JAN 29, Sunday, Kayaking
We were on the go by 10 am this morning. We, Pat, Rick, Val and I, loaded the kayaks, some snacks and beer and went to Esmeralda Beach for a few hours. We met the Lot people there and everyone went for a paddle around the point then came back. The wind picked up and made the ride back quite rough for everyone. Steve, Manfred and Craig fished for a while but no success there. The four decided to go for a bite to eat so we left everyone, loaded our gears and headed for THE EDGE for hamburger and beer. We were home by 3 pm. The rest of our gang had gone to a beach south of Empalme and got home around 5:30 pm. We had a quick Happy Hour then it was dinner. NO fire tonight.
JAN 30, Monday, haircut for me and Tucker
Val went for her Tai-Chi and I took Tucker for a haircut then went to MARU where I had a haircut. After Val’s shower, we went shopping to TONY then Santa Rosa and found “Franzia red wine” which we bought 6 boxes; a rare commodity here in Mexico! In the afternoon, a local mechanic came to see Al’s Tracker as he had problems with his water pump and Lynden and I made arrangements to have our brakes done. Leo thought it was a good idea and got his Tracker in the mix so tomorrow, the three of us are going to have our brakes done. As far as we can figure, it will be around $250 Cdn which is excellent!! Happy hour was as usual then dinner. No fire tonight!
JAN 31, Tuesday, brake job on the “Beast”
Three of us left at 9 am to take our trucks to the local garage to have our brakes done. Al follows us in his jeep. We went to Santa Rosa for breakfast and the girls met us there. We walked back home and Val started the laundry. It is going to be a hot one...27*C at 11 am!
At 4 pm, we had our Happy Hour for about an hour then everyone went in to get ready. We walked over to the Chinese Restaurant just outside our Park and met the “Lot” people. Today is Al’s birthday...66 yrs young! We had an excellent celebration and a very good Chinese gourmet meal. Al even got to dance with the waitress and, for a while, we had live entertainment thanks to a Mexican guitar player. We came home around 8 pm and found our vehicles parked in their usual spot so the guys brought them back while we were gone; no keys left behind though! We had a fire and I was in bed by 10 pm.
A good way to end the first month of the year 2012! Uploaded pictures in Picasa.
JAN 25, Wednesday, clam dinner
Another hot day, upper 20’s! After Val’s Tai-Chi, we went over to check the clams and began to get ready for our communal dinner. Val and I walked over to TONY to get some coleslaw materials for her salad then walked back. Another day of relaxing and getting things ready then at 4 pm everyone wandered over to Al and Brenda where we usually hold our Happy Hour. That’s where we get the most sun as it goes down. Things were a bit confusing to some of us as to what exactly was going to happen and when I asked; no one paid much attention until I raised my voice and got it. I may have ruffled some feathers there but it seemed to me that if we plan something for 5 pm and it is quarter to and no one is moving, that it would be time especially since the pasta had to be cooked and the water boiled and no one enjoys eating in the dark. We also had a full large cooler of clams so after saying my bit, I went over to start the cooking by boiling water. I boiled two pots full before I was told that Lynn and Charlene had a recipe to cook them so I served what I had as appetizers. Joyce and Bill joined us and Al and Lucy from two rows down also joined us and provided the clam chowder soup. The whole dinner was very good especially Pat’s butter and garlic clams which I really enjoyed. Of course it got dark as we started too late but that was OK and we had a fire afterwards to keep everyone warm. It gets really cool in the evening as the sun goes down.
JAN 26, Thursday, shopping
We went into Guaymas for grocery shopping. We first stopped in San Carlos to make an appointment for Tucker haircut then MARUE for my haircut, both Monday. We stopped at Arboritos in Guaymas for lunch and had tortilla soup and peppers filled with shrimp. Very delicious! Then it was on to Walmart, a stop at Santa Rosa and the Ley in San Carlos then home to put everything away. We read for a while as everyone was away. Happy Hour at 5 pm; dinner at 6:30; then a quiet evening at home. I was sick last night; I think I ate too many clams!? I was in bed tonight by 8:45 pm tonight!
JAN 27, Friday,
It was another very warm day, it got to 28*C! After Val’s Tai Chi we went to a bank machine to get some cash then we went to BARRACUDA BOB for breakfast and to get some birthday cards (English). We came home and read for a while then I drove Val back to the gym and while she was there, I went to get the truck washed inside and out but he didn’t do a very good job!? I picked up Val at 4:15 pm, drove home, and we had Happy Hour then dinner.
JAN 28, Saturday, Pat’s birthday
Today is our friend’s birthday so the plan is go out for dinner at the Italian restaurant. It is another beautiful and warm sunny day! I helped the guys cutting more wood for our fires then read for a while. We had an early Happy Hour then got dressed up and walked over to PICCOLO restaurant where we had a great dinner. The Lot people showed up in force so that made our table 18 strong. It was quite noisy and hard to carry on a conversation of any kind. We had lots of laugh though. The food was fantastic and the service superb, couldn’t ask for anything better. We came home and had a fire then to bed.
JAN 20, Friday, firewood hunting
Tai-Chi for Val then she went to Tekali’s library to return some books. The gang, including us, went looking for firewood in the afternoon and we found quite a bit. We ended up at the gold course “Palapa” for a quick drink then came home, unloaded the wood and had Happy Hour. We stayed home in the evening and watched a James Bond movie.
JAN 21, Saturday, Happy Hour at the “LOT”
Most of the day was spent preparing dishes for our visit to the “LOT”. Five of us, yea I was one of them, did manage a walk on the beach. Val made wraps with flour tortilla which had cheese, mix filling with asparagus, salsa, vegetables, chicken and other ingredients. They were delicious. Lynn made these little green Mexican peppers filled with meat and cheese. We got to the LOT around 4:20 pm and everyone put out the food and we began eating almost right away. They had two guesses show up, Mike and Bob. We had an excellent visit with everyone and had lots of laughs. We watched the sunset (see pictures in Picasa folder) and Billy served his famous tequila. The only down side was the weather. It clouded over and became windy and very cool but it didn’t put a damper on the party mood. We got home around 8 pm and had a fire for about an hour
JAN 22, Sunday, new arrivals
It was cloudy most of the day and windy but the temperature was warm. We all went to the desert where a golf course (of sort) was built and played nine holes. By the time we got home, our clubs were crusted with hard mud. As we were driving in the park, we spotted Bill and Joyce who arrived this afternoon so we stopped to say hi and invite them over for Happy Hour. We went home, unloaded our gears then drove to town to get beer and milk. Happy Hour at 4 pm, Bill and Joyce joined us and we watched a very nice sunset once again. Val made dinner and we watched the football game. No fire for us tonight!
JAN 23, Monday, laundry day
Val went to Tai-Chi. A beautiful blue sky greeted us and the sun is shining bright and warm this morning! It turned out to be a very warm day...27*C. A quiet day at home, we had happy hour, supper then to the fire for a while. Bedtime was early for everyone.
JAN 24, Tuesday, clam day
We left at 11 am to go clamming at a beach about an hour from here. There were the 10 of us plus another couple who followed us in their truck. Pat and Rick came with us. When we got there, the tide was still fairly high but receding so we had lunch and waited about a half hour when we could walk on the mud flats and start digging for clams. After two hours, we got enough to feed and army so we stopped, washed it all, had a beer, enjoyed the sun for a while then drove back home without any incident. We were a bit worried as we were about 10 miles outside the “FREE ZONE” where we supposedly have to have a sticker. No cops came around to check!
At home, we drained all the buckets, then put all the clams into one huge bucket, since them then separated into smaller container and pour salt water over them then corn meal powder which force then to spit it out and at the same time, the sand inside their shells. We had happy hour but no fire tonight; everyone was tired and went to bed early.
JAN 15, Sunday, SC
Rick came over this morning and asked if we wanted to go for breakfast. We said yes of course and the four of us went to SANTA ROSA, a local restaurant known for good breakfast. Afterwards, we came home and I read for a while then had a snooze for most of the afternoon, I wasn’t feeling that well and nothing to do with the breakfast! Being Sunday, football was in so I watched that after I woke up. Val went for Happy Hour but I stayed in to watch football. Spaghetti for dinner then a movie and early bed.
This was a cloudy day but still warm.
JAN 16, Monday,
Tai-Chi for Val and one of our neighbours left for the States this morning which opens up our row a bit. The gang went to the “golf course” in the desert to improve some of the holes and ended up building 4 more making it a nine holes course! Val and I went for a walk in the beach with Tucker. He enjoys running without a leash and stopped whenever I whistled which was great. For dinner, we all went to JAX-KNAX for pizza. It turned out to be quite good. We all came home and had a fire. Another good day gone by and it is still warm out there at 9 pm.
JAN 17, Tuesday, SC
Internet was down again this morning but re-instated later. This is a daily problem which we have to put up with...life is hell!!! J IT is going to be another hot one...23*C at 10 am!
The excitement today was going to the golf course to shoot some balls on the range. Val and I went to a local restaurant and tried out a “Red Bell with carne, rice and fired beans”. I won’t go back for it but it wasn’t too bad. Rick and Pat moved on our row, across from us. I brought his 5th-wheel over as he had his hitch out of his truck. Happy hour, dinner then a short visit to the fire, I hit the bed by 9 pm
JAN 18, Wednesday, golfing
The power went out this morning around 8 am and didn’t come back on until late in the afternoon. There is a short in the system and they have everything exposed right now. Val went to Tai-Chi both in the morning and again in the afternoon, there was a special class she wanted to attend. Afterwards, her and Pat were supposed to meet the girls form the LOT and go to Esmeralda beach and kayak around the point and down to the Greek Restaurant’s beach however she didn’t go because she felt the wind was too strong and I think she was tired too. I went golfing with Leo, Lynden and Pat (before the kayak trip). I had a fair game considering it’s been a year since I last played. Lynden made a hole in one and a birdie on a par 5. Pretty good! Happy hour was short, dinner then a fire which only lasted an hour before everyone went in.
Got more propane this morning! Seems to burn faster!???
JAN 19, Thursday, grocery shopping
We went groceries shopping today. First we stopped at TONY for vegetables, chilli renello, and some meats then on to Santa Rosa for more stuff. After that, we drove to Guaymas to Walmart for whatever was left to pick up. At home, I made cerviche scallops which consist of raw scallops cut thinly, red onions, hot sauce, soya sauce, hot sauce, pepper, covered with squeezed juice from lime and lemon, mix the whole thing then let the whole thing sit for about 10-15 minutes and serve. It has to be eaten with a half hour or the scallop overcook and become hard. It is quite delicious if you like cerviche (mixture lime and lemon). I served it for Happy hour and got mix reviews. Some liked it some not. I took some to Paulette and George who introduce me to it and said that they liked mine. (Being nice???? :-) ) Anyway, we finished it all. Billy and Tammy from the LOT showed up and joined us for Happy Hour; they are invited to Pat and Rick for dinner.
JAN 10, Tuesday, SC
A quiet day at home, it is sunny and warm: 24*C! We went into town with Rick and Pat for a hot dog at El Cheque then picked up our bed cover at the dry-cleaner. For Happy Hour, we all walked over to TETAKAWI RV PARK next door to have a drink with friends we met earlier. It ended with over 20 people showing up...big crowd! The park is quite run down but still open. It is much cheaper than TOTONAKA but not as populated and the electrical wiring leaves a lot to be desired. It is owned by the BEST WESTERN HOTEL in front of it. They don’t seem to have any desire to compete with Joe next door. The eight of us including a new couple, Ron and Elen, decided to go to Charly’s Rock for fish and chips, a special on every Tuesday. We had our usual fire afterwards.
JAN 11, Wednesday, another month paid for
Hard to believe we have been here a month, I went to the office and paid for another month. Tai-Chi for Val this morning and I paid for another month. In the afternoon, we had Happy Hour then it was dinner time. At the fire in the evening, we had Wayne, Glenda, Trish and her friend join us at the fire. We also had a young English family from London join us. They have travelled all over South America working their way around. They have a young 12 yr old son.
JAN 12, Thursday, San Carlos
Another sunny and warm day; 22*C! The gang decided to go to BARACUDA BOB by the Marina for lunch so off we went. After lunch, we stopped at TONY’s and SANTA ROSA to get some groceries. When we got home, Lynden and Leo came behind us with a truck load of wood. In case you are wondering what we use for wood, we usually find pieces of wood all over the desert and also at construction site where we will pick up old 2x4 full of nails or pallets on the mend. We get permission before picking anything off worksites.
We read for the rest of the afternoon then it was Happy Hour which only last one hour. For dinner, we had rice, BBQ shrimps and peppers on a skew.
JAN 13, Friday, SC
We had decided to go for a hot dog cook out this evening; each of us had specific items to bring. Val and I went to EL CHEQUE for a hot dog and bought buns for tonight. We came home and Val made a bean salad then we loaded our chairs, table, beer & wine and the food of course. At 3 pm, the girls walked to the beach to Pillar then to our “Sunset Golf House”. The boys took the trucks and all the equipment and we drove up to the “chalet” (see pictures). We even brought fire wood and our makeshift fireplace. After installing ourselves comfortably on the “patio”, we put the food out, had a couple beers then cooked our hot dogs and had a delicious dinner. Unfortunately, the sky was overcast but it was comfortable enough to just put a light jacket on. We had a great time and took one more item off our “bucket list”. We got back home by 8:30 pm and fun was had by all, there were 10 of us. Another great day gone by!
JAN 14, Saturday, SC
The day began cloudy; we even had about 15 drops of rain fall on us, seriously!!! However, once the sun came out later in the morning, the heat hit us like a hammer. We went for ice cream in the afternoon and at Happy Hour, George and Paulette came over for a drink. For dinner, Val made burritos with the meat we had and left over salad from last night. Uploaded pictures to Folder 81 in Picasa
JAN 5, Thursday, Geo-Caching
Six of us, Al & Brenda, Rick & Pat and us got into our truck and went geo-caching. I had eight caches to find and our first one took us to Delfino which is the back road to Guaymas. Unfortunately, the place was all fenced in so we passed this one. The second one took us to the Naval Base where we turned around as we weren’t allowed to go in, so we drove back a little way, took a side road which took us around a different Bay. We saw this beautiful marina and not one boat on the docks, continued on around the corner and saw a fish canary factory in the distance and the stench of it all finally sunk in. It was repugnant! We quickly turned around as we had gone past our cache anyway, and drove down to the marina. Well the smell just as bad here so we gave up on this cache too. Thank goodness we had stopped for lunch at this little place on the Bay before. We decided to go back to San Carlos where Al & Brenda left us and the four of us continued on. We found two caches on the way to Nacapule Canyon. From here, the GPS took us back towards Soggy Pesos where we stopped just before and went up on this hike to the top of a hill but had no success of finding.(I sent an e-mail to the owner asking for direction). We had seen Steve and Linda going up to Soggy Pesos so we went there and had a beer. They were walking the beach with Ruby, their black Lab. They joined us and we made plans to go out for dinner at 6:30 pm.
We drove back home and joined the rest of the gang having Happy Hour. At 6:30 pm, we, P&R and us, went to PICCOLO near Santa Rosa met Steve & Linda and had a great dinner. The food was excellent. It began with a mushroom cocktail, a salad, the entree and dessert; all for $50 for two including wine and beer. Can’t beat that! We came home, had a drink at the fire and thus ended a marvellous busy day!
JAN 6, Friday, SC
An old friend, Trish, arrived yesterday. She came down with a female friend; she hadn’t been here for 3-4 years. Wayne and Glenda came to take them out and we chatted for a bit. We drove to town (SC) to TONY to get some carnita (cooked pork) and a few other items, then to Santa Rosa to get some wine. I went to Pemex and filled up the truck Diesel is at 10.09 pesos (approx. .89¢/Litre). We came home and read for the rest of the day. The gang went to THE EDGE for hamburgers but we stayed home since we went out last night. We are in charge of starting the fire for when they get back.
JAN 7, Saturday, SC
We woke up to cloudy sky and 11*C this morning at 8 am. Uploaded pictures to folder #81 in Picasa.com, also went to Guaymas to find a light bulb for the kitchen light and bought a few more things along the way. Al came with me for the ride. The sun finally came out and now the sky is clear (2 pm). Val went for a haircut at MARUE and while there, I asked her to call me; she did and only got music so I think there is no reception on my phone which I will have to check on Monday at TELCEL. We got some corn from TONY which was quite good but not as sweet as ours. We watched for the Space Station again tonight, we saw it two nights ago, but to no avail so we all went in to cook our respective dinner. Fire in the evening and to bed early tonight
JAN 8, SUNDAY, EMPALME
We went to the village of Empalme around 11 am. There were six of us, Rick and Pat, Al & Brenda and us; we rode with P&R and A&B took their jeep. We took the new Libremiento road around Guaymas; a very nice highway which comes out by Empalme. No more lights and heavy traffic to fight. We had to really search for a parking spot in the village, it is a popular open air market. We walked the whole thing, bought some sweet corn (yes they do have but not as sweet as home) and a huge cauliflower which we split with Pat at a cost of 20 pesos, about $1.25.
On the way home, Rick took us through San Jose, a tiny village then we went home. There was a Happy Hour but we decided to stay home, just too windy and cold. No fire tonight either.
JAN 9, Monday, Mail forwarded
I took a drive to Guaymas to try to understand how I can make calls and receive them. It took a while but I finally got it I think. For some reasons, my phone doesn’t ring and I am not sure if it is the system or my phone. Anyway, I think I got it figured out. Val did the laundry today and I phoned Salmon Arm to have our mail forwarded.
We had four rigs come in on our row today so we had to move our Happy Hour area and fire pit to another place.
JAN 1, 2012; Sunday, HAPPY NEW YEAR Everyone!
Ohhhhh the joy of a hang-over!!! That tequila last night was a killer! J Val got up then lied on the couch and fell asleep again; she’s also nursing a huge one (drank more tequila than I). It was a very quiet day all around the park; I wonder why!?? We read, slept and just basically did nothing. At 4 pm, we all met for Happy Hour and even that didn’t last long. Supper than a short stint by the fire and we were in bed by 9pm.
JAN 2, Monday, dentist visit
After Val’s Tai-Chi and her shower, we went to El Cheque for a couple of hot dogs then, after stopping at Santa Rosa groceries store, we drove to the LOT and had a visit with the gang. At 3:30 pm, we went home and then drove to Guaymas to the dentist. We were back home by 6 pm, in time for one drink with the group. Dinner was home-made turkey soup, a Caesar salad with shrimps...delicioso! Evening fire and to bed by 10 pm. Today was my daughter’s birthday. I tried a couple times to call her but she was out celebrating her 48th birthday I guess.
JAN 3, Tuesday
We had 4 new rigs come in on our row so I had to move my truck. I find it amazing how some people can make it this far south...there was this guy with just a truck and camper, no trailer, yet he had the hardest time backing up into his spot...Amazing!!! They are here overnight only, on their way south to Malaque where we heard on the BC news that a Canadian got shot during a home invasion. No worse than 4 murders in Surrey BC in four nights.
I finally got hold of my daughter on the phone and we chatted for a good 10 minutes then it was time to hang up. We went for some groceries at TONY, SANTA ROSA and the LEY then it was home for happy hour, dinner and a fire in the evening.
JAN 4, Wednesday, girls day out
A
fter her Tai-Chi, Val went shopping to Guaymas with Brenda, Lynn and Charlene. They took the bus to town (12 pesos; 90 cents Cdn). For us, the boys, we spent it cutting wood for our fire at night then it was snooze time until 3:30 pm (for me anyway). We had Happy Hour and Brenda made a new Margarita which was received quite well by everyone but I admit that I didn’t like it...too much lime!? I went home to cook and we had steaks and lobster tails for dinner. Cooked to perfection and absolutely delicious!!! Now we are watching the news, then it will be out to the fire for a nightcap.
