Low Tides, Racing, and Home Improvements

This month started out with low tides and it has been fun walking the beach to find treasures.

We had some gusty winds for a couple days but nothing serious. Just as I thought the weather was getting warmer, it cooled off again. No worries. When I say cool; to us that means 60. So I know most of you are cussing me out right now because you are much colder and miserable. I am sorry. I hope the cold and snow go away soon.

Saturday, the first, we had the Baja 200 race on the dirt road behind our house. The motorcycles and quads started at 7:00am and the cars started about 10:30am. Dave walked to the road and met up with friends and neighbors who were parked on the side of the road to watch the action. I stayed behind to mix up some chocolate chip cookie dough to refrigerate and then when I return, make cookies. I got that done and between 9:30 and 10:00 I walked to the road and found the gang. The motorcycles and quads were just finishing up. There was a bit of excitement as the ambulance was called to see about a motorcycle or quad that went down. The ambulance came back with no one so the person was alright. A few minutes after that the cars came. It was awesome. We knew a couple of the Mexican guys that were racing so we cheered and clapped as they went by!!!! It was fun and it is nice to show support for these guys. After the last car went by I said goodbye to everyone and walked home to bake cookies. Dave stayed behind.

As the cookies were baking, I exercised and then peeled shrimp as I was fixing Shrimp and Spinach Risotto for dinner. I was almost finished with the cookies when Dave came home. He said most of the guys broke down which was sad. The two Mexican guys we knew in the race were part of those that broke down. From the kitchen window I could tell when a car was finished as they did the winner circle like the big races and the sand was flying.

Sunday, the 2nd was Super Bowl and the Seahawks and Broncos were playing. I sat and watched the game as I crocheted an afghan. It was a pretty exciting game and Broncos did not do well at all. The Seahawks won the Super Bowl!!!!! First time ever!!!! I could just imagine all the whooping and hollering back home!!! We did a little of that ourselves. How exciting!!!!

We left on Tuesday, the 4th to go to Santa Rosalia. On the way down we saw a truck that was pulling a 5th wheel trailer where the 5th wheel was half on the road and half off. It was torked pretty bad. What a shame. The roads are narrow with no shoulders so it is hard just for a car but when you are talking big rigs and trucks pulling trailers----it can get dicey. We felt sorry for them as it ruined their day and maybe even their vacation.

When we arrived in Santa Rosalia we saw that the mine loading pier was finished and some buildings had been built. Town is bustling! When we reached the boat we were disappointed to see it hadn’t been kept up like it used to be. Now that Alberto is working for the mine he only has weekends free and I am sure he doesn’t feel much like washing a boat, but we pay him so he should continue to wash it 2 times a month. We noticed the bottom had been cleaned so that is good. We are going to be spending most of our time scrubbing the boat while we are here. We don’t do much the day we arrive so I was able to connect with the internet and not worry about using up star band minutes. I had fun searching for crafts and stuff like that.

I got a good night sleep and my arms didn’t go numb. We have a California King at the house and the mattress needs to be replaced but we don’t have any way to buy one and get it down here so we will need to buy a memory foam pad to put on top. We have one on top of the mattress on the boat and it makes a big difference. So when we go to Ensenada I will check it out and see what Costco, Sams Club and Walmart have. Unfortunately that size is expensive. I figure around $100.00. It is a beautiful sunny day and cool. It got cold last night and it was cold this morning until the sun came up. I know-----cold is relative depending on where you are. After coffee and a bowl of cereal I went up to the jeep, got the clothes I brought from home and did laundry. I brought the throw rugs that have been in the house since we moved in and they are filthy. At least I will feel better having them clean. Then I had a load of towels and sheets. Tomorrow I will wash the sheets that are on our bed, on the boat, and any dirty clothes we have. While I was washing clothes, Dave was investigating the engine. He found antifreeze under the engine and it isn’t supposed to be there. With further investigation he found some broken hose clamps which would cause leaks. The leaks must be from the last time he ran the engine. His plans were to power wash the boat and fix the forward sump pump so it will run again. Well neither of those things got done today. He had to walk to the ferretera (hardware store) to get some hose clamps and in that process found that only one store was open. Today is a holiday for Mexico, Constitution Day, so most of the stores are closed. I wasn’t doing anything so I told Dave I would fill a bucket with water and get the scrub brush and baking soda and start at the bow of the boat and scrub the grey part of the deck to mid ship. It shows the bird doo the worst. The birds have been finding us and making a mess. So we are back to scrubbing again. So while Dave did his thing with the engine I swabbed the deck!!!! It looks much better and I am glad I could help Dave in that respect. He will pressure wash the boat tomorrow morning when I am in town. When I return from town I will try and clean parts he didn’t get to. We go back home on Friday.

Well it is cocktail time. Our work is done for the day. Along with cleaning tomorrow the battery levels need checking so I can help with that.

After a cup of coffee and some cereal I walked to town. I needed to get some sweet bread at the bakery for our gate guard and a few grocery items. I wanted to walk the town to see if any new stores had opened. It was a fun time. When I returned to the boat Dave had the engine going and he was trying to heat up the hoses so he could tighten the hose clamps. Unfortunately more of them broke. Well it has been 12 years since they were put on so it was time. He still needs to get a couple more tonight when we walk to town for dinner. After he finished the job he went out to power wash the boat and I checked the water level in the house and bow thruster batteries. I stripped the bed and gathered clothes for washing later today when we were all done working. I heard Dave outside complaining and come to find out the pressure washer nozzle blew off and into the water never to be seen again. So much for getting the boat power washed today. He has to order another nozzle. So he had to scrub the deck with the brush; rinse it and clean the solar panels. I wiped down the inside of the bimini and the stainless steel as there was a lot of dirt and crud collected on them. Then we were done for the day. Dave ordered another nozzle and we should get it in a few weeks.

We discussed the option of moving the boat to La Paz as we received an email from our broker there. He said our price on the boat is right in the ball park to be sold and a lot of people come down and walk the docks looking so he wondered if we could keep the boat there so it would be easy for people to see it. After giving it some thought, I think it is a good idea. Rent is getting more expensive in Santa Rosalia, and the birds are a major problem where in La Paz there wasn’t a problem with birds at all. There is going to be hard to find someone to wash the boat and dive it like we have done here at a reasonable price. Our moorage contract is up the 19th of April so we are thinking we will take the boat to La Paz then. Dave checked moorage rates at Palmira where we moored when we were in La Paz and it is actually going to be cheaper than leaving it in Santa Rosalia. The advantages to having the boat in La Paz is we can haul it out and get the bottom painted; work on the boat and clean her up, shine all the stainless steel, fix the dodger and parts are easier to acquire also. So I think that is what we are going to do. We have to do something. The boat is falling apart here in Santa Rosalia with no place to get parts or fix canvas and etc. So the next time we come back to the boat to do repairs where necessary, we can take her out for a test run. I have to get my sea legs back!

We went to town and stopped at the bank and then had a Santa Rosalia hot dog. They are full of cholesterol but ohhhhh so good. The hot dog is wrapped in bacon then deep fried. Yum!!! I only have one and Dave has 2. It’s a treat when we come here. Well we have packed things up and will leave for home in the morning. Alberto stopped by tonight to talk to Dave about the boat. Since the boat didn’t look like it had been washed, Dave is going to ask him if he still wants to wash the boat as we understand he might be really busy with his new job.

Alberto just left and Dave said he still wants to wash the boat. Actually he did wash the boat and right after that, about 3 days the birds came back and messed the deck badly. So Dave told him to stop by on his way home from work and if birds (cormorants) were on the spreaders and mast just smack the shrouds that connect to the spreaders and they will fly away. When it is dark they don’t fly so they won’t come back that evening. Alberto is going to talk to the guard here and ask him to shoo the birds away as he walks the dock each night. So the boat may stay a little cleaner. I hope.

Dave had contacted Palmira in La Paz and they sent him information on the cost to moor our boat there. Well it wasn’t cheaper than Santa Rosalia. Matter of fact it would cost us $700+ for moorage, electricity. Then try and find someone to clean the top and bottom while we were gone. So we will check and see if Fonatur marina has room for the boat. That is the marina we moor at in Santa Rosalia. No matter where we go it is going to cost us a few pennies.

Since we have been back at the house we have had a rock wall built alongside the south arroyo to guide water to the sea if we get a downpour. It turned out really nice and it makes the house look better too!! In April, Rafael will come back and build a couple more and then that will finish that project. We had a gringo friend, Roger, come over and move dirt around to help level out the property. He also made a trench for the water to flow down to the north arroyo. That way the water will be diverted away from the driveway. Roger has a backhoe and he loves to play—so we let him. We have more property than we thought we did. Now we have enough room for Dave to build a large garage and workshop. As it turns out we didn’t need to order any dirt to level the driveway as Roger did that. Awesome!!!




This is the other side of the house facing north where the land has been leveled and the new trench.



There is a roof overhang over a small portion of the deck and the posts have been exposed to the elements and it needs painting badly. Some of the wood has never been painted so that will be taken care of to protect it and give it a longer lifespan. I cleaned all the rafters and then painted it white. It was not a job I enjoyed but it had to be done. The weather report was calling for wind so I had to get it finished in two days. With Dave’s help it got done. It looks nice and clean now.

I finished the afghan I was crocheting for E.J. our almost 17 year old grandson. He will be happy to get it this summer to use in winter. I am making crochet bracelets which are fun and I plan on selling them at the Arts and Craft Show in November. I have several grandmothers that come down here before Christmas that have granddaughters so I should sell a few. I hope!!




There were 6 of us gals that went hiking on the back side of Red Mountain. I have never been on the back side so I was looking forward to it. It was a good hike but we left between 9:30 and 10:00am and it was getting hot. We expected the wind to come up but it didn't until after we were done with the hike. We had a beautiful view of the sea and mountains which was nice.


We had some rain which made this beautiful rainbow. It had a beginning AND an end which most of the time you just see the beginning. Enjoy!!

Our Hopes and Dreams Are Coming Alive

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Looking back on 2013 it was a good year, for the most part. There were a lot of bumps along the way and at times I was very frustrated about not selling the boat and having the threat of losing the house to someone who could buy it. Overlooking all that----we live in paradise and love it here and I have always felt we belonged here. So now that the New Year is upon us we are looking forward to what it has in store for us.

We joined our neighbors, Lynn and Tom, with their family that is visiting from the states, and our other neighbors Mary and George, for a lox and bagel brunch. That is bagels with cream cheese with salmon. You make your own sandwich sort of and she had tomatoes, red onion and capers to add to it if you wanted. Mary brought coffee cake and we brought smoked fish. Of course there was champagne and orange juice and sparkling cider for the non drinkers. We had a wonderful morning and when we got home I worked on the cross stitch and just took it easy. The day is beautiful with some breeze which is nice.

We have dolphins, whales, and seals in the bay right now which is fun to watch. Most of the time we have to use the binoculars to see and watch them but it is cool. Unfortunately the fishermen are back with their nets which mean we are seeing baby seals and turtles dead on the beach as they get caught in the nets and die and are washed ashore.

In the December blog I forgot to tell about the turtle eggs. Usually when the turtles come to shore to lay their eggs the coyote gets the mom and eggs. This time a turtle made it; buried her eggs and our gate guard secured the area so animals and birds couldn’t get them. About 3 times a week our guard would ride his quad down to the eggs to see if there was any sign of hatching, but we had some high tides and he thinks they got covered. So unfortunately they didn’t make it. The incubation time is anywhere from 45 to 72 days if the conditions are right. The area where the nest is needs to be warm and water free. For the first time I got to see what a turtle egg looks like which was pretty cool. Not much different than any other egg, but just knowing they could have been turtles made it exciting. It is sad when they don’t hatch but there will be more. They come back to the place they were born to lay their eggs, which is amazing. The eggs our guard dug up went on display at the museum in town.

The down payment for the house went into our checking account so we notified Larry and Lois that they could cash our check. So now we keep paying rent and are responsible in paying the land lease when it comes due in March. We have 5 years to pay for the house and when the boat sells it will be paid off sooner. So the next goal is to sell the boat.

I have been busy making more earrings and trying different designs with wire, sea glass, and shells. I have made a few ornaments to ready myself for Novembers Art and Craft show.

It has been pretty quiet around here since most everyone is back in the states. In a week or two a lot of them will be back until summer.

Happy 1st Birthday to our grandson, Jonathan Jr. Wow time does fly. We called yesterday and I talked to him but there wasn’t a response, which is typical, but he was listening. I got to talk to Jon which was nice but missed talking to his wife Susannah. She was catching up on some needed sleep. By the time I see Jonathan Jr. he will be running around and talking up a storm. He will be so much fun!!!!!

My neighbor Mary invited myself and 2 other women to her house this morning to play a game of hand and foot. We had a good time and got to visit a little. Wednesday another friend of mine is having craft time at her house so I will attend and bring the afghan I am making to work on.

Tom and Lynn have passed on their colds to me. I have been taking Emergen-C night and day to ward it off and for the most part it is working. It has slowed me down a bit and I don’t want anyone else to get it so I am not going to the craft time at my friends. Thank goodness Dave never got it. I made him take Emergen-C too. That stuff really works.

The boat that has been sitting here for years is going to be worked on. Dave has a project now. Larry, our landlord never wanted us to touch the boat so it got filled with sand and water and hornet nests. When we made the down payment on the house the boat and truck became ours so Dave pumped up the tires and pulled the boat from under the carport. He worked on getting the sand out and then inspected it closely. There are a few things that need to be replaced, but it is only a 21 foot Trophy Bayliner so the items won’t be super expensive. A long time ago Dave said it was the wrong kind of boat for these waters, but after he took a good look at it he said it will make a good fishing boat and it has a cutty cab so we can do overnighters and tour the islands that are close to us. There is just a bed forward so we will have to ‘camp out’, bringing water, stove, lantern, etc. But it will be fun. We could possibly have it running by next year. I helped vacuum the inside cabin and cushions along with the walls and ceiling. Once that was done it looked pretty good. I also wiped down the control panel and tried to get rid of all the sand. Dave rinsed the boat off and when it dried we covered it with a large tarp and moved it back under the carport. It’s a cute little boat and Dave will have fun fishing in it. I don’t fish so he can drop me on a beach while he is trolling for dinner and I gather shells and other interesting stuff.

Our friends, Tom and Lynn had to leave to go back to the states. Tom is still working and Lynn arranges trips to Baja to see the whales. They will be back in May. Tom is retiring at the end of April and then they will be able to spend more time down here. The night before they had to leave we had them and our neighbor Mary and George over for dinner. I made a Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Creole for dinner. It was the first time I had made it and it turned out great. We had a fun evening.

There was a pile of dirt at our neighbors house, left over from when she had a cement pad put in so we asked her if we could have it and she said yes. So Dave made 3 trips to get all of it and we dumped it on the north side of our electrical room. The drive there needs building up as a lot of the soil got washed away when there were torrential down pours. That was before we got there. Dave wants to build that side up again so it will be even. We have plans to get a dump truck load of dirt and borrow a friend’s earth mover to even it all out. That will be a start in what we need to do here.

We are hoping to make a trip to Ensenada in March to buy paint and flooring before to get started on the house. But it all depends on whether we have the funds to do that or not. So we shall see.

The other day it rained all day. That was kind of neat. It was a fine mist for quite a while and then it started to get serious, so we backed the jeep out of the garage and let it sit in the rain all afternoon to wash some of the dirt off. It didn’t rain real hard but the amount it rained was helpful. When there was a break in the rain Dave and I wiped it down and put it back in the garage. It looks much better. Just after we did that it rained harder and I had wished I left it out a little longer. The dirt down here, when it gets wet, turns to clay that sticks to everything and takes months to get off, if you can. It does stain.

The weather has been nice without much wind. It seems to be getting warmer now that we are heading for February. December and January are the colder months. It’s nice the winters don’t last long here.

I walked the beach the other day at a low tide and found some paper nautilus which surprised me. But Dave reminded me it was last January last year when a bunch showed up on the beach. I managed to find 4 good ones.

I took another walk on a different day when the tide was even lower and found some spiral shaped shells and sea glass. It is fun to walk on the sand spits. There usually isn’t anything to find on them as most of the waves have washed everything to shore, but it is fun! I am planning on going on another hike to the mountains behind the house to explore. Maybe Dave will go with me, but if not, I will take my camera and hopefully get some nice shots of the scenery. I am wearing longer pants this time and not going near the Cholla cactus!!! If I don’t do it before the 1st, I will do it after we get back from Santa Rosalia. We have to go down and check the boat.

New Year - New Beginnings

November was unseasonably warm and we all wondered when it was going to get cold. Well December has arrived and the winds have begun and the temperature is falling. It is still in the upper 70’s during the day, but cools down enough to put sweats on at night. I have extra blankets on the bed but not time for the flannel sheets yet. I’m not complaining, just stating a fact. We have had more cloudy days than we can remember; well actually than anyone can remember. San Diego is getting some cold weather with wind and rain/snow. That system is working its way down here to where the wind is cold and without the sunshine the house doesn’t get very warm. Thank goodness for turkey soup and hot chocolate to warm our innards!!!

I invited the gals to come to my house to play train. I had to borrow 2, 6 foot long tables and some chairs, but I got everyone to be comfortable. It was a fun day. As the gals arrived I asked them to pick out a pair of earrings. They were excited to get them. I wished them a Merry Christmas. Thursday the gals are getting together in town to do some Christmas shopping and then lunch, so those I missed today with the earrings, they will be able to choose what they want then.

Today, being the 3rd is our grandson, Sam, 16th birthday!!!! Happy birthday guy!!!!

The Bahia gals got together and shopped and had lunch in town. We all met at the museum where they have some really neat gift items. I bought a plastic card that identifies big fish of the Sea of Cortez as the one we had blew away in a chubasco while we were coming up to Bahia for the first time on the boat. Dave always reminded me of the fish card that I let get away!!!! Ha!! Now he can’t complain any more. Well he can-----but who is going to listen???? Then we walked to an art gallery where everything is beautiful but expensive. After we left the gallery we went to a home where there resides a Mexican gentleman who makes things out of leather. He also sells honey. I didn’t buy anything but what he had was interesting. Then it was to Rosalinda’s store. I call it the craft store because there are all kinds of paints, glue, beads, yarn, etc there and the place is packed so you really have to take your time and look. I love going there. Then it was off to Las Hamacas restaurant for lunch. I had chicken tostados and a margarita! We had a great time visiting. Then it was time to go home.

Most of the people are leaving in the next week to go back to their home in the states for Christmas and New Years. There are only a handful of people who spend Christmas and New Years here. Then around January 10th or so they return and stay until summer.

We were invited to a friend’s house for dinner. They will be leaving to go back to Redding, California soon so they wanted to have us over before they left. We had a wonderful visit and the dinner was very good.

We are in Santa Rosalia on the boat for a couple days. We had to come down and pay the man that washes the boat and another man who dives and cleans the underside of the boat. So we just arrived today, the 10th and will return to Bahia on Thursday the 12th. Just a short visit this time. The boat is covered in dust from the wind blowing it around and the cockpit is filthy too. When we arrived the wind was howling and it was cold! We had 30 knot winds in Bahia yesterday so didn’t want to be on the road then as it was suppose to be windy everywhere. It was a good drive down with minimal windy spots. By the time we head home the wind will have calmed. My plan for tomorrow is to clean the inside of the boat and vacuum. Dave will have to pressure wash the cockpit and boat. All we want to do is wash off the dirt. Early evening we walked to the bank and then had dinner and came back to the boat. We are settled in now and the wind has finally stopped or at least let up. Tomorrow is not supposed to be as windy.

It is partly sunny and no wind which is nice. We have had our coffee and now it is time to get to work. If I said I am looking forward to cleaning and vacuuming I’d be lying!!!!! Ha!!! I never like to exercise or clean but I like the way I feel after exercising and the way things look after cleaning so it is worth it!! Sometime this afternoon I am walking to town. Have to go to the bank again and there is a shop I haven’t been in yet I want to visit. It has all kinds of craft items which looks interesting from window shopping.

The wind picked up a little this afternoon but certainly wasn’t as blustery as yesterday. Last night the forward sump pump sounded funny and when it pumped I didn’t hear water expel out of the through hole of the boat. So with that in mind I looked at it today and found it wasn’t working. I got the water that had accumulated in it out and then I told Dave it wasn’t working. He tested it and the switch is dead but the pump is fine. Without the switch working the water doesn’t get expelled from the unit and instead of the water going overboard it goes into the bilge. We are lucky that all grey matter goes overboard. If it didn’t the water in the bilge accumulates and then begins to stink and it is harder to siphon water from it. We bought a new pump when we were in the states last summer so Dave was going to put it in but he didn’t have his wire crimpers with him so we will have to wait to hook it up the next time we come down. We will pick up another switch when we go back to the states so a spare is on the boat.

Dave rinsed off the boat and the cockpit and it looks much nicer. I was going to walk to town and look in the store I haven’t been in yet, but once I thought about it I decided not to go. A lot of the stores aren’t open during the day but are at night so when we go to town tonight for dinner we will stop at the bank, pharmacy, and the store I’m curious about and look. Curiosity killed a cat they say!!!!

Well I went into that store and most of it was decorations and wrapping paper for decorating packages. There were some hang up Christmas decorations but now my curiosity is cured and I’m still alive!! We are back on the boat just chilling, listening to music and messing with our computers. I am having a hard time getting on the internet. Dave can but not me. Oh well!!

Dave talked with one of the guys that works at the marina here, Edgar, and asked if he wanted a job waxing the boat. He said yes so when he can he will clean the spots off the paint and then wax it. He is a young man so he can bend and contort better than we can. Ha!!! So when we come back to the boat in February, she will be shiny again!!!! That will be awesome. Edgar has a little girl so he can use the money for Christmas.

The diver came this morning to clean the bottom of the boat. It was in pretty good shape as it didn’t take him long to do it. He checked all the zincs and all was good. He will dive again at the end of this month and again at the end of January.

The town is looking so festive with Christmas lights and decorations. I love Christmas! We don’t have much to decorate with right now but what we have it makes it look a little festive. I hope we can get some LED lights for the railing of our deck next year. That would look awesome! All in good time.

All my Christmas shopping is completed. I shopped online for gift cards and a few toys for a couple of the grandkids.

We just found out that Creela is going to have her back surgery on the 16th. That is sooner than we thought she would be able to get in. She said a bed at the hospital opened up so in she goes. We called and talked to her the night before she was to have surgery and of course she is scared but happy to be getting it over with.

We finally heard how Creela did with surgery and she made it through the surgery with flying colors and now is recuperating.

I have decorated for Christmas. I put up our small string of LED lights inside and put the decorations here and there to make it look a little festive. Before Creela left she gave me her basil plant and I considered using that as our Christmas tree but that isn’t going to work. Ha!!! No worries.

The committee for the Arts and Craft show decided it would be better to have a Christmas show in November next year and have more items for the holidays. Some of us have already started making ornaments and of course I am making more earrings and probably a couple other things too.

We called Creela at the hospital and Phil answered. It was good to hear his voice. He said she hurts but is doing well. I talked to Creela for a few minutes and she doesn’t recommend anyone having that surgery, but I reminded her that she will feel differently later.

Dave and I figured out that to cover the lower part of the house which is cemented with river rock, it will cost over $3,000. That isn’t going to happen. I don’t want to spend that much money on just one thing for the house. It was a nice idea and it would save us money in paint, but if we get the right paint we won’t have to paint again for a couple years. Unfortunately the whole outside was painted with a latex paint, even the cement and it is peeling off. So we will just stick to painting. We have to paint the inside too, but we have to put down new flooring first. So we have a list and we will start doing things a little at a time.

It is Christmas Eve and we have been invited to go to dinner in town and join some friends. The choices of dinners were lobster or turkey. Dave chose lobster and I turkey. He said his lobster was good but some of the other people said theirs was mushy which usually means it has been frozen. The turkey was good and tender. It was good to get together with some of the people we don’t see very often.

Earlier in the day I made 2 danish puffs. One for us and the other one I cut in half and shared with our neighbors to the south and north of us. That will be breakfast Christmas morning.

Christmas was quiet with a beautiful sunny day and some wind. Dave watched a little football; I read and did some cross stitching. For dinner I roasted some pork and made scallop potatoes and had swiss chard.

It is time to get some walking in so I walked the beach this morning to hopefully work off a few calories. The wind didn’t come up until I had made it back home. I collected some sea glass that I found on the beach and will add it to my collection.

I have been busy making ornaments for next year’s show and some more earrings. I am working on creating a decoration formed out of the long spiraled shells. If it turns out good I will use it to decorate the house next Christmas. Have lots of ideas and a lot of shells to play with!!! Imagination is a wonderful thing!

Another one of our neighbors is suppose to arrive this afternoon. They are bringing part of their family with them. The grandsons haven’t been here before so it will be a fun time for them.

Merry Christmas to us!!! Lynn and Tom brought down the 32” flat screen TV we ordered and had sent to their house. Dave was like a little kid. He could hardly wait to hook it up. It is up and running and wow is it nice. We have been watching TV on some really old huge TVs so it is nice to have one that is light and doesn’t use a lot of energy or take up a lot of space!!!

We received an invitation for a New Years Eve dinner at a new restaurant that just opened in town. We had heard good things about it so I am glad we can try it out. It is right next door where my friend Penny used to live. The plan is to go to dinner then afterwards come home and go to Lynn and Toms place to gather around the camp fire and ring in the New Year. We did that last year too!!! The Diaz family (one of the large families that go way back and actually built the town) is throwing another celebration this year with a band and dancing, but we aren’t going to stay for that. We attended last year but things don’t get started until around 9:30-10:00pm and we still have to maneuver the lumpy bumpy road home. Not worth it to us so a camp fire sounds to be a better plan.

It is a beautiful day today and the wind hasn’t picked up so I went for a hike. 2 years ago I hiked to one of the hills behind our house. Well today I went over to the other hill. We have looked at it with binoculars and it looks interesting as there appears to be some small caves. So I packed the hand held radio and water in my backpack and took off. The desert is beautiful as everything is so green and lush from the little rain we had not too long ago!!! As I got closer to the bottom of the hill I came to a huge arroyo filled with boulders. I stopped and assessed what I wanted to do and looked for an easier way to head to the hill. I had to climb over some of the boulders to get to flatter ground but I did it and reached the base of the hill. The wind has made a lot of carve outs of the rock and there were about 3 small caves at the base but it didn’t look like any animal had been staying there. I wondered if at some point it has been used by coyotes to get out of the weather. It was pretty awesome. Then when I looked behind me I saw a panoramic view of our south end. Very pretty. Picture???? NO!!!! I didn’t pack my camera and I am sorry I didn’t. If I go again-----which I am planning to, I will bring the camera. I called Dave on the radio and told him I made it to the hill and described the caves. I couldn’t climb up the hill as the rocks are small and not secure. I probably could have made it up the hill, however, I had to get back down and that would not have been safe!!! I followed an arroyo along the base of the hill that slopes down to the road. I found human footprints and animal like cows and some horse tracks. At one point I saw many coyote tracks too. Everything was going pretty good and I was nearing the end of the hill range when all of a sudden I felt something hit my right leg. I looked down and on my left shoe I had part of a large spine cactus burr stuck in the bottom. I pulled that out. However, on the right leg just below my calf was quite a large piece of cacti with many spikes on it and some of them were in my leg. I tried to pull them out but without gloves it was no use. I did try and use a neckerchief but I couldn’t get a good enough grip on it. So I started walking toward the main road. I hailed Dave on the radio and asked if he could come and get me. I told him what happened and I was headed to the road. I was just north of an abandon ranch so he knew where to find me. I walked to the road and headed north toward the house. I had to be careful not to bump the burr which was not easy. I had to walk like I had a load in my britches!!!! It was a relief to see Dave coming in the truck and when I got in he asked what I did and I showed him. Hmmmmm!!!! He said he didn’t know how he was going to get it off me. So we discussed what could be done and it would take a pair of wire cutters to cut the cacti away from the spikes in my leg and then pull the spikes out with plyers. I knew it was going to hurt. Ya think?! Actually I wasn’t bleeding so that was good, but I think walking pushed them in deeper. Dave said a couple of them were like a ¼ inch. So when we got home, I went to the deck of the bamboo room where the trailer is to get out of the wind and Dave got his tools!!! Then it was snip, snip, snip, snip, snip and so on until the burr was removed. Now came the fun part! Dave pulled out one and it was just above the ankle and it bled pretty well. It must have hit a vein. We decided that maybe it would be best if I laid down upstairs to make it easier for him to access the spikes. So that is what we did. He poured hydrogen peroxide on the whole area and the good news there was very little foaming!!! Then he started the extractions. About 3 of them were in deep and so he gave it a rest and went for the smaller ones. Once those were out there was no choice but to work on the big ones. So he treated it like getting a fish hook out of your finger or wherever and pinched the area around the spike and pulled the spike with the pliers. A couple didn’t want to budge but there was no choice but to apply more pull. FINALLY they were all out!!! Yippee!!! Dave put more hydrogen peroxide on the area and I headed to the freezeer for ice. I sat with my leg up on some ice for 20 minutes or so. There is some bruising but I will be fine. It is a little achy but nothing unbearable. Next time I will avoid the cacti with the long spikes!!!! So that was my little adventure. Believe me------I didn’t do it on purpose so I would have something to write about!!!! I’m not into pain that much! I am really glad I called Dave and had him pick me up because if I walked home I could have really caused an issue with the spikes driving deeper into the leg. Here is a picture of the spikes Dave pulled out and one of the cacti burr he cut loose!!!! I’m just glad that is over.



The next morning I checked my leg and found a little more bruising but otherwise it is good as it was before the mishap.

It is New Years Eve and we went to the new restaurant for dinner to join our friends. It was pretty good and they went all out and served steamed clams, and hors d’oeuvres. Dave had grilled chicken and I had scallops fettuccini. Then we had a really good dessert that was like a parfait. It was really nice. When dinner was over some of the folks went to the fiesta in town and we headed for home. When we got home we changed clothes and joined our neighbors Tom and Lynn and family around the camp fire. George and Mary (another one of our neighbors) came a little later but they didn’t make it to midnight. They got cold and tired. I am proud to say the rest of us, even Tom and Lynn’s grandsons made it!!! Zane is 6 and Luke around 9. It was getting pretty cool so we built up the fire and kept it going to stay warm. Once midnight arrived, we hugged and kissed our husbands and said Happy New Year and Dave and I headed home. We didn’t go to bed right away as Dave turned on the TV and there was a program about the Pacific Islands where he used to travel to for work. It was interesting. It would be nice to visit some of those islands someday. The program ended at 1:00am and we went to bed.

What a year it was!!!! I am anxious for 2014 as I think it will be a great one for us. Our Adventure continues!!!!!

The Boat, The Boat---???

About 9:30am I walked to the marina office and Isabel was in. I have learned that when Mexican people say a time, it doesn’t really mean exactly that time. It is whenever so that is why I gave her another ½ hour to get to the office. I know she doesn’t always get in at 9:00am. She called the doctor office and said I could see the doctor. I asked if she would take me as I really didn’t know how to get there and she said she would just give her about ½ hour. At 10:30am I walked back to the office and waited a few minutes until she locked things up and we were off to the doctors. She had errands to run so she would drop me off and after she was finished she would come back to pick me up and take me back to the marina. She said the doctor said it would be alright about the language barrier so life was good. When I got into the doctor office there were a few people waiting so I sat and waited my turn. Actually there are no appointments. You go and wait your turn. When the doctor had finished with his patient he shook everyone’s hand and welcomed them. Then the next person went into his office. He was pretty quick in getting people seen and moving on to the next person so I didn‘t have to wait long. When it was my turn, he had me sit on the other side of his desk and asked me what the problem was. I tried to tell him but some things weren’t getting through and I didn’t understand everything he was saying to me so he said he would call his nurse as he/she spoke good English. He called the nurse on the phone and I expected him to tell the nurse to come in. You know like what the doctors in the States do. No! That isn’t what happened. Apparently the nurse was somewhere else and so the doctor spoke with him and then gave the phone to me so I could explain what was going on with me. Then I gave the phone back to the doctor and the nurse translated what I said to the doctor. The doctor said something and handed me back the phone. This went on for a couple minutes. Then when the doctor was satisfied and knew what was going on with me he hung up. He weighted me, took my temperature, and blood pressure. Temp was normal, and my blood pressure was excellent. He commented on how it was like a young person. Then he had me lie on the exam table and proceeded to ultra sound my lower abdomen. He had done that the last time too and I was hoping it would be the same this time. He said there was an infection in the bladder and kidneys and he wanted me to have a urine sample done and blood drawn the next morning. So I had to fast after 8:00pm until I got the lab work done. He gave me a urine cup for the sample and said after I get the results of the test to come see him. I thanked him and proceeded to pay. For the urine cup and office visit it was $410.00 pesos which is about $31.00 dollars U.S. I was finished with the doctor and Isabel wasn’t back yet so I waited about 10-15 minutes and she drove up. I told her about the visit and how he had to have his nurse translate. We got a chuckle out of that. We went back to the marina and I thanked her for her help. When I got to the boat, Dave had already put some of the side curtains up to enclose the cockpit area. I told him what happened at the doctors and that I have to go to the lab in the morning. The rest of the afternoon I helped Dave with the rest of the curtains. The top middle one was a bugger to put on as you have to get the zipper inside a rubber casing and slide it onto the fiberglass dodger which is over the companionway going down into the boat. He was working in the hot sun with his ball cap on but still he was very hot and sweaty. It was a struggle and it took a while but he managed to get the top section on. I tried to stay out of the direct sun and handed him the screws and tools he needed. We both took breaks to drink some Gatorade then back out into the sun to finish the job. Once that piece was in we put up the larger curtains and we were done. Dave wanted to pressure wash the boat but I suggested we wait until the sun was lower and it was cooler. So we went inside where the air conditioner was running and waited until the sun went down. We had a cocktail first then pressure washed the boat. Actually Dave did the washing and I stayed on the dock to guide the unit, water hose and electrical cord so nothing would end up in the salt water. The boat looks much nicer now. He was finishing up when Alberto stopped by to talk to Dave. Alberto doesn’t work for the marina anymore as he was hired by the mine. He will be working on the dock dealing with fuel for the ships and maybe even the rigs. He will be getting twice the amount of pay than he did at the marina. So all is good. Dave asked him if he would still wash our boat and take care of having the diver come once a month as usual. He said he could do that as he had weekends off so he could stick to his usual schedule with our boat washing. He washes it 2 times a month and the diver cleans the bottom once a month and Alberto pays him with the money we have left with him to do that. Alberto is a very trustworthy man and has taken care of our boat for 2 to 3 years now. He is a good man. So we are happy he will continue to keep the boat clean. Plus this gives him and his family extra money. I told him Christmas is coming so now with the new job he can buy lots of presents!!!! He laughed and rolled his eyes!!!! After Alberto left Dave finished with the boat and went below where I fixed dinner.

The lab doesn’t open until 7:30am so I wasn’t in a rush to get there at that time. I got up at 8:00am, my normal time, got dressed and took my sample with me to the lab. The diver had arrived to clean the bottom of the boat and I was on my way to the lab. Because the town isn’t far from the marina, I usually walk everywhere if I know where things are. I have made it a point to walk all over the town to learn where certain things are, like the pharmacy, grocery stores, fabric store and the like. So I am really familiar with the town. Unfortunately the doctor is not in town, he is located up on the hill so that was why I needed some help finding his office. When I arrived at the lab there were people coming and going. I didn’t have to wait at all and I was whisked into the back room. The lady technician asked how I was and took the urine specimen and proceeded to draw 3 vials of blood from me. The doctor wanted to know everything about my health. When the technician was finished I paid $750.00 pesos, which is about $58 dollars U.S. That is with the current exchange rate at 13%. I was told to come back at 1:00pm. That is when the results are ready for pickup. When I left the lab I walked to the grocery store which was just a block away and got a few things then walked back to the boat. The diver was still cleaning the under belly of the boat and since I had a while to wait before going back to the lab, I had coffee and breakfast then went out into the cockpit and rinsed and shammed it dry. I was going to clean the stainless steel but it looked good so I will wait and do that next time when it is cooler. It is already getting hot. It was after 12:00pm so I had a half sandwich and a little bit of Gatorade, changed my clothes and headed for the lab to pick my results up. They are open only from 7:30-9:00am then close so they can process the lab work then reopen from 1:00-2:00pm for people to pick up the typed results and are closed for the rest of the afternoon and evening. When I say typed results that is how they are done. By typewriter. No computers. Mexico, in the smaller towns are not up to speed with technology. The bigger cities are to some extent. Even with computers at the desks, there is always a typewriter close by. When I walked in the lab another lady was waiting. They asked my name and said it would be a few minutes as they needed to get it ready. About 5-10 minutes, if that, they handed me the results in an envelope and I left and headed up the hill to the doctors office. The hill didn’t seem that steep until I was almost to the top. It was hot, so I took my time. When I arrived at the doctor office the lady that handles the pharmacy and paperwork was there reading a paper. She spoke no English and I, with my limited Spanish had a hard time understanding what she was trying to tell me. Even with the language barrier, I finally understood that the doctor was at lunch and he would be back soon. It was about 1:15pm and he arrived at 1:30pm. He walked up to me and smiled and asked how I was and shook my hand. Then invited me into his office. There I gave him the results, which I had looked at while waiting for him, and he was pleased with the blood work. I was even surprised to see that my cholesterol was 205 which is the lowest it has ever been!!!! I must be doing something right!! Anyway----I only had a bladder infection which was good to hear. The kidneys weren’t effected this time. So he sent me to his wife, which is the lady who does the pharmacy and paperwork, and I got 10 vitamin-C fizz tablets to take in water once a day and medication for the infection, Keflex tablets of 500mg. There are 12 tablets and I take 1 every 8 hours with lots of water until they are gone. The medication was $462.00 pesos which is $36.00 dollars U.S. So with the doctor visit, lab and medicine it cost us $125.00 dollars U.S. Very impressive isn’t it! I got good care and it is cheap compared to what we have to pay in the states. We really didn’t want to fork out the pesos because of being short in the checking account from vacation, but in the long run it was great!!! So I am on the way to recuperating. I do have to say that as foreigners we have to be careful where we go for medical care. We know that Santa Rosalia has a good sized hospital, Dave had the lucky experience having to go there when he split his leg open and had to get 25 stitches, and I had been to the doctor once before and got excellent care. Rosie, who was my interpreter the first time, had recommended Dr. Jose as that was her family doctor. So I wasn’t concerned. But like any place you travel it is always good to be cautious and ask around.

When I got back from the doctors I drank the Gatorade that I left in the refrigerator and cooled off. We had checked the water level in the batteries before I left so that had been taken care of. I sat down and started this months blog and after a while Dave said the air conditioner sounded funny. Well as a boater, if something sounds funny it needs immediate attention. I was sitting on top of one of the air conditioning units so I took the cushion off and opened the compartment and there was a lot of water in the pan, which it does get due to condensation, but there was too much and it was almost to the top of the pan. So needless to say it needed some attention. Dave was thinking there shouldn’t be that much water as he put in a hose that goes from the pan to the sump pump for drainage. So maybe the hose was clogged. Well with our brilliant deduction, the hose clamp around the hose coming from the air conditioning pan was loose causing leakage around the hose. I tightened the hose clamp and wiped up the water around and underneath the hose then proceeded to suck water out of the pan with a turkey baster. I have to do that with the other unit that is underneath one of the guest beds in the back of the boat as the guy who installed it didn’t put a drain hole in it like the other one. So it is one of my jobs to keep an eye on that so it doesn’t over flow. It isn’t a big deal as I only have to do that when the air conditioner has been running a lot. The water does go into the bilge but we don’t like to have standing water there so we try to prevent that from happening. So with the hose clamp tightened and a lot of the water sucked out of the pan, things were working much better. Water was then draining into the sump pump like it was suppose to and while we were fixing and cleaning, I cleaned the sump pump as it hadn’t been done in months. Then I moved to the back of the boat to the smaller guest room where the other unit sets under the bed and sucked water out of that and noticed the filter was dirty which will cause the unit to run hot. So I cleaned that. Now we are good with everything. Oh yeah, yesterday morning the freezer wasn’t working right and we noticed the little red light was blinking near the compressor which indicates over heating. We forgot to hook the fan back up when we came onboard and it has been hot which means the water is hot causing the boat to be hotter than normal and with the added heat the compressor faulted. So we opened the compartment lid where the compressors for the refrigerator and freezer are and let it cool. In the meantime Dave shut the
freezer off for a while until the compressor was cooled. The freezer was turned back on and it is working just fine. We didn’t hook the fan up but during the day when it is hot we open the compartment to let the hot air out and then close it at night. So all is well. There is always something that needs to be tended to when we come. That is just boat life. So tomorrow, our mission, is to get a tarp to cover starting in front of the windshield of the dodger to the mast. The purpose of the tarp is to keep the bird guano off the boat! The tarp we had on the boat was in shreds but it did it’s job. Then I have to launder the sheets and dirty clothes and we leave Friday morning to return in December.

I drank my morning coffee in the cockpit where it was cool. A little breeze is coming up. Feels like it will be a little cooler today. Dave walked to town to see about getting a tarp but didn’t find one the size we need. He is going to walk further north of the store he went to and see if they have any. I needed to walk so I went with him and we were successful in finding not only the right size tarp but a light bulb for my kitchen light in Bahia. We stopped at the marina that is north of where we keep our boat and saw a couple of people we know so we chatted for a while. That marina is old and it fell apart when the last hurricane, Jimena,(sp?) came through about 3 years ago. The moorage is cheaper but the marina isn’t well kept. Anyway---we talked to our friends Jim and Casey and then walked back to Fonatur marina where we are. Dave took the tarp and light bulb to the boat while I went to the laundry room to wash a load of clothes. Then it was lunch time. Not much going on today!!! After lunch I went up and put the clothes in the dryer and stayed in the laundry room until they were dry. I brought a book to read while I waited. When the clothes were dry and folded, I went back to the boat. Some of the floor boards were up as Dave was in the process of cleaning the water maker filter and unit and then re-pickling it. I was so sleepy I wanted to take a nap but if I did I would sleep too long and not be ready for bed tonight. So I played games on my computer and actually was able to get onto the internet long enough to check emails. I was able to look at all the mail and then I lost the internet signal. It is getting worse instead of better. I can remember we could be on the computer for hours on the boat. Now we barely get a signal and to get one we either have to go out into the cockpit (which is too hot and humid) or go up to the marina office. I didn’t feel like hassling with it so I chose to just shut down my computer. I managed to stay awake packing up our stuff and putting things away. We will be leaving tomorrow for Bahia. There were some clouds that came in and it cooled us down a little then they went away. Later in the afternoon clouds were building again and it looked like we might get rain, but by the time the sun went down behind the hill, the clouds were gone. Now that the sun is down we can go out and put the tarp on. It is just the right size so it didn’t take us long to get it secured. It will help keep the bird guano off the boat. Once the tarp was in place I went down below and fixed dinner. We had burritos. After the dishes were washed and stowed I packed more things and turned the propane off. I made sandwiches for us tomorrow and all we have to do is pack the cooler with what is in the refrigerator and turn things off and stow the electrical cords and water hose. Then it is 2 trips to the jeep to pack it and we are on our way to the house.

I have been taking my medicine and drinking lots of water and am starting to feel a little more energetic. That is until this morning. I didn’t want to get up and it took me a while to wake up. As long as I was moving around I was o.k. I just hope I can stay awake tomorrow for the 5 hour trip home.

Well I did it. I took a 5 hour energy drink before leaving the boat and this time it seemed to be more effective. We stopped in a town called Vizcaino to get groceries. This time they had a lot of fresh vegetables and fruit. When I was finished we took off for home. It was windy for the ride home but not too bad. Dave said that Bahia was getting their northern winds and it would blow for 3 days. When we got to Bahia we stopped and got gas and went on to the grocery store to pick up milk and some other items. We had taken the truck to Philipi on the way to Santa Rosalia to ask him to fix the gas gauge and a couple other things. Unfortunately he only was able to look at and fix one of the items. He got pulled off our truck for a hotter job. So Dave drove the truck while I drove the jeep to the house.

Home sweet home. Everything looks good and so now we cart all the stuff from the jeep up the stairs into the house. I put the groceries away and decided to unpack at a later time, either later that afternoon or tomorrow. The rest of the evening was quiet. It is windy here and it is suppose to blow harder tomorrow. Oh yea!!!

Things have been unpacked and put away and I have straightened up the house a bit. Still not feeling up to par so I am taking it easy. I read most of the day. The wind was blowing about 25-30 miles an hour and we had to shut the windows a little, otherwise things have a tendency to blow off shelves!! The skylights are closed so we just wait for the wind to subside. About 1:00pm Dave and I heard a crash and wondered what was going on. At first it sounded like a BIG bird landing on the roof so I went out on the deck to look on the roof and our TV dish antenna had come loose from part of the stand. It was just barely hanging on. We went over to our neighbors house to get his tall ladder and we put it up on the south side of the house out of the wind. But the problem was we couldn’t get on the roof to do anything because it was blowing too hard. As we were getting the ladder situated the antenna came loose from the stand and fell over on the south side of the house just outside the dining room window. It put a rip in the window screen but other than that everything was alright. We were very lucky as I expected to be hit with the dish as I was standing right under where it flew off. I put my arms over my head so if the dish hit me my head wouldn’t be bonked!!! Well the good Lord was watching out for us and the dish never disconnected from the cables that were attached to the house and run in the house to the TV. So now Dave had to climb the ladder and unscrew the cables and bring the dish down. Once it was on the ground it was inspected and we found metal between the 2 holes for the pop rivets was cracked. Dave would have to reinforce that before it goes up again. He found some scrap sheet metal and because we didn’t have tin snips he had to saw at it. He wasn’t getting very far and I was trying to hold down the metal for him and I was getting tired. I suggested he use garden shears but he said they probably wouldn’t cut. Well after a bunch of sawing on Dave’s part, I walked over and got the garden shears and he had his doubts but tried them and low and behold he was able to cut the piece he needed for repairs!!! I have to brag at this point because I’m not always correct in some things, but this time-----I knew I was right!!! So yahoo and good on ME!!!! He was very surprised and managed to get out----”good job”!!! We then proceeded to repair the top part of the dish and Dave had to drill a couple more holes for the rivets to go. The wind is still howling so there was no way that dish was getting on the roof right then. We just have to wait. In the meantime, the ladder is still in position and Dave said he would have to go up and check to see if the stand was still bolted down to the roof and everything else was o.k. But then he asked me if I would go up. Well I said I would. I climbed to the top of the ladder where I could see the roof and the stand and all was good. Everything was intact. So hopefully the wind will calm down later and we can get the dish back up. Otherwise, no TV tonight. It really isn’t a big deal not to have TV as we cruised without it for months. And even when we moved into the house we didn’t have the direct TV hooked up so we just watched movies. Dave and I went back to reading and waited for the wind to die but it didn’t die soon enough and it was dark so no getting the dish up today. It is suppose to be less wind tomorrow so we will just have to wait and see. We left the ladder up against the house and wondered later if that was such a good idea as the wind switched around and came out of the south then west. If it blew hard enough the ladder would fall and possibly bend it all up and/or break our kitchen window. Oops!!!! We watched a movie we had and went to bed when it was over. Then when we heard the wind blow from a different direction we were unable to get into a deep sleep because of the ladder. Needless to say we made it through the night and so did the ladder. Whew!!

It was breezy this morning when we got up and then it laid down enough to where Dave could get on the roof to inspect the holes where the rivets go. To his dismay he had to pound out a couple rivets, as they broke off and stayed in the stand, and then 2 more rivets that had broken wouldn’t budge so he will have to drill them out. Unfortunately, his drill isn’t charged so he has to wait until it is before he can pop rivet the antenna dish on the stand. So he came down and just shortly after that the wind picked up. It isn’t as bad as yesterday, but it is still too dangerous to be on the ladder and roof. So again we wait.

I am drinking so much water and juice that I think I will bloat up and float away------. I feel better but that funny feeling hasn’t gone away yet. I have the last pill to take this afternoon and then we shall see. I will need to keep up the large amounts of water for the rest of the week and then we will see what happens. I’m really hoping it will disappear!

I finished the book I was reading, which was a really good one. The title is ’Journey from Darkness’ and it is about 2 brothers and the desert elephants of Africa. It is based on a true story. Now I am reading a murder mystery. The wind is still howling, but today it is about 20-25 miles per hour, so it is better. It looks as though the antenna dish isn’t going up tonight. We have lots of movies so we will watch another one tonight. The wind is suppose to die tonight and become benign tomorrow. So looks like Dave will get a chance to go on the roof again and do his magic!!!!!!! HA!!

I was cross stitching this afternoon and watched some birds diving for fish. They didn’t look like seagulls so I got my binoculars and checked it out. To my surprise they were boobies. I told Dave I thought they were and then I saw one of them get ready to dive and it had blue feet!!!! Wow!!! That was exciting as I haven’t seen them here before. They aren’t many places around here where they roost. On the mainland there is an island where they call home off of Mazatlan and cruisers can go there to see them. We never did because the conditions for anchoring were not the safest. We had heard of cruisers getting their anchor hooked on rocks and debris so we avoided the area. We did get to see a couple that flew close to the boat but didn‘t get pictures. Since they were right out front of the house I took some pictures and we’ll see if they turn out. We have a different camera then my last one so I have to learn how to use it. My other camera still works but the button that you push to take the picture is getting stuck and when you turn off the camera it snaps a picture at random. I’ve had it way before we went cruising and I am surprised, with the elements of the sea and weather, it survived this long. Well it is time to fix a cocktail for Dave-----L I can’t have any until the medicine is out of my system. Oh well---I will survive!

People are heading down from San Diego so some of the gals have been chomping at the bit to play cards. I was invited but didn’t feel up to it as I am still not totally healed yet. Besides I am not ready to get with the ladies yet.

The bladder infection is not cleared up and I am getting concerned about it. I could go to the clinic here but they don’t have any means to test a urine sample and I would have to drive to Guerrero Negro which is 2 hours from here to have it done then have to go back and etc., etc.,. So Dave suggested that maybe I should start on Amoxicillin as that is for soft tissue infections. I checked on the internet about it being used as a treatment for bladder infections and it said it was good. The Amoxicillin that we have is 500mg so I started taking one capsule every 8 hours as recommended. I drank lots of water and kept on that regiment for 7 days. I did stop at the clinic to see if they had any Amoxicillin, which they were out of but they did have bladder infection medication. So that is good to know. I still have plenty of Amoxicillin but one day I will need to get more. I am finally over the infection and back to normal. Thank goodness. That was not fun!

I have gotten together with the gals for cards and train and decided I won’t be playing every single week like I was doing last year. I get burned out being with the gals all the time so I am picking and choosing when I want to play.

Dave and I were invited to a friends 70+ birthday party but we weren’t sure if we would get to go as the jeep had trouble starting. Unfortunately a door had been left ajar so the battery was low. Dave charged it earlier and the jeep did start so we headed across the bay to the party. We had a good time and there were a lot of people there we knew. They made pizza dough so everyone could make one or more individual pizzas. They put out several toppings and cheese and had people line up to receive the dough with pizza sauce and move along the table choosing what you wanted to put on it. Rainy and Dennis made a brick oven in their front yard for cooking pizzas and they enjoy having pizza parties from time to time. It was a fun party and we said our goodbyes and got in the jeep to leave but when Dave turned over the key it didn’t sound too good. The jeep did start but we were worried about getting all the way home. The play we were at is across the bay from where our house is and you have to drive through the dessert and it was pitch black out. We did manage to follow our landlords across the desert so that was good and hoped we didn’t have to stop along the way!! We made it home safely and the next day Dave found a dead battery. Well all I have to say is thank goodness we were able to make it home from Washington State, Santa Rosalia (where the boat is) and Rincon (where the party was) without a problem. Now we have to get a new battery. If we buy one in town here they usually don’t last longer than a year. We do have an option as we have neighbors coming down in a few days so we asked if they could bring us a Costco battery. We gave them the information and they said they could do that. We will pay them when they get here. It is better to do it this way than to have to buy another battery later.

We have our battery and the jeep is back up and running!!!! Speaking of running, I had to go into town for groceries and gas. My normal Saturday morning ride into town. I drive the beater truck and it has been good so far but we baby it to make it last as long as possible. That is our Baja vehicle. We don’t drive the jeep around here as the road is terrible and hard on the suspension and tires. Anyway---I was almost to town when the truck started to slow and I had no power. Uh Oh!!!! Now what. I filled the tank 2 weeks ago so it couldn’t be that I’m out of gas!!!! I had the VHF radio with me so I called Dave and our first thoughts were of someone siphoning the gas out of the tank. Well that couldn’t happen as it has a lock on the gas cap. Well next we thought of the fuel pump. My good friend, Penny heard me call Dave, and asked if everything was alright and I told her no. She sent her husband Murrey to bring gas and check things out. Well to make this long story short-----the fuel pump was fine and I WAS out of gas!!!! I guess when I filled up 2 weeks prior, I filled a gas can first and then the truck tank and heard it gurgle like it was going to spill out so I shut it off and figured the tank was full. Well it wasn’t!!!! Once Murrey put some gas in the truck and the fuel lines were full, the truck started and ran and he followed me to the gas station. Yep!!!! It was empty!!! I thanked Murrey and called Penny to tell her all was good and I would have them over for dinner as payment. I got my groceries and headed for home. I was really relieved it was just a gas problem and not anything mechanical. All is good now!!! We found out that we probably won’t get the fuel tank fixed so it will show us how much or little the tank has in it as we think the wires that go to the sensor were disconnected and won’t be able to be fixed. So now we are back to writing our treks to town on the calendar and fill up on the 3rd trip. There is a reason they call it a Baja car!!! Ha!!

Happy Anniversary to Jonathan and Susannah Adcock on their first year of marriage!!!! May they always be happy! October 27, 20013.

The neighborhood is starting to fill up. Tom and Lynn were able to bring my medication down from the states which I am grateful for. Most of the neighbors are coming down for a community meeting with our new land lease owner. That will happen on November 15.

The weather has continued to be warm which is unbelievable as last year mid October the switch was flipped and we had wind and it was cool. We are still in the 80’s. Loving it!!! There was one night it did get cool enough for me to put slipper socks on and flannels. But that didn’t last long.

Since the weather has cooled a bit we are seeing more spiders and bugs come into the house. Our screen doors on the sliding glass doors need replacing and the bugs get in around and under the door. Anyway--one night we saw a pretty good size spider on the wall by our bed so we killed it. It was a hairy guy. A couple years ago we had a similar one and he was huge!!! We thought we wouldn’t see another one for a while but low and behold a day or two I was heading out the door going to play Train when I opened the screen and inside the door jam was this hairy spider like what we saw the other day. I had to leave since it is a 45 minute drive to town so I asked Dave to take care of him but to save it. I want to find out what kind of spider it is and if it is dangerous. It looks like it could do some harm. So Dave sprayed it and when I got home from Train I found it on the counter in a zip lock bag. I got my magnifying glass out and took a good look at it and discovered it had 8 eyes. A row of 4 and another one row of 4 above those. So I started searching the internet trying to find this spider and I did. It is called a Hunter spider. It is found in warm climates and eats bugs. It can grow as large as a tarantula and they could cause some discomfort if bitten. They are called a Hunter as they have the tendency to move in all directions to get to their pray. Their legs are higher than the body which resembles the tarantula . So now I know what it is. I threw it away and then later when it was gone thought that I should have taken a picture of it. But if you want to see it just search Hunter spider and you will find it. It was kind of interesting!! I guess they get really big in Australia.

Happy Halloween and Birthday to Dave!!!! We are going to a party and I am dressing as a Pixie. Dave is whatever anybody thinks he is. He wore his white pirate shirt, black jeans and a black belt. We don’t have much in the way of costumes. I borrowed the wings and developed my character from that. Anyway it was a great party and we had good food and fun!!!

Remnants of Vacation Then Bahia Bound

We started the day with a potluck breakfast and all kinds of good eats were enjoyed. After breakfast we went off to the farmers market to see what goodies they had. As usual there were the vegetables, fruit, food booths, ice cream, pastry and all that but what I wanted to see were the craft booths. There were a lot of really nice crafts but nothing I couldn’t live without. Last year we didn’t have much for breakfast so we were hungry for lunch. We ate this morning around 10:00am and were stuffed so we didn’t have anything even ice cream!!!! What a shame!! Oh well. We walked back to the boat and spent the rest of the day just chillin. We joked about going up the slew again in the dinghy but somehow no one wanted a repeat of last year when we all got soaked!!!! The people who hosted the weekend from the yacht club tried to get a ferry ride trip to Hat Island which is directly across from the Everett Marina, but they have stopped their free shuttle going and coming for the year so we didn’t go. We could have gone in the dinghy but Ron was backed into the slip and it would have been pretty hard to get the dinghy in the water.

We all went to the Scuttlebutt restaurant for dinner Sunday night. They fit us all in the back room which was great. There were about 17 people who went to dinner. Not everyone wanted to eat out. We had an awesome waitress so I hope everyone tipped her well. She was fun. After dinner there was movie night on the party dock. The movie was shown on the white cloth hooked to the host boat and we watched the movie ‘Mud’ with one of my favorite actors, Mathew McConnahey. The host served kettle corn and we brought what we wanted to drink with us. It was a fun night! Tomorrow the majority of us leave to come back to Brownsville.

The next morning we said our goodbyes to all and thanked our host for a great weekend and headed for home. A couple of boats from the yacht club stayed another day and one of them was heading north for their vacation. The weather was good and the water smooth.

Noreen is back to work, darn, and Dave and Ron are back to getting things attached and secured for the heater. Dave is almost at the end. Matter of fact he hopes to be completely done by Monday the 9th. That will be a great relief as he has been the one to crawl around in the tight spots and get all the wires and hoses run and hooked up. Whew!!!! Poor guys had to be a pretzel working long hours and only breaking for breakfast, and lunch. Sometimes he would skip lunch as he was so busy with stuff. He would always be done before Noreen got home and things were put back together.

Our plan is to leave here at the end of the week and be on the road heading south around the 13th or 14th. Unfortunately we will miss Carolyn and J.T.’s son (Christian) graduation from art school which is Sunday the 15th. We have to get home as hurricanes are revving up south of Cabo San Lucas and this is the time of year they have a habit of turning right instead of left and going out to sea. So we need to be back to Bahia and close to the boat so if a hurricane does move up the Sea of Cortez we will be there to secure everything and get the lines tied to the pilings instead of the dock. We have only been through a drill for a hurricane and thank goodness nothing happened, but weather is a strange phenomena and does whatever it wants and we have no control over it so we need to be prepared.

On Sunday the 8th Noreen made crab bisque on the dock. It is her older sisters’ recipe and they have done the party on the dock to celebrate then end of crabbing season and summer. A lot of people were there. Noreen had her some of her family there, lots of people that we know from the yacht club and those who live on their boats came to celebrate with us. Here is the progression on how it was made. The rue is the base of the bisque and that is made from boiling the crab shells. Fleeta, Ron and Noreen’s neighbor did that and added vegetables then froze it until we were ready to make the bisque. This is a cajun family recipe. Sunday afternoon a big stainless steel pot was put on a propane burner and the rue was add to the pot. It was heated and then that is where many hands got involved stirring and adding ingredients. Some of the ingredients I can remember going in it was old bay seasoning, lemon, sherry, crab of course, lots of butter and heavy cream. Here are some of the pictures of the progression and ingredients.




Once it was cooked, we ate and it was marvelous!!!! Very, very flavorful. There was lots of food so no one went hungry. Everyone brought a side dish and what they wanted to drink. It was a lot of fun and a wonderful way to end the summer. We have missed it for the last 4 years because of always having to go home around the first of September, but because of Dave putting in the furnace we are here longer.

We thought we would be able to leave Monday or Tuesday but there is still more work for Dave to do on the furnace. So we are pushing for either Thursday or Friday.

It seems just when Dave thinks he is going to be finished with the furnace something happens and parts are needed or troubleshooting done. In the meantime I am getting most of the items on my wish list, watching spending as we are getting low in the checking account. We’ve had to get all new tires for the jeep, new zippers for the mesh enclosure for the boat and a new bimini. That cost more than we thought it was going to. So it is only money right???? Easy come, easy go???? So we are watching the amount we spend. Once I have the important stuff on my list bought, I bide my time starting another afghan, this time for E.J. He picked his colors and it will take me a year working on it off and on. I am still working on the dragon cross stitch as well. I am trying to keep up my exercises and walking routine.

Went and saw the doctor for a physical and all is well. Got my shingles vaccination and all I need now is a colonoscopy. He put in the referral and I just have to wait and see when it can be done. Well unfortunately I’m not getting it done this summer as they can’t get me in until the middle of the month. That is just for the office visit. Then an appointment for the colonoscopy a week or two later. Just not going to happen this year. I told the doctor I would get it done next year. I am up to date on all my medical stuff so that will be the only thing to have done when I come back to the states.

Dave has informed me we will be leaving on Tuesday the 17th which means we WILL be here for Christians’ celebration. So I started walking the beach looking for rocks and shells to make his signature character. It was on his invitation and it was the first character he made in art school. I found some rocks and shells and rinsed them, let them dry and started gluing the character together. Unfortunately the weather has cooled and is damp so the glue isn’t setting hard. Bummer. I worked on the face first and made the eyes from barnacles and stuffed them with the tips of ear plugs. Then cut the tip of a beaded sewing pin and glued it on the ear plugs. I took a barnacle and broke it so I had two pieces for the front teeth. Once those were glued I took the cotton tip off a Q-tip and spread it underneath the teeth for the rest of the teeth and glued that. I used the plastic ring that is left on the water bottle after the cap is removed as the mouth. Then I glued 2 muscle shells onto a rock to use as his feet. Then I used an oval rock for the body and shells for the arms and hands. Anyway---I thought I was all done and brought it down inside the boat and set it up and was letting it dry thoroughly before I did the final sealant spray. No one touched it and it fell over and broke!!!!! That was on Friday the 13th and I needed it done by Sunday!!!! I was very discouraged but decided I would figure out a better way to make it. The head was good but unfortunately the body was too big and with the head, to top heavy. So back to the drawing board. The next day I walked the beach again in search of different items and brought them back to make another body. It ended up being shorter but it worked. I sprayed the sealant on it and it was finished!!!! That will be Christian’s gift from us.




Christian’s celebration party was a success and there were a lot of family and friends to help him celebrate. Unfortunately the weather didn’t co-operate and it thunder and lightning most of the afternoon. Dave and Ron showed up at the start but then went back to the boat to work on the furnace. Dave needs to get that furnace running. There was lots of food and drink and Christian had bought cigars for me, Dave, Ron, his mom, dad and brother to smoke in celebration. Unfortunately I had to take Ron and Dave’s to them as they never came back up. I think Christian was glad at least one of us was there to have the celebratory smoke with him!!! It was a great day for him and we are very proud of him and know he will go far and make a name for himself!!! Awesome!!

Monday, while Dave was doing the last bit of tinkering on the furnace, I took all the clothes and stuff I needed to pack in the large suitcase, to storage where it was and packed. I was able to get most of the stuff I bought in the suitcase so now Dave won’t get stressed out about where to put it. We had 2 duffle bags with the screens and bimini for the boat to go in the jeep so there wasn’t a lot of room with those and our 2 large suitcases. We took the large suitcases because we packed bulky clothes and shoes and such for NW weather in case it was cold. Then we had our overnight bags with smaller amount of travel clothes and toiletries. It was a very successful day as Dave got the furnace running. Yippee!!!!! He did it!!! Ron was a happy camper. Now the boat will get warm and be much dryer. It’s amazing how damp a boat gets when it’s been damp outside.

Now we can concentrate on packing and loading up the car. The last of the packing was done and we loaded it all in the back of the jeep and then said our goodbyes to Ron. We had already given Noreen hugs before bedtime last night. So now we are on our way to McMinnville, Oregon to see my niece, Sandi. I haven’t seen her in a long time. It will be good to see her and catch up.

We arrived at Sandi’s Wednesday afternoon. The weather was cloudy and it did sprinkle a little but otherwise it was good. Andy was at work so Sandi and us had a good time visiting. She looks really good and she is taking good care of herself. We are only staying overnight. Need to move on to Brookings to see the people who are interested in buying our boat.

When Andy got home from work, we sat and talked and Sandi made dinner and then afterwards we watched NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles which is 2 of our favorite shows as well. Sandi fixed us popcorn for desert. Then it was time for bed. Andy will be gone in the morning, but Sandi will be there when we get up.

I am very proud of Sandi. She has come a long way and I think she is finally figuring things out. Sometimes it takes us a while but we eventually get there. As we were getting our things together, the horse shoeing man came and was putting new shoes on Sandi’s horses. She has 2 very pretty ones. We said our goodbyes and vowed to see each other again next year. Maybe we will be able to stay a little longer. We left and got to Kristi and Roberts house in Brookings, Oregon around 5:00pm. We had a cocktail and snacks then we went to dinner. They took us to a great little place that serves martini’s and other different mixed drinks and good food. We had a good visit and they are great people. One thing they hated to tell us was the sale of one of their homes fell through so they can’t purchase our boat yet. We kind of figured something like that because Dave had talked to Robert earlier. No worries. Of course both Robert and Kristi and us are disappointed, but Robert and Kristi haven’t given up yet. They have to have the house they want to sell appraised and then put it back on the market. The price on the house was too high and for some reason the appraisal never got finished which caused the house to be listed too high. so now maybe they will be able to list the house at a lower price and it will sell. You never know how things are going to go in the housing and boat selling business. I think Robert and Kristi will remain our friends and we will be able to see them from time to time. They share a house in Loreto, Baja California Sur with Roberts brother. That is south from where we live and they come down around this time of year to stay for a while. So we are back to square one again with the boat, but like I believe, the time isn’t right yet. God will lead us and it will be great!!!! I have learned from experience!!! I don’t know what is best for us but He does!
We stayed overnight at Robert and Kristi’s and then we hit the road again. This time we are stopping to see my sister in Ukiah, CA. It too will be a short visit, as we need to be in Santa Rosalia, the first of October to pay moorage and also we will be closer to the boat in case a hurricane develops. There was one that came up the Sea of Cortez not too long ago, but it didn’t come as far north as Santa Rosalia. It crossed over to the mainland and wrecked havoc there. So far so good.

We had a good visit with my sister and Hig. It was very good to see them. They took us to Applebee’s for dinner then went back to the house and I checked email and Dave played pool with Hig. We didn’t get a chance to see Larry and Sheila as it was their anniversary and they had plans. It’s hard to see everyone on such a short visit. Next time!

When we left my sister’s, Dave drove for hours trying to get to Lois and Larry’s (our Mexico house landlords), but there was so much traffic (and this was a Saturday) we didn’t make it. We made it to the hotel at 6:00pm. It had been a long day. Lois and Larry had plans that evening so we couldn’t get together with them. We will see them in Bahia when they come down.

Because Dave was so tired from driving and me from sitting in the car for hours, I suggested we stay an extra day and go to Costco (which is across the street from the hotel) in the morning and that way we wouldn’t need to stop in Ensenada. Or so I thought. The next morning we took our time getting up and eventually walked to Costco and picked up a few things and went back to the hotel. We checked emails and I used the exercise equipment, came back, took a shower then went and sat outside by the pool. It was a very nice and warm day and it felt good. Not too hot or cold!!! When I returned to the room Dave was watching football. I watched a little with him and then I looked up on line where the nearest Walmart was. We found that it was within walking distance of the hotel so Dave and I walked about 3 or 4 city blocks to a shopping plaza where we found the Walmart. We looked around and decided we would wait and stop in Ensenada at the T.V.s but decided to wait and see if we could get a better deal somewhere else. Right now we are borrowing an old big T.V. from a friend in Bahia and we’ve been wanting to buy a more economical one so it won’t use so much power. But not yet. We walked back to the hotel and waited a bit before going to dinner. When we got back from dinner and came back to watch T.V.; then went to bed. We have to get an early start in the morning as we are crossing the boarder at Tecate. We don’t like crossing at Tijuana. The weather was sunny and comfortable so it was an enjoyable ride. The drive from Tecate to Ensenada is a beautiful one as it goes through the vineyards and farmland. It is very green and enjoyable. We got to Ensenada and decided to stop at Walmart where I got what I needed and then went to Costco, which is across the street to see if I could get tuna in the foil packets. They had them so a I got 2 boxes of them. There is 8 packets in each box. That will last me a while until we come back in November. We were hoping we could make it home tonight, but by the time we shopped and got something to eat, it was early afternoon and we wouldn’t have gotten home until about 6 or 7 that evening. So we decided to stay at one of our favorite places in San Quintin named ‘Jardines’!!! The name means garden and it truly is. They grow their own citrus and all kinds of plants. Little birds are chirping everywhere and it is just a relaxing place to be. The restaurant isn’t open on Mondays so we tried one not far from the hotel named ‘The Mill’. It was a really interesting place. Apparently a mill use to be there and it had all the memorabilia from those days. The dinner was good and we had a great time. Back at the hotel we watched a movie and around 10:00pm called it a night. We both were very tired.

We are on the road again and heading home. We should be at the house around 1 or 2. It will be good to sleep in our own bed and not have to ride in the jeep for a while. However, we do have to leave for Santa Rosalia on the 30th. But a few days in between will be nice. In a couple days we were unpacked and things were back to normal. I then started cleaning the art room as it is a total disaster!! It will take me a while to get all the shells and rocks and stuff organized and put away but when I am done it will be wonderful.

Today is the 30th of September and we are heading south to Santa Rosalia. We will be putting on the new side curtains and bimini. That will be great.

When we arrived the weather was warm but not hot and there was a nice breeze blowing. It had been in the 90’s in Bahia and usually Santa Rosalia is hotter. Maybe the weather is starting to cool. Before leaving Bahia I was not feeling too well. I was feeling as though I was getting a bladder infection. I was drinking lots of fluids but couldn’t get rid of the nagging ache and discomfort. Since we were going to Santa Rosalia I would ask Isabel, who manages the marina, if there is an English speaking doctor in town and get this taken care of. Somehow I doubt there is but I’m going to try. My Spanish is not developed enough to have a conversation with a doctor let alone anyone else!!!! Ha!!! I wish I had learned when I was young. Learning as an adult is much more difficult! I thought we would relax tonight and start working on the boat tomorrow, but Dave wanted to put the bimini on. He rinsed down the stainless steel and I dried it off. Then we both took stainless steel cleaner and went over the stainless steel to remove imbedded rust and dirt, and then the bimini went on. It looks nice!!! Poor old one had seen it’s better days and we were keeping it together with sail tape!!! Tomorrow the side curtains go on.

I spoke to Isabel about seeing an English speaking doctor and she said there is a doctor in town that knows a little English and she refers boaters who need medical attention to him. It is the same doctor I went to 3 or 4 years ago when I had a bladder and kidney infection. I was glad to be going back to him as he was very nice. At that time we were still cruising and we were getting ready to head south to La Paz. The marina manager, Carlos, at that time, sent his wife with me to interpret what the doctor said. Isabel said she would call the doctors office in the morning and see if she can get an appointment. It was late in the afternoon and she was getting ready to go home. She gets in at 9:00am so I will see her then.