know that carries them so I will go there and also to the government store to pick up a few grocery items. I walked to the craft/fabric store and looked for beads. They had them but in small quantities and there were a lot of people buying fabric and things for Christmas so I decided not to get anything. I can get some more beads when we get home. I needed to stop at the ATM but there was a line. Saturday was a holiday for Mexico as it was the inauguration of their President. So the banks were closed Monday. I’ll have to come back later. When I got back to the boat Dave was almost finished with the head. He took the old duckbills out and replaced them with new. They definitely needed to be replaced. Now he needs to work on the pressure switch. The head is working better and does have pressure but Dave thinks it needs a new motor. Dave will have to order that as well. Hopefully we will get the parts before January. Joanne’s son and family are coming down next week so we can ask if they will accept the parts at their home and bring them down with them. That is how we get things down here. That forward head has been used a lot more than the aft one so it doesn’t surprise us the motor is going on it. After lunch Dave and I relaxed. I read and Dave was on his computer. For some reason I don’t get as strong a signal as Dave so I can’t connect to the internet very often. That is alright. When I get it I do what I have to and then I’m done. I did post the October blog this morning. Thank goodness I got that done. I lost my internet signal after that and still haven’t gotten it back yet. I will try in the morning and hopefully my blog will be up to date. Back at the house our internet isn’t strong sometimes and it takes a long time to download pictures on the blog so I try to do it when we come to Santa Rosalia. I guess I just go with the flow and do it when I am able. No worries!!!! We had dinner on the boat last night and again tonight. I had leftover roast beef and vegetables so I brought it with us. It was nice to dine on the boat for a change. Tomorrow night I think we are going to Terco’s to have some roasted chicken. Our favorite. Before we went to Terco’s for dinner, Dave and I walked to the ATM and then to the grocery store to get a battery for our carbon monoxide unit. It was beeping when I opened the boat. Now it is working again and all is well. Tomorrow I plan on doing laundry, rinsing the cockpit and vacuuming. Depending on time I may have to wait on laundry but we’ll see. Looks like we leave Friday to go back to the house. Well we have a new development with the forward sump pump. It doesn’t work!!! It overflowed so water was going into the bilge instead of being drained overboard. Dave thinks water got inside the pump. CRAP!!!! The motor is contained in a box. he took it apart to see if he could fix it but when it was back together it ran but it wouldn’t shut off. This isn’t a good thing because we can’t run any water from the sink or the shower in there. The pump runs but doesn’t drain. Now what sportfans!!!!! Today is a figure out why the sump pump isn’t draining. Dave got online and did find out we can order parts for both sump pumps so that is a very good thing. I think the boat might be rebelling because it knows something is going on with us trying to sell it. HA!!!! If you believe that I have a bridge to sell!!!!! Things are just wearing out and eventually they would go belly up anyway. Now is a good time to get things in running order. Even if the boat doesn’t sell we would still need to have everything running. We both are frustrated with the internet here. We use to be able to get on without any problems but lately it is hit and miss. Plus they took away the room cruisers use to get on their computers and drop off and exchange books. The customs people are taking it over so now there isn’t any place for the cruisers to go. Dave told Isabela, the lady in the office, that the room the cruisers use to get on their computers to call home and check emails was taken away and if they can’t do that they won’t come. She said that wasn’t good so she will figure out another place for the cruisers to go. Internet is very important when you are cruising as that is the lifeline to family and friends and ordering parts. The boat is clean on the inside and out and we can’t do anything more with the head and sump pumps until we come back so we are heading home Friday. We had a safe trip home. The weather has finally turned cold with wind and we have had more rain and clouds than we have seen in the last 3 years. It is good for the plants but hard on the generator as we have to run it to charge up our batteries. There have been storms in San Diego and because of the way the jet stream is this year we are getting more weather from the south. That is because the lows move in a counter clockwise movement which pushes the air south. A few days Dave and I thought we were in Seattle with the grey all day!!!! Ha!!! Sorry guys!! We have been watching the weather and know Bremerton, well Kitsap County has gotten cold temperatures and snow. Looks like they will have a white Christmas. That will be fun for the kids. I miss my family and friends but sure don’t miss the weather!!! I’ll take the wind and a few cloudy days that we have. Most of the time the sun shines and at least brightens things up. The deck looks festive with the lights. I love seeing the colors and brightness it brings. I bought a paper tree and hung it on the wall for our Christmas tree. Still don’t have many decorations. I hung our stockings and tried to make it look festive. We invited our neighbors Joanne, George and Mary and Leysel over for dinner. It was fun. Joanne’s son, Ken and family arrived with our parts. Now we just wait to see when we are going down to the boat. We have to renew our FM3’s before the middle of January and the people interested in the boat want to see it first part of January so when we hear from them we will make our plans. Christmas was quiet. Just another day really. Not many people down here now so it is quiet. I finished the baby afghan finally and now am working on a cross stitch wedding pattern for my son Jon and his new wife Susannah. I also received the birth announcement cross stitch kit to do after the wedding one. So I have my projects lined up. I have finished working on all the critters for the Art/Craft show in March and it is too cold for the glue to set quickly so it is taking longer. Time to put it aside. I did manage to coat them with polyurethane so that is done and I attached my name tags to them. Now I need to price them in U.S. dollars and pesos. Then I will be ready for the show. I started making zipper pulls out of beads, animal trinkets and Angry Bird pogs. I found out the only way to get the pogs is to buy small bags of chips and then you get one in each bag. I went online to see about buying sets of pogs, especially Angry Birds, but they weren’t available. I will wait and see what I can find when I go home in February to help with the new baby. Not looking forward to the cold, rain and grey, but I am looking forward to seeing the family and our new grandson. Any day now!!! New Year’s Eve we went to a dinner in town and had a great time with our friends and had a lobster dinner that was delicious. Then we stopped at the Fiesta they were having in town for the first time in 3 or 4 years. We did some dancing and I got to dance with my friend Herman who is 93. He was having the time of his life and he was all decked out in his finest clothes and cowboy hat. What a kick he is. He was dancing with all the young pretty gals. That is Herman!!!!! Ha!! After dancing a couple dances and saying hello to our Mexican friends, we headed back to the house. Tom and Lynn, another one of our neighbors is having a bonfire and we have been invited. We went home and changed clothes and then joined our neighbors. Mary and George were there and our gate guard, Ramon too. It was a cold night but there wasn’t any wind which was great and the full moon was shining!! What a beautiful night. We made it to Midnight and wished everyone a Happy New Year then went home. We couldn’t believe how cold the house was and was glad to get under the covers and get warm!!!! Yeah! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!

Progress is coming to Bahia

We are starting the month with going to Ensenada to provision. Today is All Saints Day and the Mexican people celebrate the passing of children. There is lots of candy, balloons and flowers. Tomorrow the 2nd is the Day of the Dead and the adults are celebrated. Shops close and you see flower and grave decoration booths all up and down the road. I think it is a good celebration to have. They honor the dead with lots of food, flowers, balloons, fancy grave markers and much more. We had a great ride to Ensenada and on the way we saw the farmers plowing fields and planting new crops for the winter. Some time I think it would be fun on one of our trips north, to stop and do a little wine tasting!! There are quite a few wineries here in Mexico. When we arrived in Ensenada we decided to get money and get my shopping at Walmart done. Then all we have to do tomorrow is stop at Home Depot and Costco. After I had finished at Walmart we went and checked into the hotel ‘Santo Tomas’. Once checked in we headed to Tonas’ office to get our boat insurance papers and pay. We had to wait a little bit but eventually we got the paperwork, paid Tona and sat and visited with him for a few minutes. He races his sailboat and so it is fun to listen to his stories. We thanked him for his service and said goodbye. We headed back to the hotel and relaxed. We went to dinner at Mc Donald’s which is our meal of choice on a budget. We decided to do that as we will have a big dinner at Jardine’s hotel on Friday. The next morning we ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Then we were off to Home Depot. I needed to get some Min-Wax polyurethane for the critters I make and a couple other things. Costco doesn’t open until 9:00 o’clock so we had some time to kill. We looked at refrigerators and washing machines. Then I browsed through all the isles just to see what they had and dream a little of what I want in my house, whether it is this one or another. When it was 9:00 o’clock we paid for our stuff and left Home Depot for Costco. It only took us an hour to get what we needed and then we headed south. We will spend the night in San Quintin at a wonderful hotel called Jardines. They have many beautiful flowers and chirping birds and cactus and behind the hotel is a garden filled with orange and lemon trees and a lot of other plants. After we checked in we relaxed. Dave was on the computer and I went outside to read. It was a beautiful day and the sun felt good. There was a little breeze which kept it cool. San Quintin is not far from the Pacific Ocean so they have cooler weather and more wind. That evening we walked over to the restaurant and had a couple margaritas then dinner. We celebrated Dave’s 65th birthday!! After dinner we went back to our room and watched some T.V. before going to bed. We left Jardines around 8:00 o’clock in the morning and stopped in town to get more money and then headed for home. It was a good trip. Our gate guard is celebrating his 27th birthday on the 8th so I made him chocolate chip cookies. He was thrilled to get them so he could have milk and cookies. Our youngest grandson, David, just turned 3 today, the 13th. Happy, happy birthday grandson!!!! It is also my friend Creela’s birthday. Creela, Mary and I walked a little bit this morning and then in the afternoon I went and played Hand and Foot with the gals. My partner Wendy and I won the pot. We each got $2. Awesome!! Then it was off to dinner in town to celebrate Creela’s birthday. Larry and Lois were there also and it was a fun night. Next year Creela wants a big celebration since it will be her 75th. I have volunteered to be in the Art and Craft show in March. So I am busy making things not only to sell to adults but children as well. I have been working madly on a baby Afghan for Jon Jr. Jon and Susannah’s first child. So when I’m not creating something from rock, shells and things, I am crocheting. I am also making a birthday gift for my girlfriend Penny which is in December. I keep busy doing things I love to do. The Baja 1000 race is coming through town on the 15th. The motorcycles start from Ensenada in the morning and get to Bahia around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Then the trucks/cars come after that but unfortunately it is dark when they come through so we don’t get to see them. They race on the road behind our house and create a lot of dust so I’m putting off my cleaning until it is over. We have heard rumors that the money; survey and paperwork have been done for a paved road starting from town to past our housing complex. The rumor is they will start in January 2013 and be finished in a year. We will finally have a paved road instead of a rocky lumpy bumpy dusty road. The pre-runners for the race have been loosening rocks and tearing the road up even more than it was and now with over 400 motorcycles and cars coming here the road is really going to be fun to drive on. NOT!!!!! We all are looking forward to the road. There is a copper mine reopening south of us so it will bring people to the town and good business. So Bahia is changing. You can’t stop process. It was just a matter of time before someone wanted to develop this area. The town will definitely benefit from it and maybe we will have more shops and a bank!!!! The bank would definitely be a convience!!! Dave inflated our dinghy from off the boat and we went for a little ride in the bay looking for whale sharks. About the middle of the bay we saw a small one and it came close to the boat. Then it went away so we moved on. Dave happened to look back behind us and saw a whale shark come toward the boat. He was so close to the rear of the boat that we turned off the motor so we wouldn’t hurt it. Its tail hit the dinghy! It was really awesome and what a beautiful creature!!!! Then it swam away and we didn’t see any more. It was a beautiful day to be on the water and we enjoyed it! I wanted to walk the beach so I had Dave drop me off on the beach and he went out to continue looking for whale sharks. I had a nice walk back to the house and Dave made it in before I got home. The race is finished and the road is terrible!!!! It is worse than ever!!!!! Everyone hates to drive on it any more. Our truck bounces all over the place so I have to go slow and the Jeep has better suspension, but with all the washboard ruts in the road it too is a rough ride. We have been told that from the back of whatever we are driving we look like bobble heads. A quad is much better, so I’ve been told, but we don’t have one. We now have our water and propane delivered to keep from driving so much on that road. I do go in every Saturday to get groceries and gas when needed, but not any other time. We are sooooo looking forward to a paved road. Our wonderful friends, Phil and Creela arranged to have a turkey brought down with Phil’s nephew and wife, so we will have a 20 lb turkey for Thanksgiving. We have invited Penny and her husband Murrey and our gate guard, Ramon for dinner. I am looking forward to making the pies and cooking the meal. I’m sorry to say that Creela is having a lot of back pain and is uncomfortable so they don’t know how long they will be here. She has stenosis(sp?) of the spine. It affects the very lower part of the back and it is like calcium or something like that which is closing in around the spinal cord and putting pressure on the nerves. She had a cortisone shot shortly before they came down to Bahia, but unfortunately it didn’t last long. Nothing seems to help. I really feel sorry for her. Well today is pie making day. I made 2 pumpkin and 2 apple pies. Then I prepped the turkey and boiled the giblets for broth. Cut the celery, onion, and garlic, putting it in a container and placed it in the refrigerator. So everything is done and I can relax. Oooh!!! I over did the standing today, which was all day in the kitchen and now my back is complaining. Well it’s time for a pain killer! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! It is a beautiful day in Bahia. The sun is out and it is about 75 degrees. Wonderful!!! The bird has been stuffed and is in the oven. We should eat about 4:00 this afternoon. Penny, Murrey and Ramon are coming over about 3:30pm. We had a wonderful dinner and sat around and talked. Ramon is learning English so we help him and he helps us with our Spanish. He is a funny guy and we thoroughly enjoy his company. Dave and I were supposed to go to Lois and Larry’s house for dessert around 6:00 but they had just finished dinner about that time so we ended up going around 7:00. Penny and Murrey left with leftovers and pie and so did Ramon. He was a happy camper. Once they were gone we hopped in the truck and drove to Lois and Larry’s bringing Penny’s pecan pie and my apple pie. Some of the people had left but there were still some other friends there we could chat with. Larry and Lois had invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner, but we had already made plans to have Penny and Murrey over. But at least we got together for dessert. Ummmm!!!! I’ll have to walk the beach twice tomorrow!!!! Ha! Dave and Phil are going fishing this morning so we decided we would have pie and coffee for breakfast. I made coffee and took the pecan and apple pie over to Phil and Creela’s around 6:00 am and had a wonderful breakfast. Then the guys were off to fish. That was fun!!! Creela stopped by in the afternoon and invited us to dinner. All I had to bring was something to drink and my pumpkin pie. I figured the guys would be home around 3:00pm so I decided to go for a walk on the beach and maybe meet them on my way back to the house. Lysel, the land landlord, was standing in her front yard watching her dog on the beach when she called to me. I was a little concerned about the guys not being home yet so I didn’t hear her at first. We said hi and she invited me to come and pick out the persimmons, pears and avocados that she brought down with her from her home in San Diego. She had a lot and wanted to get rid of them so I took some of each and thanked her and headed to Creela’s. I asked if she had heard from the guys and she said no. I told her I was a little concerned because I thought they would be back by now. I asked if she could give them a call. Before she did she looked through her binoculars and saw they were coming back and were almost to my house. So that was a good thing. Neither one of them knew dinner had been planned at Phil’s place. I went home and after the guys got the boat tied on the float and headed to shore, Creela gave Phil the good news of having company for dinner. Creela had a bunch of steaks and food she wanted to get rid of so she thought to invite her neighbors. So Lysel, Mary and George, Joann and us were coming to dinner. The guys barely had enough time to change clothes. They did catch some yellowtail and Dave will clean that up tomorrow and then it goes in the freezer. Yum! It was a good day for the fishermen and the women too!!!! Unfortunately Dave loses his fishing partner the 2nd of December as Creela has made an appointment to get another cortisone shot. I sure hope it lasts a lot longer than just a few weeks. We all gathered at Phil and Creela’s and had a wonderful steak dinner and great conversation. It was fun to get together like that. I have to tell you this story!!! I actually grossed all the ladies out. We were sitting at the table before dinner just waiting for Phil to finish cooking the steaks and Creela to finish the broccoli, and I kept feeling something tickle my toes. I was wearing sandals. I picked up my foot and moved it. It happened 2 more times and each time I lifted my foot and moved it. Then I wondered if it was a spider or something crossing over my toes so I looked under the table and there was a white little mouse I had accidently stepped on and crushed its head. I didn’t do it on purpose!!!!!! I looked up at the ladies and said they weren’t going to like what I had to tell them and proceeded to say I had killed a mouse. They didn’t believe me so I picked it up by the tail and showed them. No one screamed, but they made some funny faces. The guys asked if it was a white mouse and I said yes, and George said where there is one there are more!!! Then I tossed it out into the sand. Creela missed all that because she was inside cooking. She didn’t believe I actually killed a mouse so she wanted proof and told me to get it. I told her she’ll have to go find it herself. The gals vouched that it was true and I got a paper towel to clean up the blood. The gals couldn’t believe I was so calm about everything, and Dave told them that is how I am. Things like that don’t bother me. Hmmm! I guess it is all my time with my boys and how they use to bring in snakes and stuff to hopefully scare mom, but it didn’t work. Oh well! Needless to say we did enjoy our meal and had a good time. For the first time in years I boiled the turkey carcass for soup. The weather was cool enough and it just sounded like a good idea. I really hate to waste anything. I would have given some soup to Ramon, but I had put green beans and zucchini in it and he doesn’t like green vegetables. So instead I gave some to my neighbor Joann and some to Penny and Murrey. There was still some left over after we had a meal of it, so I froze the rest. Remember me telling you of a man named Kevin coming down to look at the house and took a lot of pictures to show his wife when he got back home. Larry and Lois have known him for a long time. He worked with Larry as a fireman. Anyway, Lois told us Kevin and his wife were coming down around Thanksgiving to look at the house. So I made sure the house was kept really clean and tidy. Thanksgiving came and went and no Kevin. Then we heard from Lois a couple days later that Kevin and his wife bought a house in Gonzoga Bay which is south of San Felipe in Mexico. It is close to the boarder. So we don’t have to worry about the house getting sold for a while. We did mention to Larry if the house didn’t sell by the time we sold the boat that maybe we could work out a rent to own and have the house paid off in 3 years. We haven’t talked seriously yet because the boat isn’t sold, but at least now we have some time to see what happens. So it looks like things are looking better. Time will tell. Oh and speaking of the boat, the gentleman that has been inquiring about our boat seems to still be interested. He thought he would be back in Baja by Christmas but won’t be so we have made plans to meet in Santa Rosalia after the 1st of January. We have to go back then anyway since our FM3’s have to be renewed. So we shall see. He has been reading my blog and it has helped him to know how we did things to get ready to cruise and the care the boat has had. All good stuff! It has been interesting as Dave has been spending a lot of time drawing up plans for our new house which will be built in front of the one we are living in now. We hope that everything works out to where we can fulfill that dream. He is having fun and I have to say I am too as it is always exciting to plan. The nice thing about planning a house is no matter where we end up, we can build it. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family. We miss our friends back home in Washington, but I really miss my family this time of year. To drive up in winter is not good, and flying is a madhouse. Plus the good thing is they are doing their own thing and creating their own memories and traditions!!! Maybe one day they can come and spend a Thanksgiving and maybe a Christmas with us in the sun and warmth!!!!

Still Summer in October

Our neighbors George and Mary, John and Smiley returned from their vacation on the Pacific coast. The hurricane Marian was heading to Abreojos where they stay in their trailer at a camp ground. They wanted to be safe rather than sorry. As it turned out the hurricane fizzled out but it did bring rain to the coast. Mary had gathered up some dried seaweed, sand dollars and shells while she was there and gave some of them to me. It was awesome. I will have fun creating something out of them. I have already started making creatures since I have been back. Let’s see----I made another lizard, 2 fish, a hermit crab, a stingray and some others. I’m on a roll. I need to seal them with polyurethane and then they will be ready to sell. The gals want to have a small gathering before Christmas to sell some of their craft items for gifts. So I will have my creatures and some other things there also.

Just after Marian went away another hurricane was building south of Cabo San Lucas. It actually turned right and started heading up the Sea of Cortez. All the cruisers and us too were concerned. Dave kept a close eye on it and even gave reports to the cruisers that were anchored in the Bay of L.A. (Bahia de Los Angeles). Norman never traveled up the Sea and made landfall north of Mazatlan. Then it turned around and headed back the way it came and died out in the Pacific. We did have a little rain but nothing serious. The cruisers are getting ready to make their voyage south so they are very interested in keeping tabs on what the weather is doing. The cruisers that have been around while we were cruising know that Dave worked for Noah (Oops----I meant NOAA) and trust what he has to share. Dave looks at several different weather forecasts and goes with the ones that are known to be reliable. Hurricane season isn’t over until November and since it has been so hot the water is very warm and feeds the storms. Luckily the season is winding down. We are in Santa Rosalia checking on the boat. Actually she looks pretty good. The red danger tape I put on the spreaders are gone. The wind and heat probably got to them but it looks like they served the purpose of keeping the cormorants off the spreaders. It is hot and humid here and we are enjoying our air conditioner!!!! There are some cruisers here and some we have met before so it was good to talk to them. We arrived on Monday, and then Tuesday the cockpit got cleaned. The tarp we had covering our small solar panel for the start battery had been shredded and needed to be taken off. Dave did that and said it was really yucky underneath. There was a lot of dirt and some fish remains. He was going to power wash it. A quick job right? Well guess what!!!! It didn’t work! Dave ended up taking it apart and since he didn’t have the right tools with us this trip he will have to take it home to work on it. Hopefully he can get it to work. We hadn’t planned on spending $200 to buy a new one. That isn’t in the budget. The pressure washer does make light work of washing the boat, but we can still scrub it like we use to. Matter of fact that is what I did while Dave was taking the pressure washer apart. Now the boat is clean and we will buy another tarp to replace the one we took off. Because of the rain we have had plants are popping up all over the place. There is this one plant that has long white flowers. I have never seen it here before. It opens in the daytime and closes at night. It is nice to see flowers in this dry, for the most part, barren land. It has been like summer this month. We aren’t complaining but it is warm. I can remember last year it turning cold around the middle of the month. Comforters are too heavy and even sheets are too warm!!!! I know----those of you who are into the cold season wish you had such a problem eh?!!!!! The weather has changed all over so it is hard to predict what any given day or month is going to be like. That is alright. Just give me warm days, sunshine, and cool nights and I’m good!!! The water here is still warm and my neighbors have been swimming, kayaking and paddle boarding. I am back playing games with the girls. I played train for half a day and played Hand and Foot another day and won the money pot of $5 but of course that was with my dollar in there. We heard from our landlords, the man that came to look at the house is coming back next month and bringing his wife. Apparently she liked the pictures he took and how he described it. Dave and I are ready for it to be sold, but if not, we will talk to Larry and Lois about long term renting to own. When the boat sells we will be braking even so we won’t be getting any money from the sale, however we will be saving a bunch so things will be much better. My youngest son just got married on the 27th!!!!! Hooray!!! Susannah is a wonderful lady and they seem so very happy! They are expecting their first child (a boy) in January. I am very excited!!!! That will make 8 grandsons. I guess we weren’t meant to have any granddaughters. That’s o.k.!! Jon and Susannah went to the court house to get married and then this summer will have a reception or remarry in the church. Dave and I should be there for that!!! Here is some good news about the boat. Dave got an email from a man who lives in Loreto, south of Santa Rosalia where we moor the boat. He was heading north to the states and stopped at the marina to see if there were any boats for sale. He saw ours and liked it. He called the broker, but no one was there. It was about 4 o’clock in the afternoon and no one was there. He somehow got Dave’s email address and contacted him saying he is interested in seeing the boat. He was heading to Oregon for family business and wasn’t sure how long he would be but he would keep in touch. He asked Dave some questions which he answered and we shall see what happens. It sounds promising but we aren’t going to get too excited yet!!!! Things are starting to happen and I can see good coming to a long and frustrating wait!!!! God has a plan and I know it will be great when it comes together. It’s hard to wait though. In the meantime we have a great place to live and a beautiful view of the bay and mountains and the people are nice!!!! We definitely want to stay here in this area if we can but we shall see. Dave turned 65 today, Halloween!!!! Happy, Happy Day!!! May there be many more happy ones to come! Our friends Creela and Phil arrived from San Diego so we had them over for a pork roast dinner. It is good to have them back in the neighborhood!!!! Both guys are anxious to go fishing.

Return to Bahia

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.