Web Log of Liberty Call II

Final entry

2008-10-03T03:21:00.000-07:00

Herein lies the final entry into the weblog of Liberty Call II. We have posted almost 390 entries during our four years of cruising the Pacific Coast, but now the deal is done, Liberty Call II has new owner, and we are settling into our new home. The house will keep us busy through the winter, after which time we will resume some traveling. We already have made our reservations to go to Antiqua, Guatemala, with Dave and Merry of AirOps and Gary and Judiee of Reverie during Semana Santa (Holy Week) next April. I may start a new blog once we start traveling again, but for now, I don't think the ventures of fixing up our home will be of much interest to anyone but us.

The final leg of our journey home was tough. We stayed on I-10 all the way from Phoenix here. We drove more than 600 miles the first day and stopped in Van Horn, Texas, home of Chuy's Restaurant which John Madden has made famous. The football announcer is famous for not taking planes and only driving between games on his bus. He first stopped at Chuy's in 1988, had the pollo picado (chicken cooked with onions, tomatoes and peppers) and loved it. (I tried the dish but thought that Ron's chicken enchiladas were much better, more flavorful.)

Our second day was more interesting as we had already gone another 600 miles around Houston when I started looking for hotels. None were to be found. All were booked with people who had been displaced by hurricane Ike. I must have called more than 25 hotels between Houston and Beaumont and could find nothing. (By the way, my source of hotels was our little Garmin Nuvi 200, which provides names, addresses and, most importantly, phone numbers of the nearest hotels. Bless that little device.) We finally found the Crown Motel, which was likely built sometime in the 1930s or 1940s on the side of the old Highway 90. We paid $45 (cash only) and knew it would be an interesting place when we saw a couple of pickup trucks with guys hanging out in the courtyard. Our next door neighbor wore the shortest, tightest blue jean shorts I've ever seen and silver 4-inch round earrings. Someone on her cell phone was yelling at her.

When we got into our room, we were struck by the smell of stale smoke. An awful, horrible stench. We didn't dare walk with bare feet on the stained rug. We just fell into bed, very tired after almost 800 miles on the road. I put some scented hand lotion on and held my hand close to my nose to help abate the smell. We got up early and left. There was no coffee pot, and the refrigerator had been stolen. The cleanliness of the McDonald's was welcome.

The third day found us home and unloading all our belongings that had been on Liberty Call II and in storage units. We think we see a garage sale in our near future.

We are so fortunate to have had our time on the water. We had some great times and made some wonderful friends. LCII is also fortunate is have found such good owners. They are really excited about owning her and plan to take very good care of her.

So if you ever find yourself in Pass Christian, Miss, about an hour east of New Orleans on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, stop by 129 Elva Drive. Our home should be ready for visitors sometime in November.

Life is good. Very, very good, indeed.

LCII has new owners

2008-09-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

We got lucky. Not only did we sell the boat fairly quickly during a time of economic weakness, but even better, the new owners are excited about the boat and intend to take care of her in the manner in which she's accustomed. Jim and Mara Hart are real estate brokers (Vantage Realty) who live in San Jose del Cabo, called the South East Cape Area and just east of the better-known (but a lot more touristy) Cabo San Lucas. They plan to take her to her home in the new marina there in mid-November. These happy people have a home on the marina so they'll be able to see the boat. Cool.

We had a fun, albeit VERY hot, three days with them and all went well all through the survey and sea trial, which could not have been better. We sailed back and forth for an hour or so under sweet westerly winds. The only hiccup was that those winds which are so sweet on the outside funnel through the anchorage and get pretty interesting. We had to go into a downwind slip (with the wind behind us) and turn quickly around a big power boat in order to get into our temporary slip. Unfortunately, we didn't turn fast enough and the winds pushed us into the dock. Ouch! The good news is that the damage on the boat wasn't too bad. The yard manager said we hit in the strongest part of the boat. The bad news is that it cost us a little extra money.

We were fortunate to be dealing with good people who really wanted the boat and to have a good boat agent, Mike Rickman of La Paz Yachts. We were also fortunate to have a good friend Mark of Sol Mate who was there waiting for us and who then helped us deal with the bump. Mark went and found the duck tape and Mike jumped into the water and worked to cover up the hole to make sure water would not get into it. They all did much more: they all helped lift our sagging spirits. We are very grateful.

We are now in Phoenix and will start in the early morning for our last leg home, a journey of more than 1,800 miles in a rental truck with no cruise control. Oh, joy.

One last time

2008-09-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it seems as if we can't stay put in one place for too long before we have to take a trip, but this time it's different. The trip we are on now is not our usual, take-our-time and meander trip. This time we are closing down our cruising life. We are emptying storage units in San Diego and San Carlos, and we are going to finalize the sale of the boat -- if all goes according to plan.

Our first leg started on Monday evening -- after Ike blew through -- when we flew to San Diego. Tuesday morning found us at Budget renting a mini-truck. We then went to our storage unit, found stuff we had forgotten we had, and loaded it onto the truck. We visited with Ron's son Ryan and daughter Vanessa, did some shopping at Trader Joe's (several cases of wine) and Costco (we went there for vitamins and wound up buying towels, pillows, robes and other stuff) and then headed to Phoenix.

At Phoenix (actually Fountain Hills), we unloaded all our stuff into the garage of our wonderful friends Bobbie and Robert, then borrowed their van and headed to San Carlos, which is due south of Tuscon. (You can't take rental trucks into Mexico so we are very grateful for generous friends.)

We are in San Carlos now. We'll meet the surveyor for the boat this morning and start working on preparing the boat for the buyer to see it. The buyer and our agent fly in from La Paz on Monday. The sale is pending the survey and sea trial, so by Wednesday or Thursday, we should be done.

We will clear out our storage unit here and the head back to Phoenix where we'll get another Budget truck and fill it with stuff (and I mean some of it is just stuff) from both units and head back to Mississippi. I do not look forward to that last leg. I did not know that rental trucks do not have cruise control nor do they have tape decks or CD players. It's going to be one long, long, long trip home.

So far, we have not had any serious pangs of remorse (just some little nibbles) over selling LCII. We have had some wonderful years with her and made some great friends along the way. Life is so good.

Ike's Beach 091208

2008-09-12T08:09:00.001-07:00

Even though we are more than 200 miles away from its center, hurricane Ike came in and took over our beach which had already been closed due to Gustav. The white sand normally stretches out a couple of hundred feet from the seawall. This morning the waves had smothered the beach and were hitting the low sea wall, splashing over onto the highway. Winds gusts were easily over 40mph.

We watched a pelican flying low over the raging waters. A large wave reached up and pulled him into the water. We did not see what happened to him after. Ron said he was likely okay as pelicans are strong swimmers. I hope so.

Here is a video clip of our morning walk. You can see the pier that was first wrecked by Katrina in the background.

If it's like this here, I hate to think what it's like on the Louisiana and Texas coasts. It's going to be a very long day.

Catching up on photos

2008-09-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we have posted any photos. For that matter, it's been a while since I even took them off my camera but that's a different issue. Anyway, here are a few photos from our recent travels and time in Pass Christian.

We visited the home of Doug and Elizabeth, whom we played golf with for years at Deep Cliff in Cupertino, California, before we went to Peoria and then Lake of the Ozarks. I met Elizabeth back in 1989 when I was transferred to Santa Clara by Northern Telecome. I just like some of these photos. The Outer Banks are very photogenic.The Outer Banks

This web album is from our visit with Dick and Pam, cruising buddies formerly of Lady Pamela who now live in a wonderful home on the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. We were able to spend a few days with them in late July. DickandPam

Here are some photos taken of the beach close to our home. We often walk there, morning and evening. Our Beach

And lastly, some photos of our home. Our House.

Enjoy.

Thanks

2008-09-07T08:52:00.001-07:00

One of the nice things to come out of Gustav was that many of our friends, including quite a few from the cruising community, contacted us to see how we were doing. It is very nice to know that so many people cared. Thank you. Thank you.

Our home and neighborhood fared very well. Remember that even though we are near the beach, the elevation of our home is 31 feet. Gustav's storm surge was 10-11 feet which made a mess of the beach, highway 90 and harbor, but did not touch many homes. It would take one hell of a surge to hit our house.

Now the wind is a different issue. We boarded up all our windows to protect them from flying debris. We are going to have some large branches near the roof cut back. The worst thing that could happen is that we get hit by one of the many tornadoes that spin out of hurricanes. There is little we can do to protect ourselves from those other than just not be here. We are fortunate to have a 'hurricane hole' in Natchez and another in Atlanta.

Most of the windows are still boarded up and will stay that way for a few more weeks. The plywood covers are a pain to put up and take down.

Anyway, many thanks again for your care and concern.

Our hurricane hole

2008-09-03T12:09:00.001-07:00

The home of Tina and Frank D'Antoni is a wonderful place to hang out while hurricanes hit the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts. We have been here since Saturday and every night since Sunday, we have had dinner with at least 10 and sometime 22 people. Tonight we will have pot roast with 14 friends and family followed by a game of Catch Phrase.

Part of the reason is that we've had to eat us food that was thawing quickly. We were without power for over a day. The 7 lb. roast is a casualty of the storm, so Tina invited a crew over. The table is already set and the pot roasting is simmering stove pot. She has this amazing ability to serve large gatherings on a whim.

We had thought we'd return today (Wednesday) but decided to wait another day because when we woke this morning, the skies were still stormy and very wet. All is well and life is good.

Now we wait for the next hurricane.

Evacuation mode

2008-08-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Ron spent much of yesterday making sure that all the window covers will fit, and I organized the papers we will need to take with us. We filled the car and a five-gallon container with gas. Went to the bank and got some cash.

This morning, we played tennis (yes, it is hot and humid but we still play) and after, as as we drove back along the beach, we saw quite a few of the older historic homes (some of which are still being renovated) boarded up. I have to finish a couple of small paint projects, and Ron is already started to put the boards on the windows. The lack of light in the house is already unnerving. We will start packing the car soon and plan to leave early in the morning (Sunday) for Natchez, Miss. where my older sister and her husband have a second home. The trick will be to stay off the interstate and major highways as they are starting to get busy. We have laid out a route and hope that works. It should take about four hours to get there.

Some of our friends are staying as there is a good chance our area will only be on the eastern fringe of the storm, which will mean lots of rain and tropical storm winds. We could do that but actually are ready to take a little break from all this work on the house.

We hope to be back Wednesday. That is if Gustav stays on its present course, which is, of course, a Big IF. If he veers more northward, then all bets are off.

Prayers for all coastal communities are welcome.

Living with hurricanes

2008-08-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

The highlighted quote on the front page of today's SunHerald is this: "You need to be thinking that this is a Category 3 headed straight for the Mississippi Gulf Coast and know what you're going to do if that happens." Mike Womack, Mississippi Emergency Planning Agency.

He is, of course, referring to tropical storm Gustav, which will soon cut across Cuba and enter the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This activity is expected this time of year. Consequently, we spend a lot of time watching the weather channel. We also have two websites we refer to often:www.wunderground.com/tropical and www.noaawatch.gov

We have pulled out our hurricane tracking map and made our first mark of the season. Now we are going to shift gears a little. We've just added a couple of items to our project list for the day: get the window covers out of the attic and get them ready; pull together any documents (including insurance policies) we need to take with us; and start figuring out our evacuation plan. We can either go to Natchez where Tina and Frank have a home (about four hours away) or go to Atlanta where my son Fletcher and his family are (about five hours away). At least, we have options. Some people don't.

If the current projection holds, we may be in the northeast quadrant of Gustav by Monday. But hurricanes are strange creations and can shift directions on a whim. We'll be watching it closely. I think it's a safe bet to say that the Labor Day plans of lots of people will get screwed.

Life in a small town

2008-08-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

In no particular order, here are some thoughts about living in this small town:
*There is little to no traffic to deal with. Even when we cross Highway 90 to get to the beach, rarely do we have to wait for more than three or four cars.
*People smile and wave even if they don't know you.
*When we ran out of paint that we had bought in New Orleans, we went to the local hardware store and got it for about the same price. But the best part was that Stephen, who mixed and sold us the paint, had known my brother and mother. So we talked about him while he was preparing our paint.
*The neighbor down the street is the younger brother of a guy who drove the car on my first double date. And the architect of the town hall and library was my first boyfriend. The woman across the street is the aunt of the mayor; both were very good friends of my brother Mario.
*High school friends are nearby. On our second night in the house, Pattie brought over red beans and rice and stuffed bell peppers. The next day, Margaret dropped off her spare TV for us to use until we bought one.
*My sisters are close by. My older sister Tina lives in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, a little more than an hour westward. She is an interior designer and owner of The Little Shop; she has picked out our new floors (including ceramic tile that looks like wood for the great room) as well as the colors for the walls (which we are now painting) and the carpet (soon to come). My younger sister Germaine lives in Ocean Springs a little less than an hour to the east. She is our financial advisor (she works at AVL Wealthcare -- www.avlwealthcare.com). She tells how much money we can't spend on what Tina told us we should buy. I talk with both often.
*Our postman Steely stopped by to introduce himself.
*We have already joined Abbey Road Athletic Club, which has eight rubico (clay) tennis courts and a swimming pool. It's about five minutes from our home. After Saturday morning tennis, we drink mimosas and eat. After Wednesday night tennis, we bring out own food to grill and share, sit around the pool and drink. As one member described it, Abbey Road is a drinking club with a tennis problem. It's not quite that bad. Actually, it's a very fun place where we've been able to meet a group of good folks. We got introduced to it through Pattie (the red beans and rice friend) and her husband Mike. It's been easy to slip in.

The downside: no Trader Joe's or Costco (the nearest are in Atlanta). We can't buy beer or wine on Sunday. (This is Mississippi.) Produce in the stores is expensive and sorely lacking. (I really miss California when I do my grocery shopping.)

Elva Drive

2008-08-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

You can now find us at 129 Elva Drive in Pass Christian, Miss. By the way, the town's name is pronounced with the accent on the second syllable, so it's not Christian, like the religion, but more like ChrisCHAN. Must be a French thing.

We are about a block off the beach, a nice wide beach made of fine white sand which is dredged up and replaced periodically. We do not have sparkling blue waters however. That's because we are on the Mississippi Sound which is bordered on its southern edge by the barrier islands - Cat, Ship, Horn, Petit Bois and Dauphin Islands - which are part of the National Park Service's Gulf Islands National Seashore. Those islands separate the sound from the Gulf of Mexico. Those islands are very important to us. They protect the coast -- as best as they can -- from storms and pounding waves. I worry though because with each major hurricane, the islands are severely damaged. For example, when Camille hit in 1969, Ship Island was cut in two. When Katrina hit, that breach was widened. I wonder how many more can they take before the Sound becomes compromised beyond repair.

For now the islands are there protecting us. Cat Island is about nine miles south of us. We can see its outline when we walk the beach, which we like to do in the evening. With no waves pounding, we just hear the soft swish of waters caressing the beach. It's a very laid-back beach.

The brownness of the water is not without its merits. It is full of nutrients which makes for excellent fishing. My neighbor says she goes out early in the morning, fishes from the shore, and has caught 2-foot redfish, and with her net, has caught large shrimp when they're running. She also told us that with the blue moon (the rare second moon in a month) comes soft-shell crabs. So now, we have to go out and buy a net, a floundering lamp, some new fishing gear, ...

For the first time since I was a kid, I walked the beach in the early morning light, before the sun had a chance to heat up the humid air. I found a few shells, but almost all of them were the homes of live critters, hermits crabs. There was not much else but some driftwood, lots of dead jellyfish (which happens every August), one large, dead fish and some litter. No one was out there but me and a couple of great blue herons who flew away as I neared them.

The walk down to the beach is somewhat sad, however. On our street are seven concrete foundations where houses once stood, three new homes (well, two and a half, as one is still under construction), and two heavily damaged but fully repaired homes. Four homes, including ours, were lightly damaged because we're on higher elevations. Nowhere can you go that you don't see the lingering ravages of Katrina. It's going to take a long, long, long time.

Adjusting to our new home

2008-08-15T18:13:00.001-07:00

We moved into our home in Pass Christian, Miss., this week and are living with a blow-up bed borrowed from my older sister; a card table and two folding chairs from my younger sister; two cushioned chairs from a neighbor; and an old TV with rabbit ears from a long-time friend. The floors are torn up waiting for new tile and carpet, and the walls are all waiting to be repainted.

But on the positive side, I have noticed several ways that life in a house is pretty different from that on a boat:
-- We can both brush our teeth at the same time.
-- We don't have to buy travel-size items anymore; we can actually buy large tubes of toothpaste and other stuff.
-- We can buy lots of frozen foods (our boat freezer was maybe a foot tall and eight inches wide)
-- I no longer live with a water Nazi (Ron constantly worried about water, and I doubt that our 75-gallon tank ever was less than half full.) I can run water as long as I want now although old habits tend to cling.
-- We don't have to worry about power -- just about the electricity bill.
-- Getting ice is as easy as pressing a glass to the refrigerator door. What a luxury!
-- I don't have to store cans in my sock drawer and other creative places. I actually have a pantry.

I think that living on a boat makes one appreciate the conveniences that most people take for granted. I am sure we'll think nothing of this in a short while, but for now, life ashore is a novelty.

One step at a time

2008-08-09T16:07:00.000-07:00

New Orleans is slowly, very slowly, recovering. This week the historic Casino Building in City Park re-opened. When I was very young, City Park was part of my neighborhood. I remember taking art lessons in the small rotunda next to the Casino Building. I remember the carousel that used to be there. I remember climbing on the limbs of the giant oak trees. So when I read about the reopening, I went there, bought a decaf latte, and strolled around the building and the park on a cloudy afternoon.

The mighty oak trees that fill the park just drip with Spanish moss. Hurricane Katrina may have taken out quite a few, but many more still stand proudly. In the middle of admiring these works of art by Mother Nature, I came across the Besthoff Sculpture Garden which contains works by many of the greats, Henry Moore, August Rodin, Gaston Lachaise and many others. I spent a peaceful hour wandering around this special place where natural and human art co-exist.

By the way, New Orleans experienced both the largest rate of loss and largest numerical decline of any major city (no surprise there) since Katrina, as its population fell 50.7 percent (from 484,674 to 239,124). A recent press release from the Census Bureau states that New Orleans population grew by 13 percent last year. That's nice, but it's still got a long, long way to go.

Friends still cruising

2008-08-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

If you are tired of reading about our land travels and want to read more about cruising, we can suggest a few websites to visit:

Our good friends Steve and Linda of s/v Linda are now in Pago Pago, American Samoa. (Did you know that the name is actually Pango Pango but an American reporter many years ago lost the 'n' key on his typewriter -- or at least that's the story I heard a long time ago.) Anyway, they are quite good at writing about their very interesting -- and sometimes difficult -- travels.

Linda

Now in Ecuador is Nakia, home of John and Linda whom we have known since our days at Sequoia Yacht Club in Redwood City. They had traveled to Alaska before returning to Redwood City to work for a few more years before leaving for Mexico in November 2004. We read their blogs regularly that year before we went and found it very helpful as well as entertaining and informative.

Nakia

We met Mark and Liz of Rogue's Scholarship in San Blas our first year and have followed their travels since. They are currently in New Zealand and Mark is working as a dentist for a while. They continue to post great blogs with lots of pictures.

Rogue's Scholarship

The last we heard from Bruce and Alene of Migration was that they were in Chili. Bruce has an actual website. He does not post stories to it very often, but when he does they are colorful and full of photos of their adventures.

Migration

brucebalan.com/migrations

We hope you enjoy traveling via your computer with our friends. We do.

A sweet summer evening

2008-08-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

To my mind, there's not quite like a sweet summer evening at a baseball game. One night, last week we sat 11 rows behind the batter's box at O'Brian Field in Peoria, where the Peoria Chiefs play. They are a Class A team for the Chicago Cubs. These are not even AA or AAA; these are baseball wanna-bees. How well they played almost did not matter. We still have fun watching them win the end of one game (the finish of which had been postponed the night before due to weather), and them watched them lose 12-1.

Part of the joy of spending time at a baseball game is to clap, shout, and sing with the crowds. Ron is not as vocal as I am (no surprise there), so he mostly looks at me kind of quizzically as I clap to the beat of the starting notes of "The Munters" show theme or "Green Acres" -- of whatever else they throw out there. I shout "Charge!" when the bugles play. I sing back "Day-O" when they call that out. And I sing "Take me out to the Ball Game" at full throttle during the 7th inning stretch.

If any of this sounds strange to you, then you haven't been to a ball game lately. If not, you should try it. For a $10 ticket (most Class A-AAA games are very cheap), you can have a very fun time. It's good for the soul.

Honest Abe

2008-07-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

We took a day trip and visited the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield, about an hour and a half south of Peoria. It was a day very well spent. The museum does a superior job of mixing entertainment and education. The first audio-visual presentation "Ghosts of the Library" used a real actor in a 3-D environment. In fact, I thought the actor could not be real because I could not figure out how he interacted with rest of the scenery so seamlessly. Ron thought he was real, and we found out later, he was right.

The next presentation "Eyes of Lincoln" shocked us with the sounds and sensation of the Civil War. It turned out that our seats were wired to shake with the rocket booms on the screen. Later, we saw an animated Blue/Gray map of the United States that showed one week in the war with each second -- and the resulting casualties that ultimately surpassed one million lives. It was sobering and stunning.

The rest of our time was wandering through the displays and the very life-like figures. You can see that we took out photo with the family. (They had four sons, but one had already died by the time they were in the White House. In the end, only one son survived Mary Todd Lincoln.)

Abraham Lincoln Museum

West Virginia and Kentucky

2008-07-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

After having a delightful breakfast with a dear friend, Lusine Shahnazaryan and her wonderful family, we left Charlottesville, Virginia, and headed westward toward the Appalachian Mountains. Rather than driving straight across, we drove about 50 miles south on the majestic Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping occcasionally to take pictures of the hazy blue mountains around us. (We understand why they are also called the Smoky mountains.)

We got lucky when we stopped at the Humpback Rocks Visitor Center about halfway into our ride. As we walked to the center, we could hear mountain music in the distance. Some call it blue grass, some call it mountain music. Whatever you call it, we heard some excellent music that day in the shade of some tall oaks near the center. The five-man band called Loose Gravel was playing that day as part of a free Sunday concert series. The instruments included a fiddle, a mandolin, a banjo, a guitar and a base, and the men who played them obviously loved the music they were playing. It was a gift to hear them and a joy to see their infectious smiles.

From that point on and all through West Virginia, we listened to the blue grass music channel on our Sirius radio. It just seemed appropriate as we wound our way around the lush hills and through the valleys. The slogan for West Virginia is "Wild and Wonderful," and according to our "1,000 Places..." book: "West Virgnia is the only state that is fully contained within the mighty Appalachian Mountain range, giving it the hilly winding topography that makes folks joke it would be bigger than Texas if it were pulled out flat." We believe it.

We continued to play the blue grass through most of Kentucky, but switched to country music along the way. That also seemed appropriate as we drove through the corn fields and horse country. We stopped just north of Lexington at the Kentucky Horse Park, home of the International Museum of the Horse and the American Saddlebred Museum. We took a horse-drawn tour of the grounds and got to see a few of the resident champion horses very comfortably housed in the Hall of Champions (shown here).

The most famous, and richest, of the champions we saw was Cigar, a Hall of Fame thoroughbred racehorse who in 1995 and 1996 became the first American racehorse racing against top-class competition to win 16 races in a row since the Triple Crown winner Citation did it in 1948 and 1950. He is also the all-time leading money earner among North American thoroughbreds, with almost $10 million in career earnings. (His story is a little sad because he was found afterward to be sterile and is not be able to breed any more champions.)

We arrived in Peoria, Ron's home town, to visit with his brother Lee and wife Liz for a few days. The weather is surprisingly comfortable. Our first night here, we sat out on the patio until bedtime, overseeing grandkids playing in the swimming pool, watching some baseball (they are St. Louis Cardinals fans) and just visiting. Life is good.

Historic Virginia

2008-07-20T06:31:00.000-07:00

As we like to do, we left the Outer Banks on the road less taken, in fact we took a ferry that crosses the James River and arrived at Jamestown. As we were approaching the shore we starting sensing the history of Virginia when we saw the replicas of the old ships that carried the settlers those many years ago sitting by the shore.

From there we went to Williamsburg, where we had lunch and strolled the colonial streets. My favorite moment was sitting in pew where Thomas Jefferson sat in the Bruton Parish Church, an Episcopal active church since 1683. Today it has more than 2,500 parishioners, according to one of the docents. Among other things, it is a sweet place of refuge from the summer heat and the noise and activity outside its doors.

The following day found us a Monticello, once again communing with Thomas Jefferson. This was his beloved home, sitting atop a hill overlooking his gardens and orchards. He was an amazing man: a scientist, a bibliophile (he enjoyed three libraries during his lifetime), an avid gardener (he asked Lewis and Clark to bring back any new plants the could find), a student of architecture (he designed this magnificent home with ideas and books he brought back from Europe after serving as Ambassador to France), a gourmand (he loved good wines and food), a loving father and grandfather, besides being the author of the Declaration of Independence, the third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia in nearby Charlottesville. (He was also a very complex man: he said he hated the institution of slavery yet he was a slave-owner. He only freed seven slaves in his lifetime, four of them at his death. Plus, it is now known that he was the father of at least one of his slave Sally Hemings' children, if not more.)

We pondered all this while strolling through the thoughtfully planned gardens and lawns. It was a warm day but we were able to stay cool because there is so much shade on the grounds and because sweet breezes climb the hill constantly. We read every plaque and joined the garden, plantation and house tour groups. We did the whole thing and thoroughly enjoyed it. We can highly recommend this visit and this glimpse into a fascinating man's life.

That evening we had dinner and strolled the streets of historic Charlottesville. The end of a good day.

The Currituck Outer Banks

2008-07-16T06:31:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of playing with grandchildren -- and watching Jack's favorite movie "Cars" many, many times -- we left Fletcher and his sweet family and headed to North Carolina. Our two-day drive was very green, like driving though more than 600 miles of green belt. And it's a lush, deep green, very soothing to the eyes.

We are now in Corolla, on the northern end of the famed Outer Banks vising our old golf buddies from California, Doug and Elizabeth Wendling, who have built a very comfortable beach home here situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Currituck Sound. From where I sit right now, I have a beautiful view of the Sound and the marshes that line it. South of us is Cape Hatteras where more than 2,000 known vessels have been shipwrecked -- a very scary thought for sailors.

One thing we find interesting is the size of the homes: most of them are rental properties large enough to hold four or five families and almost all have swimming pools. Most are three and four stories high with porches that wrap around. The few homes that are not rentable tend to be smaller, with smaller being a relative term. I'm not sure there's a house smaller than 3,000 feet anywhere around here and almost certainly not in this development where our friends live.

We have not seen the ocean yet except for glimpses as we drove in. That's on the agenda for today. It's wonderful to be near the water again, feeling the soft breezes and hearing the ocean waves. Life is good.

Hotlanta

2008-07-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

We are on the road, visiting for two weeks with my son Fletcher, his wife Christine and children Katherine and Jack at their new home in Roswell, a suburb of Atlanta, Ga. And indeed it is hot and steamy, especially after the typical afternoon thunderstorms.

We have not done much of anything except for watching and playing with the grandkids. Ron's very good with them, letting them ride on his back or playing on the floor with them. This morning he played his harmonica along with "Old MacDonald had a Farm." Sweet guy.

In between, tennis gets our attention. Much of last week was spent in front of the TV watching the drama (and there was a lot this year) of Wimbledon. Then in the afternoon, a certain tennis court in the nearby public park gets shade after 3pm. You'll find us there as often as we can get there. We warm up then play two or three sets -- or as long as I can last. I can occasionally win a game and a set, but I still lose the match. Oh well. It's still fun and good exercise. One of these days...

We have been able to spend a couple of evenings with my dear friend Trisha McCrory. Trisha and I were neighbors when we were pregnant. Those children, my Elizabeth and her Chris, are now 39 years old. Our friendship is still as good and true as ever. After months, even years, apart, we can still sit down and talk as if we have just seen each other yesterday. We are blessed.

A la famiglia

2008-06-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

My younger sister Germaine and I have been planning a surprise 70th birthday party for our sister Tina since the first of the year, and we pulled it off! We sent out Save-the-Date notices in March and the invitations in early June. Amazingly, none of her family and friends slipped in all this time. She knew Germaine was having a party; she just thought it was an Open House event. (See the earlier blog about Germaine's new home.) Oh, we were so sly. Here's Germaine (on the right) reading the invitation to a shocked Tina.

When Tina showed up last Saturday, about 100 people where there to sing Happy Birthday. We had cousins from Italy (who live in Denver); relatives from Mexico, Virginia, Michigan, as well as New Orleans; friends from her neighborhood, from her church, from Natchez as well as several long-time friends from college. What a great, great party!

My kids and grandkids joined Ron and I for the fun. Elizabeth and her children 7-year-old Cameron and 1-year-old Lily, flew in from California the Wednesday before, which gave us time to visit the new Audubon Insectarium, a great bug museum (perfect for a 7-year-old!) that had just opened the week before, as well as the Audubon Aquarium and the Audubon Zoo.

Fletcher and Christine came from Atlanta with their 4-year-old Katherine and 2-year-old Jack on Friday but were only able to be here for the party and then return home Sunday. Here are some photos, just because I want to show these beautiful children off. This is Cameron and Lily, then Katherine and Jack.

New Orleans

2008-06-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

People sometimes ask how New Orleans is doing. The answer is good and bad, okay and not-so-okay. The good news is that the St. Charles trolley is now also running down Carollton. The historic electric street cars were slow returning after Katrina. The trolley started running again along St. Charles just before Christmas and now has been extended. You can read about this at:

New Orleans Rapid Transit

We can recommend riding along St. Charles because the street car rattles along through the Garden District with its beautiful Victorian homes, Tulane and Loyola University, and Audubon Park with its amazing oak trees (as well as the Zoo, tennis courts, golf course and more). We have not ridden the new extension but we did try the Canal Street street car. This is one we cannot recommend. Even thought it starts off nicely (as seen in the photo), it then passes by way too many abandoned buildings, offices, hotels and homes. (Plus the day Ron and I rode it, NORTA decided to run some tests and let the riders sit in the heat for 20 long minutes, not just once but twice.)

The main tourist area, the French Quarter, seems to be thriving. A renewed French market with food, arts and crafts, has reopened. Restaurants and bars are open and welcoming all. The offices of the Central Business District are almost all open, and the upscale Canal Place stores are busy.

Beneath the surface, however, still lies trouble. For example, I read not too long ago that since the storm, more than half of the New Orleans area hospitals and healthcare facilities have not reopened. More than 6,000 physicians have left the Gulf Coast since the storms and many have not yet returned. When patients are brought to the hospital by ambulance, 70 percent of them remain in the ambulance for two hours before a room can be found.

This is not a place to be sick. When my sister Tina started having trouble with her feet recently, they were only two podiatrists who could fix her problem. When Ron made appointments with a dermatologist and an ear,nose and throat doctor, the best dates he could get were in August.

However, a new hospital complex is now proposed and let's hope that it gets built quickly and without too many problems. (Louisiana seems to have particular problem with graft, bribery, corruption and other illegal activities.)

Rebuilding after Katrina

2008-06-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

The Mississippi Gulf Coast was in the NE quadrant, the most powerful part, of hurricane Katrina almost three years ago. It leveled many homes and broke many hearts. One of those homes belonged to my younger sister Germaine and her husband John. With courage and perseverance, they have rebuilt.

Just two weeks ago, they moved into their new home, which is larger (3700 sq. ft.), higher (11 ft ceilings) and more importantly, many times sturdier (a foundation that will be there for centuries) than their original turn-of-the-century cottage. It is also more beautiful and has spectacular views of Biloxi Bay.

My older sister Tina, who is an interior decorator, helped them with the decor and furnishings. This is a house that should be featured in Southern Living.

So, if you even find yourself in Ocean Springs, Miss., look for the last house before the beach as you drive down Washington Ave. By the way, you should add Ocean Springs as places you might want to visit. It is a thriving artistic community. We walked into town Friday night for an art exhibit and along the way, saw restaurants and bars filled with people. Besides that, many of the homes have been rebuilt and restored. The centuries-old oak trees have also recovered and provide ample shade all down Washington Ave.

The additional appeal is Ocean Springs is that the Walter Anderson Museum of Art (WAMA) is there. According to its website: "WAMA is dedicated to the celebration of the works of Walter Inglis Anderson (1903-1965), American master, whose depictions of the plants, animals, and people of the Gulf Coast have placed him among the forefront of American painters of the Twentieth Century; and to his brothers, Peter Anderson (1901-1984), master potter and founder of Shearwater Pottery; and James McConnell Anderson (1907-1998), noted painter and ceramist." It's a very cool place -- and Germaine is on the board. Here's its website:

Walter Anderson Museum

THE best oysters

2008-06-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Food is central to New Orleans life. You can find good food in small neighborhood bars as well as in fine restaurants. That's part of the fun of visiting here. We often have good home-cooked meals at my sister Tina's but we do like to go out occasionally. Last night we went to Drago's Restaurant where the speciality is The Original Charbroiled Oysters. My Oh My! We have never tasted oysters so good.

We (Tina and Frank, Ron and I) ordered a dozen as an appetizer. They are cooked to perfection over a grill with olive oil, garlic, butter and Parmesan cheese. The rest of the meal was not too shabby: I had mesquite grilled shrimp salad. Tina had a spinach salad with grilled portobello mushrooms and fried oysters. Frank had blackened chicken over pasta, and Ron had an amazing shrimp and crab in a cream sauce over angel hair pasta.

Obviously, we highly recommend this restaurant. Go to their website to see their beautiful oyster concoction.

Drago's

Loo-easy-anna

2008-06-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Midday yesterday, we crossed over the Sabine River, the boundary between Texas and Louisiana. A few minutes later we stopped at the Louisiana antebellum-style welcome center. The warm, humid air embraced us, and a loud chorus of crickets sang their welcoming song. We are back in the arms of the Deep South.

We drove over swamps waters on roads lined with lush, deep green foliage, much of that being kudzu, a native plant of Japan which was introduced into the Deep South in the 1930s and 1940s to help with soil erosion. The results of that noble effort have been somewhat disastrous. According to one article, kudzu has infested more than seven million acres. It's everywhere, and continues to cover everything in its path. Too bad, because it looks pretty.

We also drove through some intense thunderstorms. We have not seen rain like that since, well, the last time we were here. It's just part of the south in the summertime. You see the dark clouds building in the distance, then lightening strikes. Sometimes the storms go around you, sometimes they don't. They bring blinding rain that lasts for a few minutes and then you're back to driving over dry roads. Too bad for Ron but several hit when he was at the helm. I got lucky.

We arrived at the home of Tina, my older sister, and her husband Frank early enough for dinner. Yeah! My sister is a wonderful cook who has the ability to just throw together an excellent meal on a moment's notice. Once she knew when we'd arrive, she had a roast, gravy, mashed potatoes and tiny green peas and onions with fresh rolls waiting. Life is so sweet.

Some of you have asked what our plans are from here on. Well, if the boat sells, our cruising days in Mexico are over. (This certainly does not mean we won't have another boat, another time, another place.) But if the boat does not sell, we may have a little more time in Mexico.

What we have decided is to move into 129 Elva Drive, Pass Christian, Miss., my home town. We bought this house in 2000 from my brother Mario's estate after he died. (We already owned an undeveloped lot next to it.) It's a little more than an hour east of New Orleans, where Tina and Frank live, and a little under an hour from Ocean Springs, where my younger sister Germaine and her husband John have just rebuilt their home. (More on that later.)

We have rented this house for almost eight years now with the most recent renters being my cousin Billy, his partner Timothy, and my 90-year-old wonderful Aunt Lila. They lost their homes in Katrina but now they are very close to moving into their rebuilt home in Waveland (about 30 minutes away). We decided we did not want to take the chance that the boat would sell and we'd be homeless, so once they move out sometime in July or August, we will move in.

We still plan to do lots of land travel, simply because we are vagabonds at heart. We are back to referring to "1,000 Places to See Before You Die", the US/Canada version.

Even though we are not cruising in Mexico now, I do intend to keep us this weblog. Who knows what will happen next? Stay tuned. The adventure continues...

Still in Texas

2008-06-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

The car was not ready on Friday. In fact, it is in need of new head gaskets (ouch!) and won't be ready until Monday, at best. The Subaru dealership gave us a loaner car for the weekend, a high-end Tribeca SUV, and off we went to Austin, the capital and a pretty city in the heart of the Hill Country, but more importantly, home of Ralph and Nancy formerly of s/v Brendan's Watch and now home owners here. They opened their arms to us road-weary travelers and invited us in for the weekend. (God bless them. We did not want to stay in a San Antonio hotel on the edge of a highway under construction -- which seems to describe quite a few roads we saw there.)

Ralph is an excellent cook. One evening he barbecued to perfection some thick pork chops on his Big Green Egg, which is billed as "the world's best smoker and grill." (See http://www.biggreenegg.com/). I don't doubt its advertising, because everything we had cooked on it was terrific.

We did manage to get Ralph out of the kitchen and take us to The Salt Lick BBQ restaurant, known for its open fire pit. The beef brisket, sausages, chicken and ribs were smothered in a luscious sauce (available at saltlickbbq.com, by the way).

We'll head back to San Antonio in the morning and hope the car will be ready by the end of the day, but in the meantime, we are enjoying the excellent food and hospitality of good friends.

Walking like cruisers again

2008-06-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

We felt like cruisers walking around a hot Mexican town today, except that we were in San Antonio. The deal is that last night our overheated Subaru limped into Junction, Texas, a town of 2,500 in the middle of nowhere. This morning a AAA tow truck brought us to San Antonio, the nearest city with a Subaru dealership. We checked our car into the dealership and checked ourselves into a nearby Days Inn.

The only problem with this Days Inn was that it sat on the side of a highway under construction. For us to reach the nearest restaurant, we had to walk through the parking lot of a rental truck company, then over some mud to reach the sidewalk of a bridge that was littered with broken glass and other debris. Then we walked through another parking lot and behind a gas station before reaching Jim's, a local restaurant with good food and sweet tea.

The prognosis on the car isn't terrible, just expensive. We hope to be underway by tomorrow, Friday.

The desert

2008-06-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

For people who were raised far from any desert, such as Ron and I, these dry lands are intriguing and interesting. On the Baja, we spent many days enjoying the volcanic creations and arid lands from the water's edge. Our views from the anchorages were often awesome, for lack of any better words.

On land now, we have continued to appreciate the beauty and aridity of the desert. We spent two nights in Tuscon where the climate varies from the 2400 foot desert basin to the 9100 foot forests of the Santa Catalina mountains. We visited Stan and Rhea of Vagari who live in Saddlebrook, a very active adult community. Stan was up running and exercising each morning hours before we awoke. Rhea has a schedule of activities for both of them.

In the evening, we sat outdoors on their back patio and at night, the air conditioning went off and nature took over. The cool night air was very comfortable. One evening we went for a walk along the golf course and I took this picture.

After the altitude of Tuscon, we experienced the low desert heat of Phoenix where we spent three nights with friends Bobbie and Robert of I'o, neighbors years ago at Pete's Harbor and, more importantly, the wonderful couple who introduced Ron and me 14 years ago. Their home is currently up for sale and they are edging closer to becoming full-time cruisers, hopefully as soon as this fall. We'll be looking for their blog to start soon, right Bobbie?

We played tennis early one morning and by the time we finished around 0930, the temperature in the car registered 124 degrees. That afternoon Robert and Ron loaded up kayaks so that Bobbie and I could paddle around Saguaro Lake. We floated around a small marina and felt the breeze that swept over the orange lake waters.

Before we left, Bobbie and Robert loaded up our car with a table, linens, dishes and stuff for our home in Pass Christian. Remember we've been renting this house out for years. It was undamaged in Katrina but everything in storage was lost. So we are starting over. And yes, with the boat up for sale, we expect to move in sometime soon. Mississippi, watch out, the Clampetts are coming! At least, that's what our overloaded car looks like.

After leaving Phoenix today we traveled through desert and more desert, flat sandy remnants of ancient rivers, rock gardens of giants and sloping mountains in the distance. The scenery changed constantly as we drove through Arizona, half-way through New Mexico and down into Texas where we stopped in El Paso.

Sol Mate's blog

2008-05-31T20:45:00.000-07:00

Our new friends Mark and Wendy of Sol Mate have a weblog with an especially wonderful entry entitled 'Anita's noodle chair and the call of liberty'. Please look at it www.inoneday.us or try to click here:
Sol Mate's blog

Mark is an excellent writer, a former Canadian journalist. He's posted a couple of pictures and written some very sweet words about us and about the pursuit of the call of liberty.

Don't miss clicking the link at the bottom and hear an actual ship's liberty call.

Photos

2008-05-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

We have so many photos that we have not been able to post before that we created a web album for your viewing. Enjoy.

You will have to copy and paste this into your browser because I cannot, no matter how many times I try, activate this link in this blog.

http://picasaweb.google.com/libertycall2/EscondidoToSanCarlos0508

A pretty picture

2008-05-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

Guy on Lorien has a superior camera plus he enjoys getting up at dawn to take photos. He gave us this sweet photo of LCII taken in San Juanico.

Leaving LCII

2008-05-30T15:34:00.001-07:00

I said in my earlier blog that we were not sad about leaving. I lied. When it came time to walk away from Liberty Call II yesterday, we held hands tightly and tried to hold back tears -- unsuccessfully.

Almost done

2008-05-28T22:00:00.001-07:00

LCII is cleaned up and ready for the summer, everything that would not sell with the boat is in storage, and we are ready to pack up the car and head for the states tomorrow. I spent my afternoon making roach cookies (3 parts condensed milk to 8 parts boric acid) and then placing them around the boat. I covered all the windows with aluminum foil or cut-out shades. Ron worked his sweet butt off preparing the lines, stowing the outboard engines, and finishing off his long list of items.

As we have for the last two nights, we've had dinner with a long table-full of cruiser friends. All are in various stages of preparing to leave: Dave and Merry of AirOps will head to Rancho Murieta south of Sacramento; Susie and Don of Neshama will go to Denver: Mark and Wendy of Sol Mate will drive to Vancouver; Susan and Steve of Pacific, Vlasta and Gordon of Far Country, Susie and Guy of Lorien will all head to the Bay Area; and we will start working our way eastward with stops in Tucson and Phoenix before.

The hardest part of cruising is saying good-bye. We've shared some wonderful moments, and started some new friendships that we hope will continue for a long time. People ask us if we are sad to be leaving, and I cannot say that we are. We are both looking forward to new adventures, new places to visit, old and new friends to enjoy.

We have been blessed to have this time and this experience. Life is so good.

Living in chaos

2008-05-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

We have been working morning to night since arriving Tuesday. The goal is to take everything off the boat that would not be sold with it. This means cleaning out every nook and cranny, and we have lots. We rented a 5x5 storage unit and, as we continue to fill it, are considering an even larger unit. We have taken so much off the boat as of today that our water line has raised six inches – and we still have more to go.

It’s challenging to cook in these conditions. Last night, I had to go dig out a slotted spoon I had packed away the day before. Found it. Also, we are cleaning out the refrigerator and freezer and eating whatever we have. Last night’s salad was the last of the lettuce, half a tomato left from lunch and the last of the Kalamata olives. We had fried fish and mashed cauliflower on the side. Tonight we’ll eat the last of the chicken breasts from the freezer with leftover cauliflower. Then tomorrow I get to defrost the freezer and clean the fridge. Oh joy.

We are finding all sorts of stuff. For example, we have six rope lights, red, white and blue; more than 20 decks of cards; two sets of Mexican train dominoes (double 9s and 15s), Scrabble, cribbage; six shoe horns and books and books, some duplicates; way too many socks and stuff.

We are so grateful to Sal Mate to have rented their slip to us so that we can more easily get all this work done. It would have been near impossible on a mooring or an anchorage. Available slips are scarce here, and we are taking full advantage of having water, electricity, garbage cans (which we have filled quite a few). We have also been able to donate clothes and food.

Life is good.

Final journey (we think)

2008-05-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

Our last leg of our journey to San Carlos began beautifully with a full moon and calm seas at 0400. The winds gently increased from the SE which was fine as we were headed NE. Seas were a little rolly with gentle swells, but the trip was mostly uneventful.

I say "mostly" because we did have one encounter at 0530: we noticed a panga (an open Mexican boat used mostly by the fishermen) with a very bright light. It charged toward us and Ron quickly realized why: there was a long-line net marked only with white milk cartons, which we could not have seen in the dark. The fishermen shined the light on the bottles and Ron was able to do a 90-degree turn away from them with only a few feet to spare. It would not have been pretty to hit the line. While we do have a line cutter installed in front of the propeller, it may or may not have cut the line and if not, the line might have wrapped around our folding prop, which likely would have put us dead in the water. Anyway, disaster was averted and the fisherman escorted us several hundreds of feet to the end of the line and we continued on our way.

The trip was almost 14-hours long and around 73 miles. We pulled into slip B-14 at Marina San Carlos a little before 1800. We will be here working away, preparing to leave LCII for the summer, until Monday when she'll be hauled out and placed on stands.

Summer in the Sea

2008-05-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

Summer came quickly. It was just two weeks ago that we were covering ourselves with the down comforter in the middle of the night, and the mornings were crisp enough for a light sweater. Last night it was well after midnight before the sheet covered us, and at 0800 the temperature is 77 degrees with a forecasted high of 95 in El Burro Cove. We spent much of the last two afternoons in the water, cleaning the bottom of the boat and then just relaxing or floating around.

Our time in Concepcion and in the Sea is coming to an end for us and many cruisers as the heat and the pending hurricane season push us north. We've made the most of each day here:

Monday: we replenished my treasure trove of jingles, the transluscent white, yellow and orange shells. For a while, I put up my beach umbrella and folding chair, sat in the shade with my feet in the warm sand and finished James Patterson's "Cross." Ron was on the boat deep into Jack Dubrul's "River of Ruin." AirOps came into he anchorage later, and we had dinner followed by another great game of hand-and-foot. (The gals creamed the guys again!)

Tuesday: In the morning, we dinghied over to the small fish camp at the north tip of Santo Domingo anchorage and picked through four-foot high stacks of discarded colorful scallop and spiny, black-and-white murex shells. In the afternoon, both boats moved 7 miles south to Posada Concepcion where we found a spot off the beach of a gringo community. (Most homes were already closed for the summer.)

Wednesday: Butter-clam hunting day on Isla Pitahaya followed that evening with a steam clam and creamy pasta dinner.

Thursday: We moved 2 more miles south to El Burro Cove. We bought some produce from a small tienda across the highway. (Highway 1 skirts this part of the Sea.) I cleaned the water line of the boat. Ron worked on engine problems. It was dinner for 15 that night at Bertha's Restaurant on the beach.

Friday: Six women and two pre-teen girls sat at AirOps table and learned the basics of making jewelry with shells under the guidance of Merry. I made a pair of earrings and a pendant from jingle shells and fresh-water coin pearls that Merry had. Ron cleaned the bottom of the boat and I hung around on my swim noodle and swam back and forth between our boat and AirOps. I gave Merry a swim noodle. We floated and drank beers.

Saturday: For tonight and tomorrow night, we will be in Santa Barbara, a quiet cove and known place for butter and chocolate clams.

On Monday, we will move to Punta Chivata, our last and the best shelling beach of all. Then around 0400 Tuesday, we will start the 70+ mile trip to San Carlos on the mainland where we have a slip for a week. LCII will be hauled out and tucked away safely for the hurricane season on Monday, May 26.

Our future with LCII is undetermined after that. If she sells this summer, our cruising days are done. If not, who knows what we'll do. We don't.

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Santo Domingo Revisted

2008-05-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

We spent about eight and a half hours today trekking through calm waters and less than 8-knot winds to go from San Juanico to Santa Domingo, which is located on the northwest tip of the peninsula that forms the eastern side of Bahia Concepcion. The bay runs about 22 miles from north to south alongside the arid, hilly peninsula. At 2434 feet, the largest of the hills (or mountains?) is Cerro Las Omillas. We see her and her sisters from our anchorage this evening.

We expect to spend about a week visiting various anchorages in the bay and then we'll work our way over to San Carlos on May 20, weather permitting. We were able to rent a slip from fellow cruisers Mark and Wendy of Sol Mate in preparation for hauling out on May 26. We expect to be back in the states the first week of June and start using up all those thousands of roll-over cell phone minutes!

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Apache Tears

2008-05-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

For a guy who would not put shell and rock-hunting on the top of his list of favorite things, Ron is a really good sport. He actually says he's okay with it as long as he knows what he's looking for. So at each beach, I show him what we searching for. We've looked for agates on Agate Beach on Isla San Francisco. We've looked for star fish and augers everywhere. We've looked for broken white shells that have been polished smooth to the touch. We've looked for the "buttons" that create the trap door of the kind of a turban shell. (I'll look up the name later when I can find my shell book.) Anyway, you get the idea.

Our most recent search in San Juanico was for Apache Tears, smooth, black glossy stone or natural volcanic glass, also known as obsidian. Obsidian can be chipped into amazing sharpness and was once widely used for arrowheads and blades but in our more benign times, they are more likely to be seen in jewelry.

According to our "Sea of Cortez" guidebook, the legend of the Apache Tears began back in the 1870s when the US cavalry fought against Apache warriors in Arizona. With defeat near, the Apaches refused to be held captive and leapt to their deaths from atop a cliff. The warriors' families wept greatly for their loss and each tear shed turned to stone upon hitting the earth. It is believed that anyone who carries an Apache Tear will never have to weep again for the families of those Apache warriors have wept in place of our sorrow.

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San Juanico

2008-05-08T11:57:00.001-07:00

We motored through calm silvery seas this morning on our 20-mile ride north to Caleta San Juanico, a popular collection of anchorages. We've been here before and seeing the familiar rock formations was like seeing old friends. This is a very pretty place with beaches and interesting rock formations, good hiking and snorkeling. The water is still a little on the cool side (low 70s) so we have not gone in yet. The air temperature has not been particularly warm (low 80s) the past few days either so I doubt we'll go into the water here.

On the north shore is a cruisers' shrine where creative cruisers have left mementos for years. Every few years a hurricane comes by and cleans it out but it continues. We left a shell with a picture of LCII shellacked with clear fingernail polish two years ago. We'll check to see if it's still there.

We have not seen much sea life on this trip, mostly just white, circular moon jellies up to more than a foot wide.

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Islas Coronados

2008-05-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

The islands off Loreto give cruisers the ability to make easy day trips from one anchorage to another. Each is different. Each has its own special feel.

We just spent two calm nights off the southern tip of larger of the Islas Coronados. During the day we could see the white caps off to the east and west of us but were protected from them. We took a day hike across the southern spit of this volcanic remnant. The trail was well-marked and even had a few wooden signs with names of various plants. As we walked over the rise, we came upon what I think is the prettiest anchorage we've seen yet. The cove on the southwest side of the island has turquoise waters and white beaches lined with black volcanic rocks. We walked north as far as we could before being chased away by sea gulls protecting their nest.

By the way, sea gulls are surprisingly strong and aggressive when it comes to protecting their young. While sitting at Punto Perico a few days ago, Ron saw a Planet Earth event: two sea gulls fought a large hawk and won. The unfortunate hawk had obviously gone too close to the sea gulls' nest when Ron saw one of the gulls knock the hawk into the water. The gulls continue to circle him, taking turns to sit in the water nearby to make sure the hawk did not take off again. Hawks are not water birds. When their large wings get wet, they cannot take flight. Ron watched until the hawk and his wardens drifted out of sight, and he's quite sure the hawk eventually drowned.

Needless to say, we gave the sea gulls lots of space when we got near their nests.

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Loreto Fest was a kick

2008-05-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

The 12th annual Loreto Fest was fun and more fun. Ron, Dave of AirOps and Ron of Shea La Vie won their Over the Line tournament. Dave came up with their team name, the Nads (say "Go Nads, Go Nads, Go Nads" :-) Merry, Susie of Lorien and I played but got eliminated in the first round :-( But Merry went on to win in horse shoes. I played Scrabble (I won), Baja Rummy (I lost) and Mexican train dominoes (I lost). In between, we ate pot luck meals and hot dogs, drank Diet Cokes, Coronas and Margueritas, listened to music, danced a little, sold tickets and tee shirts and just visited. About 140 boats and over 200 people attended throughout the May 1-4 event.

Boats started leaving the harbor Sunday and by Monday morning, many of the moorings were empty again. We left and took a 5.5 mile motor-ride over to Bahia Marquer, an anchorage on the southwest side of Isla Carmen. SE winds were forecast for the day, and this anchorage is perfect for that. We arrived and anchored in about 18 feet of crystal clear water, and are the only ones here tonight. After all that playing, we made this a recovery day and just relaxed after a stroll on the beach.

As the weather warms, the waters become clearer as the seaweed starts to die. When we left La Paz, the waters of the anchorages were mostly a hazy green with lots of loose seaweed floating around. Water temperature is still in the low 70s and is very slowly warming up.

We plan to only stay here one night as northerly winds are expected tomorrow night. We will leave here early to anchor off the town of Loreto for the day to do provisioning, after which we'll head north to anchor on the the south end of Isla Coronado.

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Loreto Fest time

2008-05-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

We are still in Puerto Escondido where we came about a week ago. We had originally thought we'd just come in briefly to provision and then go out to the islands around here for a few days and then come back in for Loreto Fest, but one thing led to another, we had some engine overheating problems (which Ron fixed when he found that our engine had sucked in some seaweed), so we just decided to stay and enjoy the anchorage.

Each day more and more boats joined us, more friends, new and old, started arriving for Loreto Fest. There are about 50 boats in the inner harbor and about that many more in the outer harbor and the elipse, a small anchoring area between the two. This is the 12th annual event hosted by Hidden Port Yacht Club and is a major fundraiser for educating area children through high school and college. Equally as important, it is four days of fun and games, seminars and music. (You can see the busy agenda by doing a Google search for Hidden Port Yacht Club.)

We are signed up for ticket sales, pancake flipping and serving for a breakfast, swap meet, Bocce ball, Over the Line (a very simple version of baseball), Baja Rummy, the T-shirt designing workshop, Spam art and food contest, jig making workshop and toga party (Roman Gods and Goddesses?). That should keep us busy through Sunday.

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Shells and more shells

2008-04-27T10:43:00.001-07:00

One of the joys of cruising is the simple pleasure of searching for and finding shells. I have a few of my favorites out so we can enjoy seeing them each day. The twisted white one is a false trumpet shell; the purple is a sea urchin; most of the ones around the sides are scallop shells; the three cone-shaped are augers; and there's a delicate sea star dancing on them all.

We have an excellent out-of-print book called Collecting Seashells by Jerome Eisenberg which we use in our travels.

Escondido

2008-04-24T12:35:00.002-07:00

We sit tonight in the very calm, protected anchorage known as Escondido, where we'll be until this Saturday. The weather has been very benign. We spent two calm nights at Yellowstone Beach followed by another calm night in Puerto Perico. We made a day stop into Bahia Salinas where we visited an abandoned salt mine town, walked out to the salt flats, gathered up some sea salt, and took lots of pictures of the abandoned structures. The beach there was an excellent source of shells, a number of which we added to our ever-growing stash.

The town is not totally abandoned as a caretaker lives there and we had to ask permission to walk around. Two new buildings are powered by an enormous generator. These are for the gazillionaire hunters who reportedly pay $100,000 to shoot Bighorn sheep that live on the island. If any of those had been in the area, we are quite sure they would not have let us walk around.

We then did some easy motoring into Escondido where we will stay until Saturday. We did laundry and took real showers. In between, we got on the wireless network in the harbor office and cleaned up our mailbox, which was full. After that, we took our rolling cart and tote bags for a half-mile walk to the small tienda located next to the Tripui RV park and hotel. Fortunately, the skies were overcast which made the walk quite comfortable. We taken that walk before when the heat coming off the tar road was sweltering. We were able to buy some fresh produce, eggs, chicken breasts, beer and assorted items, enough to keep us going for another couple of weeks.

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Navigating

2008-04-24T12:35:00.001-07:00

Some cruisers navigate with paper charts while some rely totally on electronic data. We use a combination of both to figure out where we are going.

When charting a course, we first start with paper charts and determine the latitude and longitudes of each waypoint along our intended route. Then we take that data and put those waypoints into our Nobletec electronic chart application. We always keep the paper and electronic charts open and refer to each frequently along the way. In addition, we also use several cruising books, which give detailed information on anchorages. (The newest of these is "Sea of Cortez: A Cruiser's Guidebook" by Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer which we've found very useful.)

The biggest problem with Nobletec is that it uses very old charts for Mexico. This quite often means that Nobletec shows we are on land when indeed we are not. Just yesterday, for example, Nobletec showed that we were through a reef and over land to get to our anchorage. Obviously, all we have to do is look around and see that we are in deep water.

Mostly the pros outweigh the cons of using Nobletec. The benefits are that it helps keep us on track with the course we created. The computer is connected to our GPS so we can see where the boat is located on our track, how fast it's going, what's our estimated time of arrival to each waypoint and our final destination.

It's worth putting up with that foolishness of really old charts.

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A Watercolor Morning

2008-04-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

I like to imagine that Mother Nature enjoys painting. Sometimes, it's finely detailed panoramas. Sometimes it's vivid sunsets and sunrises. Our vistas are always changing with time, day and place, of course.

This morning she painted a particularly pretty picture. She gave us a vast watercolor. She washed the Giganta mountains with a soft mist which held the light blue of the morning sky. She splashed some wispy white clouds which reflected on the glassy water creating a silvery effect.

My words are a poor attempt to describe this delicious morning. I hope my photos will be able to capture some of her artistry.

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A Day at Anchor

2008-04-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

We've been at anchor for two weeks now. The laundry is starting to build up as is the garbage. Produce is getting a little low, but we still have lots of food. It will soon be time to make a visit to Puerto Escondido, just south of Loreto, to take care of those issues.

Being on the hook is very different from being in a marina. Each day starts different. Each day ends different. Weather, of course, is the key. We have to be much more tuned to what Mother Nature is doing. So, we start each day listening to weather forecasts given on the Sonrisa and Amigo nets on the HF radio. Ron makes the coffee while we listen. As soon as those have ended, I pull down my Sailmail email over the radio, which includes two more weather reports: the socforecast and computer-generated wind forecasts. With all this data, we start discussing what we're going to do. Yesterday, the reports were all benign so we decided to stay put last night. Tuesday will bring some northerly winds so we think that will be a good time to tuck into Puerto Escondido.

After breakfast (pancakes and turkey bacon), we took the dinghy and went for a long walk on the beach. Lava once flowed over sections of this beach leaving behind interesting formations and tide pools. Brightly colored crabs and all sorts of critters scattered to our steps.

Some creative soul had taken large rock scallop shells and created a design of a whale's tail on the side of a hill. I suspect it could have been a bored Mexican fisherman because underneath it a fish camp, evidenced by blankets, pots, plans and dishes stacked around. Even nearby caves held some of the fishermen's belongings.

After walking the beach and finding a few interesting shells, we pulled the dinghy off the sand and back into the crystal clear water. The air temperature was a little cool to the skin. I put on a long-sleeved shirt for the easy ride back to LCII.

With lunch done (leftover chicken mixed with sautéed onions, red and yellow bell peppers, Media Crema and shredded Parmesan cheese), we did a few chores. Ron ran the water maker, and I sanded the hand rails on deck.

AirOps invited us over for dinner (beef fajitas) and a game of Baja Rummy, otherwise known as Hand and Foot. Merry and I lost the first three hands but wiped out Ron and Dave in the last and won the night. Merry gave me earrings and a pendant she had made from matching auger shells I had found.

The full moon lit our way back home over glassy waters.

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Yellowstone Beach

2008-04-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

After a very pleasant stay at San Marte, which included a couple of beach gatherings and bocci ball games, we headed another 17 miles north for the very aptly named Yellowstone Beach on the north end of Isla Monserrate. This anchorage is lined with butter yellow cliffs, an unusual sight. It is a fairly open anchorage that only provides protection from southerly winds, and that's what we had -- all night long. The winds blew 10-15k, with gusts up to 18 knots. We were protected from any southerly swells which made it fairly comfortable, but the sound of winds blowing through the rigging does not make for comfortable sleep. Both of us got up quite a bit, Ron more often than me since I wear ear plugs.

The moon is full tonight but it looked pretty darned full the last two nights. Its bright light splashed through my hatch several times through the night waking me up, so in addition to the wind, I had the moon. I'm not really complaining as it was really beautiful.

The beach here is not very large nor particularly beautiful. The yellow cliffs make it distinct. Shell hunting was a little on the weak side as the shells are mostly ground up and polished. Four boats are here with us, and we met for drinks on Polar Bear and celebrated a spectacular sunset.

John of Gosling was not as happy as the rest of us as he had been bitten by a slightly poisonous cone shell creature. He'd been treated with a hot-water soaking, pain killers and antibiotics. By the end of the evening, he was feeling a little better, which is good.

We are going to leave here today, after only one night as more north winds are coming in and we need to find a better place. The ideal place has protection from both wind and waves. While in San Marte, we were protected quite a bit from the winds, but we felt the refrected swells that swung around the corner. We had one particularly rolly night and another less rolly night. For sleeping, flat is good.

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Bahia San Marte

2008-04-16T09:15:00.000-07:00

San Marte is another one of those anchorages that is overlooked because it is so close to a popular anchorage, in this case, it is just south of beautiful Aqua Verde. It's a quiet, hidden treasure, and we are enjoying it as are a few others. Yesterday, we had drinks and appetizers on the beach. Six boats were in the anchorage, and everyone showed up on the rocky beach at 4pm. We stayed there, nibbling, talking and hunting for shells, until the sun set over the Giganta mountains.

In addition to always having chores that are always on our list, we have a choice of activities. We can explore the various beaches, hunt for shells, go for hikes through the arroyas and over the hills, swim (the water is getting a little warmer but is still a touch chilly), or just hang out on the boat and read (or do Sudoku, in my case). Earlier in the day, we took the dinghy for a ride on the calm seas and visited a sea cave just south of here. We drove in about 20 feet but the cave quickly narrowed and we both felt the need to back out. On both sides of us crabs about 4-6 inches wide were scrambling up the walls. These were not ordinary crabs but were brightly colored in red, blue, black, yellow, orange. We heard later that they can jump. I am so grateful they chose not to when we were there.

We will likely stay here until Friday or Saturday as some north winds are due to come in on Thursday. This is a good place for that kind of weather and to stop for a while.

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Timbabichi

2008-04-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

On the day after my 63rd birthday, I climbed up the mast and did my civic duty. I rescued a stranded Mexican flag. The Timbabichi anchorage is just slightly rolly but the real problem was that the mast steps were stuck from months of no use. I had to hammer each one loose. Once I was up there, I looked around and it was beautiful, but that was just for a moment.

This anchorage has miles of sand beach backed by the striated Sierra de la Giganta range. It sits just three miles south of the more popular and prettier anchorage of Los Gatos so it's frequently passed up but we found it a very nice place to stop. We are here with AirOps and new friends Marv and Ardy of Odyssey. Last night Merry made a gourmet birthday dinner for me, for us: salmon with oranges and pears. I brought the salad. Ardy brought the tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil appetizer and curry rice side dish. What a feast.

We are already looking forward to today's meals because a local fisherman came by shortly after we arrived yesterday with offers of fish and lobster. By sunset, he brought us three cardonal (similar to snapper) which he filleted for us. By noon today, he is going to deliver the lobster. We'll make fish tacos for lunch and will save the bugs for supper.

Life is good.

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San Evaristo

2008-04-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

The Hook in San Francisco is a lovely anchorage. We hiked over to the agate beach and found a few, very few, of the translucent rocks during our two-hour hike. The rocky beach is covered mostly with green, pink, orange and brown stone that have crumbled off the cliffs of the same colors. Hunting the agates was akin to searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack but we passed the time doing it anyway.

We stayed there two nights and decided to move on as weather reports call for northerly winds to start building Saturday. We made one short stop at a shell beach on the northern side of San Francisco and then weighed anchor to go to Puerto Salinas, an abandoned salt mining operation. This anchorage sits behind a large, low point of land that protects boats from northerly swells but not from the wind. Today's forecast was for light and variable winds but by mid-day when we arrived at Salinas, the winds were hitting more than 20k and we did not feel comfortable anchoring there. Dave and Merry (AirOps) decided to stop anyway to explore the beach. We headed due West for San Evaristo, only four miles away. The hour-long ride was sloppy and wet and thankfully short. We set anchor in the protected harbor and the winds abated. Dave and Merry joined us a couple of hours after. They decided not to spend the night at Salinas mostly because a dead whale was beached nearby, and the stench of such an enormous animal can easily turn stomachs.

We'll wait for the weather reports and see what's going to happen with these north winds. For the time, we will sit in comfort here and hike around. The quiet fishing village holds about 20 families, a school, a small tienda and a desalinisation plant. We'll try to buy some fish tomorrow and maybe a little produce and eggs.

We are also going to visit a Mexican family we befriended last year. (Ron helped repair his HF radio.) I have a small stack of "comic" books produced by Iemanya Oceanica (www.iemanya.org) and supported by organizations such as the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and National Georgrafic Conservation Trust that were created to educate Mexicans about overfishing sharks. Various cruisers signed up to distribute to villages that border the sea. We will give them to our friends and ask them to provide them to the local school.

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On the hook

2008-04-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

We weighed anchor (actually, we tossed off our lines from the marina docks) last Sunday morning and headed out. We had light winds, as first right on the nose, so we did not even raise our sails for the first couple of hours. As we moved out into the San Lorenzo channel which separates the land mass from the islands, we picked up enough wind to turn off the engine and have a leisurely lunch as we ambled along at a little more than 3 knots. When we dropped below 2 knots, we turned the engine back on and continued into Caleta Partida where we met up with Reverie and AirOps.

Caleta Partida has an interesting geologic history in that it is the remnants of a crater of a large, extinct volcano. Over thousands of years, the western and eastern sides of the crater eroded below sea level and the waters flowed in. The volcanic rocks surround the remaining sides and remind us of its past. We could see where once lava flowed, leaving behind sometimes smooth rocks, others almost lacy looking, and other sharp and spiked.

We spent two nights there. During the afternoon one day, Merry drove Judiee and I to a beach around the corner. We were disappointed in that there were almost no shells. It was a boring beach so we did not stay long. We went back to AirOps and created candle holders out of sea stars that Judiee and Merry had found earlier. Even though they've been dead a long time, the sea stars still smelled really, really bad. I took one home and stuffed it with baking powder, hoping that would help.

This morning (Tuesday), Reverie left us and went back to La Paz. They will prepare their boat to leave it and will head back to Montana. One more departure, one more good-bye, it's just part of this cruising life. As they headed south, Liberty Call II and AirOps headed north to the Hook, the large crescent shaped bat at the south tip of Isla San Francisco. This beach is much more interesting. It is full of shells, though broken, are shiny, colorful and polished by nature. Tomorrow we expect to walk over the beach, walk through the natural salt pond and over to the agate beach.

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Getting underway

2008-04-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

We are running around the morning, doing last-minutes chores, storing things away and getting ready to leave. We've just checked buoyweather.com and printed out the 7-day forecasts, and we're listening to weather forecasts on the HF radio. It all looks good.

The sun is shining, we are excited and ready to get underway. LCII has not been underway (except for a short trip between marinas) since last May when we headed up to the states to meet Lily, who was born a couple of weeks early. Time has passed quickly, and Lily is almost walking now. (We'll see her and her family again in June.)

Our first leg will be an easy one up to Calida Partida, the main anchorage in Isla Espiritu Santo, about four hours north of La Paz. We will meet up with Gary and Judiee, and Gary's daughter Lisa, of Reverie, and Dave and Merry of AirOps. Reverie will be with us for two nights and then return to La Paz. They'll be heading back to Montana later this month. AIrOps will continue heading north with us. They are about the same track. We both intend to haul out in San Carlos the end of May.

This means we won't have internet access for a while. I will continue to post logs via sailmail (email over the radio) occasionally.

Life is good.

Sand Sculpture Extraordinaire

2008-04-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

On the beach near the municipal pier, a shaggy looking guy with a flopping straw hat works in the sun to create incredible sand sculptures. He makes his money from tips gathered from a couple of boxes that sit at the edge of the sidewalk. His story in quite interesting in that he finished law school and was midway through a second degree in anthropology when he decided on this different (to say the least) lifestyle. He is not alone: his girlfriend was an architect. She sells jewelry nearby.

He created this scene of the Last Supper in time for Semana Santa (Holy Week) in hopes that the visiting Catholics would fill his coffers. I hope they did because it really is an amazing work of sand art.

If you are interested in reading more, you can visit http://rozinlapaz.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html and scroll all the way to the bottom. Rozinlapaz is the blogspot of a former journalist who writes about art and events in La Paz. It's a pretty interesting read.

Liberty Call II is for sale

2008-04-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

Some of you will be shocked to read this, others will understand. Ron has lived aboard boats for 18 years. He had Liberty Call, a Morgan 32, for two years before he bought Liberty Call II new in 1992. I moved aboard 13 years ago when we married in January 1995. This has been our home. We had some wonderful years sailing the Bay of San Francisco followed by a year in San Diego before coming to Mexico in 2005. We've had some great times but Ron is really tired of boat work, and I am always up for something new.

If you know of anyone who wants to wonderful, very comfortable cruising-ready boat, they can see Liberty Call II at yachtworld.com, or if you can't find it there (you cannot search by boat names but you can try Hunter 37 or 1992 Hunter. It's located in La Paz), our agent also sent us this url: http://tinyurl.com/6apnu2.

You might ask, as others have, what we will do when we sell. We don't know yet. We want to do some land cruising but constantly debate the merits of having an RV, a van or just a car, preferably a hybrid to save gas. We'll see. We are ready for the change.

We have a park pass and fishing license (almost)

2008-04-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

We are preparing to leave Sunday to head up into the Sea for April and May, slowly making our way to San Carlos on the mainland. Ron's job is getting the boat ready, changing oil, filling up with fuel, etc. He arranged for Clark of Paradise Found to clean the bottom. My job is to provision and run around. I walked about five miles yesterday. (I really, really miss our car but should not complain. It's good exercise.)

The islands we will be visiting are managed by the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) which sells daily and annual park passes. The only problem is that they don't exactly make it easy to buy these passes. You have to hunt them down. I went to Alex and Sue of Maitairoa to their office (on 5 de Mayo across from the baseball stadium) last week. The annual passes (which cover Jan. 1 to Dec. 30) were not ready yet but were expected this past Monday (March 31 -- only three months late!) We went back on Tuesday, paid our 250 pesos and received a shrink-wrapped package that included the pass, a medallion, and information booklet.

With that item checked off my list, I tackled the fishing license, which is much more complicated. I know we can't compare Mexico to the US, but it would be oh so nice to to walk into any fishing tackle store and buy a license. (One of the problems with Mexico is that the government does not trust anyone to collect money, so no matter if you are paying for an FM3 (extended visas) or fishing license, you have to apply first, take those forms to a bank and pay before returning to get your document.)

Anyway, back to my scavenger hunt. Alex of Maitairoa had sent me a document explaining how to apply for, pay for (at a bank, of course), and obtain a fishing license on line. The first part went well enough. We applied for our license and printed out the forms to take to the bank. The document explained how they did this in Mazatlan. However, when I took my documents to Bancomer in La Paz, I got a 'perdida mirada' (the deer-in-the-headlights look). The bank teller and her manager spent almost a half-hour trying to figure out how to let me pay for the fishing license, but to no avail. So it was back to the start line. (By the way, each trip to the bank or downtown is at least 20 minutes walking one way.)

I came back (breaking up that walk by getting a $6 haircut)and stopped by the Marina de La Paz office to ask how I could get our licenses. There were three options: one was to go to the SAGARPA office (behind the jail and way up Colosio). The second was to hire a paperworks agent. The third, which they had just heard of and did not know if it worked, was to continue my process and pay for the license at a new kiosk near the main plaza in town. (Another 20 minute walk back to town.)

I found a large glass booth with a fancy orange and yellow kiosk. A young lady was sitting behind the machine and came around to help me. She entered my data, I put my money into the slots, and BINGO! I got a receipt. I entered Ron's data and BINGO! I got his receipt. Note I still do not have the licenses but just receipts that I paid for them. I took these back to the office (a 30-minute walk since I stopped for groceries.) They were all excited that the machine worked.

In theory, I was supposed to be able to log back into the internet site and print out my license. That part did not work. It did not recognize any of the numbers on my receipts. Oh well, two out of three isn't bad. At this point, I am not going to bother with the license. If we get stopped (which is unlikely), I will show my receipts and hope it works.

S/V Linda

2008-04-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

We have often talked about our friends Steve and Linda of sailing vessel (s/v) Linda. Well, they are "puddle jumping" as I write, which means that they are sailing to the the South Pacific. Last night they should have celebrated crossing the Equator with a little scotch and wine. Linda also made them costumes for the occasion.

We often listen to the Puddle Jumpers net on the HF radio and last night heard them check in at Latitude 00.05N, which is about a half mile north of the Equator, and Longitude 130.29W, which is way, way out there.

By the way, this trek puts them where they are the farthest a person can be from land on this good earth of ours. If you would like to see what this type of sailing is like, you can visit their weblog at svlinda.blogspot.com. They are posting updates about every other day.

They have been working toward this adventure for a very long time, and we are very excited for and proud of them.

La Paz weather

2008-03-28T01:09:00.000-07:00

This time of year is very pleasant in La Paz. The daytime feels like summer, while the nighttime feels like fall. The cause of this is a local phenomena called Coromuels. The Coromuel winds are cool breezes that start in the evening and often blow through the night, as it is doing tonight. These result from the geography wherein the low land southwest of La Paz allows the cool air form the Pacific Ocean to flow across the Baja peninsula toward the warmer Sea of Cortez.

So while we are wearing shorts and sandals during the day and feeling like we're baking in low 90 degree sunshine, we are sleeping under blankets with low 60 degree nights. It's quite a nice combination.

Dock party

2008-03-27T22:13:00.001-07:00

Here is what happens when you put out an announcement on the morning net that there's going to be a dock party in Marina Don Jose. This is a small marina and we think it was a first for it.

For two Fridays, I made the announcements for the 5pm gathering, Alex and Sue of Maitairoa put out their camping table, people showed up with the drinks and munchies, and Voila! Instant Party! It's just too easy.

A Day in Our Life

2008-03-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday started off as it usually does, with our drinking coffee and listening to the morning net. Among the many announcements was one from Ray of Adios Pirate (there is another boat called Adios in La Paz, and Ray and Janie distinguish their boat by flying a pirate flag and calling theirs Adios Pirate). Ray, who is well known for starting parties, announced that there would be a dock party on Dock 3 of Marina Palmira (where we kept our boat last summer).

Another announcement was that coffee and brownies would be served at 9:30 at Club Cruceros, the local cruisers’ organization, a typical morning occurrence in the small frame building that sits at the edge of Marina de La Paz. We took some DVDs to donate to the club’s exchange collection and just starting talking to folks. By the end of the coffee hour, we had met two couples, Pat and Carole of Espiritu and Scott and Janet of Vinmar, and agreed to meet them at 3:30 to walk to Marina Palmira (at least two miles north) for the dock party.

We did the chores we had planned: my checking email at the internet café and Ron walking to Lopez Marine to buy 30 feet of hose for our new water heater. I replaced the acrylic lettering on the dinghy. The L was missing from one side and the AW was missing from the other. Its name is AWOL (remember the military term: Absent While On Leave). Ron then loaded the dinghy on the davits and rinsed off the boat. I napped a bit.

We met the crew, each with their backpacks carrying something to eat and drink. I carried green apples and Monterey Jack cheese. Ron carried five Pacifico beers. We stopped midway to rest a bit, near the pier on the malecon where a number of merchants from the state of Oaxaca were selling their wares. Some sweet music was coming out of a large speaker, and we danced a bit. The sun was shining. The breeze was warm.

We finally arrived at the dock party and joined the gathering. We unloaded our food, shared it, pulled out the beers, and just started talking and laughing. Some people we knew, others we met for the first time. After a couple of hours, we got a ride back in a van filled with sails. Grateful not to walk back, we did not mind sharing seats or sitting on the floor.

That was not the end of our day. A third announcement on the morning’s net had been a reminder of regular Wednesday night jam session at Ciao Molino’s, a restaurant across the street from Marina de La Paz. We knew a couple of the players and all decided to stop in for a bit to eat and maybe dance a little. We did just that and then walked home hand-in-hand under the light an almost-full moon.

San Carlos

2008-03-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

We said our good-byes to Elizabeth and her beautiful family and left Davis morning Monday to travel south along I-5. Wildflowers were in bloom and we got to enjoy the incredible diversity of California. Through deserts and alongside mountains we rode. Past farmlands and over rivers we went. At the end of the day, we stopped in Barstow, a fairly ordinary, bur serviceable, stop along the highway.

The next day we drove to Needles on I-40 and then headed south on Hwy 95, going through Wickenburg. (Note: We'd like to stop and spend more time there. Maybe later.) The real treat of that part of our trip was spending time with Bobbie and Robert, who are very special folks. Ron and I would not be together if it weren't for them. Ron moved in to the slip next to their boat I'o 14 years ago at Pete's Harbor. I met him one day while visiting them, after which Bobbie set us up on our first date (which included Ron belly-dancing at a middle eastern dinner at their church: a completely different story). The rest is history.

Anyway, here we are. We spent all day yesterday in the car driving from Phoenix to San Carlos, a 9-hour trip. (In total, we drove 1135 miles in three days.) San Carlos is surprisingly nice. Not sure why, but both of us were expecting some sleepy, dusty Mexican village. Wrong. We drove into town with the remnants of a beautiful sunset. The four-lane divided highway was well lighted and the center divider was landscaped with palm trees. (photos is of the drive down the main stretch with the mountain Titekawa in the distance.)
We had no problem finding our "hotel", the Adlai Departementos, a 12-room hidaway recommended by Steve and Linda. We followed their hand-drawn map (turn right at Rosa's Cantina and go 3/4 miles) and found it just as they said: very clean and cheap. For $26 a night, we have a large room with two double beds, a large bathroom and spacious shower. We think they may have just renovated the room, as the paint looked new, the upholstered chairs still had some plastic shards hanging from the bottom of the seats, and the water glass still had labels. No problemo.

In the morning we visited Marina Real where we are going to haul out LCII for the summer. We talked to Ed and Barbara, owners of the storage facility where we'll leave the car. All's well. We spent the rest of the day just wandering around the area, including ending up in nasty traffic in downtown Guaymas. (Note: we don't need to go there again.)

We fly back to La Paz tomorrow (Friday). We will take LCII through the sea in April and May and slowly make our way up here. Life is good.

New members in the family

2008-03-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

During our short visits to San Diego and to Davis, we were able to meet new members of the family. First, we met Sam, a Chihuahua and Jack Russell terrier mix, who was fortunate to be adopted by Ryan, Ron's son. He is a very mild-mannered pooch who loves Ryan. (His calm nature just doesn't seem to fit with Chihuahuas' and terriers' normally nervous demeanors.) He's a real sweetie. Sam sleeps during the day, waits patiently for Ryan, and will not touch his dry dog food until Ryan is home. Sam likes humans a whole lot better than other dogs. Smart dog.

When we got to Davis we found out that Parshaw and Elizabeth, their kids Cameron and Lucy, had added a cat (Puff) to their menagerie of two dogs (Roxie and Lucy), a ball python (Snakey) and a painted hermit crab (Hermes). Puff is a very soft long-haired, tricolored (grey, orange and white) feline who likes nothing better than climbing onto whatever lap if available. She also finds interesting places to nap. Here she's on the shelf of Lily's changing table.

Northward on the Baja

2008-03-05T16:41:00.000-08:00

Our journey north started with an easy four-hour trip to Loreto. The section of the lower Baja highway that winds northwest and then north through Cuidad Constitucion is to us the most boring and uninteresting, just miles and miles of flat desert lands filled with seas of cactus. But after a couple of hours, the terrain starts getting interesting as we head east and climb into the Gigantes, the mountain range that stretches along the lower Baja. As we came around yet another rocky bend, we got that first stunning glimpse of the blue expanse known as the Sea of Cortez (or for those who hate the name of the dreaded Conquistador, it’s El Golfo de California – the Gulf of California.)

The highway skirts the highway from Port Escondido until Loreto, giving us views of some of the islands where we’ve anchored. In Loreto, we stayed at La Damiana Inn (ladamianainn.com) in Loreto on tripadvisor.com. It is a five-room inn a few doors away from the center of Loreto. For $60 a night, we had a very comfortable bed, a good hot shower, WiFi in the common area, coffee in the morning and off-street parking. While on my computer, I started talking with another guest, Steve who was on his first visit to the Baja and kicking himself for not coming down the Baja before. He was bringing a truck down for friends who are involved with Ecology Project International in La Paz (ecologyproject.org) and was taking his time, stopping often. He joined us for dinner at Mexico Lindo down the street.

The next day we drove another 170 miles to the San Ignacio. From Loreto, the highway is curvy as it run between the Gigantes and the sea. The views are often stunning especially as we drove along Bahia de Concepcion. The day we drove was one with calm seas, so much so that the colors of the eastern desert peninsula that creates bay were reflected in those waters.

We arrived in San Ignacio, a small town with a written history beginning with Spanish missionaries in the early 1700s. We had arrived there in the early afternoon and were welcomed by the owner Terry, a Canadian who with her husband Gary moved to this place in 2001 to start their B&B. Most of the rooms are yurts situated within the many palm trees there. Ours was a cabin built on top old truck tires, a great way to recycle. The advantage of our place was that it had a private bathroom, which not all rooms had. We got there early enough to take a two-man kayak out onto the stream which is fed by a natural spring just two kilometers inland. (Our friends Judiee and Gary of Reverie and Steve and Linda of Linda were not so fortunate. Their rental car broke down and they arrived at 11pm.)

After a breakfast of eggs to our liking (scrambled, over-easy or poached) served family style with bacon, ham, home-fried potatoes, thick-sliced French toast, and fruit along with juice and coffee), we (the six of us plus fellow visitors Josh and Jeffrey) climbed aboard a van which took us to another small building where we moved into a larger van. We drove on a very dusty, rocky road for an hour before stopping well before our destination: we had a flat tire and we were in the middle of nowhere. Our driver called for help on his VHF and assured us help would come within 15 minutes and it did. From there, it was still almost another half-hour of dust and rocks before we reached our destination Antonio's at La Fidera, a fish camp at the edge of the San Ignacio Lagoon, where hundreds of grey whales give birth each winter.

The panga ride was a half hour to the observation zone where our panga was allowed to stay for 90 minutes. During that time we saw many, many spouts and breaches all around us but in the distance. The truly remarkable times were when we were able to get up close and personal with two sets of mother whales and their calves. One of the mothers got under her calf and push it close to us as if to show her off.

We touched whales that wonderful day. I touched a mother’s snout, and Ron caressed a baby whale just three weeks old. We were able to have this close contact on a panga motored by our able guide Jesus. It was not easy to get to this place but well worth the effort.

At night we ate outdoors at the B&B, talking with people from all over, including a German couple who live in Miami. (The breakfast is included in the price of about $80/night while the dinner is about $15 extra.) The food is just another reason to stay at this special place. Mostly it’s the peace and quiet, the brilliant stars at night, the crickets and bull frogs, the wind through the palm trees.

In the morning we had out last meal for a long time with the crews of Reverie and Linda. The price we pay for living such a fluid lifestyle is that friends come in and out of our lives. It's a joy to make new friends but it's a sorrow to lose them, not knowing when or if we'd see them again.

Springtime has arrived in some of the Baja desert. As we drove north to San Diego from San Ignacio, we started seeing more and more wildflowers. As we traveled between the Viscaino Desert and the Sierras de San Francisco, we sped past spreads of deep purple sand verbena, light purple and white lupines, yellow desert daisies (I think they have another name), and deep red lichen (we think). The closer we got to the California border, the more profuse were the bright orange California poppies. We only stopped once to take photos because roads without shoulders don’t make this easy, so I mostly had to shoot from my window and only hope to catch something that did not look like a blur. We heard later that this colorful ambundance only happens once every eight or ten years after unusually rainy winters.

Our last stop before San Diego was El Rosario, a little more than six hours and 320 miles up Highway One. Our favorite place there is Baja’s Best, an excellent restaurant and B&B. We first stopped here for breakfast a couple of years ago and then spent a night on our way south last October. We were fortunate to get the same room as before with its 50-inch TV and SKY satellite feed. It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen CNN, ESPN and such so we enjoyed just hanging out.

We lucked out because Baja’s Best was hosting a party for a dignitary that was first described as the mayor of Ensenada and later as the president (more like a county supervisor) of the state of Baja California. We enjoyed some excellent tacos made with fresh fish and fixings. (We like to put the fish in the middle of a warm flour tortilla, sprinkle lime on the fish, then add shredded cabbage, crema--like a mild sour cream, and a creamy avocado mixture--which is simply avocados mixed with water and salt .)

We arrived in San Diego the following afternoon and have to admit that it was wonderful to see eight-lane divided highways again!

On the road again

2008-02-27T10:50:00.001-08:00

We are leaving today heading north for three equally important reasons: first is to watch whales in San Ignacio lagoon, where the mothers are famous for pushing their calves close to boats as if to show them off. We'll do this with Gary and Judiee of Reverie and Steve and Linda of Linda: the last trip for the Seis Vagabundos as Steve and Linda will head off for the South Pacific in mid-March. Gary and Judiee will leave for Montana in late April.

Second reason is to have some medical checkups: the fun stuff, mammogram for me and colonoscopies for both of us. Oh joy.

The third and probably most important reason is to see kids and grandkids. We will be in San Diego by this Sunday and will spend the week there. We will then go to Davis and spend the following weekend there.

On Mon (Mar 10) we will start a three-day drive to Guaymas/San Carlos on the mainland of Mexico where will intend to haul out our boat in June. We will leave the car there and fly back to La Paz Mar 14. Arond the first of April we will leave for Guaymas/San Carlos and will spend April and May wandering north through the sea. Life is good.

Just stuff

2008-02-26T11:50:00.000-08:00

Did you know that sun eats the color yellow? What this means is that many Mexican flags on cruisers' boats are blue, white and red instead of the official green, white and red. Our answer to this is to use a green magic marker with a wide tip and color green all those areas that have turned blue. From a distance you can't tell. Don't know how long this will last but we'll see how much time we can buy before having to purchase another flag. We just hope the flag police don't catch us:)

We sometimes play a word game called "Things you will never hear spoken in Mexico." My favorite so far is: "Oh, is the music too loud?" There is no such thing. The concept of music that you can hear at a reasonable level seems to be unknown. Ear plugs are necessities here. Another is: "Oh, should I slow my boat down so that my wake does not shake your boat?" The other day we were hit with a wake so large that we were afraid it would put our neighbor's boat on the dock. (he's on the outside and was hardest hit). I was below working on my computer and starting grabbing for items that were sliding and flying every whichway.

Another question that I am fairly sure is quite rarely spoken is: "Don't you think we should make our sidewalk level with our neighbors?" I am not sure if this is true for all Mexico, but in La Paz, each homeowner and business is responsible for their own sidewalks. The result is that you always keep a sharp eye where you are walking. You are tempting fate if you don't.

Projects and more projects

2008-02-24T13:17:00.000-08:00

Being in a marina means that we are constantly adding to and deleting from our project list. (I can't wait until we go into the sea -- projected time around first of April - because we'll have to have all this work done by then.)

Many items are maintenance related. For me, I finally got around to replacing zippers that connect the dodger to the bimini (which provide shade in the cockpit). The sun had corroded two large zippers as well as eaten away at seams threads. With the help of Sherry on Banjo Jane, we replaced two zippers, fixed one that was broken, and restitched several seams that had ripped apart.

This sounds as if it should have been an easy-enough project but working with dodgers and biminis means that you have to take them down and that's where the hassle comes in. We took them off their frames (no easy task), I washed them really, really good, scrubbing away bird shit that has dried on them. We're talking on my hands and knees and really, really scrubbing. A boat washer woman at work. (She taught me a great trick for replacing these large zippers: just cut off the teeth of the old zipper and leave the hem. The place the new zipper hem right on top the old. It provides a good guideline and adds a reinforcement.)

We are also replacing cockpit cushions. Our old ones were 12-year-old Bottom Siders (a heavy closed-cell foam). These had turned to stone and were in dire need of replacing. First I met with a local canvas-maker (whose name I won't use which you'll shortly understand.) He came aboard almost two weeks ago, discussed the project, and said he'd come back with a catalogue of Sunbrella materials to choose from. We have not heard from him since and now know that's not unusual. He does good work but is notoriously late. So I started talking with Kaylin on Neka. She has done quite a bit of sewing and had enough cadet grey and navy blue Sunbrella fabric to do my job - and at a price that's much cheaper than I can find here. (The cushions will be grey with navy piping.)

We found the new foam (3-inch orthopedic) at Vanessa's Fabrics along with the cord for the piping. We then took the old cushions to them and had them cut the foam to the same pattern. That project is now underway, and Kaylin is working away.

Next will be to replace the plastic windows in the dodger. We had these replaced just a year or so ago, but it was a crappy product and crappy job. (Let's not mince words here.) The plastic they used is so wavy that calm seas look lumpy. We are working with Sherry on these and will buy the new material for her to install when we are in San Diego in March. It will be so nice to look out the window and see what we're supposed to see.

I also replaced a carpet runner in our salon. This should be as easy as going to a store and buying one, but no-oo. I went to a furniture store and asked to see their rugs; they looked at me as if I were crazy. They brought out a small catalogue to order from but nothing in there worked. I went to department stores and found nothing but bathroom and kitchen rugs. (Remember that much of what we can buy in La Paz has to be shipped in. The Baja is considered frontier and is far from the mainland where most manufacturing is done.) The answer to my problem was once again found at Vanessa's where I bought a remnant of carpeting and then had them put a sunbrella fabric border around the edge. (This was after I went to two upholstery shops to see if they could do the border for me.)

Ron's project list is, as usual, much longer and more difficult that mine. He has just installed a new Blue Sky solar controller/booster and now just needs to hook up all our panels. This new device is supposed to provide better performance for our solar array system.

Next will be to replace the Seaward hot water heater because our old one, which was installed in the boat when it was new in 1992, is leaking. Since nothing is simple, and we wound up buying it from Defender, having it shipped to a guy in San Diego, who took it to a courier who crossed the border and sent it to La Paz on an Aeromexexpress flight to La Paz. We picked it up at a building on a dusty road near the airport. Of course, this all comes with a price. We paid more for the shipping than the unit, but we're glad to have it.

Bottom line is that each day we have to figure out what projects we have to do, and then figure out how we are going to do them. Nothing is simple but then, what else do we have to do right now? Our project list keeps us plenty busy and we're quite content to work during the day with one proviso: all working stops at 5 o'clock. That's cocktail hour and time to relax, watch sunsets, visit with friends. The weather is lovely (high 70s during the day, mid-50s at night), and life is good.

Fundacion Ayuda Ninos

2008-02-18T14:01:00.000-08:00

One thing I have not written much about is the abject poverty of Mexico. Although it is not always blatant, it is always there, hovering just below the surface. Last Friday, I got to see a part of Mexico that not many gringos see. In fact, my hosts said that not many Mexicans see this.

The story started one Saturday at breakfast at The Gorilla Grill when I met Judy Petersen who is president of an organization called Ayuda Ninos (www.lapazninos.org). I had heard of this group before when we attended the Subasta (auction) last November at Club Cruceros which raises money for the kids. (Last year the club raised around $10,000.)

Ayuda Ninas feeds hot lunches to children (or anyone who is hungry). It also provides scholarships to help kids go to high school and college. I had told Judy that although I was only here for a short time, I was interested in learning more about the group, which was the reason for my short journey. (I am going to help set up a weblog so they can easily post news.)

Last Friday, I met Judy and her husband Pete near the corner of Cinco de Mayo and Padre Kino, two major streets in La Paz. From there I followed them until the paved roads stopped and then onward for another two miles or so. We traveled on dusty roads with me following them carefully as they dodged rocks and potholes. We passed shacks made of all sorts of material, some with clothes hanging on lines. (I could not help but wonder how those clothes could be clean with all the dust and dirt in the air -- stuff that I was helping stir up.) We passed cars that had long stopped driving. We passed fences that barely stood up. We pass yards where there was not a blade of grass or anything green in sight.

We drove into the parking area in front of a small building where lunch is served each day to about 50 kids. A group of Mexican ladies, led by Lupita, volunteer their time and talents to cooking and serving. Pete told me that the local government gives them beans and rice, but that the organization buys everything else, the meats, fruits and veggies. It costs about $80 a day to keep the organization going.

While they were serving, Pete showed me the side room that has a small library and one computer (not hooked to the internet). They hope to build a room on the second floor and when they do that, the Mexican government will give them a dozen computers and an internet connection.

We ate a very tasty lunch (beans, rice and meat-stuffed corn tacos) alongside the kids. They were all so sweet and polite not to mention just beautiful. One of the teenagers, a lovely girl named Rosa, started talking with Judy and explaining that she needed money for some school books. Judy explained that "Rosa" would not even be in high school if it were not for them. Her mother had "worked on the streets of Cabo" and had died. She had been raised by her grandmother. There were many other children like her, whose fathers had come to La Paz to work and then had left behind mothers and children. There is little social infrastructure to help them. Ayuda Ninas does what it can in this small part of La Paz.

I ask any of you to please consider helping this wonderful organization with a tax-deductible donation. You can do this by going to the website of the International Community Foundation at http://www.icf-xchange.org/donateonline.php. In the Search ICF box, type in Ayuda Ninos and you'll see how to donate there.

We are so blessed to live in the United States and have what we have. Please consider sharing.

Carnaval

2008-02-15T08:39:00.001-08:00

While the rest of the world has long recovered from their Carnaval -- or Mardi Gras -- celebrations, La Paz is just starting. For Catholics (and even ex-Catholics), this is quite perplexing because Carnaval is supposed to be the last blow-out before Lent, which is 40 days of sobriety and sometime fasting leading up to Easter. La Paz, however, decided to do things differently this year. The reason is quite simple: some government organization scheduled the local elections on the Sunday before February 5, when the rest of the world celebrated Carnaval/Mardi Gras. Well, in Mexico alcohol is banned on election days and you can't have a Carnaval celebration without alcohol, so the La Paz officials pushed the Carnaval dates back two weeks to Feb. 14-18 -- well into Lent. Oh well. A little traditional religious protocol should not get in the way of a good party.

If you want to see the schedule of festivities you can visit http://www.rozinlapaz.blogspot.com/. Roz is a gringo journalist who has just started this great weblog listing information about local artistic and cultural activities.

The street along the Malecon is now filled with stalls offering food, arts, crafts and junk. Kids and adults will be able to enjoy riding small ferris wheels and other carnival (note the different spelling) rides and games. Music and entertainment starts late, around 10pm. Last night fireworks over the water woke me up around 10:30.

A series of three parades began on Sunday evening. We watched the first one from the Los Arcos hotel with friends and the second night we went on the streets so we could be in the midddle of the fun. The crowds were friendly and filled with kids.

I have posted more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/libertycall2/CarnavalInLaPaz2008

Life is so good.

Ladies Luncheon

2008-02-15T08:15:00.000-08:00

More than seventy years ago, the local yore says, a group of ladies who lived in the surrounding rancheros would come into town (La Paz) and meet for lunch once a month. This started a tradition that continues to this date. It is a movable feast that changes location each second Thursday of the month.

This month we went to Gemma Inn B&B (www.gemmagroup.it) where an Italian family has opened a new B&B and Italian kitchenware business. They also are opening a new coffee shop on the malecon. Our host Emy makes her own pasta and for our lunch, made vegetarian and meat lasagne preceded by antipasta: slices of mozarella and tomatoes, foccacia and small sandwiches of thin-sliced ham (prosciotto, I think) in crusty bread (probably baked there as well). After the lasagne, she offered spaghetti in a wonderfully light tomato sauce and after all this, we savored her tiramisu. Oh my.

If you ever want a place to stay in La Paz (and don't care about calories), please visit Gemma Inn.

Trip photos

2008-02-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

I finally managed to load some photos from our trip last month. Please visit
http://picasaweb.google.com/libertycall2/Jan08Trip. (You may have to copy this link into your browser.)

Hanging out in La Paz

2008-02-09T06:33:00.000-08:00

We have moved to the smaller Marina San Jose which does not have many amenities of the larger marinas but the docks are sturdy, and we like being closer to town. (Several boats moved out when Marina Palmira significantly raised its rates, we among them.) We often just get out and walk the malecon which runs about five miles along the shore.

Sometime we drop a few coins into the tip box where one guy is usually creating elaborate sand sculptures. A different sort of entrepreneurial spirit, I guess.

One very nice benefit is that we can once again hear the nets on the HF radio. More often than not, if we're in a marina surrounded by masts, there is too much interference to listen to the nets, so it was really nice to be able to be able to check into the Southbound net and hear where different boats and friends are.

By the way, I do have Wi-Fi but for some reason am having trouble uploading photos. I'm continuing to work on the problem but that's why I have not been able to post photos from our trip and others.

Yesterday, we went to our first salsa dance lesson at Ciao Molina's restaurant, a couple of blocks from us. It's a free class given by Dana of Jazz just because she loves to dance. About eight couples showed up and we learned our first steps. Salsa is fun, easy to learn and beautiful to watch. We're ready to do more. One-two-three...

Today we're off to Todos Santos with Gary and Judiee to visit its annual art festival. About an hour south of La Paz, Todos Santos has in recent years become known as an artist community. Should be a good day.

Back in La Paz

2008-02-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

No, we did not slip off the face of the earth but we have traveled a few miles since our last blog. We finally left Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday Jan. 22 after a visit to a medical clinic there. Ron had been having intestine problems and was feeling unusually bloated. The doctor took an X-ray and did not see anything very unusual, just a few air pockets. He prescribed some medication, told him to stay away from fats, spicing foods and alcohol, and to see a gastroentologist when we got back to PV. With that we got underway for an overnight trip to Tenacatita.

While underway, Ron started getting spasms in his face. They got so bad that he could barely eat for fear of chewing his tongue, and he could not sleep very well. After a day, he stopped taking the medication. At anchor in Tenacatita, I called the doctor on the cell phone and he said there were no such side effects with this medication. Wrong! We went into Barra de Navidad the next day and found an excellent doctor there who immediately knew that that particular medication caused the problem. Dr. Linda Rubio works in a small, neat office behind this farmacia. She was very patient and spent much of her time with us explaining the whole digestive system. The bottom line was she agreed that Ron needed to see a specialist but she said it would not hurt for him to have one beer or one glass of wine a day. She also suggested an orange-flavored Metamucil on a daily basis. From there on, he was fine.

Our next leg was a short hope to Santiago where we had dinner at a palapa on the beach. We also had a short visit with John and Linda of Nakia who will be continuing south. We will continue to watch their journeys on their blog (svnakia.blogspot.com) and will miss running into them here and there, but we are very happy for them. They have been working hard toward this venture for a long time. Fair winds!

From Santiago, it was another overnight trip into Zihuatenajo. We arrived on Tuesday, Jan. 29. When we arrived there were more than 40 boats and still more arriving to attend the Zihua Sail Fest, which raises money for area schools. We signed up, got out T-shirts, attended a fundraising concert of local musicians, a mariachi band and various individual artists -- all excellent. Weather was downright balmy: high 80s in the day and 60s at night. We met some new people and shopped some.
The area (state of Guerrero) is known for its painted wooden bowls. We bought our share and contributed to the local economy. Here is the artist Pedro at work outside his booth. With combined purchases by Reverie and AirOps, we made his day -- or possibly month.

On Feb. 1, we left Dave and Merry, Myka and Shasha and AirOps, hopped on a plane for La Paz. We had to go through Mexico City (talk about major smog, a dark brown haze hovered over this enormous city) but it was an easy trip back. After three weeks and many miles on land and sea, we were very glad to be back in our bed. Life is good.

Road trip

2008-01-20T15:04:00.000-08:00

We have finished the road trip part of our travels and are back in Puerto Vallarta on AirOps, preparing to leave tomorrow for Tenacatita on our way to Zihuatenajo. I will post photos with commentary later but here's a summary of our travels so far.

The ferry ride from La Paz to Mazatlan seems a long time ago now, but it was an uneventful trip, an easy ride. Our cabin was small but clean enough. The bunk beds were not exactly comfortable but not bad enough to prevent us from sleeping. The food, however, was definitely lacking. The nondescript Mexican fare was served cafeteria-style and slopped onto trays. We were glad to get into port and were off the boat by 1000. One minor problem was that our car was so packed into the bowels of the ferry that when Ron went to find it he had to climb around and even under trucks to reach it.

We then drove Two Can Play's car to PV but not without problems. The car overheated and we had to stop outside of Tepic. When Ron lifted the hood, he immediately attracted a couple of mechanics who worked at a nearby shop. One of them was able to determine that the radiator fan was not working because of a sensor which he unhooked. We refilled the almost-dry radiator and completed the trip. We left their car parked in La Cruz near the marina, ate a pizza at Philo's and caught a bus to the Puerto Vallarto Marina. We arrived at AirOps around 2200, tired but glad not to be dealing with a sick car.

Early the next morning, our Chevy Suburban was delivered and we loaded up. The drive to Guadalajara was five hours on mostly toll roads. (By the time our trip was over, we had stopped at 18 toll booths and paid more than $100 in tolls!) Our B&B in Tlapequape had its pros and cons. It's pros included its location near the center of town and an enclosed patio where we ate our good breakfasts in the morning and played Mexican train dominoes in the evening. Its cons were hot water that was iffy and the accommodations were sparse.

We spent one day in Guadalajara, took a tour bus around town and determined that we'd seen enough. It was just another large Mexican town. The best part of our day was a visit that day was to the Cultural Center where we saw a small but beautiful exhibit of pre-Columbian gold.

We spent another day at Tonala, another suburb of Guadalajara, where on Sundays and Wednesdays a huge market attracts booths that line the streets for block after block after block. We bought all sort of decorative items, such as a bronze sun with a glass face, ceramic house address numbers, candles, and other things for that time when we move into our home in Pass Christian, Miss. (Remember we lost all the furnishings that were in storage to hurricane Katrina and are starting over from scratch.) Items we found there are sold in shops elsewhere for a lot more. While much of the wares were junk, we found quite a lot of nice items to choose from. All of us came away carrying full bags.

We realize now that we should have spent less time in and around Guadalajara and more time in Guanajuato because it is a jewel of a place. We thoroughly enjoyed our B&B, the Casa de Dona Ana where Mike and Ana were our most hospital hosts. Mike's from the US and Ana is from Guatamala. She's decorated much of the house with the colorful fabrics of her native country. It is a very comfortable abode that we can highly recommend -- and that we hope to revisit someday. You can see photos of it and see more about their fair city at their website. (http://lacasadedonaana.com/index.shtml?GuestRooms.shtml?DALanguage=EN)

Guanajuato is a hilly, very walkable city at an elevation of around 6,800. We spent the first day climbing to the El Pipila monument overlooking the city, taking the steep train down to the city and wandering through its narrow, European-style streets. We visited the Teatro Juarez, which is ornate enough to surely please Queen Victoria, and other places. We shopped along the way. Ron and I bought a rug made by a Mexican named Antonio who showed us pictures of him weaving his rugs.

Another day was started out with a visit to the Valenciana mine which was closed, but we shopped around the area for a while. Gary and Judiee and Ron and I decided to catch a local bus up to the Cristo Rey (Christ the King) monument 12 miles outside of town and up around 8,000 feet. We did not exactly know what we were getting into because as it turned out, the bus ride there was almost hour and a half on a rocky, unpaved road. We asked if there was a faster bus back to town and found there was none. It was another hour and 10 minutes back down but the trip was worth it. The monument to Christ is said to be in the geographic center of Mexico and is quite a majestic construction. We could see from miles around as we braved the cold winds that whipped around.

The next day we went back to the mine area and visited the Bocamina (mouth of the mine) which turned out to be an excellent tour due to Renaldo, our tour guide who could not speak much English but was a former miner and spoke slowly enough for Judiee and I (but mostly Judiee) to translate. He would pantomime as he spoke and explained the hardships the miners dealt with.

Near the mine is the Valenciana church built for the miners. It boggles the mind to see not one, but three, incredibly ornate golden altars. (We wondered if the miners with their meager pay for back-breaking work would have rather been paid better wages than have yet another church.)

Later that day found us at the Museo de las Mumias (Museum of the Mummies). These are naturally created mummies due to the composition of the soil, the temperature and humidity. It was one of the strangest places we have ever visited.

Dave and Merry had to stay at another nearby B&B, because their dogs were along for the trip. Their suite had a large bedroom, bath and sitting room with a large wooden table where we played Mexican train dominoes most nights. In the evening, we would hear the strolling minstrels that roam the streets each night: the callejanados. A couple of nights we went out and watched them sing these large groups of men dressed in medieval garb songs and tell their tales. We could not understand all they said but we smiled and laughed along with the Mexicans who did.

The night before we left we had a wonderful meal at El Abue. (I had a regional dish of a problano chili stuffed with nuts, raisins and ground meats and covered with a white nutty sauce. Amazing.) We surprised Ron with a chocolate desert with a lit candle accompanied with our rendition of Happy Birthday. His birthday was actually the following day but this was our last night to be together to celebrate with him.

Life is so good. Photos will come later.

Mainland travel plans

2008-01-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

After numerous emails, Skype calls and conversations, we're ready to leave tomorrow. Here is our itinerary as it now stands. (Remember that because we are cruisers, these plans are subject to change as we go). We leave tomorrow (Wednesday, January 9) on the Sonora Star ferry at 1500. The trip from La Paz to Mazatlan is 15 hours so we have reserved a cabin. (We do not plan to take a shower in it, however, as reports are that the water has a somewhat rusty hue to it.)

We are checking in with a car belonging to Dennis and Susan of Two Can Play. Once we get into Mazatlan, we will unload our belongings and the car and drive to Puerto Vallarta where we will meet Dave and Merry of AirOps in Marina Vallarta and spend the night with them. In the morning, we will rent a mini-van in Bucerias, near PV, drop off Two Can Play's car in nearby La Cruz (where they will pick it up when they arrived later in the month. This scheme saves them from having to bus up to Mazatlan to pick it up.)

On Friday morning, we will load up the mini-van (the four of us plus Micka and Sasha, their great schnauzers) and head to Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico, in a 4-to-5 hour trip. We should get there just in time to greet Judiee and Gary's plane. The first stop of our merry band will be in Tlaquepaquape (pronounced tlah-keh-PAH-keh), less than five miles SE of Guadalajara. In colonial times this was one of the first stops along the long road to Mexico City and is today a center for arts and ceramics production. We are staying at La Media Luna (The Half Moon) B&B near the center of town. We'll spend three days exploring Guadalajara and Tlaquepaquape from here. (We were planning on Steve and Linda of Linda joining us there but they are in San Carlos preparing their boat to travel to the South Pacific and have an arm's-length list of projects to do before they leave plus the logistics were just too cumbersome. They will spend February in La Paz, however, so we'll get to spend time with them before they start their journeys.)

From there our mini-van will take us to historic Guanajuato (pronounced Wah-nah-WAH-toh), of which the Lonely Planet says: "Gorgeous Guanajuato is crammed onto the steep slopes of a ravine, with narrow streets twisting around the hillsides and disappearing into a series of tunnels. This impossible topography was settled in 1559 because the silver and gold deposits that were found here were among the world's richest. Much of the fine architecture remains intact, making Guanajuato a living monument to a prosperous, turbulent past. The city was inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage Site 1988.)" We plan to explore these streets and tunnels for three days and will spend our nights at the La Casa de Dona Ana B&B.

On January 19, we drop off Gary and Judiee at the Guadalajara airport and drive back to AirOps in PV. As soon as the weather is right, we'll sail down the Gold Coast and eventually anchor in Zihuatanejo (pronounced Zee-wah-teh-NAH-ho) where we'll be for the seventh annual Zihua SailFest which begins January 29. (See http://www.zihuasailfest.com. This is a huge fund raiser for the education of Zihuatanejo's poorest children.)

We weary, but happy travelers will fly back to La Paz on February 1.

A New Year

2008-01-06T03:53:00.000-08:00

We started off the New Year right. No sooner did we arrive on New Year's Eve, a small dock party started up. That broke up early as a chilly wind started blowing and people wandered off to dinners. We were tired after all the traveling and thought we'd make an early evening of it. I was already in my pajamas when we got a call on the radio and then a knock on our boat to come join a party on Dock 4. We rested a while and then got dressed around 11 and welcomed in the New Year on Pacific with Steve and Susan, and Alex and Sue of Maitairoa, and a couple of other boats. (Can't remember all the names. It was late.)

Alex introduced us to the Spanish custom of eating 12 grapes at midnight, one for each stroke, and making a wish on each. (According to one online magazine, this tradition started in Spain because one year when there was a big grape harvest, the king of Spain decided to give grapes to everybody to eat on New Year's Eve.) We ate the grapes as fast as we could and made our wishes. I mostly asked for good health for us, good health for our families, good health for our friends.

On New Year's Day, we invited six of our neighbors over to help us eat some food I'd bought. We had enough ham, black-eyes peas, sweet potatoes and salad for everyone with lots of ham leftover. Going clockwise starting with Ron, you can see Lisa and John of Andiamo, Sharon and Jim of Lucky Lady and Diane and John of Prairie Oyster.

Since then, we've mostly been hanging out, doing small projects. I got a new laptop over the holidays as my old one is showing signs of dying. I am spending lots of time moving data around and re-loading applications. Ron replaced our speakers in our cockpit. We even got out an played a little tennis -- although I am not sure what we did can actually be called playing tennis. We didn't play a game, we just batted the balls back and forth. At least, we got a little exercise in.

We are currently planning our next adventure: some land travel on the mainland starting next Wednesday. We are going to take the ferry to Mazatlan and then drive Two Can Play's car from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta. From there, we'll catch a bus to Guadalajara and the suburb of Tlapaquape where we'll meet Gary and Judiee of Reverie and Dave and Merry of AirOps. After a visit Guanajuato, we'll drive with Dave and Merry to Barra de Navidad and help them sail down to Zihuatenajo. More later.

Oh, and the weather has been lovely. Today's temps got up into the high 80s.

A wonderful California Christmas

2008-01-03T17:18:00.000-08:00

Visa advertising got it right with their recent series of ads. Those were the ones that listed the costs of various activities, such as taking a child to a baseball game, with the conclusion that spending the time was "Priceless." Yes, indeed, our trip home was priceless and well worth the costs of airline tickets, rental cars, taxis and such.

We spent the weekends before and after Christmas in San Diego with Ron's sister Judy and with Ron's kids. We prepared a pre-Christmas feast that Judy's son Doug and his wonderful family were able to join. We had the usual fare: turkey and giblet stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn pudding casserole (my recipe with lots of butter, eggs and creamed corn), scalloped oysters (Judy's recipe of crackers, oysters and milk), cranberry jelly, broccoli salad, crescent rolls and last but not least, pumpkin and pecan pies (made by Judy) topped with Cool Whip. And yes, we overate. That's what we're supposed to do.

Christmas week we spent with my Elizabeth and her family, who live in Davis. There's nothing quite like being around a six-year-old at Christmas. Pure joy is what it is. We logged into the NORAD website and tracked Santa as he made his way around the world, following the night as it settled on country after country. (If you have not done this, check into it next year. Just google "tracking Santa".)

Then there's the time we spent with seven-month old Lily, who is as precious and sweet as babies come. I had the pleasure of taking care of her in the morning and let her mama sleep in. It was just the two of us in the quiet of the house. I would feed her and play with her until she started rubbing her big blue eyes. That was her sign she was ready for another nap. I'd rock her to sleep and just hold her until I was ready to put her in her crib. Such sweetness.

To see pictures of our time home, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/libertycall2/Christmas07

We again overate at Elizabeth and Parshaw's home on Christmas Day when we were joined by Parshaw's parents, Arsi and Jaleh, and his brother Nate and fiance Terry. The menu there was a cultural mix: honey baked ham, corn pudding (same recipe -- it's a family favorite), broccoli topped with sour cream, a beautiful tiered Spinach salad, fesenjan (a delightful Persian dish of stewed chicken breasts, walnuts and pomegranates) and rice. And yes, we overate. It's what we're supposed to do.

We spent a lot of time indoors as the weather in Davis was drizzly and cold, the kind of cold that settles into your bones and doesn't let you get warm unless you're covered with blankets for at least a half-hour. San Diego was a little better; at least the sun was shining.

When our time came to leave on New Year's Eve, we were sad to leave family but have to admit we welcomed the 75-degree weather and sunshine of La Paz. Life is so good.

Feliz Navidad in La Paz

2007-12-20T16:05:00.000-08:00

As in the US, Christmas is a big deal in La Paz. Lights are everywhere. Christmas music plays in the stores and on the streets. Some homes have elaborate light creations. This week, the street that runs in front of the town plaza, Madero, is filled with stalls that stretch for two blocks. Many of them offer clothing and toys, as well as some that just want to box and wrap your presents.

The city theater has an elaborate paper mache Nativity scene filled with all sorts of animals: chickens, a camel, a pen of pigs, an elephant, a large horse, and a small flock of sheep. The scene is also attended by a young shepherd, the three kings and of course, Mary and Joseph, all awaiting the baby Jesus to arrive.

We had heard that some families spend a lot of time and attention in creating intricate creches. While walking along the street, we came across this one. Obviously a child lives here, because he/she had put tiny toys around the holy family. I just love the colors of the flowers and the joy of this space. It is wonderfully Mexican. Feliz Navidad!

We will be in the States for Christmas! (Last year, I had a case of Christmas blues and did not want to repeat that.) We leave tomorrow (Friday before Christmas) for Tijuana, then cross the border and spend the weekend before and after Christmas with Ron's kids Ryan and Vanessa and his sister Judy in San Diego, and the week between with my daughter Elizabeth and her family. Cameron is now six years old and Christmas is a very big deal. We'll be there to see him tear into his presents. Sweet. Life is so good. Merry Christmas and to all, and to all a good night.

Lucy

2007-12-20T15:55:00.000-08:00

Marina Palmira has a resident goose whose name is Lucy. Word is that Lucy was blown off course and found safe haven in the marina during hurricane Marty four years ago. She liked it so much, she's stayed on and shows no signs of leaving.

We heard that someone brought a male goose, thinking that she'd like company, but no. She ran him off. Apparently, she did not want to share her comfortable space -- and food. Various folk feed her, including me, but I make sure not to feed her near the boat. She has a very loud squawk and will sit by a boat and honk until she gets attention. Plus, she poops quite often and we don't want her crap around the boat.

She's quite fun to feed. She will run toward me when I call her name and when I put her food down, she gobbles it down with squawks between. Apparently, no one has told her it's bad manners to talk while you're eating.

Blessing of the dump trucks

2007-12-13T20:25:00.000-08:00

December 12 is a holiday dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, also called the Virgin of Guadalupe (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe or Virgen de Guadalupe), a 16th century Roman Catholic icon depicting an apparition of the Virgin Mary. It is Mexico's most beloved religious and cultural image. Our Lady of Guadalupe is known in Mexico as "La Virgen Morena", which means "The brown-skinned Virgin". Our Lady of Guadalupe's feast day is celebrated on December 12, commemorating the account of her appearances to Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City from December 9 through December 12, 1531. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe)

In La Paz, this holiday is a day-long celebration starting at 5:00 am with mariachis. When we went to the Sanctuario (the church that has been under construction for who knows how many years and looks as if it will eventually become the city's main cathedral) at 9am that morning, the mass was underway and the church was filled with policemen and firemen. In front were parked some highly decorated fire trucks and police cars. After mass, as the people streamed out of the church, two of the priests with holy water holders walked to the corners of the street. Therein started a procession of about 150 dump trunks, more or less. As each truck, many of them decorated with the image of the Virgin, turned the corner with its horn honking, the priests would shake the holy water onto them and bless each one. The drivers and their families smiled and waved as they passed.

The image of the Virgin was everywhere, on children's clothes (as on this little girl's dress), on T-shirts, posters, banners, flags.

After buying home-made cookies from some nuns, we left around 10:30 and did not see the blessing of the taxis at 12:00 or the baptisms at 2:00pm. The schedule tacked on the church door listed the day's activities with the last being music starting at 9:30pm. We didn't make it back for that either. We were fast asleep while many Mexicans were still celebrating long into the night.

Grocery shopping in La Paz

2007-12-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

Grocery shopping here is not so different from the US, as least not in the big stores. In La Paz, the three major chains we can choose from when we want to do significant provisioning are C.C.C., Leys and Sorianas. In between, we use the small markets like Aramburo's (with a big cow on the roof) and other tiendas.

Judiee and I went shopping at the C.C.C. on Catolica last week. Like most of the large stores, we can find things like Tillamook cheese and Diet Cokes. We can even find packaged romaine lettuce. Of course, we pay more for these items than we would in the states but at least we can get them. When we are away from the big cities, items like these are non existent. (In fact, we use cabbage instead of lettuce in salads and on sandwiches. We like the lettuce better.)

By the way, we usually pay for everything with cash here and do not use credit cards (just to be on the safe side.) The larger grocery stores are exceptions. We figure it's fairly safe to use our AMEX card there.

Here is Judiee checking out. One difference here is that there is always a young boy or girl, old man or woman, who bags groceries. I feel a tug at my heart when it's a very old person working like this so I tip a little better. The baggers work for tips. My only problem with many of them is that they want to use a new plastic bag for every other item. I hate plastic bags as it is and it just drives me nuts when they do this. My way of handing this is to usually hand them my own tote bags (I love my two Chico bags: www.chicobags.com) and then ask the workers to stuff the remaining items into as few bags as possible. They probably think I'm a crazy gringa but that's okay. It's better than having to deal with 20 plastic bags.

Another difference is that you sometimes have to walk through aisles of clothing or auto supplies to find the milk. It's a real mix and I find myself walking around and around searching for certain items. I've gotten used to this store layout issue and find that I am learning to walk less.

Mi Escuela de espanol (my Spanish school)

2007-12-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

My friend Judiee and I signed up for two weeks of Spanish school at Se Habla (www.sehablalapaz.com) here in La Paz. Ours is a semi-immersion course in which we spend four hours a day, five days a week in class. We are not beginners (at least that's what they say), so we are learning verbos preteritos (past tense verbs), which is probably the hardest thing to understand and learn. In fact, that's what our first teacher Antonio said. If we can master this part of the language, the rest is a piece of cake. (Easy for him to say.)

There were six of us in our first week of class: Judiee and I, Betsy and Hank of Equinox, Franca (a German school teacher who is traveling Mexico with her 11-year old son) and Erik (a computer programmer from San Jose who has ridden his bicycle from Alaska and plans to eventually ride to Patagonia). Un muy interestante clase.

Four of our classmates "graduated" at the end of the week. This week Judiee and I are the only ones studying past tense, which is quite nice. We are able to practice much more and it is very good to have such personalized attention from our teachers Gabi and Cynthia.

One more note: when we showed up Monday morning, we learned that Franca and her son Francis had been robbed of everything on a weekend trip to Cabo. They lost not only all their clothes and money, but even worse, their passports. Fortunately, they came back to Se Habla for help. They had been staying with Antonio and his family and were able to go back there while sorting this mess out. She was doing much better today. She will be able to get back some of her money because she was using American Express travelers' checks and a friend in Germany was able to fax back a copy of her passport (which at least will provide the identification need to cash the checks). Unfortunately, her time in Mexico will be curtailed because she and her son will have to leave the country within 10 days since they do not have passports. Her son seemed to be pretty happy with that news, so it might not be so bad. At least we hope so. Some of us gave her items and money to help her out, and she was very sweetly grateful. It was such a terrible event for her to endure, and our hearts went out to her. Damn those thieves.

Taking a scenic route (from hell)

2007-12-01T14:04:00.000-08:00

Last week, we took a trip to the Costco in Cabo (about 135 miles south) with Dave and Merry of AirOps and Judiee of Reverie. Our excursion did not turn out as expected. Our intent was to leave around 8:30, then stop for a brunch in Todos Santos, an artsy community located midway, before heading to Costco. The intent was to be back by 5pm, well in time for the free movie at Marina Costa Baja (held each Tuesday night just after sunset.) Well, we straggled in after 7pm, too tired to see the movie ("Premonition" with Sandra Bullock.)

The first part of our day went according to plan. We had a nice brunch in an open air cafe in Todos Santos, wandered around the town a bit and then headed to Costco. We did our shopping in an hour or so and left Cabo around 2:30, returning home a different route. The trip to Cabo via Todos Santos goes to the west of a biosphere area called Sierra de La Laguna, where the mountains rise over 6,000 feet. An alternate route from Cabo travels east around those mountains and touches the edges of Los Barriles, a community on the coast where a number of gringos now live.

When we got to edge of Los Barriles, we consulted our map and saw that we could drive through part of the town and then pick up a road that would take us back to the highway. Well, we never found that road and it could be that it got washed away because of lot of the road we traveled on was washed away. We thought we could continue along the coastline for about 20 miles and eventually reach another road that would take us back to the highway. After about an hour, we had traveled about 18 of those 20 miles, over a road that was sometimes hanging off a cliff or sometimes just covered with sand, and it was getting increasingly small. We then stopped a couple of gringos in a pickup truck heading our way. They told us the road was totally washed out and the only way we could get back on the highway was to turn around and go back to Los Barriles. At least, we knew what we were dealing with.

As the sun was setting over the mountains, we were starting to climb through them back to La Paz. While we had been chatting throughout the day and keeping up our good humor, by the time dark had settled and we were driving around curvy mountain roads, we got quieter and quieter. Poor Ron. He drove the whole way and that last stretch was really tough; the lines that separated the lanes were very lightly painted and hard to see. When it was over, his hands were sore from hugging the wheel so tight.

The load lightened and we started talking again when we saw the lights of La Paz ahead. It was a very, very long day and we all agreed that the trip to Costco was not worth it. Not sure when, if ever, we'll head that way again.

A Cruisers' Thanksgiving

2007-11-29T06:10:00.000-08:00

In La Paz, Club Cruceros is a Mexican non-profit that's involved in community relations and charities for local children. It also provides a place and organization for cruisers to share information and resources. This totally volunteer group works very hard on both efforts. The first Sunday in December is their annual Subasta (which means auction), an annual fund-raiser for local charities. (I'll write more about that later and please visit www.clubcruceros.org.)

One of the big events for cruisers is, of course, Thanksgiving. The Club prepares and cooks the turkeys (I think there were around 15 this year), and the cruisers supply all the side dishes to create one of the largest potlucks I've ever seen. The tables groaned under the weight of all that food -- and we groaned as we get up from the table after eating all that food.

Club Palmira, where LCII is, provided the venue, all the chairs, tables and tents. The tents were especially wonderful because this year, as in past, the day was very, very warm -- into the 90s -- and we needed the shade. It was not just the turkeys that got roasted, but it did not matter. It was a day of hugs and laughter as we got to see many friends we had not seen since last spring.

Even though we missed being with our families, we were very grateful to have our good health, for being with our friends and especially for having Club Cruceros and the Marina give us such a good day. Good folks all. God bless them.

Only in Mexico

2007-11-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

This is one of those only-in-Mexico signs. We had gone to a dust-road area called Cometon, southwest of La Paz, where an annual swap meet is held by gringos who live in the area. Apparently, last year's swap meet was quite good. This year's was sorely lacking. We came away with one DVD; our friends Gary and Judiee and Dave and Merry also bought one per couple.

On the way out, we came across the wonderful sign. It was just too good not to have its picture taken. Despacio means Slow, so it's telling you to slow down for coyotes, rabbits, snakes, partridges and the like. Now, how nice is that?

La Paz sunsets

2007-11-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

La Paz seems to get more than its fair share of incredibly beautiful sunsets. This picture was taken from the beach near Costa Baja Marina as we were waiting to crash a party for powerboaters.

Actually, we were meeting friends Peter and Jan of Nor'Wester who had brought their 46-foot trawler down the coast along with 50 other motor vessels as part of the Fubar Odyssey. A group of us sailor folks joined in at the free-food and free-drink soiree on the beach. The evening was balmy and splendidly complemented by the spectacular display presented free of charge by Mother Nature.

Our V-berth

2007-11-17T12:52:00.001-08:00

This was our cozy home for two and a half weeks. Remember that when you stay on a boat, you have to be prepared to sleep with everything your brought with you. You try to bring enough but not too many clothes. (The first thing Merry and I did when we hit the Cabo fuel dock was to jump off the boat and run to the lavendaria (the laundrey. It sure was nice to have clean clothes the next afternoon.)

Note that in between our bunks on the floor is Dave's old spinnaker (the red material) which he's given to us, and our down comforter that would not fit in our car with all our other stuff we took to La Paz. In the hammock are some chips we bought at Costco, and our backpacks are hanging on either side.

When the seas were rough, I would lay on my side with my back wedged against the wall, softened with part of my blanket, and my knee bent so that I could not roll off the bunk.

It's not luxury cruising but it sure was fun.

Baja HaHa of 2007

2007-11-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

With 154 boats carrying 601 souls, the Baja HaHa (www.baja-haha.com) started our 750-mile trek down the Mexican coast the morning of Monday, October 29 on a typically beautiful San Diego morning. A very light marine layer made it a little cool but we comfortably put up the spinnaker in 10-12k winds. Dave and Merry's new spinnaker sported a blue plane swooping across a brilliant yellow field. You could see us for miles around.

AirOps, by the way, is a 1982 48-foot Amel Maramu, a very comfortable boat for six people. Ron and I slept in the V-berth, while Ron and Joan Stingley had the salon (the table converts into a double-bed).

That first leg of the trip is the longest at 360 miles and two overnights. We were blessed with easy winds, rarely above 15k, but we did have confused seas that rocked up back and forth all the way to Bahia de Tortugas (Turtle Bay). The amazing thing is that once we were at sea we rarely saw very many boats. Some boats chose to head far out, others chose closer in. We mostly stayed within 40 miles of shore. It's a straight shot down, sometimes boring, sometimes fun, always interesting. Our one regret was that we did not see much sea life, no whales, no turtles, few porpoises. Other than that it was blue skies and seas.

We had had a full moon the weekend before we left so each night thereafter, the moon came up later and later. The first leg had enough light for us to see the horizon which is nice (Especially if the rocking and rolling gives you a slightly queasy stomach as it did me. It has something to do with the inner ear, but seeing a horizon helps stabilize the body.)

We caught two yellow tail tunas using just Baja lines, no fishing poles. (These are lines that just trail about 100 feet from the stern. We pull them in by hand.) They made a bloody mess of the stern but were well worth it. We made several good meals out of them.

We arrived into Turtle Bay on Wednesday afternoon which gave us a little time to rest since the potluck party was not until Friday. We strolled into the small, dusty village, had lunch of cold cervesas (beers) and tacos, tortillas and such.

The potluck was the usual fare, a hodgepodge of salads, chips, salsas, guacamoles, etc. The best part is that the local Mexicans bring in a live band, tents and cold cervesas.

We left early the next morning under an overcast sky that cleared by mid-day. The next leg was to Bahia Santa Maria, a large bay on the outside of an even larger Bahia de Magdelena. This stop on the HaHa gave some cruisers quite an adventure. Some very large swells were entering the bay which created some significant surf at the beach. For us in the anchorage, it was a comfortable ride as the swells were spaced well apart, but the surf was a very different story. Very few dinghies dared to make it in. We saw one brave (and obviously very experience) kayaker successfully make his way in and out of the swells, but for most people, the best option was to catch a local panga and ride in (for $3 a person).

The pangas managed to take a couple of hundred people to the beach for the big party. It was in their best economic interest to do so as the locals truck in lots of food and beer to sell to the cruisers each year. A band also arrives, plugs their equipment into a generator and proceeds to entertain us with music (American, not Mexican). Ron, Dave and Merry had opted not to come to shore that day, but the Stingleys and I decided to venture forth. As the sun started to set over the mountains, we went down the hill to the shore and caught a panga. It was a wild, rocky ride through the surf and as we looked back we could see people lining up to catch the pangas. We got out in time, because as it turned out, the surf continued to build and eventually the panga drivers thought it better not to test Mother Nature. The result was that more than 70 cruisers had to spend the night on the beach. They were dressed in bathing suits and shorts, and it was cold. I can only imagine their misery but what stories they have to tell! One person who got stuck ashore was Darren Doud, son of Dan and Linda, friends of ours from Sequoia Yacht Club. He found a table to sleep on, which was okay for a while until someone spilled a beer on his 'bed'. Some lucky ones were able to sleep inside the small building used for cooking. Most were outside on the rocks and beach. Ouch.

Here we are on the beach with Darren (on the far right), Ron and Joan Singley in front with me and Phil and Joan Macfarlane also of Sequoia Yacht Club in the rear.

Our final leg to Cabo was a piece of cake. The farther south we went, the warmer the weather got, and the seas flattened out ever more. We coasted into Cabo after one last night at sea, during which the stars had no moon or clouds to contend with and were able to shine their brightest for us. We turned into the Cabo anchorage, passing by the famous Los Arcos arches. Two cruise ships, five parasailers and numerous fishing craft were waiting for us.

The main problem with the Cabo anchorage this year was that an Adam Sandler movie (with a title something like "Don't Mess with a Soldier) was taping some scenes on the beach on the eastern side of the anchorage. (They were pretending it was a beach on the Dead Sea near Israel.) The producers had a permit from the port captain to close off a huge section of the anchorage, probably a third of it, that Thursday and Friday. What this meant was that the arriving HaHa boats were very crowded. We spent that afternoon watching boats come in, some of whom had skippers who had not had nearly enough lessons in anchoring. One feature of the Cabo anchorage is that it has a shelf that drops dramatically, which can makes it particularly tricky to anchor in some places. We saw 30 feet of water in one spot and 70 feet not very far away.

One boat anchored not far from us but just dumping his anchor chain in a pile (and not backing down on it to set it); he then proceeded to put out a stern anchor. Now just visualize a close anchorage in which all the boats are swinging the same way with the shifting winds, and one guy comes in and tries to keep his boat from swinging around. Oh brother. Even Ron, who never, ever raises his voice, was out on the deck, yelling and waving his arms. Other sailors jumped in their dinghies, scooted over to the offending boat and also yelled at the skipper. I did not hear their words but we can only imagine the conversations. I bet that skipper thinks twice about putting out a stern anchor. At least, I hope so.

Our last event was the awards event on Saturday night in the parking lot behind the Cabo Marina office. (See the article in Lectronic Latitude at http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2007-11-12&dayid=32#Story2)
The HaHa boats were each in categories with like boats. AirOps was in the Juevos Rancheros division. Boats that had sailed each leg the fastest were recognized with First and Second prizes given in each of the 12+ divisions. Every one else got a third prize, including AirOps. We chose to get to our destinations quicker and motor sail. Here's the happy crew of AirOps with canine crew Sasha (the small white schnauzer held by Merry) and her cohort Mika in Dave's arms.

And yes, we did make it to Squid Roe, where I did just a little table dancing.

Life is so good.

We made it!

2007-11-14T08:04:00.001-08:00

After 15 days on AirOps, we pulled into Marina Palmira yesterday (Tuesday 11/13). After spending the weekend in Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of the Baja (where we celebrated the end of the Baja HaHa -- more about that trip later), we turned the corner and headed north to Los Frailes, the first good anchorage up about 45 miles.

This Frailes was very different from the one we entered two years ago and wound up staying for five days because a Norther was blowing steady 35-knot winds. This time we were greeted by absolutely balmy weather and seas warm enough to jump in and enjoy. Merry and I walked the beach, ran into a Canadian RVer who told us that my favorite little restaurant of two years ago had closed. Bummer. We made the best of it and enjoyed grilled chicken breasts, wild rice, a salad and a little wine aboard.

The next night found us in Bahia de los Muertos (Bay of the Dead), another 47miles up the coast. The bay has since been renamed Bahia de los Suenos (Bay of the Dreams) -- improved marketing to attract more development. Again, we were treated to a balmy night which we enjoyed with Steve and Lisa of Flying Free who happened to be in the anchorage while waiting for good weather to ride over to the mainland. We sat in the open-air restaurant/bar Giggling Marlin, enjoying a good meal and good friends. A bright falling star dropped in the west as we rode back to the boat.

On Tuesday, we made the familiar ride into the San Lorenzo channel that separates Isla Espiritu Santu and the Baja peninsula. For a while Dave put up his brilliant yellow spinnaker in the 12-14 knot winds and we flew. The winds shifted as we turned south into La Paz so the chute came down.

This drive was like coming home, and with the warm winds and bright sunshine, the day offered us a beautiful welcoming reception.

Have to go to work now. Ron's washing down the boat and I am being summoned. More later.

Heading back to San Diego

2007-10-26T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, we just got here to La Paz and are turning around and heading back to San Diego. (By the way, we are both flying to Tijuana on Avolar Airlines for less than it would have cost for one of us to fly to San Diego. From what we understand, Avolar is sort of like the Southwest Air of Mexico -- cheap intercity flights.) We will take a taxi to the border, walk across, hop on the trolley and get off at the H Street Station where Ron's daughter Vanessa will pick us up.

After a night at his sister Judy's -- and a morning spent washing clothes and repacking -- we will join the crew of AirOps. Our friends Dave and Merry helped us bring LCII down in the Baja HaHa two years ago. We are returning the favor and expect to have a good time, especially since we'll be joined by more good friends, Ron and Joan Stingley. Currently weather forecasts are for easy winds to start. (Very different from the forceful Santa Ana winds of earlier this week.) AirOps will be among the more than 170 boats and almost 650 crew members signed up for this year's HaHa.

I probably will not be able to post anything until we return to La Paz sometime in mid-November. Will we be in Cabo San Lucas the weekend of Nov. 10, when the Stingleys will leave us and move into a hotel for a few days. We will then proceed to La Paz, and depending on weather, it could be a two day or seven day trip. (The year we brought LCII up from Cabo, the trip took seven days thanks to some northerly winds.)

So don't send out the Mexican Navy unless I have not posted anything by Thanksgiving:-)

Family in San Diego

2007-10-24T14:11:00.001-07:00

Some of you have asked about Ron's family in San Diego; his son, daughter and sister live there. We thank you for asking and want all to know that, while we have not been able to talk with them, we are sure all is well. Ryan lives downtown and Vanessa lives in the Point Loma area, far from the mess.

We are a little concerned about Judy's home in Santee but have checked the San Diego Union-Tribune website and the area of the closest fire (the Witch Creek fire) currently does not include Santee. Let's hope it stays that way. Judy is currently vacationing with friends in Hawaii and we hope she's enjoying her time there (and not glued to the TV watching CNN!)

Happily back in La Paz

2007-10-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

We made it back last night (Tuesday) after our worst road trip so far. The Santa Ana winds that are flaming the fires of southern California created sand storms throughout our first two days travels from San Diego. When we reached Santa Rosalia at the end of our second day, we visited with some cruisers at the marina there and heard tales of winds up to 50 knots. When the Santa Ana winds blow in SoCal, they created northers in the Sea of Cortez. The sands swirled so thickly at times that we were forced to just stop and hope that no one would hit us from the back or front. We just could not see the lines of the highway well enough to drive. Yes, it was often a white-knuckle drive but we made it.

We unloaded a few items and joined some cruisers for cocktails on the dock. This morning I talked with friends after the morning net, and we are meeting Lisa and Steve of Flying Free for 2-for-1 margueritas at 5 tonight.

It's nice to be back although we cannot sleep in our bed yet because it is covered four-feet deep with stuff: cushions, canvas, you name it. We are sleeping in the salon for now and will until we get back to La Paz after the Baja Haha. We can't cook because I can't unpack the box of new pots and pans or get to the old ones. We can't shower on board because the head is full of clothes and tote bags from our trip. Oh well, at least we are home again, such as it is.

By the way, among lessons learned is this: never, ever leave rubber-backed rugs in a boat that's going to stay in the summer heat of Mexico. What does not turn to dust of that rubber gets stuck to the floor. I spent my morning on my knees cleaning, scraping and rubbing the stuff off. The rugs fit nicely in the trash can on the docks.

Wonderful grandkids

2007-10-09T17:14:00.001-07:00

Okay, I have to brag a little. Baby Lily is just wonderful. She wakes up in the morning with a bright smile. Her eyes get big and her face just lights up. Such pure happiness. I do hope she is able to start most of the days of her life with such joy. She'd be one lucky person if she could achieve that. She is only four and a half months old now, so she's got a long way to go.

Her six-year-old brother Cameron loves her dearly and has adjusted beautifully to having a baby around the house. They are fortunate to have loving, doting parents -- and grandparents.

We have had fun just hanging out and helping where we can, finishing painting some trim in Lily's room and taking Cameron to a pumpkin patch. We've also been to soccer practices and games. Some of the nicest times have been when I rocked Lily to sleep. Life is good.

Lending a helping hand

2007-10-09T16:49:00.001-07:00

In between hanging out in Davis for the last three weeks, watching soccer practices and games, hitting a few tennis balls for exercise (notice I did not say we are 'playing' tennis) and playing with baby Lily, we have been helping our friends Dave and Merry Wallace get their boat AirOps ready to go down the coast. They have been in the KKMI boat yard in Richmond for two months now and have had a few discouraging days, needless to say. Those of us who have been through this -- or similar to this -- can commiserate.

Just as things were moving along, they discovered a leak and had to be hauled out again. The problem was an area around the shaft that had previously been repaired with epoxy! The boat had to be hauled out again and several layers of new fiberglass applied to fix it properly (as should have been done the first time).

As it stands now, I will drive Merry to Monterey on Thursday because the boat will not be ready for her to be there in time for a tennis match she's signed up for. Ron and Dave will bring the boat when it's ready, hopefully Friday or Saturday. Probably on Sunday, Ron and I will head down to San Diego to visit Ron's children and his sister and to have our annual physical check-ups. Afterwards, we will head to La Paz and take stuff down. (Our stuff along with a few things for fellow cruisers.) We'll unpack and start putting the boat back together and fly back to San Diego October 26 when we will meet Dave and Merry again and board AirOps. We and our dear friends Ron and Joan Stingley will be crew as we take AirOps down to Mexico along with 150-plus boats in this year's Baja HaHa. The rally/race starts Monday October 29. We expect to be in Cabo by November 10 and then in La Paz a few days later.

After being on land for five months, it will be great to be at sea again -- and even more enjoyable because it will be as crew on someone else's boat.

California, here we are!

2007-09-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

After almost 10,000 miles and three months on the road, we arrived in Davis at my daughter and son-in-law's home this past Friday.

True to form, we had taken the scenic route and traveled less than 150 miles on interstate roads in California, most of it as we entered the state on I-40 at Needles and went to Barstow where we turned north on Hwy 395 and traveled east of the Sierras. We retraced our route through Yosemite, traveling through snow on Hwy 120 as we reach altitudes over 8,000. It had been a long time since we had seen snow. Sometimes we looked at winter wonderlands with snow-covered trees. Other times, the winds whipped up and served out flurries that covered the road. We had not listened to the forecast which found us in sandals, shorts and short-sleeved shirts while driving through 35-degree winds. Thank goodness for working heaters!

We stopped at Yosemite Village which is around 5,000 feet; the temperature there was in the mid-60s. We put on jackets and jeans, walked around and I kept my camera busy. It seemed like each time I turned around, I saw another scenic view. The sun was playing hide-and-seek behind fast-moving clouds which made for constantly changing light and shadows. We were blessed with yet another glorious day.

Our last day on the road found us visiting Columbia State Park, where a small gold-mining town still exists with saloons, hotels, dry-good stores and other businesses of a century ago. As we sat eating our ice cream, we listened to the sound of blacksmiths pounding horseshoes and saw a stage coach drawn by four horses. Inside the museum, we watched an informative video about the importance of water to the growth of the gold-mining industry of California and the emergence of the merchant class.

We arrived tired but happy to see a very happy four-month-old Lily and her family. Life is very good.

The Grand Canyon

2007-09-20T08:30:00.001-07:00

I have probably flown over the Grand Canyon a hundred times and from my window seat marveled at its vastness, so visiting it from land has long been on my To-Do list. We made it there and I was not disappointed. We were among the almost 5 million annual visitors who come to just stand there with their mouths dropped in awe. Please visit the website (http://www.nps.gov/grca/) and please put it on your To-Do list.

It was a one-armed Civil War veteran, John Wesley Powell, who organized the first known party to go through the canyon on the Colorado River. He said "The wonders of the Grand Canyon cannot be adequately represented in symbols of speech, nor by speech itself. The resources of the graphic art are taxed beyond their powers in attempting to portray its features. Language and illustration combined must fail."

We saw a reenactment of man's interaction with the canyon and Powell's epic journey at the National Geographic IMAX theater and visitor center at the south entrance to the park. We also tried our best to get away from the crowds. (If the Canyon is this busy in September, I can only imagine how much worse it is in the summer.)

At the recommendation of a ranger, we left the Village at the South Rim and drove the approximately 25 miles to the easternmost viewpoint, the Desert View (which has a watch tower designed by the architect Mary Coulter also designed many of the park's historic structures in the 1930s.) Along the way we listened to a ranger talk about people who were the ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) of whom today's Hopi Indians are the descendants at the Tusayan Ruin and Museum. (When I asked what the Indians did for fun, he smiled and said the women carried lots of babies on their hips. He also said that ball courts had been found in the area but they do not know what games were played there.)

From the Desert View, we drove back to the South Rim but stopped at each viewpoint along the way. We not only wanted to see as much as we could in our short visit but we also wanted to pick the best place for us to view that day's sunset. We chose Lipan Point because it not only had a wide view but also because it was beyond the reach of the park's shuttles.

When we returned to Lipan Point an hour before sunset, we settled in on a good spot to sit and sip some red wine. Unfortunately, the winds had been blowing all day leaving the air was very dusty, but our time there was still special. We watched the evening shadows creep through the canyon. We saw the colors of the canyon glow.

One fact: The Grand Canyon was carved by the Colorado River over 2 million years leaving exposed rocks that are close to 2 billion years old. Even given this, geologically speaking, the Grand Canyon is very young. Does that not put our time on earth in perspective? We are blips, wondrous blips indeed, but still blips.

The Desert Museum in Tuscon

2007-09-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

We had a delightful visit with Stan and Rhea of Vagari who live north of Tuscon called Saddlebrooke, a community that offers swimming, tennis, Pickle Ball (a new game that is a combination of tennis, badminton and ping-pong), biking, hiking and about 100 interest groups -- a great place for highly active retirees.

While in Tuscon, we visited the very interesting Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (www.desertmuseum.org). It is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the Sonoran Desert and a combination zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden, all in one place. Within the Museum grounds, there more than 300 animal species and 1,200 kinds of plants. There are almost 2 miles of paths traversing 21 acres of beautiful desert. I wish I could remember the name of this rare cactus.

On the road westward

2007-09-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

We left New Orleans early three days ago and spent the first day doing something unusual for us: we went more than 540 miles on I-10 with no side trips. How boring, but we made it half-way across Texas to San Antonio. (I know it is stating the obvious, but Texas is one really big place.) The second day was slightly more interesting as we rode through the green, rolling landscape of the Hill Country. We got off onto Hwy 285 and headed toward Pecos, a dusty sad-looking town whose claim to fame is that the first rodeo with prizes was held there back in the 1880s.

The reason we went to Pecos was that we were looking at an easy two-hour morning drive from there to Carlsbad Caverns, a spectacular National Park. (www.nps.gov/cave) I have to say it is a shame that we so easily use words like "awesome" and "spectacular" because that does not leave us with words to truly describe a place like this. We took an elevator down 750 feet and walked for almost two hours through the Big Room, an area large enough to hold more than six football fields. But it was not just its size that was impressive, it was the stalagtites, stalamites, curtains, draperies, straws, columns(their descriptive names for the formations) and all sorts of wonders in all sorts of shapes. Carlsbad Cavern is one of over 300 limestone caves in a fossil reef laid down by an inland sea 250 to 280 million years ago. Even just learning its history was very interesting.

(By the way, the way to remember if this stalagtites and stalagmites go up or down is to use this trick: When the mites go up, the tights come down. I have no idea where I learned that.) My photos came out too dark so I suggest visiting the website.

A note about the highways of Texas: they are very clean and in excellent shape. Some additions we found interesting were triangle road signs that ask drivers to: "Drive Friendly" and to "Drive Clean Across Texas". There were others but these were the best.

We are off for Tuscon tomorrow to visit Stan and Rhea of Vagari. We last saw them up at Steve and Linda's in their cabin near Chama and are really looking forward to seeing them again.

Still in New Orleans

2007-09-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

We are still in New Orleans but are preparing to leave sometime next week. We are going to have to leave here very soon or we will need to buy new clothes to fit our expanding bodies. We have had way too much good food and many good times visiting with family and old friends.

We have been playing some tennis to ensure we continue to fit into the clothes we wear. And yes, it is really hot. Today was not so bad. We were out playing at 11:00 and were able to play for about an hour with the help of a good breeze and an occasional cloud. Temp is 91 degrees with 51 percent humidity. We've seen much worse.

When we are indoors you'll often find us watching the US Open and wishing we could play tennis like those young folks. We can only dream.

We've also gone out dancing. Tina and Frank, Ron and I went to the D-Day Museum (which we can highly recommend to visitors) where we danced to a swing band playing music of the 40s) and last night we went to the Club Silhouette where we happily danced to the music of Kevin and the Nifty Fifties along with a couple of hundred other people our age. We will do that again.

This is hurricane season so we are constantly aware of hurricanes in the Atlantic and Pacific. (For Mexican hurricanes, we monitor www.eebmike.com and for both we look at the National Hurricane Center's site: www.hnc.noaa.gov) So far we have been fortunate. Henriette hit La Paz where LCII sits in Marina Palmira but Mike of Amazing Grace, who is looking after her, reported 70 knots winds and no damages to any of the boats he's looking after. We hope our luck continues both here and there. Prayers are welcome.

Honey Island Swamp Tour

2007-08-31T15:37:00.000-07:00

I bet I've passed the sign for the Honey Island Swamp tours a hundred times. It sits on the side of I-10 around Slidell between New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. It wasn't until I saw it listed in "100 Places To See Before You Die" (the US/Canada version) that I decided it was time to visit it. (We have been using this book along our travels this summer and it's given us other good ideas.)

It was a pretty steamy day when we went out, but a few times our guide Gerry turned on the "Cajun air conditioner": he revved up his 150-hp engine and we flew through the swamps and marshes. (By the way, the difference between a swamp and a marsh is that trees grow in a swamp but not a marsh.)

We really did not see a whole lot, just a few small alligators. "Big Al" the largest male alligator did not want to appear and this is the time of year when the females are all protecting their nests and alligator babies are hatching. The good news is that Gerry was so knowledgeable he more than made up for few alligators. We learned a lot and listening to his thick New Orleans accent was music to my ears.

He encouraged to visit an alligator farm which we did a few days later. We went to the Insta-Gator farm and hatchery outside Covington, less than an hour north of New Orleans. We learned about alligators and crocodiles (southern Florida is the only place in the world where they co-exist). One big difference is that crocodiles are much more aggressive than alligators, which generally shy away from humans. We are not exactly part of their food chain.

Louisiana has a multi-million-dollar alligator farm industry part of which is used to repopulate the alligators in the wild (there are currently around 3 million compared to less than 150,000 in the first half of the 20th century when they were close to being hunted to extinction.) The alligators not released are destined to become all those handbags, shoes and other accessories. Their meat is sold locally and used to make sausages and all kinds of stuff. (And no, our guide Dave says it does not taste like chicken.)

Natchez, Mississippi

2007-08-29T09:18:00.001-07:00

We spent a few days in Natchez, at my brother-in-law Frank's family home on Main Street in Natchez. My sister Tina is a long-time interior decorator and has done a wonderful job on this sweet home, which is serves as their hurricane refuge. (It is a very good thing that they have this place because they had to live there for six months while their home was being remodeled after Katrina tore off part of the roof of their Metairie home and damaged half the house with rain water and the resulting black mold.)

Natchez (www.natchez.ms.us) is definitely a step back in time, in fact, to before the Civil Way (a.k.a. the War of the Northern Aggression:-) Natchez boasts more antebellum homes than any other in the South. Nine mansions are open to the public and the rest are publicly held and mostly beautifully and colorfully maintained. There's not much to do there except to walk the tree-lined streets admiring the cottages, bread-and-breakfast inns (there are about 40) and visiting the small but interesting down town. We did get out and play tennis at the public park in the morning when there was still some shade on the courts, but we were drenched in sweat by the time we left.

Of course, food is a pretty big deal and one of its most famous landmarks is Mammy's Cupboard where everything is homemade by the family owners. I had a sliced roast turkey sandwich on homemade sourdough bread and garnished with a blueberry chutney, sliced avocado, lettuce and tomato. A cup of a beautiful beef vegetable soup accompanied it. The meringue on their chocolate and lemon pies stands four inches tall and is a work of art. We did manage to pass those up but it was only because we were already very full. (For the sake of some political correctness, the face of the mammy has been changed from black to a light chocolate color, and the name has been changed from Black Mammy's Cupboard. Note: I have yet to see anyone but white people eat there.)

There's also the Pig Out Inn which offers some really good barbecue ribs that you dip in a thick, sweet sauce and alternate with a mayonnaise-drenched cole slaw. And then there's my sister Tina, whose idea of a simple cold plate is a ruby-red tomato sliced and filled with her tuna salad (which is loaded by mayonnaise but also contains green and black olives and other stuff) and surrounded by grapes, slices of apple, strawberries, cheese and crackers, and served on fine china on the dining room table under the chandelier. Oh, and with white wine. She is truly an amazing cook and hostess. And yes, I do know how fortunate I am to have her as my sister. (I am additionally fortunate to have a younger sister who is a CPA and CFP; she handles our investments. Is this not a great family or what? So what is my contribution? I have not figured that out yet. Mostly I think I'm the prodigal sister who they keep praying for and worrying about.)