Travels with Faith

Road Trip with Lee

2012-01-22T07:52:00.001-08:00

One of the stops we made on our journey south was Nipomo, CA. Chris’ brother Lee and his wife, Julie have a new townhome there where they reside during the winter months. They have a lovely home in Florence, OR but they, like us, prefer a sunnier clime to the normal winter gloom of the NW. Their new digs are part of a planned community that centers mostly around golf. There is a beautiful golf course close by as well as tennis courts, a pool and a lovely clubhouse with workout facilities, spa and library in addition to dining and bar areas. The homes are beautiful and Lee & Julie are really enjoying the weather, their friendly neighbors and, of course the golfing. Chris & I have a great time playing golf on our new Wii but our outdoor passion, as you know, is more water oriented.

While we were in Nipomo, Lee took us on a drive to show us around some of the nearby sights. First stop was Pismo Beach. This is a typical California beach. A beautiful palette of long, flat, golden sand accented by blue Pacific waves cascading onto the beach in perfectly timed displays of white lace surf. An irresistible invitation to surfers, sand castle builders, shell hunters and beach walkers. A pier that extends 1200 ft. out over the water is replete with benches on which to rest, enjoy the beauty and contemplate whatever it is you are contemplating. About halfway out the pier is a small kiosk where fishing gear can be rented for those who would like to try their hand at catching dinner. The main street is lined with assorted restaurants and boutique shops where you are free to leave behind a monetary contribution as a reminder of your visit.

After perusing Pismo Beach we were back on the road for a short jaunt to a special small grove of Eucalyptus trees. I’ve always wanted to see the annual gathering of Monarch Butterflies and one of the primary groves where this happens was our next stop. A talk presented by a Docent gave us a good deal of information about the butterflies. It seems the main reason they come to this particular grove is for the abundant supply of Milkweed which is the only food source for the caterpillar stage of their development. This plant is considered a weed so it is being removed in most places on a grand scale. That means the butterflies must work harder to survive…as if a 2500 mile migration weren’t work enough! Following the Docent’s talk, we wandered around looking for butterflies. It was chilly so there weren’t many fluttering about but when we looked up there were hundreds hanging in the trees in what looked like bunches dead leaves. Butterflies aren’t able to fly when it is too cold but just before we left the sun came out and the little snowbirds began to get a bit more active. They are just so pretty and this was a really special experience.

The last stop on our itinerary was a visit to the picturesque anchorage Avila Beach. Chris & I enjoyed wandering around the boatyard there, looking at the boats that were in the process of being repaired. One that was hanging from the slings of the lift looked an awful lot like our friend, Michael’s, Mariner but a bit smaller. We weren’t sure it was the same but one sure thing was that the owner has a lot of work ahead of him/her, especially given the amount of sea life on the bottom. We were pretty happy to be reminded that even though we have what we consider a lot of work to do on “Faith” it is really not much compared to other people’s projects.

It was a delight to let someone else do the driving while Chris & I just did a little sightseeing. This year we are late getting our southward journey started so it feels like it’s been a constant push. Even Abby has felt the stress. We were in Tucson for two days and when Chris & I returned from several hours of errand running and put her outside for a bit, the first thing she did was stretch out in the sun. As if to say, “Ahhhhhhhh…finally it is warm.” And that, my friends, is why we are happy to be snowbirds!

Mishmash

2012-01-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

I wrote this a few days ago but haven't had time to post it before this so here goes:

We are finally southbound! As I write this, I am sitting in the waiting room of the Camping World in Vacaville, CA. I have to admit, having only blown by Vacaville on past journeys, I am quite surprised at what a modern, upscale burg it is. In case you are wondering why we chose to stop, the answer is quite simple. Just before the house closed the trailer’s heater went on strike. Since it was only a matter of days before we’d be moving into the house, the decision was made to buy a space heater for the trailer and put off repairing the furnace. Our first stop after leaving home, in Medford, OR, when the nighttime temperature dropped to 28°, made it abundantly clear that furnace repair was in our immediate future! Vacaville was the closest Camping World so here we are.

I never got around to writing the promised blog entry about the house, so here it is with a little travel mish mash worked in.

We had a grand time furnishing the house together. While we waited (and waited and waited) for the bank to do its thing Chris & I spent many days exploring furniture stores and learning about each other’s tastes. Not surprisingly, we generally have similar leanings when it comes to likes and dislikes with only a few big differences. One slight conflict was the size of the television. Chris wanted the 50” model and I was quite happy to “settle for” a much smaller version. He won that discussion but now that we have it mounted on the entertainment “wall” (IKEA special) I have to admit that a smaller one would probably have looked out of place.

An even grander time was entertaining family and friends over the holidays. Once we got the house “put together” we were able to host several parties (only the beginning I’m sure). We haven’t been home for Christmas in 3 years so it was a special treat to spend time with the kids and grandkids and actually be able to see them open their gifts. We have especially enjoyed being here to spend a little time with Chris’ first grandbaby, Asher. He was born September 26^th and is growing so fast. By the time we get back next June he will likely be on his feet and running.

Abby has absolutely loved having her very own squirrel filled yard where she could run and pursue the enemy to her heart’s content. The windows in the living room are quite low to the floor so she is able to be on the look-out for squirrels, cats or guests. When she sees a cat or squirrel in front she immediately runs to the backdoor to be let out as she is just sure it will be there waiting to be chased. She has also discovered that there are lots of sunny spots on comfy carpeted floors where she can take an afternoon snooze.

Once all the work was done on the house and we had arranged for a house sitter, it was time to start readying the trailer for the trek to Mexico. That last week before we left home was exhausting just moving everything into the trailer, cleaning, writing lists and watching the weather to make sure we wouldn’t be skating through the mountains in mountains of ice and snow.

So, Tuesday morning we left Vancouver and spent that night in cold Medford. We were concerned about freezing fog going through the mountains so delayed leaving until 11 on Wednesday and the road were clear and dry. As a matter of fact, the only snow we saw was a very light dusting on the very tops of the mountains in the distance and Mt. Shasta had less snow than it did when we went north last June. I predict (weatherperson that I am) that if something doesn’t change soon there will be drought conditions in the northwest next summer.

By the time we reached Vacaville yesterday the temperature was in the 70’s and we were able to change into t-shirts. Hallelujah! It’s sure nice to be back in the land of Palm trees and sunshine.

The Sentinel

2012-01-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

The Sentinel

The Sentinel attends his post in the gray and gloomy dawn. Faint morning light, fall’s chill in the air, and still he stands, unmoving, as he surveys his territory. His countenance is statue-like and with the cold, blue-gray of his suit he melts unseen into the surroundings. Eyes forward, posture unwavering, trance-like. Only his sharp eyes and unblinking gaze belie strict attention to his environ. Intruders may advance only so far before he stalks haughtily away or takes wing with a primordial squawk and flourish in search of a more secluded haunt.

“Who be these strange creatures”, thinks he, “who clomp about on awkward appendages, blathering and clanging with no regard for solitude or meditation? Have they no care for the thoughts of others? Or be they fearful of the quiet that is dawn and dusk?

Do they not feel the shudder of the fish below their feet? Fish, whose very scales vibrate with the touch of insect foot upon the water’s surface. Fish, who scatter madly at the slightest change in light or temperature. And what of the infant ducklings huddling in terror beneath the boards?

Behemoths, bahhhh. Let them all fly away on their winged craft and leave the waters and serenity to we who appreciate it.”

Sandy Smith (Edmonson) Fall 2006

Just thought it would be fun to start out the New Year with something old. Happy 2012 to all.

Fall Colors,...a little late!

2011-12-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

I had intended to write a blog entry a couple weeks ago about the beautiful fall we have had in the northwest but somehow the time just time just flew by and now we are busy moving into the new house and fall has eased into the beginning of winter.

Personally, I have been through approximately 50 autumns in Washington as this is where I have spent the majority of my life. I was born in Port Angeles and lived there until I was twelve at which time my family moved to Tacoma. After high school I spent several years in San Diego before returning to Vancouver where I resided until 2008 when I sailed off into the sunset to begin spending cold, dark months in places more along the tropical lines.

Chris, on the other hand, has spent most of his life in Arizona where fall does not, apparently, arrive and depart with the same impact. It is mostly desert there and cacti and palm trees don’t react the way the deciduous trees in colder climes do when the days get shorter and the weather gets colder.

This year we have had one of the most spectacular seasons of color I have seen in a long while. I don’t know the reason for it. Maybe because the Spring lasted so long and summer (what there was of it) didn’t really arrive until sometime in August. Maybe the cause was global climate change. There could be any number of factors, but the reality is the colors this year were spectacular. Every day, as we drove or walked around the area, we’d see dramatic trees showing off their autumn finery. A sharp intake of breath and “Wow!” would ensue. Chris was continuously telling me that he’d never seen anything like it and how much he loved the beauty of the whole thing.

The trees are mostly naked now and every morning we wake up to find a thick coating of frost on the grass. The sunny days are spectacularly clear and crisply cold and when the fog settles in it often sticks around all day. I know the weeks and weeks of rain and gloom are on the way and already the weather guys on TV are beginning to speculate on the possibilities of a white Christmas but for the moment I’m good. I, like many long time north westerners, have always disliked the long, cold, rainy winters in this part of the world but the summers are spectacular so we slog through one to enjoy the other. I suspect it will be a lot different now that I don’t have to go to work. Oh, and it will probably help knowing that we will be heading for Mexico again come January!

Dreamin' 'bout Mexico!

2011-10-25T09:35:00.001-07:00

I have awakened the past three mornings from vivid dreams of being back in Mexico and it is making me homesick. Adding to the feeling that time is fleeing is the unavoidable realization that the weather is clearly getting colder and wetter, the trees are shedding their leaves at an alarming rate and every day is growing shorter by 4 minutes. It doesn’t sound like much but when you add those 4 minutes up into one big lump it comes out to TWO HOURS in one month! Then, in just two short weeks Daylight Saving Time comes to a screeching halt. Once that happens the days will REALLY get short. Judging by my “old life”, when the weather gets cold, wet & dark I tend to get very bear-like. Chubby, grouchy and somnolent.

The land and sea cruisers are beginning their annual migration to the south. “Follow the sun” being our motto. I am jealous. And restless. I find myself wanting to go shopping for boat parts, canned food and paper products, top off the propane, start planning a route and all the other last minute things we would normally be doing at the end of summer.

Under normal circumstances we, too, would be starting the southbound trek but this year is different. This year we have made the (possibly idiotic) decision to purchase a house in Vancouver. The offer was made in early September and we have still received no answer from the bank. This is a short sale and we were appropriately warned of the traditionally longer timeline to obtain these homes but this is getting a bit aggravating. One would think the bank could at least give you a “yes” or “no” but alas that is not the case. Our realtor has been harassing the seller’s realtor. The seller’s realtor and the seller have been harassing the bank. All to no avail. In the meantime, time is whizzing by as we wait and hope that the snow doesn’t arrive before we get some sort of resolution. Our “moorage” in this RV Park expires on Nov. 3^rd. In past years we’ve been in Mexico by then.

Suffice it to say I am clearly missing Mexico. I miss the sunshine, the heat (it is currently 90 daytime/75 nighttime in San Carlos), the traveling, the food, the beautiful sunsets and anchorages, and, especially, the people. Walking back to the boat in shorts and tank top after an evening at Philo’s. Fish tacos and a cold cerveza at a palapa on the beach. Pelicans dive bombing next to the boat while they collect their dinner. Ohhhh…CATCHING a nice big Mahi Mahi for dinner! Dinghy raft ups. Local bands providing impromptu beach concerts.

OK. I’ll stop it. I’m sure it won’t be long now. Will it????

Still Waiting

2011-10-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

Summer is definitely over and the fall rains are beginning. Yesterday we paid for another month in the RV park. EEEK! All our cruising friends are readying to go south and here we still sit, waiting for a decision on the house. The offer we made included a deadline of 15 (we thought it was 10 but apparently that got changed) working days for the bank to either or accept or reject. We are now 7 working days beyond that deadline and still have received no response. Why is it that this bank lost 2.39 BILLION dollars due to the huge number of foreclosures they have had to do and yet they are in no hurry to sell these homes. The realtors have become quite reluctant to show short sales and repos specifically because it can take as long as six months for the sales to be completed. It is not unusual for the banks to decline a legitimate offer and counter with a request for more money than they were originally asking. We have heard plenty of these stories from folks who have purchased (or attempted to) these homes as well as from realtors. Given the fact that houses are like cars and boats, and they deteriorate when they sit vacant, one would think the banks would be happy to reduce their inventory. It appears that is not the case. The house we are interested in buying is no exception. The exception (that I am sure the bank does not realize) is that we are NOT married to this house. If they continue to dick around, we WILL withdraw the offer and go south. After all, we already have two homes so we aren't exactly going to be on the street. Besides...neither of us is terribly excited about spending the winter here!

The Tennessee Trip

2011-09-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

I’m finally back in Vancouver and happy to be here. I missed Chris, Abby and “home” in general.

Tennessee was an interesting experience.

When we arrived in Knoxville our first difficulty was picking up the baggage and our rental car. Dad is 85, mostly deaf and fairly infirm. He is able to walk, very slowly, with a cane but the distance he can go is pretty limited. The airlines were very good about pushing him around in wheelchairs but they tend to drop him in the baggage area and go on their merry way. It was a long walk to the rental car pickup so we just took our time. Of course, the vehicle I had ordered was not in residence and instead of giving me a free upgrade, I was offered the next smaller size. The other option was to wait 15-20 minutes for the right size car to come in. I don’t think so. Dad was already pretty tired out and there was nowhere to sit and rest.

The rental company provided a cryptic map of the Knoxville area but it didn’t cover our destination so it didn’t help much. The agent gave me directions to Pigeon Forge but, unfortunately, he wasn’t exactly correct. In addition, the highways in Tennessee all have two (sometimes three) numbers and road signs and “towns” are extremely far apart. This means you can drive a long way before you find out you are going the wrong way. It took over two hours to drive the 50 miles to our destination but since I am pretty strong in my “cruiser’s mentality” I was able to remain calm and enjoy the scenery. Dad was a bit tenser and couldn’t hear the small talk I was attempting in order to reassure him. By the time we arrived at our hotel the group was preparing to go out for dinner. They waited while we got our luggage into the room and then we were off.

Pigeon Forge is best known as the home of Dollywood…a country themed Disney-esque amusement park but that is only the beginning. The main portion of the town is a huge “gut” that is lined with hotels, restaurants, souvenir buying opportunities and entertainments. Remember the 60’s when we used to cruise “the gut” showing off our cars and trying to pick up guys/girls? According to Trip Adviser there are 95 hotels and most are along this long main drag with restaurants, shops and entertainment options filling in the spaces between.

Besides the regular fast food options (McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, etc) there is a plethora of local restaurants, many of which offer the ever popular buffet. Dad loves a good buffet but I diligently ordered off the menu in order to reduce the likelihood that I would be taking in enough calories to feed a small village. If you aren’t familiar with southern food it generally has lots and lots of carbs and calories. Think fried chicken, biscuits & gravy (both favorites of mine), beans, cornbread, corn on the cob, home-made chicken and noodles (I actually learned to make this yummy dish from my ex-mother-in-law), green beans cooked with bacon, macaroni and cheese, okra and grits. Delicious food but given my current propensity to “put on a pound or two” if I ate like that I would very soon be as big as a house. I also discovered that Tennessee is a dry state…except, of course, for the moonshine.

I was surprised to discover that this part of the country still has a great number of smokers. Everywhere we went people young and old were smoking. I have gotten spoiled by living on the west coast where smoking is becoming rarer by the day. I’m just guessing here, but maybe the smoking and high fat diet contributes to the fact that Tennessee ranks 45^th in life expectancy.

Here’s an interesting factoid. Apparently lots of people go to Tennessee deliberately wanting a hillbilly experience. Thus, there are cabins for rent everywhere and the amenities range from very “rustic” (no electricity or running water and an outhouse out back) to luxurious. I was also surprised to learn that Pigeon Forge is a big wedding mecca. Of all the beautiful destinations in the world in which to tie the knot this one being on the list just seemed odd.

There isn’t much fear of becoming bored in this little town as entertainment opportunities are endless…the majority of them family oriented. Dollywood is, of course, the main attraction but there are also (to name just a few) the Titanic Museum, the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame, the Dixie Stampede, the Black Bear Jamboree Dinner Show, a couple Comedy Clubs, indoor (?!) skydiving, the Motion Seat Theatre, the National Elvis Museum, Nascar Speedpark, Wonderworks Museum, several zip lining tours, whitewater rafting as well as several themed miniature golf courses and water parks. We attended the Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Show and really enjoyed it.

The trip lasted five days and Dad was able to get in lots of visiting with the remaining members of his Army unit (the 532^nd) from WWII and the Korean War. I enjoyed meeting these friends of his but I was mostly there as Dad’s escort. On one day Dad & I made a trip to Gatlinburg which is a bit more quaint but it’s mostly another shopping opportunity. The 4 mile drive, however, is drop dead gorgeous. It is right on the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains and the road runs alongside the Little Pigeon River under a canopy of deciduous trees. It was beautiful and I’d love to do a bit of hiking through the area someday.

One of the really fun activities (for me) was the car show. Twice a year there is a Rod Run here that attracts people from all over the country. Everywhere we went there were old cars that had been beautifully restored. If Dad had been more able to walk around it would have been fun to just wander for hours looking at them. I wondered if my friends from California were there with one of their ’40 Fords but I had no way to reach them to find out.

So that was the trip. It was a great opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with my Dad and see a new area of the country. The state is beautiful and the residents are super friendly.

And, as I told Dad while we were between planes in Chicago on the trip home, “I love the whizzing through airports. I think I’m going to start traveling with a “crip” more often.” We both got a good laugh at that.

Travels with Dad

2011-09-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attack and where was I? Spending an entire day on airplanes and in airports escorting my Dad to, of all places, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. This next few days is the annual reunion of his Army unit (he serve in the Korean War) and he has attended every year. Mom used to love going along but about three years ago her Dementia had progressed to the point where she really can't make a trip like this. Dad is now deaf and walks with a cane so he is really not able to go by himself so the first year without Mom, his sister went along and last year his brother went. This year, since Chris & I were in Washington for the summer and had no big travel plans I volunteered to go. So here I am, in the biggest tourist trap I have ever seen, hanging out with a bunch of very fun people in their 80's and 90's.
Due to the jet lag, we have missed the continental breakfast today and all Dad's friends have likely already taken off for their scheduled activities. As soon as Dad is ready to go I'll take him to breakfast and then I MUST do some walking around and picture taking. This place is absolutely mind blowing. You have never seen so many cheezy "entertainments" on one street in your life. I was stunned when we were trying to find the Best Western among what has to be hundreds of hotels, restaurants and shopping/entertainment "opportunities". As we drove here from Knoxville (the loooong way due to bad directions from the rental guy and a serious lack of road signs) we were treated to views of a very beautiful state but this town is beyond the pale when it comes to tacky.
I hope I can find a Walmart as I forgot my comb (that's a joke, folks!).

Summer Vacation

2011-08-25T13:07:00.003-07:00

OK. You are probably asking yourself, “Where is Sandy?

What’s going on?” Yes. It’s been a while since I last made a blog post but, honestly, it seems like we haven’t done a thing since we got back to Washington. That is not entirely true, it just feels like we are back into an “ordinary” (and thus, somewhat boring) life now that we are on land. For those who are interested, here is the latest:

Last month we attended a lovely baby shower for Chris’ daughter, Keely. It was quite an event as the hostess is an extremely talented decorator. I have never been much of an event planner (I chalk it up to lack of imagination.). A few dips & chips, some cute napkins from the local party store, maybe a vase of flowers out of my garden and lots of wine is about the extent of my ingenuity. This party was planned to the hilt and beautifully executed. Keely & Josh shared the gift opening fun and they got a pretty good start on the zillions of things (based on personal experience) they will need for the new baby. Now we all just wait for little Asher who is due to make an appearance Sept. 23^rd.

Two weeks ago we got itchy feet again so we packed up the trailer and drove to Randle, WA for a few days. I have wanted to show Chris Mt. Rainier for a couple years now but we just haven’t been able to make that happen. Nothing was on our calendar for over a week so it seemed to be the perfect time.

The Cascade Peaks RV Park, just east of Randle, had plenty of grass for Abby to run, dig and roll in and trees for shade. There was no cable, internet or cell service so it was like being at anchor in the Sea of Cortez. The lack of communication options might be a problem for some folks (who tend to carry their communication with them via satellite dish) but Chris & I are used to it and really enjoyed having four whole days just to ourselves. We never have a problem figuring out how to spend time together.

Early on Tuesday morning we drove up to Mt. Rainier. It was a beautiful, sunny day so the drive through the forest was stunning. We stopped at the very first parking area and asked a ranger where the closest trail was that led to a waterfall. I knew that Chris was still learning to use his “new” knee so one hike would be about all we could do and I really wanted him to be able to walk through the meadow at the top so we needed an easy trail. Off we went to Silver Falls. This trail was through beautiful, pristine forest. The clean, heavy smell of evergreen trees and moist, peaty soil interspersed with the sharp odors emitted by many of the low growing plants and forest flowers brought back many memories from my childhood.

I spent my grade school years in Port Angeles when the population was less than half what it is today. It was truly a small town and my friends and I pretty much had the run of the place without our parents fearing we would find our way into any of the dangers that plague big cities. Much of my growing up time was spent wandering through the forested areas around my home, climbing trees, hiding in thickets, feeding the neighbor’s horses, laying in fields of tall grass watching the sky, eating wild blackberries and pretending I was a cowboy or pioneer. To say that I was a tomboy would be an extreme understatement. I have been gradually sharing the wonders of the northwest with Chris and so far he loves it.

As we worked our way down the trail, I discovered that my woodland lore was a bit rusty. We crossed Laughingwater Creek on a one person bridge and try as I might I could not remember the name of the large plant with the red berries and many thorns that was growing nearby. Fortunately, a group of hiking women who were waiting to cross behind us provided the name: Devil’s Club. Oh, yes! Now I remember. Do NOT brush up against that one!

The deeper we went in the forest the louder the sound of running water became. We crossed several streams tumbling over moss covered stones, gurgling and laughing, merrily on their way to join other streams and rivulets and, finally, become one with the Ohanapecosh River. For a while we walked along next to the river and as the water gathered speed and crashed over rocks and through crevasses the volume increased dramatically. I kept thinking of my son-in-law's step-father, Gary, who is a serious whitewater rafter and asking Chris if Gary would float this river. He kept saying, "Nope".Finally we arrived at Silver Falls and it was well worth the walk. The power of the water roaring over the rocks and flinging spray every direction as it crashed into a pool of brilliant turquoise took our breath away. What it is about waterfalls that is so mesmerizing to human beings I don’t know but it does seem to be fairly universal.

I was pleased and proud of Chris as he negotiated the three mile trail with few problems. This was typical forest terrain complete with gnarly roots, rocks to avoid, twists, turns and areas of slippery dried pine needles and not only did his newly repaired knee perform beautifully but he was able to keep up with me. This is a very happy first!

When we returned to the truck we continued on up to Paradise Lodge and the anticipated alpine meadow filled with wildflowers. Alas, it appears we will have to make another trip to see this. The snowfall this past winter was 491 inches and while this is not the record (1,122”), or even the average of 676”, much of it still remained along the pathways at Paradise. Usually, this late in the summer, the meadows are carpeted with millions of wildflowers. This year, few were out and those were just beginning to bloom. We wandered around on the paved path taking photos and slipping over snow patches until Chris’ knee began to complain. It was time to head home for a glass of wine, a great dinner and a quiet evening of Scrabble and reading. We plan to go back again next year…later…in hopes that we can catch the flowers out and about.

So, that is the latest. We have been doing lots of visiting with family and friends. Today we are on our way to Cathlamet, WA for four days of hanging out with our cruising buds from Mexico. We’ve been busy looking for a house to purchase for that future time when we are too old and feeble to continue cruising (and to rent out in the interim). The market is so good right now that we just don’t want to pass it up. There are a few other fun things on the calendar before the autumn chill sends us south again so stay tuned and I will try to write more often.

Moving up!

2011-07-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

OK. We finally did it. I was so proud of the fact that Chris & I had our “stuff” pared down so it all fit into a 5’x10’ storage unit and then yesterday it all changed. We moved up to a 10’ x 12’ unit. Does this mean we are collecting more junk? Well, not exactly. What we’ve been doing is reducing the amount of stuff we have on the boat. Each year, at the end of cruising season, we go through everything on the boat and anything that we haven’t been using returns to the great northwest to live in the storage unit or to be sold or given away.

This year, two biggies bit the dust. Chris has a very nice 8’ Walker Bay sailing dinghy that came with him from his previous boat. He insists he loves to sail around in it but during the past three cruising seasons he has done no more that row it around from time to time. The rest of the time, the Walker Bay has been tied upside down on the bow. It’s a great place to put things like the folding steps, the spare anchor, etc when we are underway and it is conveniently located to stand on when putting the sail cover on the main. When “Faith” is in need of a good cleaning it goes into the water and is tied to a cleat on the dock. We have rowed around a marina or two but mostly it has been a hood ornament. This year we decided to bring it back to Washington. It will be a nice change to be able to put a couple lounge chairs on the bow for happy hour sunsets or perhaps even hang the hammock up for Sandy to read in.

We’ve also hauled around the brand new spinnaker that I purchased in 2008 when we left Portland. This is a big, colorful sail in a large bag that is regularly moved from the v-berth to under the table depending on what is going on at the time. Much to my disappointment, it has n-e-v-e-r been used. It seems that the wind is always either much too strong, completely non-existent or on the nose (coming from directly in front of us). Each fall we would think, “THIS year we’re going to put that pretty sail up” and in June, at season’s end, we’d be stunned to discover that another 7 months or so had passed and the spinnaker had still not seen the light of day. This spring we decided it was finally time to bite the bullet and bring it back. We will leave it in the storage unit and see if we miss it.

In addition to the boat stuff that has been accumulating, last summer Chris bought a scooter. He’s always been a real scooter nut and had several before he met me so it came as no big surprise when he bought this one. I do not ride two wheeled things (except the occasional bicycle) but he loves them and, I must admit, now that he has this one it sure is nice to have exclusive use of the truck when I want to go do something by myself. Before the scooter arrived, whenever I would take off in the truck I always felt like I had to hurry home because Chris was stranded. In actuality, it was never much of a problem for Chris but I still managed to feel guilty. At any rate, the scooter storage became a bit of a headache last fall. We thought we could leave it in the small unit but there was clearly not enough room. We were down to the day before we were leaving so we weren’t interested in entertaining the idea of getting a new storage space. That meant finding a friend or relative who had room in a garage and didn’t mind walking around it all winter. Fortunately, Chris’ brother stepped up and volunteered to provide a winter “home” and solved the problem. This year, with the larger storage unit, the scooter can stay with the other things that are too hard to part with.

Actually, when compared with other folks, we don’t have much. The belongings we keep on the boat and in the trailer are only what we use for everyday living. Neither home has much in the way of storage so we keep things pared down as much as possible. Most of what we pay to store is leftovers from our other lives. Chris has tools, clothes, paperwork, CD’s and a few mementos. My things include clothes, my stereo system, some special books and a few final keepsakes that I haven’t passed on to the kids. It really isn’t much and every time we go through the boxes we make more trips to Goodwill or the dump.

Last week when we “upgraded” I told the woman at the storage facility that I rather hated having to admit that we had enough “stuff” to warrant a bigger space but she assured me it was still pretty minimal. She said that many people have two or more and one customer has seven! When you look at those numbers I guess that we really are pretty self contained after all.

RV Show

2011-06-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Since Chris & I spend half of each year living in our “little” (27’) travel trailer we have begun to get interested in what else is out there. Not that we are in any big hurry to find new living quarters because we are quite happy with the “house” we have. As a matter of fact, just thinking about having to move everything from one place to another yet again gives me the willies. Twice a year is quite enough to suit me. We have, however, discovered some “issues” that we might find solutions for by looking at other rigs.

Yesterday Chris & I attended an RV show where we were able to look at lots of new and used travel trailers, 5th wheels and RV's. To say the least, it was pretty interesting. Most of them had pretty similar layouts but every so often we’d go into one that really stood out with some different innovations.

Chris would love to have an RV, and truth be told, I wouldn’t mind either but they are terribly expensive. Also, they seem to be pretty much all flash. Most of them have a ton of wasted space (big open spaces) in the living area but, by comparison, the bedrooms are somewhat cramped (I wonder if any of the, clearly men, designers have tried to make a bed while IN it) and the kitchens either have very little counter area or it is an un-usable design. One thing I found a bit disconcerting is that many of the big RV’s have the bathroom in the middle of the rig which means that it is pretty much in the kitchen. Ewww. In addition, they all seem to have two (sometimes three) built in televisions. Who in the world needs that many TV’s in a space of 35’? Of course, we have never had a TV in the bedroom and have no desire for that particular feature. We can find lots of other more fun things to do in that room.

I must admit there was one RV that really caught my eye. It wasn’t a brand new one…I believe it was a 2008 model…but it was very nicely laid out, the color scheme was pretty (instead of boring or garish) and it had some unique extras (think built in washer/dryer) that made it stand out.

Chris, being the guy that he is, was checking out all the outside storage as well as the whiz bangs and do dads on the “Starship Enterprise” like dashboard. His eyes lit right up with the backup cameras that they all have. :-) I’m sure that would be helpful but Chris can back up the travel trailer into impossible places with just me as his “backup camera” so I don’t see the need. Especially since an RV doesn’t turn in the middle. My favorite dashboard extra was the pull-out desk for the passenger (me). How convenient is that?

The gas powered RV’s are less than half the price of the diesels but that was no surprise. They get less mileage and the engines are much more complicated (thus…more things to break) so even though the price per gallon for diesel is higher, the diesels would be a better long-term choice.

RV’s are no different than any other high end purchase. The initial price is only the beginning. The diesels are built like semi trucks and one look at the tires made us shudder. Replacing those babies (and they don’t last forever) could easily involve taking out a loan on your life insurance. In addition, if the vehicle needs any sort of mechanical repair done and it is your primary residence you could end up spending several nights parked behind a shop somewhere.

Still, there was ONE diesel that we thought we could probably live quite comfortably in. The living area was very well thought out, it had a full sized, four door side-by-side refrigerator and there was even a garage in the back for the Smart Car so it wouldn't have to be towed. We'll take a hard look at that one when we win that lottery! In the meantime, if we do decide to upgrade someday we’ll probably go to a 5th wheel. They have much more user friendly layouts and some even have big picture windows in the back and fireplaces.

After our day of tromping through dozens of over the road houses I must admit to being a bit confused about one new trend. Since I live on a boat for half the year I am very cognizant of what happens to “stuff” when the house is moving. It seems that the new models of motorhomes now often come with a table and four chairs instead of the built in booth type dinette. Now where, exactly, do you think those chairs would end up after a few hours of rattling down I-5 in northern California???

Another cruising season at an end...sigh...

2011-06-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

Seals pretending to be sharks.

The last leg of this season was a little melancholy for yours truly. We stayed in Puerto Escondido for a week after the end of Loreto Fest so the majority of the boats would be gone (and the weather calmer) in hopes of finding the anchorages to the north a bit less crowded. As we scooted up to Isla Coronados we were blessed (?) with flat seas and no wind so no sailing happened. The Log (and Chris) insisted that we had stayed there last year but neither Patty nor I could recall the anchorage. As soon as we began closing on the stunningly colored water and the long, sandy beach it all came back to us. Last year we’d only spent one night here and never left the boat…hence the memory lapse.

Pretty water at Isla Coronados

This time we took the dinghy to shore for a bit of exploration. Patty & I wandered the beach looking for shells but the only ones we found were fossils that were imbedded in rock. Chris did a little fishing but was only able to catch the occasional Puffer Fish which always presents a bit of a prickly problem when returning it to the sea.

Chris catchin' Puffer Fish

Still, he seems to enjoy the fishing almost more than the catching. Poor Abby was relegated to guard duty on the boat. All the islands in the Sea of Cortez are protected national park and dogs are not allowed on the land.

Abby "on watch"

Next morning we were up early and off to San Juanico…a breathtaking anchorage where I could happily spend weeks just hanging out. It is about a 4 hour sail…and sail we did! For once we had a nice breeze from a useable direction and we averaged 6-7 knots most of the trip.

Sails up! It doesn't get better than this!

I wish there had been another boat around to take a picture of us with both sails up but, as is normal, the only time you have an audience is when things go bad (think docking). Arriving in San Juanico we found that there were quite a few boats already there but we had no trouble finding a suitable spot to “park” in 20’ of gorgeous clear water.

Beautiful San Juanico

It was especially nice to see quite a few old and new friends in residence. Since this is on the Baja and not one of the islands, Abby got to go ashore to do some quality running, sniffing, digging and crab chasing. Chris & I made a foray to the Cruiser’s Shrine to up-date our contribution.

"Faith's" Cruiser's Shrine contribution

This is a bush on the beach that is covered with odd mementos from the many cruisers who have been here. Wine bottles with notes, flags of all sorts, hand painted shells and driftwood, and, my favorite, a single black shoe with no ID hung with fishing line grace the tree and the surrounding beach. It is somewhat reminiscent of a Christmas tree only much more fun.

The Cruiser's Shrine

Another windy front was expected from the north so most everyone stayed a couple days longer than planned but that is what cruising is about. No schedules. No timelines. No deadlines. People just used the extra time to do some hiking, read a good book or share a meal with another boat. One morning a radio announcement was made that there would be a potluck and bonfire on the beach that evening. Everyone attended and, even though most of us were low on food (using it up before we go home) there was plenty to eat and all of it was tasty.

Too soon, it was time to leave for a night in Santo Domingo, and then to Chivato and our last passage. What a nice surprise to arrive in Chivato and discover we were the only boat there…at least for a few hours. Our friends on Nautilas arrived in the afternoon and that evening the 5 of us had dinner at a restaurant we had discovered the year before. Chivato’s beach is a shell lover’s paradise and while we were waiting for Nautilas, Patty & I searched for something unique and unbroken while Chris took Abby for a run.

All alone at Punta Chivato

All of us had planned a 4am departure for the crossing but when Chris & I got up to raise anchor Nautilas was already on their way through the pass. OK…here’s the “rule”: Whenever any two sailboats are going in the same direction it is a race. Dang! They got the jump on us!

The day began with flat seas and no wind so we employed the iron Genny (Genoa: the sail that is on the front of the boat) to get us going. Chris was generous enough to take the first watch so I could get a couple more hours sleep and by the time I was up again he already had the fishing lines out. After the sun came up a bit of wind and some swell began to build in from the northwest. Up went some sail and we trucked along at 6-7 knots. We could see Nautilas had gone farther south and Chris thought they were making a tactical error that would allow us to catch or pass them. The weather came ‘round more northerly and the wind and seas built to the point where your safety-conscious Capitana required all on deck to don their life vest and tethers. It turned into a bit of a rolly ride with waves slapping the port side of the boat and causing things below to fly out of their normal cubby holes but it was a beautiful day and a fast ride. We caught 5 Dorado (Mahi Mahi) on the way but only kept three. One was too small and we lost one because it was too rough to go aft to pull it in, but the ones we kept were deee-licious!

As we closed in on the mainland we could see that Nautilas was way south and would have to beat back north to get into the anchorage so we thought we had a shot at getting there first. Alas…they are a faster boat and beat us by about 30 minutes. All having decided we had to have one more night at anchor Bahia Algodones (aka Catch 22 Beach) was our destination. The original “plan” was to dinghy to the beach for cerveza and dinner at the Soggy Peso but everyone was dog tired so we just BBQ’d on the boats and were rewarded with a beautiful sunset, full moon and calm night for sleeping. First thing the next morning…before the wind came up…we hustled around the corner and into our slip at Marina San Carlos where we would get the boat ready for another summer out of the water. Ken and Linde, from “Rosebud”, were waiting to catch docklines, Jeff & Janey on “Adagio” were already in the workyard and “Nautilas” came in right behind us so the whole gang was in town. It always takes the edge off all that hard work when friends are nearby to share the moans & groans, a cold beer at the end of the day or a dinner filled with laughs and sea stories.

It was the end of another wonderful winter in Mexico. We are happy/sad.

Loreto Fest

2011-05-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

This year we attended our first Loreto Fest and had a great time. We arrived in Puerto Escondido a few days ahead of time so we could get settled in and relax a bit before all the festivities.

Since our friend, Julie, was with us and she hadn’t seen this area we made a trip into the quaint little town of Loreto about 10 miles north of the anchorage. This is one of the somewhat undiscovered gems on the Baja peninsula. When tourists think of Mexico they mostly think of places like Cabo San Lucas, Cancun and Zihuatanejo. While there are certainly tourists who come to Loreto, it doesn’t seem to be in the hordes of the “big” destination spots and that has allowed Loreto to maintain its small pueblo feel. We spent a couple hours wandering around taking photos and then stopped at a small café for a lunch of fish tacos and cold beer while we checked our email.

The Loreto Fest is held on the grounds of the Fonatur Marina facility in Puerto Escondido. There are a number of full time residents who live on their boats here and they have started the Hidden Port Yacht Club which hosts the Loreto Fest. The yacht club has a small office area that the marina allows them to use where they house an extensive book exchange and movie lending library. Next door is a very small tienda (store) that offers a fair selection of food and drink. On any given afternoon cruisers will be hanging out in front of the HPYC office with a cold beer or soda getting acquainted, sharing sea stories, playing Mexican Train or just enjoying the view.

The festivities all began on Thursday, April 28^th and was scheduled to continue through Sunday, May 1^st. The original purpose of this gathering, 15 years ago, was to clean up the Bay and from that it has grown into a major event. Now, each year, cruisers all up and down the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific coast of Mexico make the trip to participate. For many, this is their last opportunity of the season to connect with friends after which they put their boats into storage and go back home for the summer months. Some will be back the following year but others are going home for good or planning trips to destinations much farther afield. The members of the HPYC, as well as local residents from the American enclave of Juncalito and the town of Loreto do a great job and put in long hours to put this event on and, in addition to the Bay clean up and the fun activities, they raise money for some of the local charities.

Bocce Ball

This year the games at the Fest included Baja Canasta, Mexican Train, Over the Line, Bocce Ball

and Horseshoes among others. One of the most popular spectator events was the Blind Dinghy Race. This is a timed contest where a dinghy must speed out and around a mark (an anchored boat), rescue a “baby” in a life jacket out of the water and safely put it into a bucket that is attached to the committee boat. The trick is that the driver is blind folded and his partner must direct him through the course and retrieve and deposit the “baby”. Many of the navigators seemed to lose concentration and began pointing and waving their arms for the blindfolded driver, which, of course, he/she couldn’t see. A commentator on board the committee boat provided a “blow by blow” of each run and kept the spectators informed of where each entrant placed at the end of their race. It was great fun to watch but Chris & I chose not to risk our relationship by participating.

Blindfolded Dinghy Races

Julie & I, along with Kristen (from “Nautilas”) and Linde (from “Rosebud”) competed in the Baja Canasta tournament and we all made it to the semi-finals before the women from town ate us alive.

The "Linen Sisters" (aka "Card Sharks")

We decided that our main problem is that we actually play cards for f-u-n and it doesn’t much matter to us whether we win or lose. The town women play cut-throat. Ouch! Kristen & Steve participated in several of the team games and Chris entered the “Spam as Art” contest and finished third with his “Asti Spamanti” piece. In addition to all the games, there was plenty of food, drink and great music and the opportunity to reconnect with many of our friends in the cruising community.

Dinghy Parking

Saturday afternoon the wind began to pick up substantially and it blew 25 knots (and gusted as high as 40) for two whole days. This is known as a “Norther” and is more common during the winter on the Baja side of the Sea. Even though the marina provided a panga to act as a water taxi (taking a dinghy to shore was a difficult and wet proposition), most people didn’t leave their boats so many of the Sunday events were cancelled. We were on a mooring buoy and were quite secure although our anti-chafe gear (a piece of heavy hose that encases the rope) chafed through by Sunday morning and we had to figure something else out. Mooring buoys in this particular bay are set up to withstand hurricane conditions and are generally well maintained but each boat is responsible for its own method of attachment. The buoys all have a heavy rope that is attached to a shackle that is attached to a large chain that is attached to a hunk of cement about the size of a Volkswagen that is on the bottom of the bay. They are generally very secure but still, the shackles on two of the buoys broke. Both boats were able to reattach without incident but much adrenaline was expended in the exercise. Try to imagine a 30,000+ pound boat that is constantly slewing around in 25+ knot winds and a couple feet of wind chop. There is a lot of strain on all the connections. During the Loreto Fest, all 117 mooring buoys were in use and quite a few boats were anchored and several of those who were anchored began dragging and had to be reset (some more than once). Hence, most of us just hunkered down and didn’t leave the boats until the weather dissipated. By Tuesday morning the wind had died and the water was once again flat and beautiful.

The quiet after the storm.

While we were in Puerto Escondido, Patty arrived and Julie flew home. We all had a good time…even with the windy conditions, and Chris & I plan to return again.

Gettin' Ready...

2011-04-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

for Loreto Fest! We are back in beautiful Puerto Escondido and the troops are amassing for the annual Loreto Fest that takes place this weekend. The event begins Thursday and runs through Sunday. There are so many events that we will be busy from early morning until late at night. The list of events includes potlucks, a chili cookoff, tournaments in all manner of cruiser games (Baja Rummy & Minnesota Canasta, Mexican Train Dominoes, Horseshoe Pitching, Bocce Ball, etc), a silent auction, a "Spam Art" contest, lots of music provided by the cruisers and all sorts of other events. With over 200 boats that will have gathered here for this festival the dinghy dock (parking lot) will be a real challenge.

Julie arrived last Tuesday and after two days of last minute errands we headed out of Mazatlan Thursday morning as soon as the fog lifted. We were going straight to Isla San Francisco so were looking at about a 50 hour passage and the grib files showed beautiful weather out of the SW. For once the weather prediction was dead on and we had a beautiful motor sail across the Sea and averaged 6-1/2 knots. As we approached Isla San Francisco - at 4am (that would be the exact time when I began my watch) - a Coromel came up so we had winds of about 20-25 knots and the seas kicked up to 3-4 feet for about 3 hours. Why is it always on MY watch? At any rate, we arrived at Isla San Francisco at 7:30 and were happy to see that there were several of our friends there. We dinghied over to say hello to friends and took Abby to the beach to stretch her legs a bit. Then it was back to the boat for a cold beer and a nap.
Next morning we left early for the 9 hour trip to Agua Verde. The cruisers are all heading for Puerto Escondido for the up-coming Loreto Fest and Agua Verde anchorage was packed with boats. We squeezed into what we thought was the last possible spot and then two more boats arrived! Somehow they found room. This anchorage was calm and quiet all night and we all got a good night's sleep.
Monday morning we slept in a little and woke up to a hot, sunny day with another southwesterly wind. We left at 9:45 am and by 2pm we were securely attached to our mooring ball in Puerto Escondido. This is where we will be for two weeks. We plan to attend the 3-day Loreto Fest (blog entry on that to follow) and then wait a week for the masses to depart before we go north.
Julie seems to be having a wonderful time. Patty arrives on Sunday. All is well! To all our friends and relatives who spend time worrying...don't! The internet access in Escondido is extremely difficult (especially with over 200 boats there) and from here we will be almost entirely at uninhabited islands until we get to San Carlos in a couple weeks.

Sunday Morning Lazy

2011-04-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

Watching the fog lift.

It’s a quiet Sunday morning in Mazatlan and, now that we got the power back on, I am enjoying a cup of coffee while I read my email and contemplate getting in gear to tackle the long list of today’s projects.

We awoke to thick fog and, at 9:00, it is still in place. An excellent weather window has settled in for crossing the Sea of Cortez so the boats are leaving in droves. I have yet to meet a single cruiser who likes fog so there has been quite a bit of radio chatter about it. Apparently it is still pretty thick over 2 miles out but one boat reported they are at 5 miles and it is clearing. I am hoping for clear skies when we leave Thursday. Fortunately, it is a fairly long passage so we can wait a little later to leave if need be.

It is hard to believe how fast the “season” is coming to a close but I am definitely beginning to look forward to being land based for a bit, and I’m not the only one. Several of my women cruiser friends are saying the same thing. Many of our cruising friends are already in the process of putting their boats away or have already gone home. Cruising the warm Mexican waters during the winter is quite wonderful, but by this time in the season I start to miss friends and family and not having to worry about weather every time we want to move to a new place.

Last night we had a wonderful dinner with Tom & Pam from “Kewao”. They have been given the use of a friend’s condo while they are putting their boat to bed for the summer and what a condo it is. They are on the 14^th floor with an amazing view of the Ocean and the islands outside the Mazatlan entrance from the front deck and, in back, the entire city of Mazatlan is at their feet. As people who also live on a boat, we could fully appreciate their joy at having unlimited hot showers that don’t require a 2 block walk to get to them and a bed that is big enough that you don’t have to turn over in sync…and…no one has to crawl over another person to get in or out. Add in the microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer and you can see why they are beginning to say, “Boat? What boat?”.

During our conversation last night we discussed snotty passages and hair-raising anchorages with the enthusiasm of teenagers. There seems to be that same youthful bravado when we re-hash situations that, at the time they happened, were terrifying but ended well. Sort of a “We can hardly believe we survived that.” feeling that brings being fully involved in life to a vivid clarity.

At one point, Pam asked, “Why do we keep doing this?” More discussion ensued and we finally decided that is mostly about the people. We all love the beautiful destinations, the warm weather and the wonderful experiences (except, of course, the really snotty passages) but it is the people in the cruising community who are the real reason we keep doing what we do. Another cruiser once told me, “99% of the people you meet cruising are the most wonderful people you will ever know. If you haven’t met the 1% that is a jerk, you might be “it”.” Fortunately, we have met our 1% (whew!) but the statement is true. Strong friendships are built in hours and last forever, and nothing makes an experience more rich and enjoyable than sharing it with good friends.

Mexican Flowers and Plants

2011-04-15T09:15:00.001-07:00

Its spring back in Washington and more and more of my friends are posting pictures of flowers on their Facebook pages. It has been a particularly long, cold, wet winter so they are especially happy to see the cheer-y faces of the Daffodils and Crocus telling them that warmer weather is on the way.

Back in the “olden days”, when I had a cute little house in Washington, I was as anxious as anyone to see the flowers making their first tentative appearance in March or April. First on the scene was always the Crocus, followed closely by Daffodils, Tulips and Hyacinths (with their amazing ability to fill an entire house with sweet smell from just one flower). Of course, seeing the bulb flowers appear was the signal that soon to follow would be the weeks of weeding, mulching, pruning, planting, etc. to clear out all the winter mess and prepare the garden for summer blooms. It is really necessary to do the lion’s share of gardening in the spring because summer in the NW is all about mowing, mowing and mowing.

Sometimes I really miss the flowers of the Northwest but Mexico has been exceptionally generous with her beauty and provides a stunning array of blooming plants all winter long.

Everywhere we go the Bougainvillea is in bloom…all the time. I tried, unsuccessfully, to grow this when I lived in San Diego but here it is really more like a weed. It grows wild in vacant fields and is not only cultivated as a climber that decorates entire building walls but is often pruned into large trees and shrubs. The colors are spectacular. Brilliant reds and yellows, intense purples and subtle oranges and pinks.

The Mexican people must love flowering plants as everywhere you go, even in the most poverty stricken neighborhood; you will see houses surrounded by flowers. Grass is a bit trickier to cultivate but Bird of Paradise, Honeysuckle, Hibiscus (many, many colors and varieties) and all sorts of flowers I have yet to identify are everywhere. Based on the gorgeous landscaping present everywhere it is no surprise how popular the Mexican gardeners are in the U.S.

The Mexican Riviera (from Mazatlan south as far as Acapulco) is mostly a tropical climate which means the winters are like summer in the Northwest. The daytime temperatures tend to run between 80 and 90 degrees and the nights cool down to 60’s or 70’s. Summertime brings heat, humidity and rain, rain, rain. That means the plants that grow along this stretch are of the type you see in rain forests…and as houseplants back home. Those Philodendron and Spider plants you have in pots in your home or office are outdoor plants here and 100 times the size. It is not uncommon to see a Philodendron with leaves the size of an elephant’s ear that has climbed all the way to the top of a Coconut Palm. And speaking of Palm trees…what would a tropical paradise be without them? Before I came to Mexico I had no idea that there are over 2,000 different species of Palms and they come in all shapes and sizes. The ultra-tall Coconut Palm on a white sand beach represents my image of what Paradise is but I love Palm trees in general. One Palm that I have fallen totally in love with is the Sago Palm This is actually a low growing shrub with beautiful dark green foliage and it is a beautiful plant.

This year we discovered a tree we hadn’t seen before. In the early spring (March) the area around Banderas Bay (La Cruz, Puerto Vallarta, etc) was filled with trees covered in yellow or pink flowers. There were so many of the yellow trees in La Cruz the hillside literally glowed. Finally, one day on a taxi ride home from the grocery store, we asked the driver what they were and he said they are Primavera. He said there are too many of them but I disagree. Anything that beautiful can’t be overdone.

And at Christmas, some very special and unusual trees make their appearance: The well known Coca-Cola tree and the somewhat less frequently seen wine bottle tree. :-)

Sailing...for Fun

2011-04-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

Recent discussions with some of my cruising friends have centered around the topic of sailing. That’s right – sailing. As in for fun. Now, you might think that since we are all out here cruising around in Mexico…on sailboats…that it would be a foregone conclusion that sailing is done. You might, in point of fact, be slightly misled on that.

Let’s go back in time a bit. First of all, pretty much 99.999% of the people who are living and cruising on a sailboat dreamed about doing just that for a long, long time before they finally took that deep breath and cast off the dock lines. Those of us who actually left the safety of our home port in the quest for adventure and exotic places are in the minority. A good friend of ours, who has visited several times, never misses an opportunity to remind us that we are “in the 1% who are actually ‘living the dream’”. The funny thing about “dreams” is that they are just that and the real thing often turns out quite differently.

From the very beginning I was hooked on sailing and began dreaming about “sailing off into the sunset”. I dreamed of beam reaches in warm breezes, wine at sunset in secluded, palm fringed coves and being gently rocked to sleep at anchor under a blanket of stars. Ahhhh. It sounds so relaxing and wonderful, doesn’t it? Well, it has happened but is certainly not the norm. But this blog is about sailing so we will leave those other fantasies for a different day.

Everyone I know in the cruising community loves to sail. Well…almost everyone. People who are prone to seasickness are a bit less taken with the concept. The problem is that other things are higher on the priority list. For instance: We like things to stay where they were stowed. We like the equipment to be in one piece when we finish a passage. We really like arriving at our destination before dark. None of these likes is particularly conducive to “sailing” a great deal. In addition, sailing involves wind and when it comes to wind conditions, there are two constants: 1) There will either be way too much or none at all, and 2) The wind will always be on the nose…no matter which direction you are going. Neither of those constants is really helpful as far as getting from point “a” to point “b” in the least amount of time with maximum comfort.

In addition to the wind, there are other things that get in the way of sailing. One biggie is schedules. For those who don’t know (and probably won’t understand anyway), the cruiser’s first commandment is “thou shalt have no schedule”! If you must be in a particular place on a particular day it is an open invitation to Aeolus and Poseidon to join forces and humble you with a giant reminder of who, exactly, is really in charge (and it isn’t you). After experiencing some especially nasty passages in order to be in a particular place on a particular date to pick up a guest we now tell everyone that they may choose the date or the place but they may NOT choose both. Even then, things happen and rather than risk life, limb, guests and boat, if the weather goes south (figuratively) we will likely be staying in one spot.

The majority of the time cruisers (in Mexico) are motor-sailing. This would mean that you have one or both sails up AND the engine running. Most of us have a point at which the engine comes on (for us it is when we fall below 4 knots of boat speed). Since most of the time when we actually go somewhere on the boat, we really are actually going somewhere, the trip is planned around the expected weather conditions and expected time it will take to get to the destination. Arriving too early (as we did in December when we made a 3 day passage from San Carlos to Mazatlan) will often mean having to sit out in the ocean for a few hours while you wait for daylight so you can safely enter the harbor or anchorage. Arriving too late can mean the same thing…or…trying to anchor at night. Soooo…most of us plan on an average boat speed (for us it is 5 knots) based on wind (or lack of it) and currents and it usually means motoring is involved.

Racing is another interesting phenomenon for cruisers. Many of us were racers long before we were cruisers and enjoyed that part of sailing a lot. I, personally, raced on the Columbia River for 10 years on my boats as well as other people’s boats. It was great fun. We could go out and compete, no matter what the weather, for a couple hours, return to the dock, put the boat away and have couple beers before going home to a hot shower and a warm bed. There are races here (anywhere you find two sailboats in the same place you will find races) but a large number of us ex-racers no longer participate. It is tough to race your house. First of all, the boat isn’t fast with 10,000 lbs of cruising equipment, food, clothing, books and other stuff on board. Secondly, they are expensive enough to maintain without adding the breakage that occurs during races. One man I know of with an 80’ boat participated in this year’s Banderas Bay Regatta and blew out his headsail. That will cost him several thousand dollars for a replacement (it was not repairable) and not having that sail significantly curtails his travels for the rest of the season. Thirdly, at the end of the day, if you are not in a marina, you will be cleaning up in a shower the size of a closet and, if you are lucky, the bedding won’t be wet.

What I am trying to say is that even though we got into this life because we love sailing, it is rare that we actually just “go sailing”. You know…for fun. Still, we ARE sailors and when all the planets line up exactly right we sometimes really do get to do what we dreamed of all those years. Last year, at the end of a very bad season weather-wise, we left Las Animas Island on the baja side of the Sea of Cortez and sailed all the way across to the mainland with a 15 knot beam reach and 2-3 ft long period swells. It was absolute Heaven.

More on Mexico's Healthcare

2011-04-06T08:18:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the big day! Chris got his stitches out and the doctor gave him some exercises to do and told him he can start walking without his crutches. Last night we walked over to "Rosebud" for a wonderful dinner of Mushroom Soup and Spinach Crepes (all very, very yummy). He is still moving pretty slowly but getting better every day and he thinks that he will be crawling around in the engine room next week. The biggest issue is that the muscles around his knee have atrophied because he favored it for so long. Still...the doctor says they aren't that bad and will eventually return to normal. All in all the surgery and medical care around it has been excellent.

While Chris was at his appointment I took advantage of the very affordable mammograms available here. Last summer I couldn't afford the $360 the radiologist in the States wanted but the cost here is just $54 USD. The lab is as modern and well equipped as any back home. The staff was wonderful. And...they did a complimentary ultrasound in addition to the mammogram. Today I'll pick up a copy of the results to send off to my doctor back home. FYI: They said all is fine.

The only problem I had was that I STILL need to learn more Spanish. The receptionist spoke English but no one else did.

Fun With The Gimp

2011-04-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

Well…I feel like I should be writing but my head remains empty of topics. We are in a kind of holding pattern here, in Mazatlan, for the next few weeks while Chris recuperates from his knee surgery.

Since Chris will likely be doing a blog entry of his own about the actual surgery I will just relate a bit of my experience through this.

We arrived in Mazatlan on Monday (the 21^st) specifically so Chris could see the orthopedic surgeon who was recommended by Michael from “Ahea Kali”. He got an appointment for the next day and following that he spent two days getting an x-ray and lab work and delivering those back to the doctor. In Mexico, your medical records are your property and your responsibility. The surgery was then scheduled for Saturday.

Saturday morning we took a pulmonia (open air cab) to the clinic and arrived at 7:15. Chris got into his little gown and disappeared into the next room where they started an IV and the next thing I knew he was out in the hallway on his way to the operating room. I spent the next couple hours sitting on a plastic chair reading a book. The staff would pass through from time to time but no one spoke to me. It wouldn’t have done much good anyway as no one spoke English and my Spanish is exceptionally limited.

About 9:30 Chris’ doctor (who does speak English) came out and told me the surgery was done and explained the whole procedure. He suggested I go have something to eat as it would be about noon before the anesthetic wore off and Chris could leave.

Off I went to find the out of doors. The clinic is actually a refurbished warehouse (the elevator is a freight elevator) and the inside is a bit of a maze. I knew I was on the second floor and since I am a bit claustrophobic I opted for the stairs. I thought if I just went down one flight I’d be back in the main lobby. Wrong! The first door I opened went to the parking lot. The second door went to the bus terminal. Aww…forget it! I wasn’t all that hungry anyway and it would be my luck to get lost when I came back and tried to find Chris.

I found a nice, comfy chair just down the hall from Chris’ closet (aka “recovery” room) and got my book out. At 11:45 I heard someone call for “Krees” and, sure enough, the nurse motioned me over. I walked to the door and the nurse handed a white doctor-type coat to put on. Hmmm. Well…OK. Then she started to put booties on my feet and I began to get concerned! Maybe they were really looking for someone else…someone who was having surgery! The nurse spoke no English so trying to explain that I was NOT the person she was looking for was beginning to get ugly. She kept insisting I put the booties on and I kept getting more animated in my resistance. Finally, I heard Chris say, “Sandra…I’m in here.” It finally dawned on me that they just wanted to keep the hallway sterile. Whew!!

We got Chris up and dressed and into a wheelchair and then a young man took us directly to the administration office. In minutes, with one swipe of Chris’ debit card, EVERYONE involved was paid: the clinic, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist and the nurse. What a great system! Then we were taken to the main floor where a cab picked us up and after a quick stop at the bank we were back at the marina.

Note: No consent form was ever presented for signature. You know the one I’m referring to. In the States, you have to agree that you realize you might have complications and/or die anytime you have a hangnail removed. I guess in Mexico they assume you can figure out there are risks involved in having anesthesia and surgery.

When we got back to the marina Chris was pretty hungry so we grabbed a couple burgers at the palapa restaurant before tackling the rest of the trip back to the boat. Dan helped Chris get down the ramp and dock and onto the boat while I carried all the “stuff”. I had made up the bed in the salon for Chris since it is much lower than the aft bunk and that is where he slept for the first 5 days. Abby assumed her position as head snuggler and sympathizer.

All in all it was a very positive experience and one week after surgery Chris’ knee is much better than it has been in months.

Tsunami #2

2011-03-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

March 11, 2011 was pretty interesting here in La Cruz. We normally leave the VHF on 24/7 (this is the primary source of communication in the cruising community) in case someone tries to contact us or an emergency comes up that we need to respond to but the night before I had tired of listening to a couple drunks making stupid comments on the radio and turned it down. At 8am Friday I turned the volume back up and the first thing I heard was “tsunami”. “Oh no…not again!” Last year we were in Las Hadas when the tsunami from Chile rolled through. We went to sea and that one turned out to be pretty uneventful. The predictions for this one were more severe.

We were told that all ports in Mexico were closed and boats could not enter or leave any of them. As you can well imagine, some of the folks in the marina here were in a near panic mode and a line began to form at the port captain's office to get permission to go to sea. Finally an announcement was made that the closures were for commercial traffic only (including boats used for charter) and that pleasure vessels were free to leave. Now we needed to make a decision. We listened to all the predictions and got all the information we could and then decided to stay in the marina. We are at the dock that is the farthest inside and we only draw 5'. Since we have quite a bit of water under the keel at the lowest of tides, we thought we'd be OK. About 1/2 the boats in the marina (all the marinas in the bay, actually) left and went out into deep water. The rest of us added extra lines, closed ports/hatches, tied things down, etc. Then we waited.

The prediction was that the tsunami would begin around 1:30 and we were in the palapa restaurant (on the 2nd floor) with the others who didn’t leave, watching, waiting and having lunch. Several TV's were tuned to either CNN or a Los Angeles station so we were getting all the news about what was happening in Japan & the States. At 1:30 the water began to move faster than normal but it was only rising and falling a few inches at a time so some people thought it was going to be a non-event. As the afternoon passed, the water moved in and out until the amount of change was 5 or 6 ft. Chris & I went back to Faith and read books, listened to the chatter on the radio and watched the water. Since we are way inside of the marina what we experienced was rather like extreme tidal changes that happened fast but there were no waves or big surges. By the time the water got to us it seemed to have dissipated enough that it didn't even rock the boat. Our friends, Linde & Ken on "Rosebud" are on the jetty side and Linde said when she was below she could hear the water moving past the boat so fast it sounded like they were out sailing. She also said there were eddies and whirlpools around the ends of the docks on that side.

About 4pm boats were starting to radio in that they wanted to return to the marinas. An announcement was made that the Port Captain had determined the surge at the marina entrance was too dangerous to negotiate and he was closing the port. Chris & I decided to walk out on the jetty and take a look since it was so calm on our side of the marina. It was amazing to watch. A huge amount of water would surge into the narrow marina entrance for a few minutes, there would be a very short period where the water was slack (about 30 seconds) and then it would turn around and roar back out. I am not good at judging speed but the entrance channel looked like a fast flowing river with all the rapids happening and the buoys would be tipped almost completely on their sides. One of the marina managers announced that the current was as high as 15 knots.

We took photos and videos of the water and while we were watching and filming, a big section of dock 11 buckled and twisted and broke off. Dock 11 is the first dock inside the marina entrance so it got the brunt of the surge and the 2 slips on the end of it lost big sections. The marina staff risked their lives to get those big cement chunks tied up so they wouldn't go bouncing through the rest of the marina and causing more damage.

While we were on the jetty taking pictures the Port Captain closed the entrance for the night as it was just too dangerous. That meant all the boats had to spend the night in the anchorage. Since these are cruising boats, and they are already provisioned with food, water, etc. it wasn’t a problem. Unfortunately, race 2 of the Banderas Bay Regatta had been scheduled for that day and wasn't cancelled until everyone was already out in the bay. Some of the racers left their anchors at the dock so there was apparently some scrambling about to borrow anchors and chain in order to avoid motoring or floating around all night.

All in all, the only real damage here was to the outside 2 slips on dock 11 and a couple of the channel markers went walkabout and will have to be re-set. I would guess that there are some new shoal areas in the anchorage and I heard on the radio that a new bar that has formed outside the entrance to Paradise Marina so they'll probably have to dredge that.

After watching the videos of the damage to marinas in Oregon and California it looks like we got off easy. And that is a very good thing!

Bananas to Banana Bread and Other Produce Tragedies

2011-03-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about Mexico is the produce. Almost anywhere we go there are wonderful local markets where all sorts of produce can be purchased for a fraction of the price we pay in the good ole USA. In some of the more remote areas, as well as on the Baja, the fruits and veggies can sometimes be a bit tattered but most of the time everything is fresh from the farm, beautiful to look at and wonderfully ready to eat. When I go to the market it is only with a great deal of restraint that I can keep from returning to the boat with enough vegetables to feed the 4^th infantry division. The down side (and, yes, there is one) is that all these lovely fresh things have been picked and delivered directly from the farm…and because this is a tropical climate…they must be eaten quickly or they will soon become fish fodder.

Bananas are a prime example. We love bananas for breakfast and they are always available and cheap. There are several different varieties to choose from, my favorite being the little ones that are just the right size for 2 good bites and are sweeter then the regular ones. Unfortunately, no matter how green they are when I purchase them, we just can’t seem to eat them fast enough and within a few days I am making banana bread…again.

Of course, not everything we are used to in American supermarkets is available here, but by the same token, many items we can easily get here are only found in high dollar boutique groceries back home. For example, one can almost always get asparagus in any local Safeway but here, not so much. If you run across it, the price is usually pretty high. On the other hand, bins and bins of beautiful tomatoes, crisp green beans and ready-to-eat avocados are everywhere. One of the things I have found here that are quite good are tiny little guavas (about the size of a key lime) called Guayaba. These are very sweet and yummy. I particularly like the Guayaba juice.

There is no real local market here in La Cruz so we do our grocery shopping at the Mega (like a Safeway), at the Costco in Puerto Vallarta (that would be the major provisioning run when you are low on everything) or, as a last resort, at the Wal Mart. Having recently been to both Mega and Costco, here are some of the produce prices I’ve encountered:

Tomatoes - 64¢ per lb – Mega

Green Beans - 7¢ per lb – Mega

White Potatoes – 48¢ per lb – Mega

Bananas – 54¢ per lb – Mega

Zucchini – 51¢ per lb – Mega

Green Bell Peppers – 15¢ per lb – Mega

Red Bell Peppers – 13¢ per lb – Mega

Green Onions – 2¢ per lb – Mega (these are much larger than the Green Onions you get in the States and are commonly grilled)

Asparagus - $3.37 per lb/Mega - $2 per lb/Costco (bought it at Costco!)

3-Pk package of Romaine lettuce - $23(pesos) or $1.92 (U.S. dollars) per pkg at Mega

I had to do a bit of math to arrive at the actual dollar amount because everything is measured in kilograms here. It takes a bit of getting used to. A kilogram is 2.2 pounds so when the price is listed as 13 pesos/kg it is actually about 5 cents per lb (at an average exchange rate of 12 pesos per dollar). This is for the benefit of my readers back home. Those of us who live here for months at a time don’t even bother with the conversion anymore. We just think in pesos.

Occasionally (actually, a bit more often than occasionally) I run across things that I have no idea what they are or what to do with them. Such was the case with Chayote. Turns out it is a type of squash that you can stir fry or add to salads, etc. It doesn’t really have much flavor so one experiment with it was enough for me. On the other hand, I had not eaten much Jicama in the states but it is everywhere here and we eat it all the time now. It is a great snack if you just cut it into chunks and sprinkle it with a little lime juice and chili powder.

So…back to the theme of this whole blog! Last week I had to throw out 3 tomatoes, 2 bell peppers, and about half the green beans in the fridge. Shoot! That meant another trip to the store and, once again, I have lots of perishables that must be eaten before they go bad. The real problem is that we have to refrain from going out for dinner. In a town with over 30 restaurants that is a real challenge!

A Political Rant...Be Prepared

2011-03-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

I had intended to write a totally different blog entry but the things that have been happening in Wisconsin of late are so amazingly bizarre and tragic that I can’t help myself. My anger and frustration with the whole attack by the right wing on the middle class, and more specifically, the public servants in our country has boiled completely over the top and I can’t help myself. If I don’t sound off I think I will just explode.

What is it about the conservative mindset that they can’t seem to understand that government employees are no different than any other employee and that they deserve to be treated equally? Are they really that brainwashed by their talk machine that they have truly come to believe that just because someone works for the government they are stupid or lazy or getting a handout? Clearly they don’t have a grip on reality.

I worked for the State of Washington for almost 30 years and I am proud of having served the citizens of my state. Every state employee I ever met was grateful to have a steady job with a steady income and no one was ever deluded into thinking they would retire a millionaire. Contrary to what the right wing would like to believe, the pay scale is below the private sector by quite a bit. In addition, everyone pays a substantial monthly premium for their medical coverage as well as paying a mandatory contribution to their pension. And we pay the same taxes as everyone else. Working for the government is not a free ride any more than working for any other employer is.

In my office, everyone worked through breaks and lunches without compensation. Everyone came into work early and went home late on a regular basis without compensation. All because there was too much work and not enough employees and the people who would suffer if it didn’t get done were the poor and the infirm. We had a slush fund that came from employee donations for use in special circumstances when clients needed help and slipped through the cracks of the “system”. We raised money…out of our own pockets…to buy school supplies for children whose families didn’t have enough income for that. We raised money…out of our own pockets…to buy medicines for elderly people who couldn’t afford that and food both. We raised money…out of our own pockets…to provide Christmas gifts for many, many needy families who wouldn’t have a Christmas without that help. We kept a cupboard in the office stocked with food items, toiletries, diapers and other necessities…with money from our own pockets…for people who were in desperate need and had no means. We contributed food to the food banks and warm clothing and blankets to the homeless shelters and people living on the streets. Most of us kept a few dollars in change in our desks for people who didn’t have bus fare to get home. In a word…we all took our “jobs” and our obligation to the needy and the underprivileged very, very seriously.

I don’t know anyone who works for the government who doesn’t work their butt off day after day for the public good. What do they get in return? If they are lucky they get a living wage (and I don’t mean six figures). In addition, they are verbally abused by the press and the private sector in this vicious “us vs them” war that is being waged. Is it any wonder that government employees are reluctant to tell people what they do for a living?

This horrendous “What’s mine is mine and to hell with the rest of you.” attitude is truly what will ruin our country faster than anything else.

Back in La Cruz

2011-03-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

For all those inquiring minds who want to know...yep...we made it to La Cruz. Actually, after waiting 4 days in Chamela we left again and had a wonderful sail all the way here. The seas stayed 2-4 feet and the wind never got over 18 knots so we averaged over 6 knots of boat speed. After 20 hours we arrived at 5:30 am and between the overcast and the lack of a moon it was like being inside a black bag. The only safe choice was to motor out into the Bay and come back when it was light...so that is what we did.
Even in the short time we have been away from La Cruz, things have been changing. The beautiful Primavera trees are in full bloom all over town. Charlie's Place has closed down for good. The marina has many more boats in residence.
We started the procedure to renew our FM3's so we should have them in two weeks (at least that is what the guy at Immigration said). In the meantime, we have two whole weeks with NO big projects to do! Chris can rest his knee. We can socialize with friends. Linde & I can burn ourselves out on Baja Rummy. We can read, eat out, take naps and just plain be as lazy as we want. Ahhhh....
Today was market day in the park and that is always lots of fun. We began the day by having breakfast at the Huanacaxtle Bar & Grill. Breakfast is coffee, orange juice, sweet rolls, fresh fruit, eggs, beans and your choice of ham, sausage or chorizo. All that for the astounding price of 49 pesos (that would be less than $4 US). In addition, there was a great trio playing while we ate. Don't you just love Mexico?
After filling our bellies we took a tour of a house that is for sale that we have been eying for months. I was a bit disappointed at the inside (which was quite spartan) and the price was very high ($300,000 US...reduced from $500,000 US) given the fact that there will be high-rise condos built between the house and the marina in the next couple years. Still it has a great area on top of the garage that would make a wonderful palapa room.
Onward to the market which seems to grow every week and today it was more crowded than I have seen it. Here you can get everything from hot tamales to jewelry...flip flops to Huichol artwork...clothing to pottery. I made Chris wander past most of the tables but all I ended up buying was a loaf of fresh baked Italian bread and a container of home made Tzatziki. I might have purchased a new rug for the boat or some pretty earrings but there were so many people that I was feeling a little claustrophobic.
So...here we are back on the boat relaxing again. Chris is laying down, reading and staying off his knee. As soon as I finish this blog entry I plan to open a cold one and settle myself in the cockpit with my book. Tomorrow will be a big day. We are going to Puerto Vallarta to do a bit of shopping and, who knows, maybe we'll manage to get those haircuts we've been putting off. In the meantime, relaxation is the word of the day on "Faith".

Waiting

2011-02-25T10:33:00.000-08:00

Ten remain here now. When first we arrived there were five (including us) but there have been as many as fifteen. Hunkered down. Waiting. Making our way through the food and water we carry. Attempting to stay busy with entertainments even though most of our conscious thought is preoccupied with the weather. Some lower their dinghies and venture to shore but most don’t. Most are staying enclosed. Finishing up little projects. Doing the day-to-day chores. Reading books. Playing games. Watching movies. Putting a reef in the main. Getting everything ready and leaving only the smallest jobs to be done at the last minute…once the weather window opens. There is little radio contact between the boats. Mostly it is just comparing weather information. What they heard on the morning or evening net. How this one or that interpreted the grib files or weather websites. We all know first hand how nasty this leg can be. We all want to be safe. Have a comfortable passage. For me, the anxiety is raw as an open wound. Our previous attempt, four days ago, was wisely aborted. Uncomfortable and at times frightening. After that you tend to be more nervous about leaving a safe anchorage. Several have gone south (with the weather). Only three others have attempted the northbound challenge. One returned the next day. One had a very hard time and spent two days instead of one reaching his goal. The third…a macho uber-racer…must have made it as well but I’m sure the trip wasn’t much fun. Another opportunity seems to be presenting itself so all are preparing. Some will be leaving this afternoon. Others in the middle of the night. We have decided to wait for morning. Just to give the seas a few more hours to calm down. Hopefully it will be enough.

Chillin' in Chamela

2011-02-22T16:02:00.000-08:00

Okay…I think I am finally “over” beating myself up for being a wussie-pants and turning back last night. Chris has told me that it was the “right” decision and he is glad I made it.

We arrived in Chamela Saturday afternoon after a nice, day sail from Barra de Navidad. We had been watching the GRIBS (official weather documents that we get via the internet) and listening to weather reports and it appeared that Monday would be the best day to scoot around the infamous Cabo Corrientes and into La Cruz. In the meantime, we had a little time to enjoy this pretty little palm fringed bay and relax. Our friend, Dan, was already here and waiting for the same weather window. He planned to leave on Sunday so we had him over for dinner Saturday night to catch up.

Sunday Chris & I were having our morning coffee when we heard “Faith! Faith!” and came up into the cockpit as Steve on “Nautilus” circled us on his way in. He and two other boats had come down from La Cruz that night and were ready for a little socializing followed by a good night’s sleep. We all got together on “Cloud IX” for drinks and a wonderful dinner of Chili Rellenos, beans and rice prepared by Marta. As is always the case with cruisers, it didn’t take long for the conversation to turn to weather and their trip south. Mike, the local weather guru in Banderas Bay said if you were going south, Sunday was the only day to go as there is a big norther building up that will be here starting Monday. Then they told us that they’d had 30 knot winds coming around the Cape and were going very, very fast under reefed sails. OK…second thoughts about leaving on Monday!

Monday morning we pulled the GRIBS again and it looked do-able. The official prediction was for NW winds of 10-11 knots and seas of 3-4 feet at 15 second intervals. It would be uncomfortable but nothing we haven’t done before…and…it was supposed to calm down after dark. Cabo Corrientes is well known for nasty weather (as are most capes) so most people go around it sometime between 10pm and 10 am under the theory that that is when it is the calmest. We discussed the options and what we wanted to do (see friends who are in La Cruz…get started on renewing our FM3’s…get to Mazatlan to get Chris’ knee looked at…etc) and decided to go for it. Again…IF the weather had been as predicted it wouldn’t have been any worse than last year’s trip north.

We left Chamela at noon yesterday and had fairly benign conditions with wind about 10 knots (smack dab on the nose, of course…which means you can’t sail into it) and seas about 2 feet. We motored happily north looking for whales and other sea life. About 5:00 I made dinner before taking my 6pm watch. While I was cooking it was clear that things had really started picking up. The seas came up to 4 ft or so and were very confused (from more than one direction) and the wind was gradually building. By the time sunset rolled around at 7:00 we were into winds that were 25 knots and higher (still directly on the nose) and breaking seas that had built to 5-6 feet and were very close together. The boat would climb up to the top of one of these big waves and crash down into the trough, drenching the entire boat in saltwater. Clearly, conditions were worsening by the minute. This was VERY uncomfortable! My mind was churning. I kept reminding myself that “the boats can take it…it is just the people who are uncomfortable” and thinking about being tied up to a slip the next day. As we climbed to the top of another big one and slammed down on the other side our boat speed went down to 2 knots. At that point I decided that the experience was no longer meeting our #1 criteria…it was no longer fun! I knew that at that speed it would take 10 more hours of pounding just to get to the Cape and then we had another 6-8 hours to cross Banderas Bay. I broached the subject of turning back and Chris said he was fine with whatever we did but that it was my decision. Oh…the “joys” of being the “La Capitana”! After a few more minutes of bashing, as the last of the light was leaving the sky, I decided I just, plain didn’t feel like doing this all night long and around we went.

Once we turned south again the whole motion of the boat calmed right down. Poor Abby had been below…terrified…through all that bucking and pounding. We’d been down several times to pet her and talk to her but she was not happy with the situation and we couldn’t really do a lot to ease her stress with all that was going on and our own elevated stress levels. At any rate, once we turned around things changed dramatically. We were now going w-i-t-h the wind and the seas and even though the waves were still big and still breaking, we were surfing down the front instead of trying to go over the top. We averaged 7 knots on the return trip and by 1:30 am we were back in the anchorage with the hook down & set and ready for a good night’s sleep.

This morning Chris checked the GRIBS again and we’ll be listening to the nets regularly to get the very latest but at this point it looks like we will be here for at least a week. Oh well. I am willing to wait for a MUCH calmer passage! We loaded up on food, water and wine before we left Barra. We have movies (and a few more episodes of Boston Legal) to watch, games to play, internet access and tons of great reading material. The wind is up again but we are securely anchored in a beautiful spot. I’m happy. Chris is happy. Abby is happy. And this is a nice opportunity for Chris & I to just enjoy being “alone together” for a while. Life is good!

Position changes!

2011-02-15T12:24:00.000-08:00

Excitement abounds in the Barra de Navidad Lagoon today. A little land breeze came up this morning and the boats were off and running. The usual is for mornings to be quite calm and sometime in the afternoon the wind comes up from the west or northwest. It tends to funnel down the channel and it’s not unusual to see fairly high gusts between 2 and about 5. Then, after sunset, everything quiets back down again and we can get a good night’s sleep.

This morning when I woke up and looked out the ports to make sure we were in the same place, I noticed that a new boat had anchored slightly to port of us. It was a MacGregor 26 with no mast and looked vaguely familiar. Last year a similar boat had dragged around the anchorage (and was rescued) numerous times. Turns out it is the same boat and not much has changed.

We were busy today as Chris was running the morning net and we had ordered 100 gallons of water to be delivered at 10:00. Chris finished the net and Maria arrived right on time followed shortly by the French Baker with our morning croissants. We had just finished filling the water tanks and were sitting in the cockpit enjoying our pastries and the last cups of lukewarm coffee when I looked to port and realized the little MacGregor wasn’t in the same place. I asked Chris if I was imagining things (when it comes to dragging boats I tend to do that) but he confirmed that the boat was definitely on the move. Clearly, no one was aboard so Chris put out a call to the fleet and he and several others jumped in their dinghies and went to the rescue to secure the boat before it ran aground or hit someone else.

While all this excitement was going on, another, larger, boat to starboard of our starboard neighbor was also in the process of drifting. I could see the owner and our neighbor having a rather long discussion and finally the dragging boat pulled up his anchor and moved to a new (presumably more secure) spot.

Once the errant MacGregor was re-anchored, Chris was back and just finishing up his breakfast when another call came over the radio. This one was a larger boat with a deep (bulb) keel that the owner had just realized was aground. We have an exceptionally low tide today. There was much advice given over the radio, all to no avail, so Chris dinghied over to help the owner put out a second anchor abeam to, hopefully, keep the boat from tipping completely over. He was considering having a panga pull him out but the fleet advised strongly against this tack because of the possibility of damaging his rudder. As I write this, I can see the boat canted at an unnatural slant. I do hope the owners have decided to just relax and have a glass of wine while they wait for the tide to change.

While Chris was off helping the grounded boat, the radio came alive again. A large trawler was now dragging down on a 50’ sailboat and no one was aboard. Off went the dinghies once again! A couple people got aboard to see if they could start the engine (nope) or raise the anchor (fortunately there was very little chain out and they were able to raise it by hand). Meanwhile, the little inflatables worked like a group of tugboats moving the trawler to a better place in the anchorage. They then re-anchored the boat with much more chain out so he wouldn’t drag again.

This anchorage is well known for it's slippery-slidey bottom so those of us who have been here before know to follow a few simple procedures. 1) Always put out 100’ of chain…even though you are only in 10’ of water. 2) Always leave your key in the ignition and your windlass controls fully accessible. 3) Don’t leave your boat until you are absolutely sure your anchor is holding. 4) Take a VHF when you do leave and turn it on!

Even when you do everything just right, sometimes things just happen. Someone new may come in and drop his anchor on top of yours, unseating it. The wind may pipe up substantially from a new direction and swing the boat around so the anchor comes “un-stuck”. Those are only two of the myriad possibilities. Who knows…your boat might just decide it wants a change of scenery and it is time to go walkabout. Still…even though this anchorage is known as a place where anchors drag, it is a lovely spot to visit.

Fortunately, the world of cruisers is full of good Samaritans and you can always count on help when you need it. We are all in need of all the Kharma we can build up.

Dragging anchor seems to follow the same maxim “the boys” used to tell me about running aground on the Columbia River, “Its not IF you run aground…its WHEN.”

Jordan's Visit - Part Two

2011-02-12T09:45:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to believe but we are closing in on the last couple days of Jordan’s visit. We’re very sad to see him go and would keep him indefinitely but Michael & Gabrielle are flying home on Monday and we were able to get Jordan on the same flight. This means that he will have adults he knows to help him jump through the customs hoops in San Diego. He could probably negotiate it by himself but we will just feel better if he has help.

After Michael & Gabrielle arrived in La Cruz we hung around there for a few days so they could see a bit of the area and Jordan could work ahead on schoolwork before heading south. We had gotten a bit complacent about watching the weather so when we started thinking about leaving the dock we were surprised to learn that a gale was on its way down from the Sea. We either had to leave Saturday morning (the 29^th) or wait for who-knows-how-long until the weather passed. We opted to leave.

Saturday morning we were up early to finish the last minute chores and give the dog one last romp on the beach. After a stop at the fuel dock, we were on our way. It was a beautiful day with very little wind. Everyone was on alert for whales, dolphins, etc but there weren’t many about. As we got closer to Cabo Corrientes the swell got a bigger and closer together and some of the crew began to feel a little uncomfortable. Jordan and Gabrielle were both queasy so we gave them some Sturgeron and I made dinner in hopes that something in their stomachs would help. It worked for Jordan began to feel better but not for poor Gabrielle. I’m afraid she was pretty miserable for the rest of the trip.

Even though the passage was a bit lumpy, everything was pushing us from astern so it was a fast trip…just 22 hours. As we came into Tenacatita it looked like there were few boats in residence but the closer we got the more masts appeared. There were over 40 boats anchored and even though it is a large bay, we ended up close enough to the beach to hear the surf pounding all night. The weather from the north created some pretty big swells and with our history of unsuccessful surf landings we chose not to challenge the huge waves.

One day Michael & Gabrielle decided to take the dinghy in, anchor outside the breaking waves and swim to the beach. After they were ashore and had walked down the beach, Chris realized the dinghy was not anchored anymore. The swells were just too big for the amount of rode. The anchor unhooked itself and the dinghy was on its way to shore. He had Lewis (from the Merry Lee) take him over to pick it up and bring it back to the boat. When Michael & Gabrielle returned and the dink was gone they had a few moments of panic before realizing it was attached to the boat.

Jordan was able to do some fishing from the boat (though he didn’t catch anything big enough to eat) and drive the dink around the anchorage visiting the cruising friends he’d met during our stay in La Cruz.

The weather was predicted to change again so we decided to head on into Barra de Navidad where we’d have a nice, calm resting place. The original “plan” was to go to Las Hadas and Santiago but with the expected weather change they were both likely to be pretty rolly and we didn’t want to test the stomachs of our guests again.

Since we have been in Barra we have enjoyed showing everyone around this town as well as Melaque and La Manzanilla. We’ve spent time in the pool at the Sands, dined at most of our favorite restaurants, caught up with more of our other cruiser friends and, of course, everyone has enjoyed the daily visits from the French Baker.

Tomorrow we put the three of them on a bus to Puerto Vallarta where they will spend one night before flying back to rainy Portland. Chris & I will miss them all but, especially Jordan. Still…we are already planning his visit next year!

Nieto (grandson) Jordan...part one

2011-01-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

In our attempt to give our grandson, Jordan, a taste of Mexico that will leave him wanting more, we are doing our best to expose him to all sorts of experiences. So far it seems to be working.

Jordan is 14 and arrived here on January 11^th. This was his first ever airplane ride (Quote: “Flying is awesome!”). His first ever trip out of the States. His first extended trip away from home. Chris & I have wanted to have him visit us while we are in Mexico ever since we started this cruising thing in 2008 but until now it just couldn’t be done. This year Jordan is doing school on-line so the ability to “bring school along” made all the difference.

As soon as Jordan arrived we began indoctrinating into the wonders of Mexico. We are in La Cruz, which is a wonderful little town that is quiet, friendly and safe. There are no paved streets or traffic lights and is really pretty much the picture of a sleepy Mexican pueblo (village). Add to that the fact that the beach is mere steps from the boat and you see why we thought this was the perfect place to begin showing him around the country.

Since Chris & I have been here long enough to be used to some of the odd sights and sounds you encounter here, it is fun to see them again through new eyes. One of the things we hear often is “Boy, you'd never see that back home." This is applied to all sorts of everyday sights: a pickup truck with kids in the bed driving down the highway, a car stopping to wait while a little dog finishes pooping in the middle of the road, ATV’s being driven on the street, military personnel carrying large automatic weapons as they shop in Walmart, and so many more. Since they are under a system of Napoleonic law here (if you do something stupid and get hurt it isn’t someone else’s fault) there is not much in the way of litigation and there isn’t exactly a plethora of laws to “protect” people from one another (or themselves). In many ways it is like being transformed back to the 50’s in the States.

Another thing that we are having a great time with is introducing Jordan to many of the wonderful tastes of Mexico. He is a real fan of “hot” stuff so is pretty much our tester for salsas when we go out to eat. One of the nice things is that he is not like most 14-year-old boys and is extremely adventurous. His first meal here was pescado frito (fried fish). Of course, he thought this would be deep fried fish sticks just like in the States. Not so much! It is actually a whole red snapper that has been scored and fried on a grill. This is one of Chris’ favorite foods so he was delighted when Jordan dove right into it and loved it. We have taken him to fancy restaurants and street taco vendors and he consistently tries new things…so different from most teen aged kids. So far the only food he doesn’t care much for is jicama.

As you can imagine, keeping a 14-year-old from getting “bored” can be a bit of a project. So far I think we are doing pretty well. He can walk to the beach or town any time he wants. A week ago, Chris hired a panga to take the two of them out fishing and they had a great time and came back with 5 Sierra and a (very small) Grouper. It sounded like a good time was had by all and that evening we had our friends, Michael & Rene from Ahea Kali, over for fish dinner. We went to Sayulita for a day where we watched the surfers (and young girls in bikinis) and had lunch on the beach. Thursday our friends, Michael & Gabrielle from Portland, arrived for a two week visit and today they & Jordan are out zip-lining through the jungle like a pack of Tarzans.

Last week was the blessing of the fleet in Bucerias so we bused over there for brunch at a 2^nd story restaurant overlooking the beach. There was a parade, fireworks and the town was full of tourists and locals alike. The highlight, of course, was the pangas that come flying in through the surf and onto the beach. Even though Chris & I have witnessed these guys doing this it is still amazing…especially given our history of not-so-graceful surf landings in our dinghy. It was amazing to us that no one got run over since the beach was packed with people but these drivers are very, very good.

I must say that having Jordan with us has been a real pleasure. He is so grown up for his age and just delightful to be around. All our cruiser friends who have met him enjoy him immensely as well. One of the first things Chris did was teach Jordan to drive the dinghy and that has been a real hit. At first he was required to row the Walker Bay for 30 minutes to earn an hour of time on the inflatable but now that he has worked himself into position as chauffer and errand runner we’ve slacked off on the rowing requirement. He’s even been chauffeuring other cruisers around from time to time.

We will be leaving here Wednesday to head south so there will be lots of new experiences in store in the places we visit there. Stay tuned for further adventures.

Another Small Character Flaw?

2011-01-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I am a serious bibliophile (bibliophile: lover of books). Some might even call my affection for the printed word a bit of an obsession. I’m not afraid to admit it. I love books. I love to look at them, to hold them in my hands, to smell that inky odor of the printed page, and, especially, to read them. Nothing is as soothing to me as curling up with a good book and letting the world run without my influence.

When I had a house on dirt, every main room had at least one bookcase and all of them were tightly packed with books that had been or were waiting to be read. Moving onto the boat caused no little anguish on my part as I was forced to find homes for quite a number of my inanimate friends. Still…there is no shortage of reading material on the boat. At the moment there are around 150 books (not counting the reference books) in residence, most of which are as yet unread.

Bookstores have always been a real problem for me. I can spend days perusing the shelves for new items to add to my collection. Powell’s City of Books in Portland (OR) is a particular roadblock. The main store encompasses an entire city block and is several stories tall. They carry many thousands of new and used books and especially refreshing is that they emphasize non-main stream books. Walk into any Barnes & Noble or Borders and the same “best sellers” will be prominently displayed just inside the door and on tables throughout the stores. Powell’s is more likely to exhibit books that are written by obscure or local authors. Publications that the big box stores often don’t even carry. Not to say I shop there exclusively because no bookstore is exempt. It’s just that, since I love discovering new authors and their works, I am likely to be “stuck” in Powell’s for a much longer period of time.

I have to admit that I have a few odd “quirks” when it comes to my books. First of all, I don’t like junk. To me, romance novels, mysteries and many of the high profile “best seller” novels are unbelievable drivel. That is not to say I don’t enjoy the efforts of Stephen King, John Irving, Anne Rice or Barbara Kingsolver but, quite honestly, if I never read another Danielle Steele or James Patterson (who apparently is incapable of writing without a co-author) I will survive quite well. My preference is fiction but non-fiction, biographies, real life adventures and travel writing also have their appeal…as long as they are well written. If the author doesn’t give his/her reader credit for having some intelligence I’m not interested.

I also have a rather bizarre need to finish a book in the same pristine condition it was in when I first purchased it (except, of course, used books). This becomes a bit of a problem when friends borrow books as others often don’t have the same respect (obsession?). It just drives me nuts when I see people bending pages down, highlighting or making notes and breaking the backs of books. I know…it is a little crazy. I’m trying to quit.

During my younger days I was stuck hard in the belief that once begun a book must be finished…no matter how bad or boring it was. Finally…I have reached a turning point. It finally dawned on me that if the author was not able to ignite my interest in the first 50 or so pages it isn’t likely to happen so the book goes to the local exchange and I am on to something new.

So what, you may ask, have I read of late that is good? At the top of the list is “Shantaram” by Gregory David Roberts. It was a very long book (almost 1,000 thin pages with small print) and took two months for me to get through it but the writing is stunningly beautiful and the story is riveting. This is the author’s first book and there were many, many passages I re-read and shared with Chris because they were so beautifully written.

Well, that is the latest, except to say how blessed I feel to have found and married a man who is as hooked on reading as I am. Chris, though, has gone to the dark side and purchased a Kindle. It isn’t the same as a “real” book but he seems to enjoy it…except when the battery dies!

Spanish Lessons

2011-01-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

I am sooooo excited! I started a Spanish class yesterday and am finally learning how to actually make sentences!
I have been doing the Rosetta Stone thing for two years now and, between that and my "esposo" and just plain paying attention I've learned a lot of words. Words are helpful but, unfortunately, they do not conveniently place themselves at your disposal when you need them and they especially do not put themselves into proper sentences so that people can get a clue about what you are attempting to tell (or ask) them.
Since Chris speaks fluent Spanish he has become a very convenient crutch for me. Any time I don't understand what someone is trying to tell me he is there to interpret. Nice to know I have the help but not terribly conducive to actually l-e-a-r-n-i-n-g the language.
Philo's (one of the cruiser "hang outs" in La Cruz) has a language teacher (who speaks multiple languages) who gives Spanish lessons for a minimal donation to his charity fund. Philo is a huge philanthropist and has a great fund that he uses to help the needy in this community (and there are many). Andrea has many years experience in teaching languages but donates her time in exchange for a 50 peso donation (about $4 US) per class to Philo's fund as a way of giving back to the community she lives in as well. It is a win win for everyone.
So...just in the first class I learned all sorts of things I didn't know, not the least of which is how to correctly say "Hello" (it is different depending on the time of day and who you are talking to) "My name is..." and "good bye" (again...not just adios). I am so excited to think that MAYBE one of these days soon I will be able to have a real conversation with one of the people I say "hola" to every day and we will be able to actually understand each other.

Happy Holidays!

2011-01-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

Once again we are beginning a new year in La Cruz…one of the places we like to call “home”. We have finally gotten far enough south that we are seeing daytime temperatures in the 80’s and we were able to take one of the blankets off the bed at night. Whoo hoo!

Pat & Mary joined us in Mazatlan just before Christmas. Mary has flown down from Vancouver (WA) to spend the holidays with us for the past 3 years but this was Pat’s first trip. If she’s not having a great time it isn’t for lack of trying. We’re doing our best to show off “our little corner of the world”. Christmas in Mazatlan was lovely but the highlight was the cruiser’s dinner/dock party complete with turkey and all the trimmings. Bonnie (S/V Murray Grey), Janet (S/V Optical Illusion) and Fran (S/V Gosling) prepared the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy while the rest of us brought salads, sides and desserts. Jean-Guy (Fran’s hubby) even provided a tub of “Moose Milk”. He says this is a traditional Christmas drink in Canada. I don’t know what was in it but it was smooth and delicious and definitely alcoholic. About 25 cruisers from the U.S. and Canada were there so plenty of story swapping, future plan sharing and good wishes were happening.

The day after Christmas we all got busy washing and cleaning the boat, filling the water tanks and getting things organized and tied down for the trip to La Cruz. We were finished by noon-ish so grabbed the Mexican Train game and headed for Gus y Gus, the restaurant at the top of the ramp, for lunch and Margaritas. Margaritas and Mexican Train can easily be a lethal combination but hey…the sun was shining…we were wearing shorts…the work was done…and we could walk home.

Next morning we cast off and headed out into nice, calm seas and light wind to make our way to La Cruz. It is a passage of about 30 hours and we set up a watch schedule where Chris & I would each stand 3 hour watches with Pat and Mary sharing a 2 hour period in the middle. The trip went well and we had lots of entertainment on the way. Not long after we left Mazatlan a large pod of dolphins came and swam with us for a good 30 minutes. Mary & I sat on the bow watching as they did their synchronized swimming routine back and forth under and around the bow. There were probably 20 or so in the group and it appeared to be mostly moms & babies as there were lots of “kids” playing. A little later we had our first whale sighting and it turned out to be a Gray. This was the first Gray I’ve seen and it was quite close to the boat so was pretty exciting.

The night was, thankfully, quiet and uneventful and morning brought glassy seas and no wind again so we kept on motoring all the way to Punta de Mita (an anchorage in the NW corner of Bahia de Banderas). If it weren’t for the critters it would have been a bit boring but they showed up and kept us entertained for most of the trip. The Manta Rays were busy doing back flips and acrobatics while the Bat Rays would just swim lazily past the boat with just their wingtips showing. The girls thought they were seeing shark fins until we made them look closer and they could make out the entire diamond shape of the rays. Lots of sea turtles were seen bobbing past (we stopped counting at 15), many of them with birds resting on their shells. It is great to see the turtles coming back, especially after having the opportunity to release some of the babies last year. As we got closer we got to Banderas Bay, we began to see the amazing Humpback Whales who come here every year to calve and breed. I was thrilled to see my first full breech and there was plenty of other surfacing and slapping the water with those big fins they have to keep us on alert.

We arrived in Punta de Mita about 4pm, anchored, opened a bottle of wine and threw some chicken on the barbeque while we watched a beautiful sunset. Following dinner we were on to another rousing game of Mexican Train. Mary suggested a “tournament” when they first arrived so that is what we are doing…so far I am in the lead. About halfway through the game we heard a “Pan Pan” on the radio. This means someone is in trouble and needs help. It turned out that a boat that was about ½ mile from shore had an engine that wasn’t working and there was no wind so he couldn’t sail. He was understandably worried about running aground. Chris & I launched the dinghy and went out to try to find him. I must admit it is kind of scary being that far from land in a dinghy at night but we knew if we were in his position we’d want someone to help us. We never did locate him but were in radio contact continuously until a panga from La Cruz found him and towed him in. He said he was very thankful just knowing someone was out there. Coming back into the anchorage we discovered that it is trickier than one would think to find your boat with a backdrop of big resorts all lit up on shore. We told Pat & Mary to turn on all the lights and stand on the bow waving flashlights and that did the trick. The new LED running lights, in particular, are so much brighter that they were a big help.

Next morning we were up early to scoot around the corner to La Cruz and by 10am we were in our slip. The girls have 3 more days and we intend to keep them busy. Today they off on a “booze cruise”!

First Passage

2010-12-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

12/13/2010

As I begin this missive about our first passage of the season, we are about 25 miles off shore and about 70 miles from our destination. Once again we have gone “too fast” (when you are speaking of sailboats this is an oxymoron) so instead of trying to negotiate the dicey little entrance at Mazatlan in the dark we have decided to heave to and bob around for a few hours. We can have a leisurely dinner, catch a short nap, watch a couple episodes of Boston Legal and arrive after sunrise tomorrow.

This has been an interesting trip, and not just because we have a dog on board, although that has certainly been a new factor.

When we backed out of the slip in San Carlos Saturday morning Abby was in the cockpit saying good bye to “Auntie Linde” and “Uncle Ken” from “Rosebud” and wagging her tail at the novelty of having her house moving. It was a beautiful, calm sunny morning and Abby’s nose and ears were working overtime to take in all the sights and sounds passing by. A few hours out of San Carlos we finally had enough breeze to unfurl the jib. The seas were a nice, comfortable 1-2 ft and we romped along at 6 knots as all of us began to ease into our sea legs. As the day went on, Abby began to realize there was nothing but water around the boat and began to do a lot of pacing in the cockpit. When the sun set and it was full dark she decided she’d had quite enough of this adventure and was on her way over the side. Fortunately, she (like us) was on a tether. At that point she went below and that is where she has stayed until today. She may have had a bit of Mal de Mar or just been afraid but she parked herself on the settee (where I sleep when we’re underway) and did not move for two days. I can’t say I blame her.

After dark on Saturday, the wind started picking up and the seas followed suit. Before long we were rolling through 3-4 ft swells and surfing down good sized breaking waves. I have always said that I don’t know which I like less, daytime when I can see what is coming or night time when I can’t, but it was definitely a little un-nerving for my first night in many months. The waves would come up on the starboard quarter and lift “Faith’s” stern like a huge hand. As it rolled under us, the boat would, quite literally, surf down the face and we’d see speeds of 8, 9 and even over 10 knots from that push. I must say, I decided to be exceptionally grateful that we have a center cockpit. I can’t even count the times we could easily have been “pooped” (this is when waves break over the stern and into the cockpit…where you are sitting) if we had an aft cockpit. Chris had checked the gribs (weather predictions received via internet or single sideband) for several days before we left so we knew the wind would likely stay around 10-15 knots until late Monday. What I had forgotten was the seas build as the wind continues to blow. They were following (coming from behind) so it wasn’t uncomfortable but, for my “warm up run” (as we used to say in skiing) I had more hoped for glassy water. Sigh…

We stand 3 hour watches and, once again, I managed to get the “last watch before sunrise” which is my least favorite. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will continue to draw that watch until it is no longer my least favorite but I shall continue to complain about it. My 10pm-1am watch brought a beautiful half moon that didn’t set until after midnight, and when it did, it would turn on its side like huge, orange smile and slide slowly into the Sea. It was every bit as dramatic as the sunsets at sea are.

Both of us have suffered from the cold. The long underwear was left behind in the storage unit since we just knew we wouldn’t need them anymore. Hah! My ensemble for night watches has consisted of the only pair of jeans I have on board, a t-shirt, 2 sweatshirts and a fleece lined windbreaker. Since the knit hat I had on the trip down the Oregon coast is also in the storage unit I was thankful that one of the sweatshirts has a hood! It certainly isn’t as cold as the original trip down from Portland but, with the newly thinned blood we have acquired, it was plenty uncomfortable.

About 10:00 this morning the temperature dropped noticeably and shortly thereafter we found ourselves in a fog bank. Good grief. Fog in Mexico is not unheard of but exceptionally rare this time of year. It is also one of my least favorite things. On went the radar. Aha! There they were! Numerous shrimp boats just lurking about and waiting for night time to sneak out and surprise us!

Once the fog burned off we have been treated to a beautiful day with flat water, no wind and the occasional sea animal (I saw a whale and Chris has seen dolphins) to break the monotony. Abby is feeling better. She ate a little something, spent some time in the cockpit and has hauled almost all her toys out and made us play “fetch the obnoxious squeaky toy” with her. She doesn’t know it yet but tomorrow she will get to go for a walk in a new place where there are lots of cats and iguanas to get excited about.

Time to leave...already?

2010-12-15T12:23:00.000-08:00

12/10/2010

It’s getting busy around here. We’ve been in San Carlos for over a month now and are getting anxious to be on our way. So are others. Some have overstayed to get their FM3’s, others to resolve newly found boat issues. We have been here this long mostly because it was cheaper to purchase a month of moorage than it was two weeks. But…that said…We are not the first to admit that we have enjoyed the luxury of putting the boat together at a more leisurely pace than in past years. Getting the boat ready to live and cruise on after its been on the hard for 5 months is not an easy job, especially given the fact that we are both over 60. Somehow it seems like each year the sails get heavier, the engine room gets smaller, the ladder gets higher and our joints get noisier. We’ve also both had to get through a nasty flu bug that was followed closely by head colds.

Still, San Carlos isn’t exactly the worst place in the world to just hang out for a while. Especially when we have a lot of friends, old and new, to socialize with, a dog who needs to learn how to live on a boat and a number of new eating establishments that must be investigated.

Tomorrow morning it is our turn to begin this year’s sojourn. It is cooling off by the day here and we’ve even had to purchase a small space heater to keep the chill off at night so it is clearly time to get south. Next stop will be Mazatlan…a 3+ day trip. It looks like we’ll have good weather but it is still a long passage to begin the season with. Personally, my preference is short hops. You know…day trips! Alas, there are just places you can’t get to that way. Besides, Christmas is fast approaching and we really must be in Mazatlan before the guests from Vancouver to share the holiday with us.

Stay tuned for further adventures of the good ship “Faith”, her dedicated crew and the soon-to-be-salty sea dog, Abby!

What would I do if I couldn't cruise anymore?

2010-11-17T16:03:00.000-08:00

I really love cruising…both land and water, but especially water. It is an immense freedom to carry your entire household with you no matter where you go and not be rooted in one particular spot.

When I sold my house to buy “Faith” it was much more difficult than I had anticipated. For so many years I had dreamed of ‘selling the house and the stuff and sailing off into the sunset’ that I was taken quite by surprise at the emotional distress I suffered when it came right down to the act of giving up my cute little house and most everything I had accumulated in the previous 20 years of living. I had carved myself a very comfortable little niche and, even though I wanted very much to go cruising, it was a niche I felt great trepidation about leaving. Every dream, though, has its price. Since I couldn’t afford both a house and a large cruising boat it was imperative to shake off the chains of dirt living. If I didn’t, I would forever be doomed to the land of “what if…” and “I wish I’d…”

As I begin my third year of gypsy living, my occasional musing comes down to “what would I do if I couldn’t do this anymore? I don’t think I could ever go back to a “normal” lifestyle. There are pieces and parts of this style of living that are pretty difficult. Putting the boat “to bed” for a summer in dry storage and then putting it back together in the fall so we can leave requires a tremendous amount of hard work and it is usually fairly hot here in Mexico so that adds to the equation. Still, the rewards of seeing new places, meeting new people and enjoying some incredibly beautiful moments in life makes it all worth it.

Chris & I have begun a discussion during the past year about what we would do if we became physically unable to keep cruising. Anyone who sails knows that it is an activity that requires a fair amount of physical strength and coordination. Thus far we are still capable, but now that we are both over 60 we must face the fact that “something” could happen to one or both of us that would leave us in a much different position.

We have seriously evaluated a number of small Mexican towns that are particular favorites of ours and discussed finding a nice little palapa of our own in one…maybe with a smaller day-sailer close by. The down side is that it would mean we’d be in one place most of the time. Over the past couple years we have discovered that, while we both love being able to stay in one spot for a while, after a few weeks the “itchy-feet virus” seems to hit pretty hard and pretty soon one or the other is suggesting a new destination only to discover that the other person was just thinking that same thing.

We have also talked of getting a trawler (power boat) in order to continue cruising. Many of our friends have done just that. They are still living on the water and going where they want but it involves much less stress on your body. The down side is that trawlers are generally quite a bit more expensive to purchase and run.

Another option that has been discussed is getting a larger travel trailer or RV and just doing our traveling on land. That, too, is much more expensive than water cruising but still brings some wonderful rewards. The down side is that, as we’ve discovered, people who RV aren’t nearly as open and friendly as those who cruise on water (except, of course, for Canadians who have to be some of the nicest, friendliest people on the face of the earth). Nothing personal against RVer’s. It has just been our experience (at least in the U.S.) that they seem to stay in their own little plot and don’t really enjoy the camaraderie that cruisers do.

Just as an aside, we have some ideas why that might be true. First of all, cruisers don’t tend to have TV so they spend a lot of time together socializing, playing games, helping the local communities and each other, exploring (mostly on foot or by bus) etc. Secondly, water cruisers have a morning net wherever they go. Each day the cruisers who are in residence in a particular place come together via the radio to address possible medical emergencies, welcome newcomers, say goodbye to those who are leaving, exchange information about needed parts & repairs, find out about the weather (this is BIG when you are traveling by sailboat), learn about social events, trade things, and just generally get acquainted and help each other. That’s something the RVer’s don ‘t have. Also, all the cruisers understand that anything can happen when you’re “out there” (as Captain Ron said) and while we are all truly on our own, we are also truly all together. If ever someone is overdue or has an emergency, the entire community is on alert and ready to step in with whatever help they can provide, so, as a group they tend to become very connected, very fast.

So…what would we do if we couldn’t do this anymore? Well, I honestly don’t know for sure, but I’ll bet we’d find some way to stay on the water from time to time and continue traveling. The one thing I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t do is sit and vegetate.

It's Still Camping!

2010-11-15T07:15:00.000-08:00

OK. For the longest time I thought that restroom facilities in marinas were the iffy-ist you could find but I stand corrected. RV parks have it all over marinas. During our travels this season Chris & I have begun to judge RV parks by their restroom facilities and, quite honestly, it boggles the mind what some people consider adequate. They run the gamut from “rustic-doesn’t-even-come-close” to luxurious 5-star-hotel-ish accommodations. As a woman who has never been a big “camper”, one of the aspects of traveling as a way of life I’ve had to get accustomed to is the fact that you are almost always using someone else’s bathroom. I have friends who always shower in their RV’s or on their boats but taking a shower in a closet where every cup of water must be rationed and the amount of hot water available is minuscule is something I prefer to do only when necessary. I don’t mind as much on the boat since the trade offs make it worth the slightly more primitive lifestyle, but, somehow, it seems to me that when you are staying in a land based “mini-town” I tend to expect a bit more in creature comforts.

So…on to the facilities: The park we stayed at for much of the summer had lovely showers. There were two buildings…a small one in the front (with one shower) for the “transients” and another at the back of the park for “long termers”. This second building had 5 showers in it. Each was a separate small room with a locking door, a shelf for your “bag of accouterments” and a couple hooks for towel, clothes, etc. The shower curtain was large enough to cover the entire shower entry (so the water stayed inside the stall), there were shelves inside for shampoo, etc., and there was ALWAYS hot water. In the main restroom area there was a large sink/countertop and mirror with 3 sinks and 3 outlets. Perfect. These people know how to run an RV park!

This summer we discovered state and federal parks where camping is available. There is good and bad to this. The good is that these are usually beautiful spots that are well maintained. There are camp hosts to provide guidance and do general cleanup and the park rangers make sure “rowdies” don’t disturb everyone else or cause a nuisance. Restrooms…well, sometimes they are wonderful and sometimes they are what you would expect at a campground. One place we stayed was in a lovely old growth forest at the edge of a lake. It was a beautiful, peaceful place and we would have been happy to stay longer if we’d had the time. The one thing I did balk at was, after paying over $30/night, the showers still required quarters. Another very nice state park had free showers but they were in a building open to the elements. Oh, they had doors and were private enough, but with cement floors and no heat it was a challenge getting naked and waiting for the water to heat up. This would have been fine in Arizona but Oregon is an entirely different climate zone…even in the “heat” of the summer!

One of the RV parks we pulled into in Arizona looked fine from the outside but the restrooms were brutally backward. There were clearly a number of “liveaboards” in this park so I was shocked at the facilities. The women’s room had a door that stayed open all the time and anyone walking past looked directly into the shower area which was only hidden by a very old, nasty, torn shower curtain. Beyond that there were 2 stalls…only one of which had a shower head and that was so low it hit me about tit level (too graphic?) so hair washing was a real trick. This restroom had two toilets but neither door had a latch and the sink did not work. Mind you, the nightly cost was higher than a number of better parks that we stayed at.

We found a real gem in, of all places, Bakersfield, CA. The park itself was beautifully laid out with nice, wide, paved driveways, level spaces, a strip of grass and picnic table for everyone and the cost was less than most. And the restrooms were amazing! The shower facilities were totally separate from the bathrooms and each of the 5 or 6 showers were beautifully tiled, had a locking door on the outside and a glass door on the shower stall. There was room to put a bag, hooks, shelves in the shower, unlimited hot water and a shower head that delivered lots of water above my head! The large vanity area was at the far end of the room and separated by a partial wall that kept the mirror from fogging up from steam. And it was impeccably clean.

We have begun keeping notes on the good, the “OK for one night” and the awful for future reference. Suffice it to say that part of the “experience” of traveling seems to be the unknown challenges one will face at the end of a long day of driving when you make that first walk to the shower to wash the stress and dust off.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Trip

2010-10-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

Last stop on our way south. Tomorrow we will be sleeping in San Carlos and getting ready to morph back into our water-people selves.

We have been busy, busy, busy finishing up that “to do” list in San Diego and here, in Tucson and I think we have finally reached the end of it. Although...Rosie just posted on Facebook that she was eating those mini Hershey bars on night watch and now I’m thinking that sounds like a great idea so I think we’ll pick some up before we leave here!

In between all the shopping and visiting, we did manage to get in a day of just plain touristy fun by taking in the Sonora Desert Museum here. It is an amazing place and, even with my snake phobia, I enjoyed walking around on the pathways through all the cacti and succulents and getting a chance to see some of the flora and fauna close up. They have quite a few animal exhibits there and we took most in but as the day wore on (and got hotter) we decided to return again another time to see the Javelinas rather than walk another long and winding road to their enclosures.

First thing…right off the bat…of course…Chris had to take me to see the snakes-behind-glass. Eww. I HATE snakes!! I dutifully looked at them all and then decided that, in addition to the run-of-the-mill rattlers I now had to worry about walking under bushes where a vine snake might be waiting to drop onto me. Sheesh. Well, just when I thought we were done with the snakes, we walked around the corner and there was a woman HOLDING a snake. My cue to exit the building, which I did. Chris insisted it was “just” a King Snake but, again, I have no interest in getting close to slithery reptiles.

Once out of that building we ran into a docent who told us all about the cute little Kangaroo Rat she had in a cage and then another that had a tiny Raptor on her hand. From there we wandered through the desert and just about the time I’d start to get tired of seeing cactus and watching for rattlesnakes we’d come upon an animal enclosure. The Bighorn Sheep were very stinky but the head guy in charge posed and I got a perfect shot of him. The Mexican Wolves were beautiful and appeared to be very well fed. We saw a Bobcat foot hanging down from a crevasse but the kitty himself was apparently snoozing. I love the little Prairie Dogs. They are so cute and they chirp almost like a bird. The Ocelot and the Coatimundi were hiding but the Desert Tortoise was stretching and enjoying the hot sun.

There are so many different kinds of cacti I can’t believe it but I think my favorites are the Saguaro and the Cholla (aka Jumping) Cactus. The Desert Museum is right in the middle of the Saguaro National Park so the drive there gives you the opportunity to see lots of them. I was surprised to find out that there are also a number of different kinds of Agave plants...one real stunner is the Queen Victoria's Agave. I also didn't know that the Century Plant is an Agave that only blooms once (at about 15 years of age) and when the bloom dies the entire plant goes with it.

The Museum has two walk-in aviaries which were great fun…especially the one that is specifically for Hummingbirds. I must have taken 50 pictures but those little devils are so fast that I could only catch them when they were sitting still…which they actually do more often than I’d have thought. There was a Parrot in the general aviary that was just sitting in a tree muttering to himself the whole time we were there. I wonder if he was someone's pet at one time and now misses the conversation.

One of the very cool things they do is they have a Raptor Free Flight twice a day where they release several breeds of birds of prey and give a talk about each bird’s characteristics while the audience gets to see them hunting in the wild. Chris & I were watching from a viewing station on top of a small building and a Gray Hawk landed on the roof in front of us. It was a beautiful bird and just as I snapped a picture of it, it went tip toeing across the roof and the photo shows that. Whoo hoo!

As we walked past the River Otter enclosure we came upon a beautiful grouping of flowers that were alive with butterflies. I have no idea what species they were but they were all busy slurping up the nectar and didn't seem to mind having their pictures taken though, like the Hummingbirds, it was hard to catch them fully extended.

We went early and by 2:00 we were ready to head for lunch and a beer. Our old joints were beginning to talk pretty loudly to us. I do hope we get a chance to go back next year as there is still a lot to see. I recommend it if you are going through Tucson, but go in the morning before it gets cooking hot!

New Kid on the Block

2010-10-21T17:05:00.000-07:00

Meet Abby…the newest member of our family! Yes. Chris finally relented and the transformation has been very interesting.

If you don’t already know, I spent almost 30 years of my “other life” (before sailing) raising and showing dogs. I began with Cocker Spaniels and gradually switched to Pugs. My daughter got into Italian Greyhounds and between the two of us we usually had somewhere around a half dozen 4-legged “kids” running around the house at any given time. During those years Amanda and I finished quite a few Champions and earned numerous obedience degrees with the dogs. Most of our spare time was spent grooming, training, raising puppies, driving to/from shows and exhibiting. It was all fun and we spent a lot of quality time together. Amanda still has a houseful of dogs but after my divorce, I began to develop new interests (skiing, travel, sailing and dating among others) and I gradually got out of the dog biz. I worked my way down to just two house pets but never thought I’d be without a dog. In 2005 the last of my homebred Pugs died and all I had left was one rescue Pug who was fun and good company. When I bought “Faith” in 2006 and moved aboard, the marina didn’t allow dogs so I had to find Louis a new home. Over the past 4 years it has been pretty nice not having to think about anyone but myself (and Chris) when making plans but still…I have had to get my tail wags and slobbery kisses from OPD’s (other people’s dogs.

During the past two years I have been sort of babbling about wanting to get a dog but Chris has consistently reminded me of the difficulties inherent in our lifestyle. Still…other people on boats have dogs and seem to manage OK. Being the ex-breeder that I am, I knew Pugs would have some trouble with the heat in Mexico (although I’ve met several who live on boats there and seem to be fine) so I began researching other breeds for compatibility. It looked like a Chihuahua or Papillion would fit the bill nicely and began the discussion. Chris never said “no” but he was always reminding me of the difficulties a dog would present.

I wasn’t seriously looking for a dog but every so often this summer I’d check out a breeder or rescue service. Oddly, Chris was regularly looking at and sharing photos of rescue Chihuahuas that were available! Clearly he was warming up to the idea.

When we were in Sutherlin (OR) I found “her”. A darling Chihuahua mix named “Chi Chi” who was in the shelter in Ashland. From her photos she looked like she had great attitude and we decided to stop and check her out, knowing full well that she would likely be going home with us. Well…not so much. “Chi Chi” was cute alright but she was much too afraid of everything. The staff warned that she’d been a stray and had taken 3 months to catch. They felt that if she was ever off lead she would bolt and I agreed. However, on our way in from the parking lot, we had met a darling pup who had just become available so we asked to see her. The staff brought her in and it was all over.

Abby couldn’t come home with us until she’d been spayed so we had two days to begin gathering all the necessary paraphernalia. Was I ever surprised when Chris said, "This (having to wait) is worse than Christmas!" Mr "a dog will be too much trouble" was sooo excited. When we picked her up at the vet’s office she was very quiet and, aside from a short visit with the “Rosebud” clan, she just wanted to sleep. The next day we began to see an occasional tail wag. It’s been all positive from there.

Abby has been with us for 9 days now and she’s a member of the family at this point. She is pretty, she has attitude and she’s very smart. She is pretty much housetrained at this point and will wake us up if she needs out at night. She has adjusted well to all the traveling (and we have been on the road over half the time she has lived with us) and doesn’t seem to be distressed when we start packing up to leave…probably because she knows the house will be there when we arrive. She has learned “sit” and “wait” and is working on “down” and Chris is beginning to work on tricks (oh boy). Next hurdle will be living on a boat.

Stay tuned!

Musing

2010-10-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful trip south this has been so far. We’ve camped in old growth forest, where the only noise you hear is the soughing of the wind through the trees. We’ve stayed at the beach where we were 10 steps from toes in sand and crashing ocean waves. We’ve camped beside a pristine lake with rolling hills, glorious sunrises and sunsets and good friends close by. We’ve meandered through the redwoods imagining ourselves in movies with Ewoks and dinosaurs. I hated to leave the coast route that twists and turns through Oregon and California behind and head over to I-5 again but, alas, all good things must come to an end and our lazy, “no schedule” leg means it is now time to make some time.

Here is the big surprise. While the secondary (?) roads in California are in great shape (albeit narrow and twisty) the same can’t be said for I-5. After a day on that thoroughfare my insides feel as if they have been in a blender. It is clear that the infrastructure of this beautiful state (and, yes, a good deal of California is quite beautiful) is suffering severely from the current economic crisis. They are not unlike other states that are struggling to keep things going but the roads have clearly taken a big portion of the “hit” when the budget got cut.

Eureka was a big surprise to me. We’d stopped there on our way southbound in ’08 but with no ground transportation we couldn’t leave the marina so I don’t know what the town looked like at that time. What it looks like now is, basically, sad. It is easy to see that most of the businesses are hanging on by their fingertips as even the buildings look unkempt and neglected. This is an old town filled with beautiful old homes with lots of gingerbread and unique features but so many are in need of painting and maintenance. And then there is the large number of homeless people wandering the streets and going through dumpsters. It only takes one look to see that many have never been in this situation before. They look dazed and shell shocked and overwhelmed with hopelessness. If California is anything like Washington, the Social Services are also being cut and cut and cut so they probably aren’t getting much help from that program either. From the outside, Eureka seems to be sort of a microcosm of the problems that are happening all over country these days.

OK…I think this has gotten a little too melancholy so I will move along. I just can’t help but be thankful that we are able to live the life we do. Chris and I are by no means wealthy, and it costs us much more to live when we are in the States than when we are in Mexico, but we still have all the necessities of life. And we have our health. Too many of our friends and family are struggling with serious medical issues and all we can do is pray for them, hold them close in our hearts, and be thankful for what we have.

Only one of the reasons we keep on cruising:

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/10/16/1330911/pismo-fatality-freeway-pedestrian.html

Life is so very short and none of us knows how much time we are allotted. Please take the time to do something that pleases you every day. Take a trip to a place you’ve always wanted to see…make cookies with a grandchild…call in sick and spend a day doing whatever you want…connect with an old friend…or just sit and watch a beautiful sunset. Life is a gift…use it wisely. And never forget to tell the people in your life you love them.

Crater Lake

2010-10-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

We’ve been on a rather zig-zaggy course since we left Vancouver and, thus far, have only managed to cover about 160 miles since the 29^th because of the slow pace but its been heaven being able to just stop or take detours whenever we want without a deadline looming.

We arrived in Sutherlin on Thursday after a beautiful drive down a “new” back road. We saw tons of Elk and came close to running out of gas but what is life worth without a little excitement? After getting the trailer set up Chris & I met my daughter, Amanda, and her husband and boys for dinner. We had a nice visit but it was a weeknight and Amanda had been working 6-10’s of late so we made it an early night. It turned out that Anthony, my grandson, had no school on Friday so we decided to take him to Crater Lake the next day. The original plan was to drive up there after we’d left Sutherlin but this seemed like more fun. We are nothing if not flexible!

We picked Anthony up at 9:30 and were off. The drive to the top takes about 1-1/2 hours and Anthony kept us entertained with a running commentary about football. This is his year of playing and he is clearly having fun. He plays both offense and defense so is on the field throughout most of the games. Of late he’s been watching Sports Talk so he was able to bring us up to date on how all the teams are doing this year, which players have been traded to which teams and the whole lowdown. Mind you, Chris & I have little or no interest in football so we got a good education. Fortunately, Chris has some knowledge of the principle players and teams so he was able to keep up our side of the dialog.

The drive up to Crater Lake follows the North Umpqua River and meanders through farmland and forest in fairly equal parts. In a word, it is a gorgeous drive. This River is strewn with boulders and rapids abound so there are few places where one can imagine even a raft safely navigating. We saw no one fishing from boats but quite a few men in waders were readying their fly fishing gear for the day.

At about the 6500 ft level the trees became much sparser and we found ourselves driving through a moonlike terrain that is quite beautiful. This is the “Pumice Desert”. It consists of rolling hills that are covered with pale reddish colored pumice. A few clumps of trees stand here and there but, clearly, nothing much grows in pumice.

As we approached the first viewpoint, we passed a sign I couldn’t resist photographing. I have long been a fan of the Darwin Awards but this really brings it all home. The big red “DANGER”, followed by “Falling Will Cause Injury or Death Stay Back From Cliff Edges” says it all. It is hard to believe that people can be that stupid but, of course, some of them are.

Our first glimpse of the Lake nearly took our breath away. It is close to impossible to find words that adequately describe this gorgeous place so I will just leave it to the photos. I was stunned to learn that the Lake was first discovered by gold miners back in the 1800’s. I wonder if any of them fell over the edge?

There are no native fish in the Lake but over the years 6 different varieties have been introduced and two types (Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon) still live in the cold water. Because they are not indigenous, fishing is encouraged and there are no limits. The only restriction is that no live bait may be used. Chris is an avid fisherman so before we left town he dug out his new pole and purchased some lures in anticipation of showing his new grandson the ropes. Turns out there is only one place you can actually get to the water and that entails a hike down a trail with a 700 ft elevation drop. As the brochure clearly states, coming back up is like climbing 65 flights of stairs. This is at an elevation of 7,000 ft where walking across a level parking lot can leave you panting like an asthmatic during haying season. Having done my share of skiing, I was pretty clear about what the hike and the climate would be like so I brought a book along. Thus armed I would be able to wuss out and sit in the car while “the boys” were off bonding. They never even contemplated that trail. Five minutes of standing in the viewing area with that cold breeze burrowing down inside their sweatshirts and they quickly decided a trip to the gift shop and lunch in the lodge was a better idea.

We had a great day and deposited Anthony safely home with plenty of time to back to the RV park and pay for another night. Next morning we were sitting at the 50 yard line watching 9/10 year olds playing football. I hadn’t been to a game since my kids were little and I’d forgotten how much fun it can be (when its not raining or snowing) to watch these intense young players. Anthony’s team won with a score of 7-0 and he and he and Amanda were both happy that we had stuck around to be there. Well…who wouldn’t? I think it is in the “Book of Rules for Grandmas and Grandpas”, isn’t it?

Travelin' On

2010-10-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

It’s that time of year again and we have begun the annual southward migration back to the boat. I know she is patiently awaiting our arrival and anxious to get back into the water. We left Vancouver September 29^th and this year we are taking the scenic route. In addition to the numerous stops on the list to visit friends and relatives, there are some new places we’d like to see as well. Besides, the weather in Mexico is still pretty warm so we aren’t in a big hurry to get into that. Our first stop was Astoria, just because. We spent so much time there in ’08 waiting for the bar conditions to be conducive to crossing that it was like revisiting an old haunt. It was awfully nice, though, knowing that all we had to do was climb into the truck and drive instead of heading out into the cold, intimidating Pacific this time.

Driving the coast route is a wonderful choice in this part of the world. The scenery runs the gamut between deep forest and breathtaking ocean views. Coastal towns of grayed shake buildings that huddle together in small inlets, atop shifting sands or perched high up on sheer cliffs with waves crashing at the bottom are interspersed often enough that there is little chance of driving too fast and missing the view.

A few miles down the road, in Seaside, we stopped for a couple days to spend some time with our friends, Rod and Debo. We had a nice visit, did a little shopping and walked the spectacular beach that goes forever. In this area the powdery sand and row upon row of frothy breakers seem to go on forever. The day we arrived the tide was way out and we walked for what seemed like miles looking for a whole sand dollar to take home. Alas, between the number of people who scour the beach for treasures and the sea gulls who eat the animals inside, all we found were halves and pieces.

After two days in Seaside it was on to Pacific City…about 50 miles farther south…and a much different beach. This tiny place is off the well used path (hwy 101) but is worth taking the bumpy ride to get there. Again, the sand is soft and fine, but here the waves pound around a rocky outcropping and onto a somewhat sheltered beach area. Holding court in the middle of this area is Haystack Rock. Here is where dorymen have launched and landed their boats since 1927. There were no dories working while we were there so I purchased a CD and Chris & I were appropriately impressed with their daring as they row over and through huge breaking waves. It brought back a few memories of Astoria bar crossings caught on tape…scary! This beach is also a big favorite with surfers and it was fun to sit in the brewpub on the beach watching the breakers and the surfers while we enjoyed the excellent food and beer. The trailer was just a short walk across the street so no worries about driving.

Yesterday we continued the drive to Florence and in and it is such a beautiful drive along the coast road. The highway is mostly lined with beautiful evergreens but regularly opens to spectacular views of the Pacific and miles and miles of beautiful beaches.

Today we are in one of Oregon’s beautiful state parks, snuggled down in the trees, waiting for the coffee to finish perking and just beginning to move around a bit. This state has wonderful camping available (for RV’s as well as tent campers) in most of their parks and most have yurts and/or cabins for rent as well. The rates are quite reasonable nd thus far we have had little trouble finding a vacancy. Our biggest challenge thus far has been getting into some of the spaces as the roadways are quite narrow and the other campers tend to park their tow vehicles such that it is sometimes difficult to maneuver around them. I’m not quite sure why they do that as there is plenty of room to get them clear off the road but it seems to be their preference. It just makes it more exciting to get the trailer backed into the space. Fortunately, Chris is pretty darn good at that.

This park, the Jessie M Honeyman Park, is just outside Florence and practically across the street from Chris’ brother, Lee’s, home. It is lovely area in the forest with trails, a lake or two and the main attraction, the huge sand dunes just beyond the trees. October 1^st is the first day of the “Discovery Season” which means that the ATVer’s are allowed to drive their vehicles directly from the campground onto the dunes instead of having to take highway 101 around to another area. I couldn’t even guess how many of these sand buggies are here but at 7:52 am they were already starting them up and heading out for a day of play. Sand racing isn’t something I have a lot of interest in but those who do it (and that includes my son and his family) love it.

We’re off to visit Lee and Julie and see their pictures from Ireland & Scotland. Can’t wait!