Richard is 80 and we all celebrate together!

 Last night we were invited to a Happy Birthday 80th for Richard.  Richard and his wife Carol were neighbors of ours in the Las Jaibas RV park here in Mazatlan for many years.  As time passed we have moved to a house and they are in a condo at the Las Gavias Grand so our gatherings have moved.  We, along with many of our RVING friends gathered last night for a birthday party and...it was a good one!

Richard or Ricardo and Carol.

The end of the night and the cake cutting.

A piece for everyone and there were 21 of us!

And now let's turn the clock back to November 22, 2017.....the Las Jaibas RV park and another birthday celebration.  

Lots of old friends. Hal on the right who celebrated a birthday today, Randall on the left and peaking through is Roger.

Lots of fun.  Third from the left is Valerie who now winters in Arizona with her husband Dick.

John and Anita with Rita behind.

Richard, Carol and Blake.

The chairs on the right are empty because it was hot and people were hiding in the shade!

Marilyn, Helene and Jeannette.

Frank and Carol.  A great party ! The gatherings in those days were huge and some of the people are no longer with us.  

......and now it's back to November 22, 2023.

Richard and Carol are renting a beautiful three bedroom condo overlooking the beach.  Eric and Randall chatting. Harry and Sandi behind.

The fellow in the plaid shirt and his wife Paula were long time RVers whom we may have met at other events although I don't remember them.  Very interesting people.

The sun is starting to set and the view from the 7th floor is lovely.

Dennis contemplating.

Looking north.

Sandi and Frank.

Eric and Randall.

Marilyn and Helene.

Sandi and Cathy.

Looking south.

We had some clouds, thunder and a bit of showers yesterday and so...a beautiful sunset.

Just electric.

Lots of room to chat inside or outside.   It finally cooled off yesterday and everyone was much more comfortable.

The sun is gone.

So pretty at night.

It was a potluck and it was all delicious.

This condo has a huge table.

Marion, Dennis and Frank.  Marion is staying in the Las Gavias Grand as well but, in the south tower.  Her husband Fred passed last winter and we're glad to see her back with us this year.  She and Fred were long time neighbors in the RV park as well. 

Judy and Carol.

Lots of chat between old friends.

Here the crowd is telling old stories about their worst RVING experiences and let me tell you there were some doozies😅 No one who has RV'D over long distances has avoided catastrophic failures at some point. Lots of laughs and in the end we didn't pick a winner.

Stories and dinner was over and it was time for cake which Marion brought.  It was delicious.  We celebrated three birthdays.  Yesterday Richard and Eric and today Hal.  

It was a great evening with old friends and thanks to Richard and Carol for providing the venue.

 

Eric ventures out on the Tiger and Dinner at Torres with Ian and Linda.

Yesterday morning Eric was off on "Tigger" as in Winnie the Pooh! 😃 Eric purchased the new 2022 Triumph Tiger 900 last spring on our way home. We still want to ride in Mexico and the Harley ultra is just too heavy for the small Mexican towns with their cobblestone streets.  The tiger weighs half as much as Big Red.  Eric spent the summer ordering all the boxes and necessary extras as it was bare bones when he bought it.

Ready to roll.  He was off to El Quelite to test it out as its one of those small, congested cobblestone towns.  When he returned he said they were working on the bridge over the freeway and his only option was to go south and double back.  He couldn't access the freeway or free road heading  north.  Hopefully the bridge repair is quick.  A good ride other than that.

Last night Ian and Linda joined us at Torres for dinner.  They have both been sick since they got here and now they are feeling better it was our first outing together.  Ian had his birthday at the beginning of the month, they had their anniversary and next week is Eric's birthday so....a mini celebration.

We arrived at 5pm as happy hour is 4 to 6 and we didn't want to miss that!  Torres is a very nice restaurant with a beautiful view of the ocean but it is not cheap!  The service is excellant as many of the same waiters have been there for 25 and 30 years and boy...can they ever hustle.  The music was good as well.

The sun is setting.

And...it's gone!

I mucked up the dinner pictures but this is Linda's tuna.

Thursday is prime rib night at Torres, which I knew!  Very delicious and half came home with me for tonight's stir fry.  This was the small size😮

Ian had the Mexican plate which has a selection and Eric had fish in garlic and no...we didn't have dessert!

We were all done by just after seven, full and happy...a good evening out.

The first few days!

 

We arrived as you know last week on Thursday afternoon and have been busy ever since.  The house and patios are always dirty and it takes some time to get everything in order.  Having a maid in here ahead of time wouldn't help much as so much outside stuff is stored inside.  It's something I prefer to do myself anyway.  The cupboards needed to be wiped out so I could load them with all the food I brought.  Some things I can't get here and some things because the are "gringo" products that are much cheaper at home.  All the patios have been given a first wash and the inside has mostly been vacuumed and washed.  My tubs of stuff from home have been emptied out and it looks a bit more like our winter home.

Saturday and Sunday we got some light showers which cooled things down a bit for awhile but...upped the humidity!  I did my first big grocery shop on Sunday morning when the roads and stores are quieter.  I noticed an increase in prices last year and even more this year.  As I've said for us it really doesn't matter but for the Mexican people it is a real hardship.  

We had happy hour at Marilyn/Dennis's with Frank/Sandi last night and was so nice to see everyone...lots of laughs!

Eric's brother Ian and wife Linda have been here two weeks and have been sick since they got here.  Landed with sore throats and respiratory issues and the ate out and got food poisoning.  Linda spent 4 hours in the hospital being rehydrated and left with antibiotics as well.  Neither of them are up to snuff yet.

Today Sandi, Marilyn, Ruth and I will play cards. Next week maybe bingo and ladies lunch.  It may cool off a degree or two at the end of next week.  It's the high overnight lows and humidity that are the issue.  In a month or so I'll be wearing a sweat jacket and complaining it's too cold🤣

Navojoa, Sonora to Mazatlan, Sinaloa

We were up early yesterday and after a decent continental breakfast we were on our way by 7:30.  We always enjoy our stay at the Fiesta...a reasonable $84 Canadian, good parking and a very well thought out room.  Not fluff but places to put things.

Navojoa seems to in a building spare like many other places..straight ahead.

Lots growing here.

The new concrete highway needs a bridge repair.

I was worried about this impromptu stop.  Last year they were going to go through our truck but the police were eating lunch.  This time we were waved through.  We don't have anything illegal but a tear down means you don't get where you want to go on time.

Welcome to Sinaloa...big tolls for really bad asphalt highways.  There are potholes that would do serious damage if you hit them.  

Another check point.

The farther you go south the greener it gets.

Huge silos around Los Mochis.

This used to be a Pemex and it's where we always overnighted in the RV.  A gated truck stop with a restaurant.

See those potholes.  Whichever lane was good was the one Eric drove in whether it was the passing lane or not.

This is the road right after a toll booth!

Heading towards Culiacan.

Some crops are protected from the sun.

Straight ahead for Mazatlan.

Now the passing lane is horrible and we are on the very expensive Culiacan to Mazatlan piece. Close to $50 for the tolls at the beginning and end.

Were getting closer...there's the ocean.

                 , ,    ,,,, Coming down to the final toll booth before Mazatlan.

Onto the road to the playas or beach and it's a mess here.

I always take a picture of the Riu hotel to show we're almost here and getting close.

We arrived around 3pm and considering the roads we made good time and didn't break any thing.  Eric unloaded the motorcycle and rode it to the house.  Then I walked to the vegetable store to get us enough to get by for dinner.  Eric dropped the trailer down the road in a parking spot and brought the truck back.  We can't park the trailer in our complex.  We unloaded the stuff from behind the seat and that was that.  Hugely hot and humid.  The house is dirty from the geckos but I cover beds, furniture and tables so that helps.  Outside stuff is stored inside so it's a jumble till we sort it out.

Today we got outside stuff out and tidied up a bit.  We were both wiped from the drive and the heat but the AC is running so that helps.  Unloaded the back of the truck with all the food and cleaning stuff I brought and I'll deal with that over the next few days and cleaning will take a week or two.  Feeling a bit more human tonight😊