SOLD!!!!!

I realized I sent the same pictures of the turtles and the trophies in the April blog as I did in March so I apologize for that. I made some personalized Christmas ornaments for our grandsons for Christmas. Here they are.




Well here it is May and new adventures to be had. We are waiting to hear from the prospective buyer of our boat as he and his wife are to return from their vacation on May 5th.

Happy 17th birthday to our grandson Eian. Wow!!!! Just to think he will be graduating next year and then on his own!!!! Another birthday celebration on the 9th for my stepson, Michael!!!! He turned 45!! It is a shame they are getting older and we are getting younger!!!!! Heheheheheh!!!

We finally heard from the prospective buyer. He said he was planning on flying down to La Paz on the 11th. So this means he is serious about the boat. He has already signed papers so now we have to go to La Paz to figure out after Barritt (prospective buyer) wants to do about the boat. That won’t happen until sea trials which will be on the 12th. So it looks like Wave Sweeper is in the process to be sold. Yay!!!! But I still can’t get excited because you never know what is going to happen.

We attended a Cinco de Mayo party and had a great time. I played bocce ball and ended up playing for the win in the tournament. Unfortunately my partner and I came in second, but we gave them a run for their money!!!! Good food, great games and people. Next year I want to play corn hole!!! If you don’t know what that is it is throwing bean bags into a wooden structure with a hole in it. It has been around for years!!! My sons and grandsons play it that is how I know about it. I’m not the greatest but I have fun!!

It is the 7th and we are on our way to Loreto for the night then in La Paz on Sunday for Mother’s Day. We needed to come down ahead of the buyer to fix the forward head and make sure all systems are working. It is such a long drive from Bahia to Loreto. It takes us 7 hours and we are tired when we arrive. Our good friends that have a home there are away so we will stay in our favorite hotel, Angra, for the night. I don’t know why I was so sleepy on the way down but it was hard for me to stay awake. I will sleep well I think tonight. After arriving at the hotel, we checked emails and rested. Then we walked up the street to get dinner. Our favorite stand was open and I had a super burro. Nummmm!!!! Then back to the hotel to relax, watch some T.V. then go to bed. We don’t have a long drive tomorrow which is nice.

After waking this morning, we went to breakfast, packed up the truck, turned in our key and remote controls for the air conditioner and T.V. and headed across the street for gas. Then we were off to La Paz. About 3-4 hours later we arrived at the boat. We wanted to stop and check her out before going to a hotel. We decided that since we might have a buyer we didn’t want to stay on the boat and mess it up. So once we checked the boat out, we went down to see our broker and his wife, who have become very good friends. They live on their boat in the same marina. We had a great little visit and they invited us to dinner on their boat. All we had to do is pick up steaks for us and a bottle of wine and asparagus before coming back. We said goodbye and headed to our favorite hotel Casa Buena, in La Paz. We checked in and got settled then later on left to stop at the store to get what we needed for dinner and arrived at Tommy and Susie’s boat. Tommy BBQ’d the steaks and Susie cooked the asparagus, mushrooms, and made a salad. We had a wonderful dinner and great time with them. We will be getting together pretty much every day while we are in La Paz. I had a great Mother’s Day not only being able to spend it with good friends but both my sons wished me a great day!!!!! As long as I get that I am happy!

Today we went down to the boat where Dave proceeded to work on the head. He replaced the duck bills, and seals. When he got it put together it worked better but we were still losing pressure from the bowl. The water would drain out and the pump wouldn’t stop. So Dave was frustrated. While he worked I played solitaire and helped him when I could. It was a very long and hot day and it didn’t help that after all the new parts it still didn’t work. It was getting late so we needed to stop and go back to the hotel and then contact Tom and Sue as to the plans for the night. Dave needed to take a shower anyway. We stopped at OXXO (that is a convenient store in Mexico) for a large Gatorade as we were very thirsty and hot. Dave called Tom to see what the plan was and they were on their way back to their boat. So we told them we were heading to the hotel so he could shower but Tom had a meeting at 6:00pm that night so whatever plans we had went out the window. So we went back down to the marina and waited for them there. We visited with them for a short time then Tom left for his meeting and we went to the hotel. After Dave took a shower we discussed what we were going to do about dinner and neither one of us really want to go anywhere, so we went to the grocery store and picked something up and came back to the hotel and ate dinner. Then we relaxed for the rest of the night.

Back to the boat today. Dave is going to try and take off the toilet bowl and change the seals there and see if it does any good. Well it did as it is holding pressure but the pump isn’t shutting off. This was a puzzle for Dave and he figured that was all that could be done. So we left the boat and for whatever reason Dave looked up on top of the traveler and noticed the line was looking funny. It was frayed. With closer inspection he found it had broke. So now we have to get a new line to replace the old one. 14 years in the sun finally did its job. It is a good thing Dave noticed it. It would have not been good when they went out on sea trials.

Barritt arrived today, the 11th and will meet Dave at the boat in the afternoon. I am not going with them as I am going to get some exercise and walk to the department store a few blocks away. All I wanted to do was snoop and get an idea of what I want to buy and the cost. Dave was gone all afternoon. After I got back from my walk I did some blog work and got the April blog posted. Then I took a shower and after that went and sat in the shade and read my book and also watched Susu and her son, Arthur, enjoy the pool. It is therapy for Arthur as it helps strengthen his muscles. He is disabled mentally and physically but what a cute guy and he has made amazing progress since the last time I saw him. He is 7 now. Dave finally got back from meeting with Barritt and he said it went really well. Dave gave him all the reading material we had on the boat so he could get started learning about the systems on the boat. We decided to go to dinner at Banditos so we walked there and found it was closed. It was Wednesday and we forgot. So we had to think of another place not far away from there so we walked down to where the broker office is and across from that is a restaurant called The Dock Cafe. So we ate there. As we were waiting for our dinners, we got a call from our grandson, E.J. who is in the Air Force. He told me of when he was graduating and coming to Seattle. He wanted to surprise his step mom, Brooke and his Dad so he didn’t want them to know he was graduating 4 days earlier than he had told them. It was good to hear his voice and we just let him know to let us know when he was going to be there. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and Dave thought it would be fun if we could pick E.J. up at the airport and arrive at his Dad and Brooke’s house to surprise them. I wrote to E.J. the next day and told him what his grandpa has thought and he replied he liked that idea. Well that plan changed when I found out that Brooke and family will be on vacation from June 25 until July 4. Oops. So I wrote E.J. back and told him about that and said he would have to tell them when he was arriving. So no surprises!!! We are letting him decide what he wants to do. He can fly to Seattle or Las Vegas where the family would pick him up on their way home. If he decides to go to Seattle we will pick him up at the airport and bring him to the house. We can stay there for a while until we figure out where else we can lay our head. Brooke did ask us to stay the week in July when she has Cheer camp and we told her yes. A whole week with the little guy!!!! Whoohoo!!! So we will wait to hear what E.J. wants to do before we make plans to leave Bahia. It is all good.

We went to Lopez Marine store and got the line for the traveler but we need to get it spliced so we went to see Tom at La Paz Yacht office and asked them to get a hold of one of the workers to do that job. He couldn’t do it until the next day but that would be alright as long as it gets on the boat before the sea trial!!!

Sea trial day is today, Thursday, 12th. Tom, Dave and Barritt will do the sea trial and I will hang with Susie and watch a chick flick. Well change of plans. Yesterday, the 11th, Sue was playing cards and got really sick. We had seen here earlier and she didn’t feel good and had dry heaves. But then after that she said she was fine. So she played cards and ended up getting really sick to where Tom had to take her to the hospital She was kept overnight for observation. She wasn’t going to be released until around 4:00pm on Thursday so there won’t be a girls’ day. So while the guys did the sea trial I walked to the Pharmacy, fabric store and 2 grocery stores. I got my exercise today!!! When I got back I took a shower and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon waiting for Dave to get back and tell me how it all went. I had just laid down for a rest when Dave came home and he had Barritt with him. Dave introduced me to him and he said he was the new owner of Wave Sweeper. But he isn’t keeping the name. He will change it to Serendipity II. They have a 44 foot boat in San Diego they live on named Serendipity so Wave Sweeper will be no more. We will keep our call sign in Bahia as ‘Wave Sweeper’ as there won’t be a boat around with that name. We can guarantee it!!!! It is very unusual. So the boat has finally sold. Of course we are still not getting real excited yet as you know how things can go. But it looks really good and Barritt and his wife are very excited to get the boat so they can cruise Mexico and have a boat in La Paz and one in San Diego. Barritt actually is a nice guy but was very frustrated when he tried to get our boat and lost it. But it all worked out so we are all happy.

Today is Friday and Barritt is flying back to San Diego and we are heading back to Loreto then home. We need to have a paper notarized so we went to the broker and waited for him to come into the office, then Barritt showed up and had a couple questions for Dave and we talked of some other boat things. He said his wife is very excited to get down and start making new curtains and to make it their own!!!! When Tom got into the office he had papers printed out for us to sign and then he was trying to get in to see the notary but the one office they do business with had no notary person until Monday. Not good for us. We need to be in Bahia Monday to celebrate our good friend Phil’s 77 year birthday. So Tom tried another notary, they charge more but they could do it so off we went. It was done in about 30 minutes. Susie is home from the hospital but directed to stay in bed and drink only fluids and eat soft food. They don’t know what is wrong with her and she is supposed to go back on Monday for more tests and x-rays. After we left the notary, we came back to the brokerage office and Tom called Susie and told her we were going to come by and say goodbye and get hugs. We said goodbye to Tom and we can now say that the boat is under a new owner. They have decided to leave the boat there in Fonatur Marina and hire the same guys to wash and dive the boat when they aren’t using her. So we are very happy about that!!!!! What a relief!!!! We had to settle our electric and water bill with the marina and that will be the last we see of them. We have no desire to keep a boat (big) in Mexico. We want to get a small fishing boat that not only will be used to fishing but visiting the islands and exploring and enjoying the sea life. But that won’t be for a while. We have to build up the ole bank account first. As far as the boat goes it has changed ownership but it isn’t official yet until the Title company and insurance are all taken care of. So we are looking at the time frame for it to close and all things taken care of, another week. So we aren’t celebrating yet.

Phil had his birthday party at a restaurant in town and about 38 people showed. Phil and Creela were happy and having a great time. They were able to get here and enjoy this time in Bahia. Phil still has speech problems and his muscles are weak and he has a little limp, but he has made an amazing recovery from his major stroke. This trip was a trial run to see how he did. They had to cut their trip short though because one of their dogs is deaf and doesn’t hear the command to come back from chasing a coyote. So they decided to go back home to San Diego. Next trip he should be stronger and hopefully they will have a shock collar for Taco so she will know when to come back. It was so good to see them and I met Creela’s granddaughter and Phil’s cousin. Nice people and very helpful to Phil.

Well today, the 19th is the day we signed the closing papers. Tomorrow it should be a done deal and we can finally breathe a sigh of relief!!!!!! It has been such a long 6 years with its trials and tribulations and if it hadn’t been for my faith in God I wouldn’t have done so well. I knew deep inside the boat would sell and was disappointed when it took so long, but God has a plan for all of us and it always works out better than I could imagine, but it takes patience (which I lack sometimes) and the willing to just let go. There is always hope.
Today being the 20th is a day to celebrate as the boat is finally out of our hands and into the new owners. May they have as much fun with her as we did. They were meant to have the boat at they are very particular about maintenance and how things work and all that a careful owner would be. They have sailed many places in the world on their 44 foot boat so they aren’t new to the cruising world. Our boat needed an expert sailor and God found the perfect couple!!!!! Thank you, thank you!!!!! So now a new Adventure begins------this time without Wave Sweeper!!!!! I have started another blog for the next adventure on land and it will be available soon. To read that one you need to go to www.lifewithoutwavesweeper.blogspot.com.

I am finishing out this month and then there will be no more posts to this blog.

Happy Birthday to our daughter-in-law, Brooke. Hope she has a wonderful year and day!!!!

Today, the 24th is our 25th wedding anniversary!!!!! It sure doesn’t seem we have been married that long!!!! Wow!!!! We have had our trials and tribulations but it has been a really good time and I am looking forward to many more years with this man!!!! He is the love of my life and soul mate and best friend. We are enjoying our life and have so much more to look forward to. I am excited for the future.

Here it is----the end of May!!!! The boat has SOLD, Dave and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and we are stress free!!!!! It feels so good. Today, the 31 is our gate guards 31 year birthday. He is celebrating with family today and we in the neighborhood will celebrate his day tomorrow with Pizza and cake. Fun, fun!!!!

Thank you all who have been reading this blog and following our life with the adventures, frustrations and fun times. Don’t forget that this is the end of the Wave Sweeper blog and onto the new life without Wave Sweeper. Come join me on our new ride through life!!!! I won’t be posting anything on the new blog until the end of June, just so you know. Thank you and enjoy every day as they are all a gift!!!!! Quote taken from a good friend battling cancer.

Never Give Up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


Every day is a gift, enjoy it to the fullest!!! Spoken from a close friend fighting cancer!!!!

So Close

So far it has been an interesting month. First our grandson, E.J., who is in tech school in the Air Force, turned 19 on the 2nd. So far he is doing well.

I had a dentist appointment in Guerrero Negro on the 2nd and we made a day of it. I am having a mouth guard made for my teeth since I grind them at night, and I found out he can get it done all in one day. We had our gate guard Tito and his wife Brenda come with us as they needed to go to the bank also. We took off at 6:30am and went to the bank for us first, and then I went to the dentist while Dave took Tito to his sister’s house so he could get the ATM card to get money. When they were done I met them outside and told Dave we needed to come back around 2:00pm to pick up the mouth guard. So we went to the hardware store and stopped at a clothing store so Brenda could pick up a couple things. While Brenda was shopping and I was snooping, Dave went across the street to talk to the guy we bought the washing machine motor from. We found out it is a 3 speed and we don’t know if it will work in our machine. He said it should work so then we went to lunch and after that it was time to return to the dentist office. The mouth guard was ready and I had already paid so now we could head home. It was fun having Tito and Brenda with us. We are trying to understand each other and sometimes it is a hoot!!!! We got home around 3:00pm.

I have been coughing a lot lately and always have a tickle in my throat so I started taking Emergen-C again and some sinus medicine. I think it is just post nasal drip but people are still sick here so the colds and coughs are still around. I have started to be concerned a little due that the cough wasn’t going away and I was waking up coughing in the middle of the night. I was going to stop at the clinic when I went into town on Saturday but that never happened.

There is a man who is interested in the boat. He didn’t want to see it until he was back from a Whale Tour trip in March. The broker and he had been emailing back and forth asking and answering questions. He flew from San Diego into Tijuana and then came down to La Paz to look at the boat. He liked it so with further discussion between him and the broker he made an offer. It was a really low offer so we countered and agreed on a price. The price for the boat is at $155,000.00 and the guy couldn’t pay any more than $142,000.00. So now we just have to wait for the guy to sign the papers and send them back to our broker. A few days went by and we never heard anything so we figured he didn’t sign the papers. In the meantime a man from Puerto Vallarta walked into the office asking about boats and our broker said he had a sailboat to show him. So they went down to our boat and he liked it so much he made an offer of $150,000.00 on the spot. We said “let’s do it” and that afternoon we had papers sent to us to sign and return, which we did. The guy wanted to come down for a sea trial on Friday which meant we would have to leave the next day to get there on Thursday so we could check out the boat and work the sails and make sure there weren’t any snaffoos. So I started packing and the next morning we were headed for Loreto. In the meantime the broker called the other guy to tell him the boat was off the market for now and this guy went linear!!!! He said he had sent the signed papers but what happened was he had someone else send it and the office was closed and they wouldn’t be in again until Monday but it went to the brokers spam folder. Well to tell you the truth we are so happy we don’t have to deal with this guy. We think we know him and all the cruisers said he was an asshole and this is very true. He was so mad he told our broker that if they were in the states he would sue them and he would bad mouth to everyone what dishonest people La Paz Yachts were and all that nonsense. With his offer he had a list of things he wanted met which seemed a little over the top. I truly believe it was meant to work like it is!!! The guy that seems to be buying the boat lives in Puerto Vallarta and is an Aussie named Robbie and comes highly recommended by the big La Paz Yacht/Mazatlan boss who runs both places. Apparently Robbie buys boats from all over and then turns around and sells them either into charter programs or something else. I really don’t care just as long as we sell it. Ha!

We arrived in La Paz on Thursday and started going over things on the boat. Our broker came down to talk with us and he ended up helping us raise the main sail. It got stuck. We took it down and worked with it for about an hour or so and then finally got it free so we could raise it up the mast. It worked and it looks good. So we know that the headsail and mainsail are good. In the meantime the broker got a call from Robbie saying he was on his way to La Paz when his friends’ car broke down. So he won’t make it for sea trials until Monday. Well it just gives us time to figure out what is wrong with the forward head and fix it. So things are looking up and we will find out on Monday whether the boat is sold or not. I have a good feeling about all this!!!!! Yay!!

Dave has been working on the head and changed out the seals and it is still losing water and won’t pressure up. He is at a loss at what the problem is. Our broker had some extra seals on board his boat for his vacu-flush head so we switched out ours and put his in and it still wasn’t fixing the problem. Water was running out this time. Dave being at a loss, decided to put the old seals back in and rework and tighten everything up and it holds water now but the pump doesn’t shut off on its own. We think a new pressure switch needs to be put in. But we can’t do anything about it now. The head still works we just have to manually shut it off after water gets in the bowl. Oh well.

Dave walked up the dock to the broker’s boat to ask him about the vacu-flush and he took his rum and coke with him and I stayed behind getting dinner ready. Well after a while I had to go get him. When I arrived at their boat with drink in hand they invited me aboard. We had a great visit and then I told Dave we needed to get home. So we went back to our boat for dinner.

Here it is Saturday and so I needed to do laundry. I had clothes and sheets from the house I brought down so I did 2 loads of wash. Dave had gone through the clothes he had on the boat and found about 4 shirts that don’t fit him anymore (too big) so I said maybe Tom could wear them or he would know who to give them to. So we walked up the dock and wrapped on the boat and Tom sticks his head up and says he is changing the oil in his engine and almost through so we told him about the shirts and he said he couldn’t wear them but he would find someone who could. So we were invited to come back for happy hour at about 3:30pm. You know it is Happy Hour at 5:00 o’clock somewhere!!!!! So we gave him time to finish his job and then joined him but get this-----he started without us!!!! We laughed. We had a nice visit with Tom but his wife was in town playing cards and then was going out to dinner with some friends and Tom was to join them. I had 2 margaritas and wasn’t going to have another one when I thought----heck----why not!!!!! Well I found out why not!!! Let’s just say I am a lightweight and should know better!!!! Tom had to leave so we went back to our boat and BBQ’d pork chops. Dave had more to drink than he should have too so we were moving a little slow. I had planned on having wine with dinner but that didn’t happen!!!! We drank lots of water and were fine by the time we went to bed so all was well.

Sunday the marina café wasn’t open so we didn’t have any coffee. We didn’t want to go anywhere so we skipped coffee. No big deal but we both like our coffee in the morning. We didn’t want to bring a bunch of stuff to the boat knowing we had to get more of our stuff off. I suggested getting instant coffee but that wasn’t happening!!!! So last night I called Sue (Tom’s wife) and asked if we could bum some coffee from them in the morning and she said sure. They both had to leave at 9:00am but we told them that wasn’t a problem.

We showed up at their boat at about 8:00am and the hatches were closed and we thought they had already left. So I knocked and Sue answered and invited us down and we had perfect timing as the coffee was almost done. She is such a hoot and we really hit it off. I will have to keep in touch with her when I leave. We sat and talked and listened to the morning net and then it was time to leave. So we went back to our boat and Tom was going into the office to get all the paperwork for the sale of the boat done so we could sign and have it notarized later that morning. We are supposed to have the prospective buyer come for a sea trial sometime today. We got the word from Tom to come to the office and he would have all the papers so we could go to the notary. Once at the office we waited a little for Tom to get off the phone and he said he tried to call Robbie but no answer so he thought it meant he was on his way. So off we went to the notary. We signed all the papers; gave them our passports, got the papers stamped. Then had to wait for another person to go through the paperwork and make copies and all that then the papers were put in a folder, our passports returned, paid our fee and were out of there. Pretty painless. So now we wait. Tom tried calling Robbie again and still no answer so we aren’t sure what this means. Dave and I went back to the boat and are just hanging out. I did get tired of waiting so I went to the store to get something for dinner then came back and still no word from the prospective buyer. Hmmm!!! Well we have done our part and we need to get back to the house so if nothing happens today we may just get packed tomorrow and head for Loreto Wednesday.

Tonight we have been invited to Tom and Sue’s boat for happy hour and I will bring munchies to help absorb the alcohol!!!! So there ya go. We will see what tonight and tomorrow brings and if we hear from Robbie or not. Maybe he decided to forego the sea trials as he has to be back in Puerto Vallarta soon. Time will tell.

It is Tuesday and Tom still can’t get a hold of Robbie so we have no idea what is going on. The biggest thing is there is no money in the Escrow account to say that Robbie has done his part for the boat. Tom is going to get a hold of Ray, the owner, because he and Robbie are really good friends, and see what the story is. We will wait until tomorrow and if nothing is going on we will head home. No sense wasting time here.

Tonight we, Tom and Sue are going to a BBQ place in down town La Paz. Big Joe’s. We are looking forward to that. We had coffee at Sue and Tom’s boat and listened to him do the morning net. Then it was time to leave and get some things done. Today is cleaning day for me and we just filled the forward water tank as we were running out of water. We usually hook up the hose to the dock water instead of using the water in the water tanks onboard, but that water has been sitting for a while so we decided it was good to drain the tanks and get fresh water put back in. But for now we filled the forward tank so we have water to wash dishes and clean and flush the heads. We don’t drink it. That is the only tank we fill with dock water, the rest we either fill with fresh bottled water or make water away from the marina and fill them. As we don’t know what is happening with the boat we aren’t going to do anything else with water. The new owner can do that.

We have been trying to get a hold of our friends, John and Sandy that live here and use to live in the same marina in Brownsville we did, but so far no luck. They are busy people.

Well good news on what is going on with the new buyer. Dave talked with Tom this morning and Robbie had sent him a text message saying he had an emergency out of the country but should be back within 48 hours. So we should hear more of whether Robbie is going to send the money and still wants a sea trial, tonight at dinner.
So we are still waiting and will see what the next day holds. Yay!!

Well so much for finding out more about the buyer. Nothing more has been said. So we wait and see what tomorrow brings.

When we got up this morning it was a lot cooler inside and outside the boat than it has since we have been here. It felt good. Well Marco, the man that owns and operates the marina café didn’t show up this morning so we decided to go down to La Paz yachts and have coffee at Club Cuceros. Dave wanted to talk to Tom about what to do about this whole situation. We had to wait until he was done serving coffee and then we went to the office. Tom called the head guy in Mazatlan to see if he has heard anything and he hadn’t. Well the 48 hours is up tomorrow so we will stick around for another day and see what happens. It is just strange. After we were finished at La Paz yachts Dave and I walked part of the malecon to see if we could find a cigar store our boat neighbor told us about. Well we never found it. Apparently it isn’t there anymore. There is only one place that sells cigars and it is up town in a wine store. We decided we didn’t want to go so on the way back to the truck we stopped at the ice cream store and treated ourselves to ice cream in a cup. Yum!!!! It was a nice day for a walk on the shady side of the street!!!! It actually wasn’t really hot but since we are closer to the equator the sun is more intense so it makes a big difference. I didn’t bring my hat so it was necessary to stay shaded. No word from the buyer so we went back to the boat and then I took off in the truck and went to Sam’s club and then Walmart. I had to get some vitamins as I left all of them at the house. We didn’t expect to be here this long. We will probably have happy hour on Tom and Sue’s boat after they get home and then decide what we are doing for dinner.

While I was at Sam’s and Walmart, Dave stayed on the boat and changed out a couple o-rings on the forward head but he said it didn’t make any difference. He tried. We will have to order the part. The head works like I said before, just the pressure switch doesn’t shut off. Dave will have to look up the part and see what it costs to replace it.

Well we have not seen the buyer, and the last time the broker had anything from him said he was heading back from wherever he was and be here within 48 hours. It is now Friday and the 48 hours are up so we are leaving tomorrow to go back home. Yesterday our broker got an email about our boat but to be fair to the current guy said that if nothing has happened with our boat by then, Monday they will open the sale back up. So there is still a chance to sell the boat before the end of May.

Today, March 15, my oldest son, Ernie celebrated his 41st birthday today!!!!! Yay!!!

Since Easter week is approaching quickly, we need to get out of La Paz and back home before everyone gets on the road. So Saturday morning we went down to Sue and Tom’s boat and had coffee and said our goodbyes. We headed back to our boat and packed everything up, paid the bill for the electricity and water and headed out of town. We figured there would be a lot of cars on the road heading north, but no-----we saw a lot of cars heading south. So we were in good shape. We arrived at Angra hotel and they already had a room for us on the top floor. Dave made the reservation last night. We ate dinner at our favorite place down the street from the hotel then came back to the room and watched t.v. and checked emails. It is an early morning tomorrow as we have 7 hours of travel time to get home.

We got up, had breakfast, packed up and headed for home. We arrived at the house mid afternoon and only unpacked what we needed for the night. The rest we will get in the morning. I took a frozen bean dish out of the freezer thinking it would defrost quick enough we could have that for dinner. Well come 6 o’clock, it was still frozen so I made grilled cheese sandwiches instead. Tomorrow we will have the bean dish.

We were tired today and weren’t moving very fast. All that road travel takes a lot out of you. We slowly unloaded the truck but didn’t get everything. There isn’t a big need to get it all done in one day. We took it easy in the afternoon and read some and just chilled.

Today I played Mexican Train dominoes and lost!!! Oh well. But then I won at cards yesterday so that was good.

Today the 25th, my youngest son, Jonathan is celebrating his birthday!!!! He is 39!! Another Yay!!!!

I was checking emails when I got a message from our grandson, E.J., who is in the Air Force. He wanted to call and talk to us. So we hooked up the magic jack and were able to call him and he told us he got his new assigned station duty. He is going to go to the base in New Jersey first part of August. He sounded excited and we are excited for him. He will definitely get his share of hot and cold seasons there. There will be lots of snow in the winter. It will be fun for him as there is so much history back east. It was great to hear his voice and he sounds happy. He will call the rest of the family tonight when they get home from work. I know his Uncle Jon will be thrilled to get a phone call from his nephew on his birthday!!!!

Well we are having wonderful weather. Not too much wind today and no clouds in the sky.

A lot of the Mexican people have vacation this week, and have been known to camp at the south end of the bay here. We haven’t seen a lot of campers this year but the other night, our neighbor was trying to call our gate guard and couldn’t hail him so she called us. Her husband was playing poker and she was alone and a man walked up to her house drunk, saying his car was stuck in the sand. So Dave and I walked over to her house and met the man and found out he was with his father-in-law and they were trying to leave after drinking lots of beer and got really stuck in the sand. Dave got a shovel from George as he had just gotten home and we went down to try and help get the guys out. The father-in-law was so drunk he had a hard time walking straight but he was a happy guy!!! His son-in-law and Dave did the digging for a long time and then the father-in-law helped. Dave got into the truck and put it in reverse with the other two guys at the front trying to push it back but nothing worked. I walked back to my neighbors and she and I went to the gate guard to explain the situation and ask him to call someone in town to help pull them out. Mary went back to her house and I walked back to where the guys were and told Dave they may have to spend the night as Tito, the gate guard, couldn’t get anyone to answer. Dave kept trying to dig, but it was no use. Then Tito showed up and helped but also couldn’t get it to where the truck would back out of there. So the son-in-law and father-in-law had to spend the night and Tito would try to get help in the morning. As we walked back to the house we thanked Tito for his help and by this time it was almost 11:00pm. We all went back to our houses and went to bed. In the distance we could hear the horn beep a couple times, as the guys were trying to find a comfortable spot in the truck. Heheheh!!

Next morning Tito and George went out to help pull the guys out of the sand and all was good. It was kind of funny that the father-in-law kept telling Dave and us what a good man he was for helping and he was offering us beer, which we refused, but they both were really nice guys!!! They had traveled down from Tijuana.

Then again this afternoon, my neighbor called to talk to Dave but he was down talking to Tito, and she said there was another car stuck in the same place the other one was the other night. There was a huge hole left by the other car and you would have thought no one would have parked there. Well---------duh???? So Tito and Dave went down there and pulled them free. This time it was a family with small children. Go figure!!!

Well tomorrow is Saturday and my regular day to go to town for groceries. Oh yay!!! A bumpy ride into town and back again.

Well still no word on the supposedly buyer for the boat. The broker is going to call around to see if anyone has seen him. He lives with his wife in Puerto Vallarta. So we are back to square one again.

The weather has been wonderful. Sunny with a breeze and actually the breeze is a little chilly since it is coming from the north, but we aren’t complaining.

A bunch of us gals got together to play train and usually I win at least one game but today I didn’t win a single game. Oh well. The gal that was hosting the train game asked me if I would make a couple trophies for the end of their golf tournament. I said sue. She said she would trade me with the one wine glass I asked her to paint for me, since I broke one, and she said she would throw in another painted wine glass for the work. So it is a deal. I had a hard time sleeping that night as my head was full of thoughts in what to create.

The next morning I went to the art room and started putting more feathers on a bird I made a long time ago and a hat. I liked it. Then I made a fish and Rainy wanted it gaudy so I made it so. I really like it. She had called me that evening asking if she could stop by on her way home from working the museum and I said yes. So about 2:00pm she showed up and I had started working on a turtle just to give her another critter to consider for a trophy but when she saw the bird she loved it and then the fish too!!!! So I just need to secure the fish a little more and it will be ready to go. Here is a picture of the two.



I am almost finished with the large turtle. It will be in the show in November. I have been making a few small turtles to take up to Washington this summer to hopefully sell other than jewelry. Here are three of them. The rest will be in the next blog.



March has finally come to an end. Next month new adventures await!!!!

Time Marches On

This month is starting out good. Dave and I are healthy and one of our major project is done. The painting of the house!!!

In last month’s blog I had mentioned I was making magnet angels out of shells and using glitter foam for the wings. I also made bees out of shells and the stinger is a porcupine quill. So here is what I have done so far. I am having fun creating the angels and I think I like these better than the cork ones I made. It’s all good.




I am experimenting with wire and sea glass and I want to make some sea glass and driftwood mobiles but I have to finish up with the angels and bees then I can move on to something else. I did create 2 turtles out of rock and shells. Those are really time consuming but fun.



I made a new jelly fish mobile for our grandson, David who is 5. I made him one a couple years ago but when mom and dad got divorced it got tossed so I made another one for his room at dad’s house. I think it turned out better but of course I am bias.



I have a lot of ideas but I have other things I am doing like the counted cross stitch of a dragon and wizard I started about 3 years ago for Dave. I get interrupted by projects for our newborn grandsons and then making things for the art show and whatnot that I have to spread my time between my crafting and doing other things. What a life eh????? Wow!!! If you only had those problems huh?! I enjoy being creative and can spend hours putting things together. I am going to try and practice wrapping stones and sea glass in wire. I can’t wait see what comes out of my playing!!!! Stay tuned!!!

I am hoping to take my sewing machine and some craft items up with us to Washington State so I can create up there this summer.

Now that the house is painted we are going to start on making the stairs better. Right now they are steep and everyone that visits us hates them. It’s not bad going up them but coming down------not so good!!!!!! Soooo we got 3 bags of cement, some sand and a pick-up truck load of conterra rock. It is a pretty rock and very strong. A lot of people have built walks, houses and other things out of them. Our gate guard (who helped us paint) went and got the sand and the rock. When we go to La Paz in a few days to visit the boat he will add to the rock and cement platform and stairs at the bottom of the steep wood stairs while we are gone. Here are pictures of what the stairs look like now and the platform.



These Mexican people are so amazing to me. They don’t have all the modern tools like Americans do so a lot of what they do, they do by hand. I am talking about getting the rock. They go out into the desert by the mountains in certain areas and break off the chunks of rock, load into the back of their pickup truck and then bring it to the destination. After it is off loaded, they start to shape the rocks by using a hatchet to chip off the edges and form the shape they need. It is very time consuming and a lot of manual labor. When we drive to La Paz we see road crew using machetes to cut the weeds along the edges of the highway instead of using machinery like we do in the states. They are beginning to use some weed eaters but not in many places. It is just amazing and they spend hours doing that. My back hurts just to watch them or even think about it.

The night before we were leaving to head south to La Paz we took the wood stairs down. Dave wished he had taken the steps out first before trying to take them down but we didn’t and it made it very difficult. The stairs were wedged in between the upper wood support at the top of the stairs and the cement rock fixture at the bottom. We ended up breaking a 2x12 so we will need to replace that. Our gate guard helped because we couldn’t do it without another man’s strength. When the steps were down, Dave took out some of the stairs so we could move it out of the way of Tito when he starts working on the cement and rock platform and stairs. We had a ladder to climb up and down just for the night and next day when we left for La Paz. The cement and rock job should be finished when we return from La Paz. I’m excited to see it. Then Dave will rebuild the stairs so they are shorter and less steep.

Well like I said----we took off on the 9th to head for Guerrero Negro which is 2-1/2 hours from our house. I had a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned and we decided we would stay the night. Now we wish we had gone to at least San Ignacio but next time we will know. I got my teeth cleaned with a noon appointment then we went to the ATM at the bank and stopped at a place that sells appliances and parts, on the way to the hotel. We had heard that the place was good and reputable and he had motors for washing machines for sale. Dave said it would be cheaper to get a motor then to buy a used machine. They cost about $50 dollars or 700 pesos. So on our way home from La Paz we will stop and buy a motor. Then Dave will have another project to do!!!! But if it solves our washing machine problem-------GREAT!!!! The next morning we had breakfast and then headed for Loreto for the night. We have good friends that have a house there and they were there this time. We couldn’t stay with them as Kristi’s mother and sister are flying in the same day we arrive, but once we got a room at our favorite hotel, we went and saw them. She was painting and Robert was just getting ready to leave and go to the hardware store when we arrived. We talked for a short time and then let them get back to work. As it turned out, her mother and sister changed plans and would arrive the next day. But we got together at a newly opened restaurant there in Loreto, named ‘Mi Loreto’ and we had the best dinner and time!!!! It was great and after dinner, Kristi and Robert were on their way to a meeting and we walked back to the hotel. It was a perfect evening for walking and dining outside.

The next morning we got up had breakfast, checked out, and were on our way to La Paz. It takes about 4 hours from Loreto so an easy trip. The weather was warm and beautiful and there wasn’t a ripple on the water which was unusual as it has been windy everywhere, everyday. Once we arrived in La Paz we had to go to the broker’s office to get the key for the boat. They had to replace the lock so they had the keys. We got to the boat but the keys wouldn’t work. They gave us the wrong keys so the broker had to come down to the marina (because they couldn’t find the correct keys) and he had to cut the lock. There is a full story here, but I won’t bore you with the details. Anyway we had a good laugh so now we are going to buy a combination lock so no keys have to be made or lost!!!! Waalaa!!!

We finally got into our boat and started opening the hatches as it was stuffy and warm below. Then we had a little snafu with the power station on the dock. A man that is moored across the dock from us was using our power station. The reason for that was he didn’t have a 50 amp electrical cord so the marina said they could plug into the one we use. Oops!!! We went to the office and got it all straightened out to where we do have a splitter electrical cord which allows us to plug into a 50 amp receptacle. So problem solved and everyone is happy. We didn’t do much on the boat as it was late but we did manage to go to the store and get dinner and water and a couple other things but I forgot to get coke for our rum. Oh bother!!!!! I didn’t want to go back to the store so I went walking the dock to see if anyone had a spare coke I could buy. Well no one had one but I was walking back to the boat and our neighbor Kiki was walking toward me from her boat and I asked her if she had some coke and she said no but we could ask the captain of a 50 foot fishing boat. So I was introduced to the captain, as her and her husband is friends with him. All he had was an opened coke bottle with enough coke in it for 2 drinks. I told him that was perfect and I offered to pay him and he said no. He said he would pick us up a couple bottles and bring them to us later. So off I went and Dave and I had our Rum and coke cocktail. We saw the captain pass our boat in his boat as he was taking someone out for a ride. The Captain’s name is Carlos. When he returned I figured he wouldn’t remember and I wasn’t worried about it. I was walking up to use the facilities at the marina when Carlos was walking toward me with a bag and in it the 2 cokes he said he would get was in it. I thanked him and told him that was sweet of him to do that and I appreciated it a lot. He didn’t want any money for them and so we shook hands and said goodnight. It is always a pleasure to meet such Mexican people. So now we have enough coke for a couple nights of cocktails!!! Yay!!!

There is a cross fit gym right across from where we Moor our boat and they were having classes up until about 10:30 last night. We went to bed around 11:00 and all was well until about midnight when someone’s car alarm went off and no one was doing anything about it. Thank goodness for ear plugs. Dave and I put some in our ears and all was well again.

It was a beautiful morning with sunshine and warm temperatures and with a slight breeze to keep cool. Dave and I went up to the marina café and had breakfast and then came back to the boat and started working on it. We had a boat brush on the boat but discovered it was broken. The guy that washes the boat broke it so now we don’t have a brush. We borrowed one from our neighbor and Dave scrubbed the top deck. Then it was my turn to clean. I rinsed the screens, bimini along with the solar panels and then the cockpit. It took a couple hours. Dave had been down below and he came up and stepped outside and slipped on the wet deck in the cockpit. He was in bare feet and just lost his footing and fell hitting his right side of his lower back hard against a step. He is a hurting unit tonight. We iced it a couple times and he is taking an inflammatory to help reduce the swelling and now he has my magnet belt on to keep that area warm so he doesn’t get stiff. We had a heating pad onboard but I must have taken it home so the magnet pad was the only warmth he has. I know he is going to be sore and stiff for a couple days. He says as long as he is walking he is fine but when he stops and tries to sit and get up again it really hurts. We will keep an eye on it and see what tomorrow brings. Bummer.

The boat looks good and it is clean and we were able to sit in the cockpit and enjoy our cocktail tonight. We had a visitor, a man that is working on another boat, helping the people get ready to sail to the Marquises (Pacific Islands). He came down to have a drink and visit as he is leaving tomorrow. He is from Australia and has his boat in Spain where he charters it. He has sailed all over the world. It was fun to talk to him and he really likes our boat but can’t afford it. When he left, Dave and I had dinner and now we are relaxing until it is time to go to bed. There are no Cross Fit classes tonight so it is quiet!!!

Tomorrow is laundry day and going to Home Depot for parts and maybe even Sam’s Club to get some food items. We will start heading back to Bahia on Tuesday.

It was a busy day today. Happy Valentine’s Day!!!! The marina café wasn’t open. We heard there was a swap meet at one of the marinas in La Paz so we decided to head that way and take a look. We didn’t find anything we couldn’t live without. When we left there we went and had breakfast near the marina. Service was slow but there were a lot of people out for breakfast. We had a good meal and relaxed. Then it was time to do some running around. We went to a grocery store to look at prices of booze and we are finding that the rum and gin we like, which is less expensive was nowhere to be found. That’s a bummer as we won’t buy the real expensive stuff. Guess we will have to give up drinking!!!! Ha!!! Where there is a will there is a way!! We have other stores to go too to check it out so who knows. Then it was off to Home Depot and we spent most of the early afternoon there looking for parts Dave needs to put our stairs back up with. He found most of the parts except one. It is a metal piece that holds a 2x4 in place to a fascia board. I can’t explain it but they are used in construction. We looked and looked for them and then asked a clerk and he even thought they had some but they didn’t. Oh well. We may find what we need maybe tomorrow. After the running around we came back to the boat and I did laundry. It seemed to take forever!!! While I waited I went upstairs to the pool and sat on the side and put my feet in. At first the water was really cold but once I got use to it, it felt good. By the time I finished with the laundry it was about 5:00pm. I was ready to sit down and relax and have a cocktail with Dave in the cockpit. After that I went down stairs and started preparing the Valentine dinner I was making for Dave. We are having steak, red potatoes cut up with lots of garlic and stir fried in butter. I didn’t have any olive oil on board. Then I sautéed crimi mushrooms while Dave was BBQing the steaks. It turned out to be a very nice dinner with red wine to boot!!! It was a busy day but turned out great!
The marina café wasn’t open again this morning and neither one of us wanted to go anywhere for breakfast and coffee so we went without coffee and had a breakfast bar. I had a lot of things to accomplish today so I got an early start. I stripped the sheets off the bed, put clean ones on, cleaned both heads; checked the water in the batteries with Dave’s help. I needed his steady hand in pouring the water in the batteries. Not to say my hand shakes or anything, he is just better at it!!! Vacuumed and then I was done with my chores. Well all except laundry. I need to do one more load. Dave and I went down to the broker’s office to give them money for the guy that is going to be washing our boat topside and to another man who is diving and cleaning the bottom of the boat. Then we left and started a hunt for a construction parts place. We stopped at one but they didn’t have the metal strips we needed so we went one more place and they did have a couple different kinds so Dave bought 3. Then it was off to the pharmacy then Home Depot.

I was going to get paint to start painting the bathroom at the house, but decided against it. We had an incident before we left for La Paz where more money was taken out of Dave’s retirement check that wasn’t expected and it was going to hurt us big time if we couldn’t take care of the problem. Well after a couple days calling about our Health Insurance plan, Dave was able to talk to someone and explain that we had no idea the plan was changing and now that it is past enrollment time, were we going to be stuck with that amount coming out of the check until November??? As it turns out the gentleman was very accommodating and said other people complained about the same thing. There wasn’t much information put out about our plan changing. So we are suppose to get that money refunded next month and the insurance plan we are going with will be much cheaper but just the same as the old one we had. The new plan just covers Dave and me, not family. So that is good and we breathed a lot better. So now we hope it happens. There is always something going on. There is always time to get the paint later.

The boat broker had told us there was a guy from San Diego who was interested in the boat. He and the broker had been e-mailing back and forth and talking on the phone. He didn’t want to pursue the boat until he returned from a whale tour in March. Well like all the other times when people said they were interested in the boat ---it never came to be so we aren’t holding our breath. Apparently the guy is interested enough to ask a bunch of questions and even talk to the Hunter people about the boat. He and his wife have sailed to faraway places so they know what it is all about. So we will just wait and see what happens. At least interest is picking up!!!!

It is time to leave La Paz and head home. We went up to the Marina Café, had breakfast and our boat neighbors Kiki and Craig joined us. We had a nice visit and then we had to take care of our bill for electricity and water and then head out. Once all that was taken care of and the boat was secured we left. Oh yeah. We didn’t get a combination lock as they were too big for what we needed so we got another lock that had 2 keys. We gave one to the boat broker. I hope they don’t lose this one!!!!! Ha!! So everything is locked and secured. We arrived in Loreto mid afternoon and got a room at our favorite hotel. They are like family to us!!! They are always happy to see us and we them!!

We had a restful night and then got up early the next morning, had breakfast and headed for Guerrero Negro where we are going to see if we can get a motor for the washing machine.

We got a motor so we will take it home and see if it works. We arrived in Bahia mid afternoon and didn’t hurry to unload everything from the truck as we still have a ladder to climb. We got what we needed for the night and we will get the rest of the stuff tomorrow. I ended up tying a rope to the overnight bags and some other things and hauled them up to the deck as I didn’t want Dave to hurt his back further in the process. Oh boy!!!! Our neighbors had fun watching the evolution. They invited us to dinner for soup and salad. That was really nice because I had no idea what we were going to eat. We had a nice visit with George and Mary and then we came back home and relaxed for the night. Tomorrow Dave will start working on the stairs.

Well it has been a working day today getting the stairs together and raised. Tito, our guard wasn’t around so he couldn’t help but Dave and I managed just fine. All I can say it is a good thing part of my exercise program is working with weights as they have made a big difference in my strength!!!! Dave and I got the 2, 2x12 boards in place. He was at the bottom where the new cement platform and stairs are and I was upstairs on the deck helping lift the board with a rope attached to it for leverage. It was a lot of back breaking work but we were successful. Now all Dave has to do is get the steps in. That is tomorrow’s project.

Thank goodness we didn’t have a lot of wind when we were lifting and placing the 2x12’s yesterday. Dave has worked with making things and replacing wood items and such but when it comes to putting in stairs he draws a blank. Our friend Ray said he would help but he is in the states so we really don’t have expert help. Thank goodness our neighbor George was available to help. So once George got Dave started in the right direction, the rest was up to him and me. I had no idea how much planning and measuring, making sure everything is level it takes to do stairs. Not as easy as it looks. So it took us a couple days to get them in but now they are finished and they are wonderful. We ended up taking about 5 steps out of the original staircase. Now that the steps are complete it is time to put the railing up. We are going to try and use the existing wood but some of it is really warped so we will have to buy a few new pieces. The next house we have will not have stairs!!!! What a pain in the royal patooti!!!! But they are done and they look and feel marvelous!!!! Finally that project is done. So now the house is looking good. Next project on the list is to replace the deck. We will do that when we can afford it. So projects never end here. But that is part of owning a house or anything for that matter.

I have been getting beach walks in and finding a few treasures here and there. I also have been working on my crafts. I want to take some of them up with me when we go to Washington this summer to possibly sell them like I did last year. It helps me replenish my craft needs.

It is the 24th and it is our grandson, Brody’s 8th birthday!!!! On the 15th our oldest grandson, Ethan turned 21!!! Congrats Ethan. His mom, Kristen had a birthday too on the 24th. So happy birthday everyone!!!

Here is a picture of my 'Don't Worry Be Hoppy' frog I made and is in a Bahia friends garden!

The New Year Brings Frustration

We made it to another year----Yay! We had a fun New Year’s Eve with our neighbors, Tom and Lynn around their bon fire. New Year’s morning they invited us and our guard and his wife to join them in their traditional breakfast of Lox and bagels. I made pumpkin bread muffins to share. Lynn and Tom and our guards don’t drink alcohol but to our surprise, Tom and Lynn brought a bottle of champagne for Dave and I while the rest had sparkling champagne. This is a nice way to ring in the New Year and it is so thoughtful and kind of Tom and Lynn to share their tradition with us.

I am still coughing and my sinus’ are clogged. I have been taking medication I brought from the states which has helped but it isn’t clearing up the congestion in my chest. I went into town to get some groceries on my normal Saturday run to town and hemmed and hawed whether to stop at the clinic to be checked out. I decided while I was in town I would so I went in and told him what was going on (he spoke good English and understood) and he listened to my chest and then gave me a couple medications, one for the congestion in my chest and the other to clear the sinus’. He wrote out the instructions for the medication and that was that. I gave him some money and he didn’t want to take it but they are allowed to take donations. I figured it would cost me much more if I had to buy the medication at the pharmacy. The clinic visit and medication is free. Most of the people in this little fishing village can’t afford medication or see the doctor so they have young doctors that have learned in the states to come here and rotate out each month. It is their hands on training. For really serious stuff they have you go to another town with a hospital.

Our grandson, Jonathan Jr. turned 3 today, the 6th. How fast they grow!!!!

Christopher, the son of our dear friend, Ruth, that died a couple years ago from cancer, is down here working on the house his mom left him. He brought a friend to help put a new roof on the house, well half of it and get some electrical work done. There is a lot that needs to be fixed and replaced so Christopher is doing it when he has the time. I am so glad he likes it here and wants to fix the house so he can live in it later. He reminds me so much of my oldest son, Ernie. We invited him and his friend over for dinner a couple of times and it was good to visit with them. He could only be here for a week as he needs to get back to his job in San Diego. He said he will be coming down again in February.

Our grandson E.J. had been in the Air Force boot camp since November and he is graduation on the 8th. Dave and I wanted to go so bad but no matter how much we looked at our finances we just couldn’t swing it with air fare and hotel plus meals. Well it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I was sick so we wouldn’t have been able to go anyway. We were sad we couldn’t be there but Brooke and Ernie posted pictures of the graduation and it was really cool. E.J. was honored with carrying the guide on (squadron flag) which is a big deal. He looks so good in his uniform. It was important to have his dad and brothers there and they got to spend some quality time with him. His mother came to the graduation which was nice.



It has been really windy at times but when the weather is nice Lynn and I walk the beach in the afternoon. Lynn and Tom will be leaving soon so now that I am over my flu/cold bug, our neighbor Mary, Lynn and I went on an arroyo hike nearby. We hiked about 2.7 miles and then came back. It was a nice day and it wasn’t windy. Here are some pictures. There are lots of arroyos to hike and I plan on trying to hike some of them as long as there aren’t huge boulders to get around. You never know what you will find. It was good to get out and get some exercise!!



With the wind we had some grey skies but when the sun came out this is what we saw. Beautiful!!!

I’ve been going through all our stuff to see what I want to get rid of for the yard sale in March. I have a few things together so we should be able to make a little money. I love these sales as I can always find something interesting. Well some of the time. Last year I didn’t buy a thing.

We finished painting the house. The pictures of the house in the last blog were only partially finished. We have finished all the painting on the house and electrical room so all is good and we really like the color as it blends in with the scenery. Here is the finished product.


All of us that were here in our community helped our gate guards wife celebrate her birthday. She was very pleased and moved that we would do that for her. We played a game of broche ball and had some appetizers and then she opened her presents and then we had cake. It was a fun time and they are such good people. We like having them as guards!!!

Tom and Lynn are leaving soon so we had them over for dinner. It is kind of a tradition for someone to have a dinner for them when they arrive and then again the night before they have to leave. This way they don’t have any clean-up to do and they can relax. They are involved with the whale tours so they won’t be back until April.

We had the Baja 200 race on the road behind our house. Dave walked out to the road to view the cars which would be a while, but he would find someone to talk to while he waited. I had chores to do like defrost the refrigerator and freezer, vacuum, and laundry. When those things were done I walked to the road and waited for the trucks to come by. I met up with some friends and visited with them and saw a few of the cars, then walked back to the house. I had had enough dust for one day. I tried to find Dave but he was in the other direction I looked. So I found out later when he got home. Ha!! As I was walking back to the house I came upon a dead and fallen cordon. It is a nice one and since it is on the property we live on we can take it and not get in trouble. But it was too heavy so I will have to come back with Dave and the truck and get it. I want to put it in the back yard. That is where we drive up to the house. If the cordon was on another person’s property, I would have to pay a Mexican to get it for me. But I lucked out. It is against the law here to dig up plants or even haul away dead cordon. If caught they can take your vehicle and you pay a large fee and maybe even spend time in jail. Everyone uses the dead cactus as yard art.

Oh yeah----the washing machine we got from a friend broke. It worked great for about 3 or 4 times then the motor died. Well that is what Dave thinks as he took it all apart and couldn’t find anything wrong with it. The agitator doesn’t rotate back and forth and it doesn’t spin dry the clothes. Matter of fact it doesn’t drain the water out either!!!!! We had to suction the water out of the machine and that was a lot of fun!!!!! NOT!! When all that was done I went back to the boat method with a bucket and plunger which actually works really well. A little detergent, water, add clothes, plunger the clothes for a few minutes, ring the clothes out and put them in another bucket, get fresh water and rinse the clothes again with the plunger then ring out and hang to dry!!!! Easy peasy!!!! Ha!!

I have played Mexican Train (dominoes) and a card game with the ladies. There aren’t that many gals down here yet to have too many games.

It has been really windy and one night it blew about 40-50 knots. The windows and screens rattled and it was cold!!!! We had to go and rescue a couple buckets that blew away and I even went to the trailer and made the beds just in case it got to wild in the house to sleep. As it turned out we slept in the house and the wind was still howling in the morning.

We had some very sad news this week. The people that we bought the house from came down in October and stayed until just before Thanksgiving and went back to their house in San Diego. They were packing up and ready to head back down to Bahia when she got a check-up. She had breast cancer and was treated last year and went through the chemo and radiation and was given a clean bill of health. That was this fall. They said she was cancer free. So her hair grew back which was grey now, and she felt good and looked good. Well she had a check-up this month and they found more cancer and it had metastasized and has gone into the bone and her brain and possibly her lungs. It was such a shock when we heard about it!!! I still can’t believe it. She felt good all through her treatments and I thought it was a miracle because no one I have known that has had cancer ever felt good during treatment. And now this!!! So needless to say she has undergone radiation treatments to shrink the tumors in the brain and now is taking medication to hopefully work on the rest of the cancer in her body. The outcome does not look good but this woman is remarkable. She is trying to keep positive and she has told us she has had a good life and she will enjoy whatever time she has left. I feel so blessed to have her as my friend and she is truly a wonderful woman. She is loved by many. I feel sorry for her, her husband and their daughter. I am praying that she will not live in pain and when it is her time she will go in peace. But mostly I pray she will have a few more months, year, to be with us. This goes to show us all how fragile life really is!!!! One minute you are healthy and then boom!!! So I hope you all take each day and live it to the fullest and cherish your families and friends!!! Life really is short!!!

I have been creating things in my art room. I have made one turtle from rock and shells and now I am making magnet angels out of shells and glitter foam for the wings. When I have enough of them made I will take pictures and share in next month blog. I also made some magnet bees. They turned out cute. Well until next month-----be happy,live your life well and thank the Lord for everyday.