We feel very busy!

Friday, December 10, 2010

On Wednesday Eric and I drove down to the Gold Zone so  I could make an appointment at Gaby’s for a haircut and a pedicure.  Took us a bit to find it as the road is under construction.  In the end Eric had to park in a no parking zone (only a suggestion) and  put on his four way flashers while he waited for me.  Seems not to be a problem here, park where you want, go what speed you want and the Mexicans will just go around you and don’t seem irritated by it.  I guess they are just used to it.

In the afternoon Eric went down to the beach for a swim and a little fishing. It has been too cold for me so I haven’t been in the water and haven’t even been sitting on the beach.  Different from last year.  I amused myself by washing the truck although it won’t matter much as it will be covered in dust in a day or so.  Oh well!

On Thursday I did play cards (Hand and Foot) with Sarah, Pat, Connie and Lori from our park as well as  Glenda who came up from Cerritos.  It was fun and I learned more this time as everyone was very patient.  We played in two teams of three and Pat, Lori and I won.  Nice, but winning isn’t that much of a big deal to me.  However, Sarah mentioned that I was pretty competitive last winter when I did Wii bowling!  I’d spent the morning baking banana loaf so it was good to sit down for a while. 

This morning I went up to the office and Helene and Sandi were in there cutting out material on the big tables.  A quilting bee!  Sandi is doing a quilt from scratch for a friend of her daughters.  It seems the friends aunt was going to make this quilt but died before it got underway so Sandi volunteered to do it.  Sandi thought she was completing a project but it turns out she is doing it from the ground up.  A big project.  Helene is also working on a quilt too so it is all quite interesting.

Good job ladies. 

P.S.

I decided to add these later quilting pictures to this post so they would all be together.

The above three pictures are of Sandi’s quilt as it progresses to completion.

Helene sitting outside in the sun finishing off her quilt as well. 

When I got back to the rig Manny and Connie rolled by in Manny’ black 1965 Beetle.  Manny says he’s going to get it painted while he’s here in Mazatlan. 

What a cute couple!

They were off to Sam’s Cub to do some shopping for a Sunday spaghetti night.  As I said I’d never been in Sam’s Club  Manny said I should jump in and come along to have a look so I did.  First stop was to get a collar and dog tag for the little Chihuahua from up the street.  Manny had  decided that if the little guy got  lost again he should have a tag so he could be returned to his owner.  He had their local vet make one up so he could give it to “Bailey’s” owner.  A nice thought. 

We continued on our way and it was fun.  Off to the Banco and then Sam’s Club.  Connie got money from the ATM machine at the bank.  I usually just get it from the ATM at Soriana’s which is an HSBC machine and have never had a problem.  However, John at the back of the park asked for 10,000 pesos a couple of days ago and it said it gave it to him but it didn’t!  He’s still working on that.  Muchos problemo!

It was interesting to see Sam’s Club and it is just like a big Costco at home.  Big quantities but lots of stuff that I would buy.  If I want to go I can borrow a card from Manny and Connie or Frank and Sandi.  The longer we are here the more we find out.  All good.

After Sam’s club it was Mega and then Henderson’s for meat.  I’d never been to Henderson’s either but the meat is apparently very good so that’s another place to put on the list. 

Tomorrow it is the ballet so I’d better rest up. 

Motorcycle travelers arrive in the park.

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010

On Monday evening we had a couple of motorcycle travelers from Great Britain arrive in Las Jaibas.   They had ridden down from Durango along the devil”s spine and said it was just amazing.    Mark and Claire have been travelling for three months now and started out from Bristol  England. They  had the motorcycles shipped from Heathrow airport to Calgary Alberta  and then rode north as far as Prudhoe Bay in Alaska before heading south.   

    At  this point in their journey it was now September and  they had to hurry as winter was fast approaching.     They continued their ride south through British Columbia and then on  through Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona on  into Mexico and are now in Mazatlan.   Mark is busy doing some maintenance on the two 20 year old 600cc single cylinder Yamaha Enduros  before they continue on their journey.   They plan to continue riding for another 12 months through central and South America and will end up in Tiera del Fuego Argentina  before they ship the bikes home to Great Britain.  Pretty gutsy.  Mark and Claire  are tenting where ever they can so they are enjoying the warmth of Mexico after the cold of fall in Alaska and northern B.C.   They are very pleasant, interesting  people  and many of us  in the park are enjoying talking  to them. 

Eric, Mark and Claire with the bikes.

I asked Claire if she had a blog that I could read but she said she didn’t as she didn’t want to be bogged down with day to day writing after a long day of riding.  Very understandable and she also mentioned that she was a writer and thought that people would expect more than she had time to deliver.   We had a short discussion about blogs  and I mentioned that it was an easier option than returning emails.  Our friend  Croft encouraged me to start a blog (thanks for that!) and it has worked out well.   The Live Writer  option in Windows also allows you to make notes as you travel, include  pictures  and then post them when you have time to complete your entry and also have access to the internet and as well you can post the entry with any date you wish.    Mark and Claire’s journey is huge and it would be impossible to remember it in any detail without documentation.  However, documentation is a burden as well.  Again, each to their own!  Good luck on your journey!     

 

Tonight Sam, Rita, Mark and Claire are going downtown to hear bands pay a  live tribute  to John Lennon.   Sounds like it will be a good time.   

Yesterday Connie, Manny and Ramona had a new little dog at their rig.  Turns out there was a little male Chihuahua loose in the park the night before and he was lost.  It was eventually determined that  he belonged to the lady at the Scorpio corner store up the way and he had wandered off in the dark.  Connie and Manny let him sleep in bed with them and Ramona so he wouldn’t be lonely!  How nice is that.   

Connie and I went down town on the bus today to get tickets for the Nutcracker Ballet which will be performed at  the Angela Peralta theatre this weekend.  We missed the Centro bus so we took another bus and we were really on the milk run!  Okay for me because it helps me get an idea of where things are and  I am starting to remember where I actually am.  When we finally got downtown we had a ways to walk and that gave me an opportunity to take some pictures.  Now that I have my new camera I can carry it in my pouch and snap at will!  I find the people and streets of downtown Mazatlan so picturesque.  When we got to the theatre to get tickets there was a couple ahead of us and we got to chatting.  He told us he belonged to a writer’s group so Connie told him I was a writer too.  He was impressed until he heard it was a blog and he acted like he’d never heard of one.  Too snooty, because to me anyone who writes is a writer.  We got our tickets (100 pesos - $8.50) and then went to see if we could have a look at the theatre.  It was possible for a fee of 12 pesos so in we went.    What a beautiful old building.  I managed a couple of pictures without flash and I think we found out where we will sit on Saturday night.

Connie heading in to buy tickets for the ballet.

A look inside the Angela Peralta theatre without flash.

We continued back toward the Centro market to catch the bus and stopped for a cuerveza on the way at  Topolo’s restaurant.  It is very beautiful with a garden setting in the interior.

  Connie and I sat in the bar and it was quite lovely.

The maitre’d was very gracious and said that they were not suffering too badly from the lack of tourists.  The Mexicans come on the weekend as well as any tourists and they are doing okay.  I told him we would come back for a meal. 

A shot of downtown Mazatlan.

When we returned to the park Hal came over to say that he and Helene were going for dinner before the ballet on Saturday night and said that Connie, Pat and I were welcome to join them.  Okay!  We’ll leave at 5:30, take the bus and have a great evening! 

I have returned to my walking in the morning and it feels great.  However, it makes me really tired.  Another week or so and it will get easier. 

Tomorrow is Thursday and I will play the card game  Hand & Foot with the ladies.     Although I may not want to play every week I at least want to play enough that I have some idea what is going on!  Should be fun. 

Weather wise we have had a lot of fog over the last few days.  It rolls in fast and totally obscures the ocean.  Strange.  People in the park say it is not something they remember seeing.

This is a shot toward the ocean and usually you can see the building across the street, not today!

 

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A ride and another good dinner!

Monday, December 6th, 2010

It was decided on Saturday night that we would take a ride to El Tigre’s restaurant  on the beach with Sam &  Rita.  We planned  to leave fairly early as we have to go a fair ways.

  When we woke up yesterday morning it was really, really quiet, no traffic noise.  What’s up with that?  When I looked out the window to the road I could see tons of people jogging by.  Of course, it’s the 12th annual Pacifico Marathon and there were a lot of runners.  I missed seeing the first runners and Hal and Manny said they looked African so they must have entries from other countries. 

 

Hal and Manny watch. 

They closed the road so the runners would not have to dodge cars or get killed by an out of control bus.  They made me tired just watching so I had to go back to the rig for coffee! 

By nine a.m. the runners were mostly gone and we could hit the road.  I made Eric take a picture of me in my new gear.  Pretty snazzy eh!

We rode south to Villa Union and then wove our way west through the town to get to the road that leads out to the beach.  I’m thinking Sunday isn’t the best day for a ride because all the Mexicans are out and about on their day off.  The drivers seemed to be a bit extra aggressive especially the trucks.  The buses are always a huge problem and at one point I thought a bus was going to run right over Sam and Rita when he tried to pass going  over the bridge into Villa Union which is under construction.  What an A..hole! 

The ride out to the beach was good but it is hard on Sam and Eric because you really have to watch for potholes.  Some of them are so big you could drop a 50 pound sack of potatoes in it with room left over! 

We arrived at El Tigre’s restaurant right at lunch time and there were a few Mexicans having lunch as well.

We had a really nice camarone  (shrimp) lunch with rice, fresh veggies  and good pile of shrimp for 80 pesos ($6.80) and a couple of  poquita Pacifico cuervezas.   They are less than half the size of a real Pacifico and cost about 40 cents.  I think Sam had his heart set on one of these big fish for lunch but he was overruled.  Oh well, maybe next time. 

 

After lunch we rode a little south and out to Rosario where we headed north back to Mazatlan.  The ride from the beach to Rosario is very picturesque and we rode through a couple of little towns along the way.

Small town of ….. as we passed through.

 

Rosario.

It was very warm as we rode and in the end Sam stopped at a beer store for another Pacifico on the way.  We declined but it was sure nice to get off and stretch my knees which really seize up when I ride.  Getting old I guess!

Beer stop.

When we got home Chico was really happy to get out of his crate.  Hal was kind while we were gone and took him out for a couple of walks.    A good friend. 

I wandered over to Betty and Boomer’s for happy hour and dinner and Eric stayed home.  Two nights of socializing were too much for him!  He was tired after the ride and needed a little alone time.  The people we know are used to that now so it was no big deal.  However I did tell him if he didn’t turn up for dinner he wouldn’t get fed!  Betty and Sandi took pity on him and overruled me sending back a plate of food and a piece of cake.  Spoiled brat.   Was he grateful, you bet! 

The ladies had a good blab and Pat polled us about the Christmas dinner and having the Salvation orphans sing for us this year.  It was decided to do our own thing and not join in with another park so we will try to have them come on the 23rd to sing  and get their presents.  We will then follow with our potluck Christmas dinner.  Hopefully this will work out as we really enjoyed it last year and it’s nice to give a little something back to the community if you can.  This year I brought a big bag of clothing that my grandchildren Holly and Abby have outgrown to donate to an orphanage.  They are so poor here. 

So, everyone is busy planning to go to the ballet, see a baseball game, go up to see Arnoldo etc. etc. etc.   Our daughters think it is amusing that we seem so social  here but sure aren’t at home.  

The gang arrives!

Saturday, December 4th, 2010

Frank & Sandi from Iowa, Manny, Connie & Ramona from Oregon and Betty and Boomer from Ontario rolled into the park early this afternoon.   They met up in Ajo and crossed over into Mexico together.  They had an uneventful trip and stayed overnight in Santa Ana with Edgar & Anna, San Carlos at Totonaka and then  just south of Los Mochis in Pemex #4925 where we stayed this time as well as last fall.  It is really good to see them all arrive, especially since we are all a little lonely in here.    They set up where they were last year and then we all went over to Pat & Jack’s for hamburger night.  Lots of fun, lots of chat and a little tequilla!  I forgot to mention that Fred and Marion from Saskatchewan arrived yesterday and it is good to see them again.  They are parked a couple of spots to our left in the middle row.  It is nice that the park is not too full and people can leave a spot or two between each other. 

 

Everyone visits. 

Frank, Eric and Sam visit and catch up. 

  Great burgers thanks to Pat & Jack, I made plum cake, Connie brought her famous artichoke dip (how did she get that done!) Rita brought a great guacamole and it was a really good  dinner. 

Sandi, Hal, Helene and Connie.

Hal and Helene.  The light was great for a good photo.

Connie and Manny’s dog Ramona and Sam and Rita’s dog  Chico said hello and were up for a little play.  Ramona isn’t a senorita anymore but much more senora!  Chico on the other hand is a  n~in0 (little boy!) and boy does he have some energy.  He ran laps so fast he was a blur and even Ramona was exhausted watching him.  Funny!

Everyone caught up on each other’s news and we all made it an early night since the arrivals  were tired and it cooled off quick. 

Tomorrow we are to go to Betty and Boomers for a potluck dinner because in Manny and Connie’s 26th wedding anniversary.  Two parties in a row,  we’ll be exhausted.  Betty loves to cook and she is really, really good at it!

Getting back on track

Dec. 1, 2010

Last night was pizza night and it was fun.  Good job Sam!   The group of travelers  that had  arrived the night before  joined in for happy hour at the Palapa and one couple stayed for pizza.  It was interesting to talk to them and nice to see some new faces.  Pat and Jack were happy to see them as they have lots of old friends from La Penita.  The group headed out this morning at 7:30 to finish their trip. 

We all noted last night how much chillier it is here than it was last year.  The wind is cool and many people went back for a jacket after walking up front.  How the heck are we going to swim if it’s cold!

This morning Sam came over to see if we were up for a Harley ride.  As Eric is feeling better we said sure!  The first order of business was to go up and see Arnoldo.  Sam had been up to see him already and so he knew where to go so off we went.  When the two motorcycles showed up Arnoldo was really happy to see us.

That’s Arnoldo’s lovely wife Conchita up in the kitchen cooking. 

We had a little food and some chat and it was a really good visit.  Arnoldo and his wife really miss the park but it is just not economical for them to be here.  Too bad.  We’ll go see him again. 

When we left Arnoldo’s we headed off to El Quelite for a look see, and maybe a cuerveza or two.  The air temperature off the beach is much warmer so the ride was nice and warm.  I am also much more styling now since I have new riding boots, pants and a new Harley sweat jacket.  I’ll get a picture!  All much needed   When we got into the  town of El Quelite  we were greeted with the main street being all torn up and we had to detour through the north side of town.

What a mess!

This was not good for the Harleys as it was all dirt with big ruts and it would be really easy to drop a bike.    Not fun.  We did make it to the restaurant where the Ullama and traditional dances are held but it wasn’t a fun ride. 

The outside of patio of the restaurant.

The waitress thinks that it will be some time before the road is finished.  Not good for business.  We had a little visit from a young cabellero on a donkey as we finished up our lunch.  He rode up to the edge of the outside patio where we were sitting.  We didn’t have any coins to give him except about 10 cents but he seemed happy to just stop and chat.  He tried hard to get his donkey to rear up with whip and spurs but was not very successful.  Poor donkey, but it didn’t seem very concerned by the whole thing. 

The ride back was made easier since Rita and I walked down the torn up street and met Eric and Sam at the other end.  A much easier trip for the guys on the Harleys. 

When we got back to the park Chico was happy to be set free from his crate in the motorhome.  He is a puppy and Sam and Rita say it’s not safe to leave him loose by himself as he would destroy the rig if left by himself.    All in all it was a fun day.  Eric is now exhausted and is laying down and we are both still recovering from our long trip to Mazatlan.  A good day!