Warm weather returns for Bocce!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

The warm weather has returned, yahoo!  The wind has slowed down and the temperatures have warmed up. 

Last night was a typical Friday night with music playing until 2am and then just before 4am there were some enormous metallic booms coming from the street out front.  About 20 minutes later the sirens started and when they got close they stopped.  On the south side of the street there is a barked up palm tree, a snapped off and uprooted palm tree and a broken metal street light.  There are a couple of windshields and miscellaneous glass on the boulevard as well.  Likely someone did not survive the crash.  Many nights, very late we hear the cars racing flat out, at very high speeds on the street out front.  Have I mentioned, it isn’t a good idea to drive at night here? 

The Bocce tournament started yesterday with teams of two playing each other on two side by side courts.  Connie and I played Sam and Fred yesterday morning at 10am and were whupped soundly.  Boohoo! 

 

Aren’t Connie and I cute.  This is us before the game when we were still smiling!

That’s Fred on the left and Sam on the right.  Did I mention they whupped us!!! 

Today we played Jeannette and Brenda and we were leading 14 to 3 at one point.  I was playing really well….who knows why…and so was Connie.  However, Jeannette and Brenda didn’t play well the first half of the game and then they got their second wind and we lost 21 to 20.  That’s just sad!  Since we lost two in a row we are now out of the tournament so I guess we’ll just have cheer everyone else on! 

Jeannette, Brenda, Kathy and Connie.  I made Connie take off her sunglasses and turn up the brim of her hat and she looks cute….kind of like Gilligan! 

Marion, Jeri, Manny and Sandi showing her Bocce skills!

Fred, Regina, Sam & Glenn.  Regina is really a lot of fun!

Will you look at the height Rita gets when she throws the ball. Amazing!  What loft!

Connie is refereeing this game.  Don’t make a mistake!

 

Jeannette and Bill.  They won the tournament two years ago.  Both really good players and nice people to boot! 

So, we are finished round two and anyone who lost two games is out.  Oh, that would be Connie and I.  Boohoo. 

Tonight is New Year’s Eve and most people will stay in the park.   Tomorrow is a new year. 

Feliz Ano Nuevo to all!

Windy, cloudy, cool and now the dratted sea fog is back!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Last year we were plagued by sea fog on an almost daily basis and we had hoped to escape it this year.  Not to be.  Today it rolled in late morning and now you can hardly see the road from the rig.  As well as that it really hasn’t been very warm and swimming for Eric has been out of the question.  The poor Mexican Christmas holidayers have sucked it up and gone in but they look pretty “frio!”   Happy hours have been short and the attire has progressed to winter jackets.  Oh well, at least it isn’t snowing.  The projection was for a La Nina winter and I guess that’s what we are getting.  Not snowing yet!

Here is the fog rolling in just before sunset.

The usual little activities are taking place in the park….hand and foot card game on Thursdays….bunko on Tuesdays…..Bocce tournament….bingo on Tuesday nights…. and whatever else it takes to keep us amused.

Eric is pretty much over his cold now so he and Sam went for a ride on Tuesday before Pizza night.  They rode up to Concordia and then followed our GPS …Marjorie who seems to be working at the moment and north to try and take a circle road route back to Mazatlan.  Unfortunately  she directed them through one small town and then onto a dirt road and up a mountain where they had to turn around.  They could have continued on a quad but not on a Harley.  They were dirt biking and that’s not what you want to be doing on a big bike.  Added to that it was hugely hot there….the bike said it was over 100F and yet back on the beach it was 75F.  Wish we could import those inland temps to the beach. 

Eric decided to try our our Yagi antenna here in the park.  He has been looking for proper little muffler clamps to mount it but in the end he had to improvise because he couldn’t buy exactly what he wanted.  It is mounted on the slide and attached to a pole that he made special brackets to fit it into.  He turned it on today and just pointed it south and our usual two internet options became 27!  Amazing and that is only in one direction.  Two of them were open and he connected and said it just clicked along.  That gives us an option to use the Yagi if there are two many Skypers using the park internet. 

 

The Yagi.

Marilyn was visiting the other day and she spotted this visitor to the park.  I couldn’t believe how big this “grasshopper? cricket?” actually was.  I think he would be a meal in  some cultures.  Not mine!

He almost doesn’t even look real.

I also wanted to show you the beautiful vegetables that are so plentiful and cheap here in Mexico.  I don’t even bother to go to the vegetable market to get them but just pick out what looks good at the supermarket (Soriana’s.)

I have just soaked them all for 15 min. in the iodine vegetable wash that they sell here.  They have been rinsed and are now drying and I don’t have to worry about washing them all week.  Works for me!  I just plan my meals around what looks good and let’s face it most of it looks good!  I should also mention that everything is very cheap here compared to home.

People have many activities and crafts that they bring with them when they travel.  This is one of Sandi’s.  This is a section of a quilt that she is making for her son Brad.  Helene does a lot crafty sewing projects as well so she is very impressed with Sandi’s expertise.  It will be very beautiful when it is done.  So many people here have many hidden talents.

Marion’s Feliz Compleanos!

Tuesday December 27, 2011

Last year we had a really nice birthday party for Marion and it was Fred’s treat for the “whole” park for pizza.  Guess what, Fred was nice enough to do it again this year.  What a guy….Muchos Gracias….to Fred!

Happy hour begins. 

Hal and Sam discussing important stuff.

That’s Connie taking the opportunity to organize the Bocce tournament while she had a captive audience.  We had fun playing two years ago and this year we are not picking partners….but having them drawn for us so it will be fun to see who is paired up. 

Hal & Rita.

Val, Glen, John and Mary ….Connie says “Who’s in?”

The pretty lady on the right is part of a group of older ladies who travel from B.C. together in four rigs to Mexico.  They will be here for a month and then travel farther south to San Blas and Melaque….they aren’t sitting around in rocking chairs rocking themselves to death!  Gutsy bunch!

The ladies past Sandi and Marilyn are part of the same travelling group.

We started happy hour at 4pm and pizza arrived at 4:30 Mexican style on the back of small motorcycles.  They can carry anything on a motorcycle here….small families….groceries….and Eric even saw a guy with a five foot long  propane tank strapped crossways on a bicycle the other day!  What a country for innovation. 

That’s a lot of pizza to buy….and to eat.  It is Domino’s two for one Tuesday and wouldn’t you know it….it was even Marion’s actual birthday this year!

It has been so cold in the late afternoons that people are breaking out their winter gear to sit outside.  Sandi looks toasty warm!

This is “not” Marilyn from White court, Alberta in her down jacket.  She wants everyone in San Carlos who she told that it was much warmer here in Mazatlan not to see this picture…..so….it’s not her!  In all fairness it is probably even colder in San Carlos.

I think there are about 30 pizzas so there was plenty for everyone including leftovers for the workers.  That’s Eric on the left with his plate ready to fill.

After everyone gathered and ate pizza we all scurried back to the warmth of our rigs by 5:30pm….how sad is that.  The wind was blowing in addition to the cold temperatures so we had to dress accordingly! 

All in all a good time was had by everyone!

Christmas dinner in the park.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Today was the day for our Christmas dinner.  We had wanted to have it on Christmas day but since Felipe our park owner was buying the turkeys and the ham we deferred to his wishes.  It was decided to have happy hour at 2pm and dinner at 3pm.  The weather has not been very warm and there has been a cold north wind blowing most days so an early start was in order.

Keeping warm standing in front of the banyo.  The concrete really holds the heat. Helene, Hal, Val, Jeri and Mary.  That’s Dennis in behind with Sam’s rabbit ears. 

We were setting up in the palapa just behind the main office and though it has a roof it is open on three sides and even though we started early  it was quite chilly. 

 

Connie and Marilyn….do they look festive or what!  Jeri had brought an assortment of Christmas sweaters with her to give as presents and these are two of them.

Early in the day people trooped up  front to set up their tables and hold their spot for dinner.  Bright tablecloths with decorations and it all looked quite festive.  Eric has been sick with a head cold/flu for the last few days and wasn’t coming so I decided not to bother with a table and just sit with anyone who had an extra spot. 

I’d made my beet/red onion/orange salad on Wednesday as it could marinate and today I had to cook the ham and put together the romaine/orange/nut salad.  Many other ladies were cooking turkeys, making dressing, gravy and cooking potatoes as well so everyone was really busy.  Everyone else was baking and making an assortment of other yummy dishes.

  My table with friends.

We were to have just over fifty people eating and that included Felipe and his family along with the park workers.  Arturo (front office) Genaro (general park worker) and Oscar (night security/garbage man) ate with us.  Martine(general worker)  was not here at dinner time.  They are all hard working happy men who are desperately under paid and over worked.  We try to be as nice to them as possible and appreciate the hard work that they do for us. 

Frank, Manny, Arturo, Hal, John and Sam.  

Dinner started at 3pm and I sat with Connie/Manny, Frank/Sandi and Dennis/Marilyn.  I ran a plate of food back to Eric in the rig so he got to have Christmas dinner as well.  The food was absolutely delicious and I couldn’t even manage seconds.  However, I could manage desert. 

The table set to eat. 

There was a huge amount of food with a really good assortment of dishes and let me tell you “no  on went home hungry!”  Desserts were wonderful as well and I don’t know how anyone had room for them….but they did!  By 4:30 everyone was full and happy and getting quite cold as the wind had really kicked up.  Too bad but a good thing we started early.   

Some people headed into the front office for a little party with Felipe but I decided to forgo the headache and head home. 

Dishes done, fed and exhausted and watching TV by 6pm….not bad! 

A great meal with good friends.  Fun for all.

A trip to the Orphanage.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Today was the day to sort all the donation bags for the orphans.  John & Jeri had just arrived a few days ago and brought many bags of goods with them to add to the ones that were already here.  Many people (Connie & Manny – Dick & Val- etc. collect goods at home to bring to Mexico.)   Some ladies from other orphanages were invited to come and take about half of the goods to distribute to other orphanages in the area including the one for children with Aids. 

Some of the clothes and shoes were new as well as gently used.  Always appreciated by children who have nothing.

 

It was now time to head off to the Hogar Para Ninos which is the orphanage that the Las Jaibas  residents support on an ongoing basis.  I didn’t have any goods with me this year so I just gave them some money as anything is a help.  When we arrived Geraldo & Lupita who run the orphanage were out shopping and their grown son as well as one of their daughter-in-laws were in charge.   

This is the interior of the main building where they eat and prepare meals.  Neat as a pin. 

The boy’s dorm.

Visiting with the children.

The courtyard.

The recently constructed little girl’s bedroom.  This was under construction when we were here last year.  See all those neatly made beds!

This is Ruthie (3) and David checking out the little box that holds the farm animals. 

The children are happily telling Val which animals they are and what they sound like.  No different than children anywhere.  Cute as bugs.  Ruthie is a real little charmer!

When Geraldo and Lupita returned they had been shopping and to the doctors with their daughter-in-law.  She is showing Val her ultrasound of the baby.

We had a short visit with Geraldo and Lupita and then it was time to head home. 

The children are happy, healthy and well fed.  A good job by Geraldo and Lupita and it gives us a good feeling to help in any way we can. 

The last two years we have donated the money from the Chile cook-off to this orphanage and if we have enough cookers this year hope to do it again.