Fun Times In Washington State And Canada

Being on the 4th floor, it was quiet so we were able to get a good night rest. We have a nice view of the beach and ocean but right now it is foggy and trying to lift. It is a bit cooler today. We slept with the sliding glass door open all night as the room was warm and they don’t have air conditioning.

Today we are relaxing and doing whatever. I need to do laundry so after breakfast we drove to the laundry mat and washed a load of clothes. While I was doing that Dave went and got the jeep washed as it was getting a little embarrassing to be seen in it. He also stopped at Walmart to get more shaving razors. I had 4 minutes on the dryer when he returned. After I folded the clothes we left and went back to the hotel. I dropped off the clothes in the room grabbed my computer and proceeded to the lobby to finish my letter and check emails. I finished around 1:00pm and came back to the room to drop off my computer. Dave and I went down to the jeep to get a heavier sweater or cover-up to walk the beach. Then we headed to the beach. Halfway down the driveway from the hotel it was getting cool and breezy so I put my fleece jacket on and when we got to the beach Dave had to stop and put his golf cover-up on. We had a nice long walk and reached a point it got really blustery so we turned around and headed back. The fog didn’t clear totally so more clouds were coming in. There were a few people enjoying the beach, digging in the sand and making castles and flying kites. Dogs were running around and people wading in the surf. Fun, fun!!! As we were heading back Dave felt for his car keys and didn’t find them. Oh no!!!! He had dropped them somewhere. We walked to the jeep then stopped at the lobby desk to see if anyone had turned in a set of keys. Nope!!! So it was back to the beach to retrace our steps. We walked up and down the beach and didn’t find them. He figured they dropped when he put his golf shirt on, fell by his foot and when he started walking away must have covered them with sand. We came back to the room and Dave called a jeep dealer to see if we could have another key made as I had mine to use as a guide. Well as it turns out they didn’t have a spare grey key with a computer chip in it so we were out of luck. And get this------we didn’t know it had a computer chip in it and to replace it costs $150.00. WOW!!! Well we will have to wait and get that done in Bremerton. We are heading out in the morning and will be at the Brownsville marina in the afternoon. It sounds like they are anxious to have us get there. So we did have a good day up until the key got lost. Bummer. Nothing we can do now so I am really glad I decided to bring my key, otherwise it would have been a disaster!

We arrived in Bremerton and at Brownsville Marina on the 2nd. Ron was waiting for us in the deli and Noreen was down on the boat still cleaning. She came up afterward and we had a bite to eat and visited. We got hugs from all the people we know down here and it felt good to be back. Ron and Noreen had some errands to run so they went and did that while we took our suitcases and stuff to the boat. We are all unpacked and for the most part settled in. It is taco Tuesday at the deli so we are to meet Ron and Noreen there at 6:30pm. We took the dinghy instead of walking because we knew Ron was going to have some groceries and it would be easier to get them to the boat that way. We got to see Connie and Lary, and Magoomie, friends of Ron and Noreen and we had a good visit and dinner. Then we unloaded Ron and Noreen’s car and were able to fit all of us and the groceries in the dinghy and headed back to the boat. Once things were put away we visited some more. My friend Carolyn was coming down to visit Fleeta, the neighbor next to Ron’s boat and Carolyn didn’t know we had arrived yet so I surprised her!!!! Heheheh!!!! Dave came over with some special rum and did a taste remember test. She didn’t get it at first but figured it out that it was the special rum we had when JB was captain of the Lady Washington a few years ago. So it was kind of neat to share that with her. She isn’t going to tell her husband JT because we will give him the taste test when we see him.

We will be heading to Poulsbo in the boat to watch the 3rd of July fireworks display in Liberty Bay, when Dave and Ron get done with stuff they need to do. Dave went to the Jeep dealer to have a key made. We thought it was going to be cheaper but it wasn’t. $250 later he had his key. Not much you can do about it. So when the guys got home and our friends Steve and Dixie came on board we took off for Liberty Bay. I got to drive the boat most of the way until we got to where we needed to scope out an anchorage. It was fun. We found a nice spot to anchor and we ended up with 5 boats rafted up to us. We had a great time and later Ron took the dinghy and picked up Noreen, as she had to work today, and also got Connie, Lary, Magoomie, and their friend Joy. So we had a boat full and it was fun. Steve BBQd steak, shish kabobs and brauts. We watched the fireworks show then Connie, Lary, Magoomis and Joy back to land via dinghy. All 5 boats stayed the night rafted together and later the next morning we separated and headed for the Bremerton Marina to see their fireworks that evening. Ron and Noreen are expecting family tonight to join us for dinner and the show. Noreen has to go to work in the morning so she will walk to the ferry from the boat and catch the Bremerton/Seattle ferry. She won’t get home until around 7:00pm so it will be a long day for her. We will take the boat back to Brownsville Marina later in the morning on the 5th.

It is cloudy this morning on the 4th, but it is trying to burn off. The weather is suppose to cool down a little from 80 degrees and then get warm again next week. That is good!!!!

When we arrived at the Bremerton Marina, we got direction from one of our Yacht club friends as to where our slip was. It was a great slip and we backed into the slip so we could watch the fireworks from the bridge tonight. We got settled and visited with people and had a relaxing afternoon. When it came time for the fireworks to start we waited---waited---waited---and wondered what was going on. There were plenty of fireworks to watch as everyone was setting them off on the beaches, but no Port Orchard ones yet. After 30 minutes, they finally started which was 11:00 o’clock now and they had to manually set them as they had a computer glitch. It was an o.k. show, but Liberty Bay was better. None-the-less it happened and we enjoyed it.

Noreen went to work this morning and we are getting things ready to leave and go back to Brownsville Marina. We had a nice ride home and Dave drove this time. The sun was trying to break through so it was warming up. We all decided to have pizza at the Clover Leaf Tavern for dinner. They have excellent pizza and have been around for a long, long time.

We met Noreen at the Clover Leaf Tavern as she took the bus which dropped her right in front of the tavern. We made it there before her so we got a table and ordered a pitcher of beer and a glass of chilled white wine for Noreen. She arrived just a few minutes after that. We had a nice dinner then we went back to the boat for a quiet evening.

I have appointments for a doctor visit in August and a Mammogram as well. So those two things will be out of the way. I have already had blood taken for a cholesterol check so that is done too.

Ron and Dave got the heater parts we took out of our boat and sold to Ron, out of Ron and Noreen’s condo so they can bring it all down and install it on the boat. While they have been busy with that I went looking for shorts and a skort. Went to Goodwill, but had no luck. Went to Costco, Old Navy, and the East Bremerton Walmart and still no luck. I will try other places another day. I don’t want to spend a lot of money on these items. I’m kind of funny that way!!

Noreen made some really nice curtains for the boat out of painters canvas drop cloth. She did a beautiful job. Here is a picture.



I want to copy her idea so I went to Lowe’s and Home Depot and Walmart to check prices for the drop cloths. The size I want is 9 x 12 which will give me two window curtains. Right now we have one window which needs to be covered as the blinds broke so I will start with that one when we get home. We have 8 windows in the house and I want to do all of them. Anyway---I went to Joanne’s and looked at webbing and all to get an idea of how I want to decorate them and found a 2 inch band that is called Aztec with Mexican colors. So I want to use that. I had fun just walking around thinking and planning and writing down information. Then I went back to the boat and shared the information with Dave. Making these curtains is a cheap way of doing it and if you double them, which Noreen did and I will, they will last a long time. Plus you can wash them. So I am excited to have finally decided what to do about our windows and getting away from blinds. The curtains have a cord that runs vertical on the curtain and you use a toggle clip to push the curtain up and hold it in place. Very functional and practical.

I finally found shorts and a skort at the Poulsbo Walmart. It is the super store so they have a lot more than the Bremerton one has. So I was happy about that and didn’t spend a lot of money. We are really trying to watch our spending as the new bimini is going to cost us $500. We weren’t expecting that but Dave said he did remember a conversation with Mike about cost. So, so much for free!!!! It needed to be done and Mike is giving us a really good price on it. We should actually have the side curtains with new zippers and Bimini on Monday, the 8th!!! Another item we can check off our list. The guys are planning to go over to Seattle on Monday or Tuesday to shop at Fisheries to buy the stuff they need for the boat before we head north for vacation. Noreen is taking a 2 week vacation starting July 26 and has to go back to work on August 12. They want to go to Canada and we will be boating with Fleeta, and she will have Carolyn and her husband J.T. onboard and their dog Pearl. We will have places we want to go separate from where they want so we will have some together time. It will be fun and I think the weather is going to be great. It has been a long time since we have been to Canada.

Noreen has her cousin and her boy friend visiting from Louisiana for 2 weeks so we have been visiting with them off and on. Aaron, the boy friend has gone out with the guys crabbing and Laura Mae went one day. They are great young people. Last night, we went to Noreen’s sisters home for dinner and Aaron and Laura Mae cooked all day making the stock for Gumbo. It had oysters, shrimp and fresh crab in the sauce served over rice, with a scoop of potato salad. Yummmm!!!!! So I have tasted real Cajun cooking. Then they made a sauce to serve over vanilla ice cream that had alcohol, bananas and some other ingredients and when it was cooked, Aaron lit the sauce so it had a nice flame on it for a while then went out. It was also very yummy!!!! We had a very nice evening.

The trip to Fisheries in Seattle was delayed as Ron hurt his back. He has an appointment with a masseuse so hopefully that will help. He is having a hard time going up and down stairs and even walking. I got dog duty a couple times taking the pugs up to the grass area. They are so use to Ron they can be stubborn but we did just fine. They each got treats when we returned to the boat.

Ron got his massage and felt a lot better. She worked on him for an hour and a half. His muscles were really tight. So now he has to ice his back to keep it limber. The guys are planning on going to Seattle tomorrow to get boat parts.

The guys were running a little late so Ron didn’t have time to take the pugs up to let them do their business so he asked me if I would do it. They actually did very well. I did have to bribe them with a treat once, but everything else went well.

When the guys got back from Seattle they had a cart load of parts!!!! They got all kinds of goodies to fix things on the boat and to put the heater in. They have been working really hard getting things done with the heater installation and fixing things on the boat before we leave on vacation. Noreen can hardly wait for her time off. She has been going to meeting after meeting and trying to get her work done and being stressed. She needs to unwind!!!

Dave and I met Ernie, Brooke, and E.J. along with Jon, Susannah and Jonathan Jr. at Steel park in Federal Way. It was a nice park and we had a nice picnic. Susannah and Jon took Jonathan down to the lake to get his feet wet while E.J. and I went too just to watch and I took some pictures.


It was fun to see Jon Jr. and get to hold and feed him. He is such a cutie.


It was nice visiting with everyone. After we get back from our trip to Canada, we will get together again with each family. Time is going by quickly.

The weather has been absolutely wonderful and warm. NICE!!

The time has finally arrived to start the vacation. It is the 27th. We got up, had coffee and Dave and I headed for Fred Meyer to do some grocery shopping and Ron and Noreen headed for Costco. We returned and put everything away, untied the lines and unhooked the electrical cords and we were off. Our first stop is Everett Marina. It took us 3 hours and we were there by 5:30pm. Cocktail time!!! We had a beautiful day on the water with a gorgeous sunset and great food. Now we are just chillin listening to music and enjoying the evening. Tomorrow we are headed to Deception Pass and north. Fleeta and crew will catch up to us on Monday as they will be leaving tomorrow afternoon. I hope they have a great trip up. This is her maiden voyage. Fleeta lost her husband to a heart attack last year and she has decided to keep her 50 foot boat and learn how to operate and care for it. Good for her!!!! So she wanted to tag along with us for a while and then at some point we will separate and go to different places and then meet up again later on. It will be fun!!

Today was a long travel day. We left Everett Marina around 11:30am and arrived at Garrison Bay, Roche Harbor around 6:30pm or so. The clouds burned off and had sunshine and only a small patch of rough water out of Everett. After that it was a smooth ride. We had the charts out and all of us were keeping track of where we were. Dave and I have never been to Garrison Bay before so it was neat to go someplace we have never been. We are anchored and enjoyed watching the sun go down and Noreen is making Shrimp pasta for dinner. We talked to Fleeta and they will go ahead to Reid Harbor and wait for us. We are staying in Garrison another day.


The next morning we had mimosas, pancakes and bacon for brunch. Ron, Dave and I took a dinghy ride to Roche Harbor Marina to get a few groceries; beer and ice. Noreen stayed with the pugs on the boat and had some quiet time. When we got to Roche we had a hard time finding the dinghy dock. We finally found it and tied up the dinghy and walked to the top of the marina dock; through a few booths with locals selling their wares and then we went over and watched some people play bocce ball.


After that we went to the store and got what we needed and headed back to the dinghy. Then it was back to the mother ship. The tide was turning so we got a little wet coming around one of the corners but all was well. When we got back to the boat, Noreen went kayaking while we put the groceries away and I went to the bridge to crochet and the guys did their thing. It was a great afternoon. As the sun was getting lower in the sky we noticed a bald eagle in the tree.

Then just for fun I took pictures of Capt. Jack Sparrow and Callipso!!!


We will leave tomorrow afternoon for Stuart Island, Reid Harbor and meet up with Fleeta, J.T. and Carolyn. We had a quiet night and Ron and Noreen turned in around 10 but Dave and I sat up on the bridge for awhile and then went to bed, around 10:30pm.

We got up and Noreen prepared a quiche and put it in the oven and got dressed. The rest of us sat and drank coffee and enjoyed the morning sun. Ron and Noreen took the pugs to shore to do their thing and when they returned we had quiche. It had crab and all kinds of good stuff in it. Yumm!!! Then it was time to secure the boat for travel so the dinghy went up and the kayaks went on the bow. Once things were secured we headed for the fuel dock at Roche. We got in, fueled up and filled the water tank and we were headed for Stuart Island. It was a short ride over and we found Fleeta and rafted to her boat. After getting settled and talking with Fleeta, Carolyn and J.T. we had boat drinks and then went for a dingy ride to take the pugs to shore and take a little walk. Tomorrow we will all walk to the light house. Looking forward to that. When we returned to the boat after the doggy walk, we had more cocktails and visited with Fleeta, Carolyn and J.T. Then I did some crocheting, Noreen laid in the dinghy and I finally laid down on the bridge and got in a snooze. Ron and Dave were beating on the boat doing something down below. Later on these two little girls were kayaking to our boat and they wanted beer. We told them they needed to bring a note from their parents so they turned around and went back to their boat and told their parents they needed a note. The note was written and given to the girls and they kayaked to our boat, handed us the note and we gave them 2 beers and they took them back to their boat. It was so cute. Here is a picture or two.


The two girls were friends and their parents were traveling together on separate boats. The oldest was 9 and the youngest was 6. The youngest was learning how to kayak and her kayak was tied to the older girls and a long tether line was hooked to the boat and the youngest girls kayak. It was a lot of fun. So then Noreen and I got in our kayaks and went over to their boat asking for Vodka.

We had a note from our husbands which we didn't get a picture of. They gave us a bottle partially filled!!! It was fun. Then we took the Vodka back to our boat and dropped it off and headed out to kayak around the area. It was a nice evening. When we got back we had hamburgers and beans for dinner. Nummy!!

Here it is Wednesday already. After the dogs were walked Ron, Noreen, Dave and I took the dinghy to shore to walk to the school house. We huffed and puffed up the hill and came to the school house. The first one was where the teacher lived and taught the kids that lived on the island. Then a larger school was built and now is a library. Then they built a larger school which is really nice. Right now they don’t have any children on the island so the school is closed. There were totem poles the kids made outside the school in a little garden area. Here are some pictures of the teachers house/school, the second school and the last school and the totem poles.


J.T.; Carolyn and Fleeta met us at the school. After reading all the interesting literature and walking around the grounds, Dave and Ron walked back to the dinghy to go back to the boat and do some projects they had on their list while the rest of us walked to the lighthouse on Turn point. On the way we stopped at the cemetery and read all the tombstones which wasn’t many. There was one tombstone that said Little Wolf. Apparently he was quite a character and was full of stories like he had been raised by wolves and such. The grounds were very well kept with plastic flowers at each grave site.

It is 7.5 miles to the lighthouse and a couple of spots we climbed hills and we wondered if we would make it. It was partly cloudy with fog in the straits. You could see the top of the trees on the islands and some of the water ways and the fog would lift then come back in again. Then there is lover's leap!!! They now have a museum at the lighthouse which is really cool.


Unfortunately we didn’t see any Orcas. Once everyone had a chance to walk around and read about the lighthouse, we headed back. It seemed the trip was quicker coming back. When we got to the school we stopped and Noreen called Ron on the VHF radio to have him or Davy meet us at the beach. When we got to the beach Ron had just pulled up on shore and we all tried to fit in the boat but unfortunately J.T. had to stay behind. So Ron had all three ladies to himself. He had a large bottle of white wine on ice and cups and we all partook of the beverage. It tasted really good. Ron dropped Carolyn and Fleeta on the dock where their dinghy was tied and they were going to go back and J.T. while we headed for the boat. It was a very nice day and we were all very tired. We had walked 15 miles. That was as much exercise as we wanted for the rest of the trip!!!!! Ha!! When we got back to the boat we had some more wine and the guys said they didn’t get accomplished what they were hoping to but that was alright. After dinner we went to Fleeta’s boat and visited and discussed about the trip tomorrow. We will be heading for Sidney. I am excited because Dave and I have never been and everyone says how beautiful it is.

After everyone was up and things were stowed, dogs walked and breakfast eaten, we untied from Fleeta’s boat and milled about until they got the anchor up and moving. Then we were off to cross the straits. The weather was a little cloudy and the wind was picking up. The forecast was calling for wind and possible showers later in the day. We had a bumpy ride across but all was well. Jack got a little anxious with a couple of the bumps, but then he settled down.

Fair Weather Has Arrived And Life Is Good

May has brought us some very nice weather. Blue skies and temperatures in the
upper 80’s.

Well here is what is going on this month. I have gotten together with the gals to play hand and foot and Mexican train. In a couple weeks almost everyone will be heading back to the states for summer, to return in the fall around October. So it will be pretty quiet here.

A couple of us gals have been getting together at my friend Annie’s house to exercise with Zumba Gold. It is fun and that is just what I needed to rev up my exercise program. The gold is for us old gals because it is a lower pace than the original but you still get to dance and work the pounds off. Right now I have the DVD as Annie let me borrow it while her and her husband, and 3 other couples take off for 2 weeks of camping.

Our friends Creela and Phil invited us and some other people to a birthday celebration for Phil last night, the 16th. We went to Alejandrina’s restaurant in town and I made a cake for desert. We had a good time.

Today---the 17th we arrived in Santa Rosalia. Robert and Kristi are coming to see the boat tomorrow and will stay overnight. We can take our time showing the boat to them. They still aren’t in a position to buy it yet, but it is only a matter of time. They will leave on Sunday to go back to their house in Loreto, south of Santa Rosalia, and we leave on Monday heading to Bahia.

We were suppose to get zippers and thread for the boat screens but unfortunately our canvas guy didn’t mail them in time to get to a friends house so he could bring them with him to Bahia when he came. Bummer. I guess we will just get them when we go to Washington this summer and see about getting the zippers replaced when we get back to Mexico.

The sun is eating away the thread on the bimini over the helm station. I am using sail tape to keep it together. We are definitely going to have to do something about that.

Usually the next day after arrival to Santa Rosalia I rinse out the cockpit, but didn’t have a chance as Robert and Kristi are coming tomorrow. Actually it was a little dusty but not bad so all is well. It is a little warmer here then Bahia, but there is a nice breeze.

Robert and Kristi arrived and we gave hugs all around. The first thing Kristi said was it felt like she knew us because of all the emails and phone calls back and forth. Very nice people. We spent the day going through the boat. Robert already saw it so I took Kristi and showed her all the storage pookas and everything. They asked questions and we supplied the answers. Neither one has sailed for a long time. Kristi took sailing lessons many years ago and Robert has his 100 ton license to operate boats. Kristi and Robert own a fishing boat (small) so they know about traveling on water. We suggested a boating class might be good to take when they go back to Oregon. She and Robert want to learn how to operate the boat. We had them unroll the mainsail and it is good we did because it hadn’t been done in so long we had some trouble getting it to roll. We finally did and unrolled and rolled it up about 3 times so all is good. Robert pretty much did the mainsail and Kristi unrolled and rolled the headsail. They got to get the feel of how hard or easy it is to do. They aren’t doing any long distance cruising right now until they get use to the boat. We offered to help them and they were grateful. Kristi was overwhelmed a bit with all the information but that is to be expected. We suggested also she read a couple books that talk about the basics of sailing. They actually have one of the books titled ‘Chapman Piloting’. We went to dinner and Robert and Kristi paid for our dinner which was nice. We will treat them to breakfast in the morning. Dave filled them with his stories of when he worked with NOAA and the adventures and places he got to go for work, in addition to corrections and things he fixed on our boat. Kristi asked me what my favorite memories were of places we have been. So we talked about that then around 10:00pm we went to bed.

Sunday morning everyone was up by 7:00am and we fixed coffee and sat in the cockpit and talked. We discussed more of the boat and Dave ran the engine, bow thruster and turned the max prop to show them how it moves the boat. All worked great. Then we ran the generator. So they know all systems on the boat work and are well maintained. They like the idea that the boat was well maintained and Dave did a lot of trouble shooting with problems we had. Like Robert and Kristi said---they are reaping the benefits of all our knowledge and careful care of the boat. I showed Kristi the provisioning list I made when we were cruising where it listed everything we had on the boat, the quantity and where to find it. Both of them thought it was a really great idea!! I shared with Kristi I read a lot of how to provision and sailing stories and all to prepare for our voyage. Dave and I will be able to share the knowledge we have with them so they will enjoy ownership of the boat.

We treated them to breakfast at our favorite place to eat, Tercos. We had never eaten breakfast there so we gave it a try. Wonderful food!!! We had a nice breakfast. After the bill was paid we stopped at the outdoor fruit and vegetable stand on our way back to the boat. Kristi and Robert got some fruit and veggies. They said they don’t get really good fruits and vegetables in Loreto which surprised me. I figured with the good sized community they have there that wouldn‘t be a problem. They said when they do get good veggies and fruit it is expensive. So I am glad we live where we do. We did think about finding a place in Loreto, but fell in love with Bahia instead. I’m glad we did. There are a lot of American and Canadian people living there. Having a large gringo community doesn’t interest us. We want to experience the life of the Mexican people. Plus if you are around a lot of the Mexican people you have to learn some Spanish!! That’s what I want! Anyway---Kristi and Robert had to get going so we got to their car and said our goodbyes. We don’t know when the next time we will see them, but they definitely want the boat. Robert said there are two prospective people who want to buy their house in Brookings, Oregon. So he really thinks his house will sell around July/August timeframe. He is going to contact the broker and tell him he is very interested in our boat and let him know what is going on with his finances. That way everyone is well informed. So who knows----by September we may have new owners of our boat. They want the 4 of us to take the boat to Escondido, which is south of Santa Rosalia, to get it hauled out and the bottom painted. He will make the arrangements for the paint and haul out when the time comes. While the boat is being worked on they invited us to stay with them at their house in Loreto. Loreto is really close to Escondido. Robert doesn’t see a need to have a survey done on the boat. After talking to us and Dave filling him in on all the maintenance he did, Robert knows the boat is sound. That is a good feeling. I think this is a start of a good relationship. Robert made the comment that when they take the boat over and go to Puerto Vallarta and something happens with the boat, Dave will be the first person he calls to tell us to board a plane and get down there!!!! Since we have owned 6 hunters, Dave knows pretty much everything about them and there isn’t much he can’t fix!!! I told Robert and Kristi we could be crew with them until they learn the boat!!! I think that would be fun!!!! I wouldn’t mind that at all!!! After they left, Dave shared with me that the house they were trying to get a reverse mortgage for went through. The only problem is when Kristi’s dad died, there were a lot of bills incurred and so most of that money went to pay off the debt and there wasn’t much left to make an offer on the boat. So now he thinks he has his house sold and we will go from there. I believe with all my heart and soul that it will happen and Robert and Kristi are the perfect owners for our boat. God has a plan and it is in the works. Hallelujah!!!! Good things are coming!!!

We head back to Bahia tomorrow morning. We are stopping in Vizcaino for groceries and I have to find a Similar Pharmacy either there or in Guerrero Negro to get more cholesterol pills. The pharmacy here was closed. I thought it might be since it is Sunday. No worries.

The evening is pleasant and it is cooling down. Yesterday was a warm one but with the air conditioner going it was nice. We all kept cool. Today we ran the air conditioner for a while and now we just have the fans going. The evening is cool so no problem sleeping. So on to my wine and relaxing!!! Life is very good!!!!!

We stopped in Vizcaino and did shopping. Picked up a couple of things for our neighbor and found no Similar pharmacy in town. So we shall stop in Guerrero Negro as we know they have one. I did a stupid thing------I forgot my cholesterol medicine on the boat. The container fell over and rolled next to the wall under the shelf in the galley and I should have gotten it then but didn’t so out of sight out of mind. Uh oh!!!! I didn’t realize I left it behind until we were half way home. So I am hoping I can get 2 packages of the medicine at Similars. Well Similars had it but only one package of 30 at 10mg each. I have to take 40mg a day so that means 4 tablets of the 10mg. It won’t last long. They said they would get more in on Saturday. This was Monday. Oh well. It is what it is. I walked just a couple buildings away to another pharmacy and they didn’t have any. So I was stuck. At this time Dave didn’t know I had forgotten my pills on the boat. I had enough to get me through this month and then would supplement with the 10 mg. So now what will I do. Dave asked me about the medicine and if I had enough and I had to tell him the stupid thing I did. So now I will have to figure something out. It is a 2-½ hour drive to Guerrero Negro and it makes for a long day.

We made it home safely, unloaded the car and put groceries and other things away then relaxed. We will be going back to Santa Rosalia at the end of June to pay moorage for the summer.

We heard from Robert a day or two after we got home and he said the sale of the house was good. We really don’t know any more than that, but something is in the works. Robert had contacted the broker in La Paz and Mike sent us an email stating that fact. So the ball is rolling. No offer yet. I’m sure we will hear from Robert when his business is taken care of. They are heading to Oregon in July to attend Kristi’s father’s funeral. We are heading to Washington in July so we figure nothing will be done about the boat until after summer. It would be nice to have an offer on it before we go though. We shall see.

We didn’t get our zippers and thread and won’t from our canvas guy in Washington. Looks like he is out of business!!!! The friend that was going to bring them down for us went back to his house yesterday and reported he never got them. So now we have a call in to Tori, a good friend who sells boats in Seattle, to contact a warehouse to see what the cost is for a box of zippers. So looks like we will get the zippers and thread when we go north. Oh well. It is what it is. At least we can get them.

There are 2 water pumps in town. The one in town has a pump broken so they can’t distribute water. The place where we get our water is at the south end of town and their water comes from a spring. When the water place in town breaks down, it puts a strain on the water supply from the spring so they have to limit how much water people can get a day. They are only open from 7am to noon every day except Sunday. We need water and asked our guy that brings it to come out. I usually send an email to his wife, Yolanda and request water and Andres generally comes out the next day. We waited and no water for a week. I had sent 2 emails to Yolanda but didn’t get a response. She goes to Ensenada to visit the doctor frequently. She has either a stomach or intestine problem that seems to be getting worse. Anyway----we asked our friend Penny & Murray to stop and see him when they went to town and send him out to our place. They live close to town so they are in town quite a bit. They passed the info on to Andres so I figured we would get water the next day. Nope!!! So when I went to town on Saturday to get groceries I stopped to see him. He said Yolanda was in Ensenada and he could deliver water to us on Monday. So I said o.k. Another day wouldn’t make much difference. Well Monday came and went and no water. We were getting pissed because now we have to think of who else to bring water and it would cost us more. We have a 1250 gallon tank we hold water in but only let the water get down so far before filling up. We know that the water pump situation in town happens a lot so we don’t want to drain the tank. In this case we would just almost empty it and then ask Pepe, he runs the ‘Home Depot’ here (figure of speech), and delivers water to many people, to come out and fill it. It is just more expensive. I was holding off doing laundry until we got more water, but decided to get it done.

Well guess who showed up Tuesday morning with water at 6:30am!!!! You got it!!!! Dave and I figured Yolanda was back from Ensenada and read her message from me. So we are good. We are still a little low but Andres will be back next Tuesday to bring more water and we will be totally full then.

Our friends Creela and Phil had a rock path put in on the south side of their house here. It looks really nice. Next year they will expand it to go around the east side of the house and around the fire pit. It will be awesome.

Our other friends and neighbors, Lynn and Tom are having a garage built. Busy time. Lynn and Tom are only here for another month so they want to get that done before going back to San Diego.

Dave went fishing with Phil about a week ago. Caught a large sheeps head fish. I didn’t get to see it but I was told it was pretty. I guess it is a good eating white fish. No yellow tail yet.

Phil came over the other day and Dave mentioned he heard that Phil wanted to do some riding and exploring on the quad. Creela can’t go long distance on a quad due to her back, so Dave said he would love to go sometime with him. They couldn’t go that day because we were going to a Memorial Day dinner party, but they said the next day would be great. So Dave will ride Phil’s small quad and follow Phil on his new one he brought down. I was bummed as I wanted to go too-----but Dave is going to see if it is something we might be able to do together.

Well the guys just got home from quad riding. They went down to Los Flores. Dave and I and Noreen and Ron went down there in the truck about 3 years ago. It was fun. Anyway---Dave said it was a bit warm (further inland from the water it is warming up). They were on the tail end of the exploring season. No one goes hiking or exploring June on due to the hot weather and snakes. They had fun but the trail Phil wanted to take Dave on had been washed out and the going would have been rough. So they did some exploring and Dave brought back a deer antler for me!!!! Cool!! The guys were gone for about 3 hours. Dave told me it would have been hard on my back because the trail was rough. Darn. Well they had fun and that is all that matters. We’ll have to figure out a way to go sightseeing in the near future.

Today, Tuesday the 28th is Susannah’s birthday. That is Jons’ wife, our new daughter-in-law. He is so happy being a dad and husband. I am thrilled for him. Little munchkin, Jonathan is growing like a weed. Can’t wait to see him this summer.

I’ve been in a mental slump ever since the Art and Craft show. I was very disappointed in not selling much. I had envisioned making some money, but the Americans didn’t come down until after Easter because it was so early this year. So I had been struggling with being bummed and then not selling the boat-----So needless to say I needed to work harder on pulling myself up by my boot straps and move on. Life is full of ups and downs and this won’t be the last time I have to deal with disappointment. With that said------we got some discouraging news in an email from our boat broker (Mike) this morning. Seems as though Robert and Kristi went to La Paz to talk to him. While they were there Kristi wanted to look at a 50 foot power boat they had for sale. THOSE were the discouraging words!!! To even think they would consider a power boat. Kristi is a little apprehensive about starting to sail this late in life and so she is checking out other options. The boat they were looking at is a really nice one. Dave said if we had the option, it would be a consideration to live on. But that’s not going to happen. He said that after he looked at the pictures online. Anyway----they have to be comfortable in what they want. It is an investment. So we shall see.

The weather is absolutely wonderful!!!! Flat seas, calm breeze but no fish are biting. Dave and Phil went out last week and caught bait fish only!!!! The water is getting warmer so the Yellow Tail should be here soon!!! We saw a whale shark a week or so ago but apparently he was just scouting around and it is still too cold for them so we haven’t seen any more.

I’ve been trying to walk on the beach at low tide to get more exercise so today I started out and figured I would keep going if my back was up to it. Well it was and I had a wonderful walk to the large estuary. I wanted to see the baby grey whale the locals towed into the estuary a couple weeks ago. There was a huge uproar with a couple American ladies here in town that thought it would be disastrous to have the whale decompose letting all the oils and other things enter the water and soil. The estuary doesn’t get flushed out on a regular basis so they were concerned about the environment. Emails were put out by one of the women telling everyone to email the office in town that deals with the environment and wildlife. Phil went down shortly after getting the email to check on the whale and said it had already blown up and there was no moving it. The ladies wanted it taken out of the estuary. I didn’t respond because nature has a way of taking care of itself and I didn’t see the harm. Phil who is a marine biologist didn’t think it was a big deal either. So when I got to the whale, all that was left was bones and a little of the skin. The birds, coyotes and fiddle crabs have been feasting on the remains. As I walked on the dry estuary bed toward the whale I had to dodge a bazillion fiddle crabs on the way!!!! It was amazing. They were getting what they could that was left of the flesh and skin. Nature has cleaned it up. Just a few days ago there was another dead baby whale found floating in the bay. This time the guys towed it across the bay to an alcove where nature would take care of it. The word was it wasn’t a grey whale but another type. It is a shame that these little guys get lost and end up in here. It was a wonderful walk and I must have walked about 6 miles. I think it is 3 miles one way.

Getting Out of Bahia And Heading To Washington State For The Summer

Dave and Murray went to Guerrero Negro this morning. Dave to get meds for me; a toilet seat and money. He was looking forward to not driving this time. Murray needed diesel and money. Our town is out of Diesel. There is only one station in town that carries it and they are out. Word is they may have it on Friday of this week, the 7th. The guys left about 10:00am and didn’t get back until around 6:00pm. During the day I was busy and it was a really good day. I put coats of lacquer on the turtle I am making, I did cross stitch, dug up an annoying plant in the yard (a wild Mexican tobacco plant). I blackened Anaheim chilies on the stove and put them in a plastic zip lock bag so later when they cool I can peel the skin off. When they had cooled and were peeled I took the seeds and veins out and cut them up to make a Ranchero Sauce. If you have ever had Huevos Ranchero in a restaurant, that is the sauce they put on top. If you aren’t familiar with Huevos Ranchero, it is what the Mexican people call ranch eggs. A tortilla is heated, an egg is cooked sunny side up and placed on the tortilla and the sauce is added. It is very good. I have never made it before but Dave loves them so I thought I would make this sauce (first time) and that dish for breakfast one morning. Around 5:00pm I started preparing dinner. I am trying a new recipe out of the Bahia cookbook the ladies here put together. I have a couple recipes in it too. I am making Chicken Piccata which is flattened chicken breasts cooked in olive oil in a pan and browned. Then a sauce of lemon juice, capers, chicken broth and wine is made to pour on top of the chicken. I also made a side dish of noodles Romanoff. It was 5:30pm and the guys still weren’t back yet. I called Penny to see if she had heard from them and she said no but expected them anytime. A few minutes later they showed up at Murray and Penny’s. Dave got home close to 7:00pm and dinner was ready. I fixed him a drink so he could relax and then we ate dinner. He said he had a good time and we finally got a new toilet seat!!! We were sitting lopsided on the existing one. Ha!! He could only get one box of the cholesterol medicine so I will end up trying to stretch it out until we get to the boat where the rest of my pills are. It was a good day for both of us.

I had such a good day yesterday that I actually think I am out of my mental slump. I am feeling good today and was busy washing the sliding glass doors of the bamboo room and put another coat of lacquer on the turtle. One more coat and I will be finished with it.

We went to Phil and Creela’s the other night for dinner. Our other neighbors, Tom and Lynn were there too. We had chicken fajitas. They were good and we had a good time.

I am setting up a neighborhood potluck at our house on Sunday so I have to do some cleaning of the bamboo room. I decided to have everyone down there so they don’t have to climb the steps to the house. Because the steps are so steep and narrow I worry about people going down them after they have had a bit to drink. So I will alleviate the worry factor by having it on grown level. It should be fun. Everyone is to bring something to BBQ and a side dish. Everyone was able to make it except our gate guard. He has been helping the Museum gal with not only working the museum but other projects too. Right now we have people from the Monterey Aquarium here trying to collect some large manta rays for the aquarium. So Ramon has been helping with that. The other day we heard there were some Mexican men from La Paz with the aquarium group in a panga looking for rays and came upon a school of yellowtail. The La Paz men asked if they could net them and the aquarium guys said yes. So the La Paz men proceeded to net about 100 yellowtail to sell in town. It is illegal to net fish here but unfortunately the law isn’t enforced so our fish numbers are being depleted. Our landlord Larry and his neighbor Elwyn live on the shore where these guys were netting so they helped and when it was all done they each got a nice fish for their efforts. I was very unhappy about this as the fishermen in town and the gringos here have been going out almost every day to try and catch some yellowtail and come up with nothing. Then to have them netted just yards away from where we live made us upset. The other thing too was them wanting to sell the fish in town. That doesn’t go over well with the fishermen here. So I think it was a bad thing but I don’t have a say as to what happens so we just live with it. After all-----we are in another country!!

Dave and Phil did get 3 nice yellowtail a couple days ago so that was cool. They were very nice size and we were able to put some in our freezer. The rest will get smoked. Phil doesn’t eat fish unless it is smoked so that is what he does with his. Here are pictures of the fish and the fishermen!!!!

They have gone out a couple times since and nothing. It is feast or famine sometimes. We got enough fillets and smoked fish to enjoy and also take some smoked fish to Washington to share with Ron and Noreen.

The BBQ gathering at our house was nice. It was warm so we sat outside and those who brought something to BBQ threw their stuff on the grill. We sat around and drank, ate and got to know each other more. It was a fun time and before it got dark everyone went home. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

People are starting to pack and head to the states. Lois and Larry will be leaving soon so they had a bacon wrapped BBQ at their place to celebrate summer. It was a great party and there were a lot of people there. Dave didn’t go with me as he was having some intestinal problems. He actually had it for 3 days. I looked in our Marine Medical kit to see what we had and we did have some Imodium AD which he took right away. The next day he was doing better. We were suppose to go to Santa Rosalia on Friday but Dave still wasn’t doing well enough to drive for 5 hours so we gave it another day and left on Saturday. All we had to do was go to the boat and get the screens and bimini off to take up with us when we go to Washington. Mike, our canvas guy said he would make us a new bimini and put new zippers in for us free!!!! He owes us so thousands of dollars worth of work we sent his way last summer. It was so hot and humid in Santa Rosalia it was awful. You could just stand still and you would just drip with sweat that’s how hot and humid it was. We didn’t start taking the screens off until the sun went down and it got cooler. We got them all off and rolled them up and put them in bags. Now we have to pay moorage for the summer and we can go home. We left the next morning.

Now we are back at the house and packing for Washington. Our plan is to leave on Thursday the 27th. The Monday before leaving we were invited to Creela and Phil’s house for dinner. Phil’s nephew and his wife were visiting so we had them, our neighbors Smiley and John and us. We had meatballs and spaghetti and salad. It was a wonderful dinner and it was great to get together again. In another week or so everyone will be heading north to their homes in the states.

We are packed and ready to go. The truck is in the garage and the jeep is outside so all we need to do is put our stuff in and go. We asked the guard to water our plants and so that will be taken care of.

JUNE 27-Left Bahia at around 4:30am. Crossed the border from Tecate Mexico, to San Diego around 3:30pm. It was a long drive and it was a real pleasure to see there were only a handful of cars waiting to cross. It took us about 20-25 minutes until we were through customs. The guys were kind of bored so they had us go through secondary. It was more like a practice for the guy. It didn’t take long and we had a nice conversation with the guy doing the search and his boss. His boss graduated from Bremerton High School in Bremerton, Washington. What a small world. We drove to La Mesa in San Diego and stayed in the Holiday Inn that night. We were really tired. After checking in we walked across the street to Costco to get a couple of things and then went back to our room to change for dinner. Afterwards we went back to our room and tried watching T.V. and ended up falling asleep. We got a good night sleep!!! In the morning we were up at 4:00am again and on the road to get through L.A. before rush hour traffic. We made it through L.A. smoothly and in record time. We treated ourselves to breakfast at Denny’s and then hit the road again. It was a very long day but we made it to Hayward, California and stopped for the night. We are relaxing and catching up with emails and then we are heading to McDonald’s for dinner. Milkshake here I come!!!! It is around 95 degrees but it is a hot dry heat so it doesn’t really bother us. Not like the hot and humid Bahia we came from!!! I think we got out of Bahia just in time as it was getting pretty hot.

Tomorrow we will be in Oregon. We left the hotel before around 7:00am. I still had breakfast bars for us for breakfast. So we didn’t wait around for the breakfast room to open as we wanted to get on the road before it got hot. The temperatures are suppose to be in the 100’s so we are heading to Brookings Oregon.

We had a good drive and we are out of the heat. It is 80 degrees, but it is breezy so I got cold!! We stopped in Eureka for lunch at Applebee’s. We had good sandwiches. We left there and headed for the Oregon border. Robert told us about a liquor place where you can save a lot of money before crossing the border so we found it and stopped. I had spoken to Ron before that and got his list so we went shopping. Then it was on to Brookings. We found Robert and Kristi’s house (which belonged to her parents) and it is lovely with beach access. After we were shown to our room and shown downstairs where they are piling all their stuff from the house they sold, we sat on the deck. They had some friends visiting, Kathy and Ted from Medford, and were camping in their front yard in their camper. They were on the beach when we arrived so Krisiti and Robert visited with us for a while then Kathy came up from the beach. She said Ted was still down there trying to catch fish. The salmon are running so he was hoping to catch one. After talking to Kathy for a bit, we decided to go down to the beach and see how Ted was doing. Well he didn’t catch any fish but he was having fun. There was a cool breeze at the house but when we got down on the beach it was rather warm and pleasant. Robert told us that yesterday they had grey whales scratching the rocks just off shore and they could watch them from their deck. How cool!!!! They didn’t show up today unfortunately. Ted packed up and we headed back to the house and started preparing dinner. We had white fish, sweet potatoes and salad. For dessert we had brownies. Everything was really good. After dinner when the table was cleared and dishes put in the dishwasher, we sat in the living room with the gas fireplace lit. The wind came up this afternoon and cooled things down considerably. We ate outside but it got cold after we finished so we came inside and refreshed our drinks and sat in the living room and got warm and talked. It was a good day. We will leave tomorrow and go up the Oregon coast and stay somewhere for the night then get to Washington the next day. We are so acclimated to Bahia that I am actually cold here!!! That’s o.k. I packed warm clothes. I am actually wearing socks right now!!!! We have thoroughly enjoyed out visit!!!! They are very nice people.

The next morning we were rested and after visited with everyone at breakfast we decided it was time to head out. It was close to 10:00am. We had a wonderful time and Robert said he would buy the boat. Things won’t happen until toward the end of September. But it is going to happen!!!!! We drove Hwy 101 north and went through the little towns and had a nice drive. The weather is beautiful and breezy. We decided to try and find a place to stay for the night, maybe even two. We kept looking for a place as we entered the towns but nothing looked worth staying in. We finally ended up at the Best Western Agate Beach hotel in Newport, Oregon. We stayed there last year and enjoyed our visit. We decided to stay 2 nights so Dave could have a break from driving and me sitting and navigating!!! The sun was shining and it was around 80 degrees. It was comfortable outside. Once we checked in and got all our stuff in the room I changed clothes and headed for the exercise room. I worked some weights then walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes. After that I stretched and returned to the room. I grabbed my computer and went to the lobby to type a letter to my eldest son and check emails. Around 6 or so Dave came down to ask how much longer and I wasn’t finished yet but it was already after 6 so I quit. I will finish tomorrow. When I got back to the room I changed my clothes and we headed downstairs for dinner. We sat in the sport bar and had ordered sandwiches for dinner. I had a vegetarian wrap which was delicious and hit the spot and Dave had a deli sandwich of shredded prime rib and cheese. Then it was back to the room to watch T.V. and bed. I was able to get a few pictures of the sunset and the light house on the point. It was a beautiful day!!!!!

Wave Sweeper Is Still In Limbo

May has brought us some very nice weather. Blue skies and temperatures in the upper 80’s.

Well here is what is going on this month. I have gotten together with the gals to play hand and foot and Mexican train. In a couple weeks almost everyone will be heading back to the states for summer, to return in the fall around October. So it will be pretty quiet here.

A couple of us gals have been getting together at my friend Annie’s house to exercise with Zumba Gold. It is fun and that is just what I needed to rev up my exercise program. The gold is for us old gals because it is a lower pace than the original but you still get to dance and work the pounds off. Right now I have the DVD as Annie let me borrow it while her and her husband, and 3 other couples take off for 2 weeks of camping.

Our friends Creela and Phil invited us and some other people to a birthday celebration for Phil last night, the 16th. We went to Alejandrina’s restaurant in town and I made a cake for desert. We had a good time.

Today---the 17th we arrived in Santa Rosalia. Robert and Kristi are coming to see the boat tomorrow and will stay overnight. We can take our time showing the boat to them. They still aren’t in a position to buy it yet, but it is only a matter of time. They will leave on Sunday to go back to their house in Loreto, south of Santa Rosalia, and we leave on Monday heading to Bahia.

We were suppose to get zippers and thread for the boat screens but unfortunately our canvas guy didn’t mail them in time to get to a friends house so he could bring them with him to Bahia when he came. Bummer. I guess we will just get them when we go to Washington this summer and see about getting the zippers replaced when we get back to Mexico.

The sun is eating away the thread on the bimini over the helm station. I am using sail tape to keep it together. We are definitely going to have to do something about that.

Usually the next day after arrival to Santa Rosalia I rinse out the cockpit, but didn’t have a chance as Robert and Kristi are coming tomorrow. Actually it was a little dusty but not bad so all is well. It is a little warmer here then Bahia, but there is a nice breeze.

Robert and Kristi arrived and we gave hugs all around. The first thing Kristi said was it felt like she knew us because of all the emails and phone calls back and forth. Very nice people. We spent the day going through the boat. Robert already saw it so I took Kristi and showed her all the storage pookas and everything. They asked questions and we supplied the answers. Neither one has sailed for a long time. Kristi took sailing lessons many years ago and Robert has his 100 ton license to operate boats. Kristi and Robert own a fishing boat (small) so they know about traveling on water. We suggested a boating class might be good to take when they go back to Oregon. She and Robert want to learn how to operate the boat. We had them unroll the mainsail and it is good we did because it hadn’t been done in so long we had some trouble getting it to roll. We finally did and unrolled and rolled it up about 3 times so all is good. Robert pretty much did the mainsail and Kristi unrolled and rolled the headsail. They got to get the feel of how hard or easy it is to do. They aren’t doing any long distance cruising right now until they get use to the boat. We offered to help them and they were grateful. Kristi was overwhelmed a bit with all the information but that is to be expected. We suggested also she read a couple books that talk about the basics of sailing. They actually have one of the books titled ‘Chapman Piloting’. We went to dinner and Robert and Kristi paid for our dinner which was nice. We will treat them to breakfast in the morning. Dave filled them with his stories of when he worked with NOAA and the adventures and places he got to go for work, in addition to corrections and things he fixed on our boat. Kristi asked me what my favorite memories were of places we have been. So we talked about that then around 10:00pm we went to bed.

Sunday morning everyone was up by 7:00am and we fixed coffee and sat in the cockpit and talked. We discussed more of the boat and Dave ran the engine, bow thruster and turned the max prop to show them how it moves the boat. All worked great. Then we ran the generator. So they know all systems on the boat work and are well maintained. They like the idea that the boat was well maintained and Dave did a lot of trouble shooting with problems we had. Like Robert and Kristi said---they are reaping the benefits of all our knowledge and careful care of the boat. I showed Kristi the provisioning list I made when we were cruising where it listed everything we had on the boat, the quantity and where to find it. Both of them thought it was a really great idea!! I shared with Kristi I read a lot of how to provision and sailing stories and all to prepare for our voyage. Dave and I will be able to share the knowledge we have with them so they will enjoy ownership of the boat.

We treated them to breakfast at our favorite place to eat, Tercos. We had never eaten breakfast there so we gave it a try. Wonderful food!!! We had a nice breakfast. After the bill was paid we stopped at the outdoor fruit and vegetable stand on our way back to the boat. Kristi and Robert got some fruit and veggies. They said they don’t get really good fruits and vegetables in Loreto which surprised me. I figured with the good sized community they have there that wouldn‘t be a problem. They said when they do get good veggies and fruit it is expensive. So I am glad we live where we do. We did think about finding a place in Loreto, but fell in love with Bahia instead. I’m glad we did. There are a lot of American and Canadian people living there. Having a large gringo community doesn’t interest us. We want to experience the life of the Mexican people. Plus if you are around a lot of the Mexican people you have to learn some Spanish!! That’s what I want! Anyway---Kristi and Robert had to get going so we got to their car and said our goodbyes. We don’t know when the next time we will see them, but they definitely want the boat. Robert said there are two prospective people who want to buy their house in Brookings, Oregon. So he really thinks his house will sell around July/August timeframe. He is going to contact the broker and tell him he is very interested in our boat and let him know what is going on with his finances. That way everyone is well informed. So who knows----by September we may have new owners of our boat. They want the 4 of us to take the boat to Escondido, which is south of Santa Rosalia, to get it hauled out and the bottom painted. He will make the arrangements for the paint and haul out when the time comes. While the boat is being worked on they invited us to stay with them at their house in Loreto. Loreto is really close to Escondido. Robert doesn’t see a need to have a survey done on the boat. After talking to us and Dave filling him in on all the maintenance he did, Robert knows the boat is sound. That is a good feeling. I think this is a start of a good relationship. Robert made the comment that when they take the boat over and go to Puerto Vallarta and something happens with the boat, Dave will be the first person he calls to tell us to board a plane and get down there!!!! Since we have owned 6 hunters, Dave knows pretty much everything about them and there isn’t much he can’t fix!!! I told Robert and Kristi we could be crew with them until they learn the boat!!! I think that would be fun!!!! I wouldn’t mind that at all!!! After they left, Dave shared with me that the house they were trying to get a reverse mortgage for went through. The only problem is when Kristi’s dad died, there were a lot of bills incurred and so most of that money went to pay off the debt and there wasn’t much left to make an offer on the boat. So now he thinks he has his house sold and we will go from there. I believe with all my heart and soul that it will happen and Robert and Kristi are the perfect owners for our boat. God has a plan and it is in the works. Hallelujah!!!! Good things are coming!!!

We head back to Bahia tomorrow morning. We are stopping in Vizcaino for groceries and I have to find a Similar Pharmacy either there or in Guerrero Negro to get more cholesterol pills. The pharmacy here was closed. I thought it might be since it is Sunday. No worries.

The evening is pleasant and it is cooling down. Yesterday was a warm one but with the air conditioner going it was nice. We all kept cool. Today we ran the air conditioner for a while and now we just have the fans going. The evening is cool so no problem sleeping. So on to my wine and relaxing!!! Life is very good!!!!!

We stopped in Vizcaino and did shopping. Picked up a couple of things for our neighbor and found no Similar pharmacy in town. So we shall stop in Guerrero Negro as we know they have one. I did a stupid thing------I forgot my cholesterol medicine on the boat. The container fell over and rolled next to the wall under the shelf in the galley and I should have gotten it then but didn’t so out of sight out of mind. Uh oh!!!! I didn’t realize I left it behind until we were half way home. So I am hoping I can get 2 packages of the medicine at Similars. Well Similars had it but only one package of 30 at 10mg each. I have to take 40mg a day so that means 4 tablets of the 10mg. It won’t last long. They said they would get more in on Saturday. This was Monday. Oh well. It is what it is. I walked just a couple buildings away to another pharmacy and they didn’t have any. So I was stuck. At this time Dave didn’t know I had forgotten my pills on the boat. I had enough to get me through this month and then would supplement with the 10 mg. So now what will I do. Dave asked me about the medicine and if I had enough and I had to tell him the stupid thing I did. So now I will have to figure something out. It is a 2-½ hour drive to Guerrero Negro and it makes for a long day.

We made it home safely, unloaded the car and put groceries and other things away then relaxed. We will be going back to Santa Rosalia at the end of June to pay moorage for the summer.

We heard from Robert a day or two after we got home and he said the sale of the house was good. We really don’t know any more than that, but something is in the works. Robert had contacted the broker in La Paz and Mike sent us an email stating that fact. So the ball is rolling. No offer yet. I’m sure we will hear from Robert when his business is taken care of. They are heading to Oregon in July to attend Kristi’s father’s funeral. We are heading to Washington in July so we figure nothing will be done about the boat until after summer. It would be nice to have an offer on it before we go though. We shall see.

We didn’t get our zippers and thread and won’t from our canvas guy in Washington. Looks like he is out of business!!!! The friend that was going to bring them down for us went back to his house yesterday and reported he never got them. So now we have a call in to Tori, a good friend who sells boats in Seattle, to contact a warehouse to see what the cost is for a box of zippers. So looks like we will get the zippers and thread when we go north. Oh well. It is what it is. At least we can get them.

There are 2 water pumps in town. The one in town has a pump broken so they can’t distribute water. The place where we get our water is at the south end of town and their water comes from a spring. When the water place in town breaks down, it puts a strain on the water supply from the spring so they have to limit how much water people can get a day. They are only open from 7am to noon every day except Sunday. We need water and asked our guy that brings it to come out. I usually send an email to his wife, Yolanda and request water and Andres generally comes out the next day. We waited and no water for a week. I had sent 2 emails to Yolanda but didn’t get a response. She goes to Ensenada to visit the doctor frequently. She has either a stomach or intestine problem that seems to be getting worse. Anyway----we asked our friend Penny & Murray to stop and see him when they went to town and send him out to our place. They live close to town so they are in town quite a bit. They passed the info on to Andres so I figured we would get water the next day. Nope!!! So when I went to town on Saturday to get groceries I stopped to see him. He said Yolanda was in Ensenada and he could deliver water to us on Monday. So I said o.k. Another day wouldn’t make much difference. Well Monday came and went and no water. We were getting pissed because now we have to think of who else to bring water and it would cost us more. We have a 1250 gallon tank we hold water in but only let the water get down so far before filling up. We know that the water pump situation in town happens a lot so we don’t want to drain the tank. In this case we would just almost empty it and then ask Pepe, he runs the ‘Home Depot’ here (figure of speech), and delivers water to many people, to come out and fill it. It is just more expensive. I was holding off doing laundry until we got more water, but decided to get it done.

Well guess who showed up Tuesday morning with water at 6:30am!!!! You got it!!!! Dave and I figured Yolanda was back from Ensenada and read her message from me. So we are good. We are still a little low but Andres will be back next Tuesday to bring more water and we will be totally full then.

Our friends Creela and Phil had a rock path put in on the south side of their house here. It looks really nice. Next year they will expand it to go around the east side of the house and around the fire pit. It will be awesome.

Our other friends and neighbors, Lynn and Tom are having a garage built. Busy time. Lynn and Tom are only here for another month so they want to get that done before going back to San Diego.

Dave went fishing with Phil about a week ago. Caught a large sheeps head fish. I didn’t get to see it but I was told it was pretty. I guess it is a good eating white fish. No yellow tail yet.

Phil came over the other day and Dave mentioned he heard that Phil wanted to do some riding and exploring on the quad. Creela can’t go long distance on a quad due to her back, so Dave said he would love to go sometime with him. They couldn’t go that day because we were going to a Memorial Day dinner party, but they said the next day would be great. So Dave will ride Phil’s small quad and follow Phil on his new one he brought down. I was bummed as I wanted to go too-----but Dave is going to see if it is something we might be able to do together.

Well the guys just got home from quad riding. They went down to Los Flores. Dave and I and Noreen and Ron went down there in the truck about 3 years ago. It was fun. Anyway---Dave said it was a bit warm (further inland from the water it is warming up). They were on the tail end of the exploring season. No one goes hiking or exploring June on due to the hot weather and snakes. They had fun but the trail Phil wanted to take Dave on had been washed out and the going would have been rough. So they did some exploring and Dave brought back a deer antler for me!!!! Cool!! The guys were gone for about 3 hours. Dave told me it would have been hard on my back because the trail was rough. Darn. Well they had fun and that is all that matters. We’ll have to figure out a way to go sightseeing in the near future.

Today, Tuesday the 28th is Susannah’s birthday. That is Jons’ wife, our new daughter-in-law. He is so happy being a dad and husband. I am thrilled for him. Little munchkin, Jonathan is growing like a weed. Can’t wait to see him this summer.

I’ve been in a mental slump ever since the Art and Craft show. I was very disappointed in not selling much. I had envisioned making some money, but the Americans didn’t come down until after Easter because it was so early this year. So I had been struggling with being bummed and then not selling the boat-----So needless to say I needed to work harder on pulling myself up by my boot straps and move on. Life is full of ups and downs and this won’t be the last time I have to deal with disappointment. With that said------we got some discouraging news in an email from our boat broker (Mike) this morning. Seems as though Robert and Kristi went to La Paz to talk to him. While they were there Kristi wanted to look at a 50 foot power boat they had for sale. THOSE were the discouraging words!!! To even think they would consider a power boat. Kristi is a little apprehensive about starting to sail this late in life and so she is checking out other options. The boat they were looking at is a really nice one. Dave said if we had the option, it would be a consideration to live on. But that’s not going to happen. He said that after he looked at the pictures online. Anyway----they have to be comfortable in what they want. It is an investment. So we shall see.

The weather is absolutely wonderful!!!! Flat seas, calm breeze but no fish are biting. Dave and Phil went out last week and caught bait fish only!!!! The water is getting warmer so the Yellow Tail should be here soon!!! We saw a whale shark a week or so ago but apparently he was just scouting around and it is still too cold for them so we haven’t seen any more.

I’ve been trying to walk on the beach at low tide to get more exercise so today I started out and figured I would keep going if my back was up to it. Well it was and I had a wonderful walk to the large estuary. I wanted to see the baby grey whale the locals towed into the estuary a couple weeks ago. There was a huge uproar with a couple American ladies here in town that thought it would be disastrous to have the whale decompose letting all the oils and other things enter the water and soil. The estuary doesn’t get flushed out on a regular basis so they were concerned about the environment. Emails were put out by one of the women telling everyone to email the office in town that deals with the environment and wildlife. Phil went down shortly after getting the email to check on the whale and said it had already blown up and there was no moving it. The ladies wanted it taken out of the estuary. I didn’t respond because nature has a way of taking care of itself and I didn’t see the harm. Phil, who is a marine biologist, didn’t think it was a big deal either. So when I got to the whale, all that was left was bones and a little of the skin. The birds, coyotes and fiddle crabs have been feasting on the remains. As I walked on the dry estuary bed toward the whale I had to dodge a bazillion fiddle crabs on the way!!!! It was amazing. They were getting what they could that was left of the flesh and skin. Nature has cleaned it up. Just a few days ago there was another dead baby whale found floating in the bay. This time the guys towed it across the bay to an alcove where nature would take care of it. The word was it wasn’t a grey whale but another type. It is a shame that these little guys get lost and end up in here. It was a wonderful walk and I must have walked about 6 miles. I think it is 3 miles one way.

Getting Closer To The Sell Of Wave Sweeper

Here we are in April and there are no fool’s today!!!!! Being it is the 1st of April. HA!!! O.K.!
We are on the boat in Santa Rosalia. We didn’t have much traffic as we thought we would for after Easter vacationers. It was nice!! A lot of cars heading north though!

Today was a good day as we accomplished quite a bit on the boat. I cleaned the leather seats below, dusted, cleaned and polished the stainless steel on the stern of the boat and washed the shower curtain. The shower curtain actually turned out not to be as dirty as I thought it was. That was a plus!!!! Dave washed off the bird doo on the deck and took our poor worn and torn tarp off. We will look for another one tonight when we go to town for dinner. The Santa Rosalia famous hot dogs are calling us!!!! They are sooooo good but pack a whollop for cholesterol. I only have one. Dave eats 2. The hot dog is wrapped with bacon and fried and then they put mustard, ketchup, onions, cheese, and tomatoes on it. YUMMMMM!!!!

While I was working on the stainless steel, Dave went to the immigration office just to see how things were progressing and when he returned he had our permanent resident cards!!!!! Yahooooo!!!!! We will never have to do this again!!!!! Praise the Lord!!! Next is the boat!!!

Speaking of that, we have heard from Robert and Kristi and they will be here to see the boat around the 25th of this month. We are planning on coming down about a week before they get here to spiff up the boat and make sure the stainless is shiny and the boat is clean. It will be nice to meet these people as we’ve been conversing with them for months now. They too have had their share of financial problems so hopefully that is coming to an end not only for them but us too!!!! The Lord has a plan and it is in place. Whatever transpires will be a good thing no matter what!!

There are about 8 or 9 sailboats in the marina now. They are heading north in a few days for San Carlos (which is on the mainland, across the sea from where we are). They will haul the boat out of the water and put it on the hard for the summer months. We were able to see a couple that had cruised on their boat with us and they are crewing on another couples boat. They, like us, are going to sell their boat and move on land. Eventually the old timers choose land as it does get harder to maneuver around on a boat. There are plenty of new cruisers out there to take our place. The only bad thing is they don’t know a lot about cruising, their boats or navigation. THAT is scary!!!! We were talking to our cruising friends today and they said the cruising isn’t like it used to be. It’s fun for a while and then it is time to get out!! The other thing is the new cruisers tend to THINK they know it ALL and don’t want to listen to us old folks!!! O.K. FINE!!!!

Alberto, who washes our boat, asked if he could work on the stainless steel. Another guy named Edgar, who also works at the marina, said he and Alberto could do it together. I say YES!!!! It will be easy for them as one will do one side while the other does the other side. I think it is awesome. Just doing the aft stainless is hard on my back. They are much younger!!! We were able to get a tarp for the boat and we put it on the day before leaving for Bahia. The boat looks nice but we will have to spiff it up the next time we come down.

Shortly after getting back to Bahia we were hit with a freak wind storm. We had sand everywhere. So guess what I got to do? I had to vacuum the blinds and all around the windows and sills, cupboard tops, etc. Then wipe down the counters and vacuum the floor. It is like a spring cleaning until the next big wind comes. It was unusual because it changed direction. First it would be out of the north, then south, then west, and east. It was coming every which way!!! A couple times we couldn’t see our neighbor’s house on either side of us due to the sand blowing. Winds got up to 60+. The screens in the windows rattled along with the windows. We tried putting a wood clothes pin between the window and frame but with the vibration it didn’t stay. We heard that thin cardboard works pretty well so we’ll have to try that. We were lucky though, we didn’t have to sleep in the trailer as it calmed down by bed time. A couple gusts happened during the night but nothing like we experienced during the day. We thought the roof was going to blow off. I’m NOT KIDDING!!!! Also we were concerned with the skylights. Well we made it through and no damage. Dave went on the roof and checked the T.V. antenna and the skylights the next day and all was good. The only thing that needs to be done is to put some cold tar around one of the skylights. Since he hates heights, he will ask our gate guard if he would go up on the roof and fix it for us. He is always willing to help and earn extra money. The wind was still blowing enough not to be safe on a ladder so we will have to wait and do that project later.

I was going to wash my windows, but settled for just the solar panels. The windows will have to wait.
We were having trouble getting our internet working and tried readjusting our antenna and we still couldn’t get a strong signal. Larry, our landlord had an old antenna that he got to work so we got that one and tried it and it is wonderful with a strong signal. Apparently where we are in Bahia the signal isn’t strong because they change the position of the one in the states. So the new antennas don’t work. Dave finally was able to get a hold of a guy that has an old antenna on his roof in Bufedora, Ensenada and it is free as long as the person that wants it takes it down. Larry has tried several times to connect with the guy but either the guy was not home or Larry wasn’t home. We got lucky and so we made the trip to get it off his roof. The drive up was very windy and I was concerned we wouldn’t be able to get the antenna due to the wind, but the next day was wonderful. We stopped at Walmart and got a few things and then Costco for a couple of things then off to Bufedora. There is a very large population on ex-pats there who have large homes overlooking the Pacific and Ensenada. Wouldn’t want to live there as it is always windy!! And it isn’t really warm either. Anyway----we have the antenna.

Just the other day Dave switched out the antenna Larry let us borrow for the one we got in Ensenada. Things weren’t going so well. It was looking like it wasn’t going to work and we thought it was a dud but as it turned out, Larry came over (since he is the Bahia cable guy) and toyed with it and it works!!! We now have a stronger signal than ever before so we are good to go and internet is up and running!!! Larry has his old antenna back and our new antenna sits in the garage. Because Star Band internet (which is what most people have down here) is in the San Diego area, the main antenna that services the San Diego, Los Angeles area doesn’t point to where we can pick it up down here, so reception is weak for us. A lot of the people are experiencing problems. I’m just glad we have ours up and running again.

We heard from Robert about coming down to look at the boat. He and a friend are driving down in Roberts truck and will be at the boat on the 26th. Robert’s wife, Kristi is flying to Loreto that day so she won’t be coming. Both Robert and his wife have seen pictures of the inside of the boat and Robert saw the outside at the marina but he wants to see the inside in person. So mid afternoon on Friday he and his friend will stopping at the marina in Santa Rosalia. FINALLY!!! If all goes well we will have to make some more trips down so we can take Kristi and Robert on a sea trial and get them familiar with the boat. But I am getting the cart before the horse. We will see what happens. In the meantime the threads that hold the zippers on the canvas are rotting and coming loose. We have new zippers coming down which we hope to get by next month. We may have to take all the screens from the cockpit off the boat and take them; the zippers and thread to La Paz to get them sewn, but we will deal with that later. Robert knew about what shape the zippers were in so there won’t be any surprises.

We are back on the boat, 24th and today the 25th are faced with the chore of cleaning the cockpit, get the water spots off the stainless steel around the main hatch and polish it afterwards. My job was easy compared to Dave’s. He has been working on the forward head all day. It is still losing pressure. He found one of the pieces, that work the flusher pedal, broken and he took the head apart again and discovered that the last time he put it together he did it incorrectly for the seals. So with the new part in and doing all the other stuff we hope it works. All that is left is to wash the windshield and straighten up the guest state room. I have been leaving the cover on the windshield because it too needs sewing and I hate to take it off but I’m hoping if I am really careful taking it off tomorrow, I will be able to clean it and the windshield and replace it again. Cross your fingers it works!!!

Dave finished working on the forward head but it still is losing pressure. It has Dave baffled. We can’t do anything more now, but it will need to be resolved before we sell the boat. He is putting all his tools and parts away in the guest stateroom and then I will make the bed. Right now I have to walk to town and visit the ATM, the pharmacy and tienda (store).
On our way down to Santa Rosalia we had to stop in Guerrero Negro to have Dave see the dentist. The gum to his front tooth is sore which indicated an infection. Luckily we had the antibiotic, Amoxicillin to start him on. Dr. says he is going to need a root canal and along with taking the Amoxicillin he will need to get a pain killer. We are hoping to get an appointment so we can stop on our way home from Santa Rosalia and get it done. There is always something to add to the adventure right?????!!!! Well I am off to town.

I made it to the ATM, pharmacy for Dave’s pain pills and mine and the only thing I couldn’t do was shop at the store as they were closed and wouldn’t open again until 5:00pm. It was after 4:00pm so I decided to either try tomorrow before 2:00pm or stop after we have dinner tomorrow night. My back was really hurting but I took my pain pill and the combination of walking and the medicine made it feel better.

We took the sheet lines off the headsail this morning and have been soaking and rinsing them all afternoon. I rinsed them well and now all that is needed is to soak them overnight with a little fabric softener. I use a bounce dryer sheet. It makes them softer and more pliable and they smell good too. Ha!! Tomorrow morning we will rinse them and then tie them to the headsail and let them dry. We have been talking about doing that for a long time. It’s amazing what you do when you know there are people coming to look at the boat. I guess it gives an incentive!!
The boat looks nice and when the windshield is cleaned it will almost look new!!!!! Ha!!! Actually we get nice comments on our boat all the time.

Well I am sitting here writing this with the heating pad on my back. Yeesh!!!! Hopefully it will feel much better tomorrow. Too much up and down action with the plunger to clean the sheet lines in the bucket!!!!
We paid our guys Alberto and Edgar for doing the stainless. It looks really nice.

My back is doing better today so I am going to wash the inside and outside of the windshield and the cover too. It cleaned up nicely. The cover and outer window was filthy and looks so much better now. There are water spots but the next time we come down I will use spot remover on it. The cover made the taking off the windshield just fine and now is back in place. I will need to bring my sewing machine down next time to sew the one of the edges on the cover. We were able to relax in the cockpit and enjoy a clean boat.

As we were waiting for Robert to show up, I did laundry. Unfortunately the marina hasn’t fixed the problem of washers being fixed so we usually have to guess which on is working. A cruiser had been doing his laundry that morning so I got the scoop from him of which washer and dryer worked. So when he was finished I took my turn in the laundry room. It took a long time for the clothes to wash as water just trickled in the tub, but after about an hour or so they were ready for the dryer. I transferred the clothes to the dryer and started it. Then I went back to the boat to return in about 20 minutes. I expected the clothes to be dry or almost dry and when I opened the door and felt the clothes they were still wet!!!! I didn’t feel any heat from the dryer and said------uh oh!!! We told Edgar and he discovered they were out of propane. So I took the clothes to the boat and hung them on the life and the clean sheet lines on the starboard side of the boat in true cruising style!!!! Right after that Robert showed up. Wouldn’t ya know it. We told him what happened and we all had a good laugh. So we went through the boat with Robert telling where everything was like batteries, etc. We ran the engine which sounded amazingly good. He likes what he sees and mentioned about having it hauled out in Escondido to get a survey done. He would have to pay for that. But the thing is--until he buys the boat there won’t be any of that going on. He has to wait for things to sell before he can buy the boat so it is a waiting game. He wants Kristi, his wife to see it but they won’t be able to come back to the boat until her mother leaves. They will let us know when they can be back.

We were able to schedule an appointment for Dave to get his root canal done tomorrow, on our way home to Bahia tomorrow.
Dave got the root canal done and all is well. Thank goodness we were able to get it done so quickly. We have to make one more trip to Guerrero Negro for a checkup but that is all. It is a 2-½ hour drive from Bahia to Gro. Negro. It’s 5 to Santa Rosalia. So not a bad trip and is done in one day!!

We are back in the bay again. I have been working on a mobile for our grandson David who is 4. He loves jelly fish so I decided I would make a mobile out of the bottoms of plastic tonic water bottles. They have five bubbles to help the bottle stand up so I cut just the bottom off the bottle, glued some clear glass beads (the ones you can buy for decorating glass vases and other things for show) in the indentations. Then I glued some fabric ribbon around the edge then gathered ribbon for the tentacles. Anyway----I think it turned out great and I’m sure David will love it. The breeze will allow the tentacles to sway which is cool. Here is a picture!! I’m thinking that might be a great project for the show next year. While we are in the states for the summer, I want to get some cellophane for the tentacles. That should be cool and very inexpensive. I am making a turtle out of rock and shells for my friend Noreen to give to her when we get to Washington. I promised I would make her one. I am also working on the dragon/wizard counted cross stitch and the afghan for Eian. So I am always busy doing projects. I still find time to read as well.