Friendship, its all about friendship....



Debbie said That Robert's dates were a beanpole, a gimp and a blind woman.  So?  He's in luck with such interesting, fascinating women.  Time spent with us is never boring.



A trip to Denver to see the grandkids - Adam, Timothy and Wendy - and out to dinner to a barbecue joint.  The sky  was filled with ash and smoke from all the fires in front and back of Colorado.  At the barbecue place the boys were in awe over the gravy, as we all took a bath in the ribs and beans.  Wonderful.



Dinner with Bob and Donna and Harold - all from Fountain hills, only we are a block from the cold, cold beach in Ventura at a  fish and chips place that Bob called a dive.  The food was heavenly - so good, we had a hard time having a conversation as we were savoring fresh, wonderful flavors.  Bob and Donna escape from FH in their elegant trailer and spend the summer months surfing and playing on the coast, moving every two weeks.  We tried to stay in their state beach but were told by the beaurocrat from hill that we had to have a 3" hose for our black water, grey water, etc.  We explained that we were fully self contained and didn't need that stuff.  No dice.  We checked into a motel and slept like babies in the ocean air.  Quite a huge contrast from Nuevo.  And wonderul to connect with our friends from "home".  We don't really know wherre home is anymore, but Harold commutes back to FH a couple times a month - as well as flies all over the US.  We realized that our base is the long, lovely  friendship(s) that we have.



Robert in Ojai - We had ;made a fast stop here on our way to Barbara's house in Santa Barbara.  I wanted to check out some galleries and try to find some long sleeved t-shirts for mountain and ocean living.  Huh?  Try $65 for t-shirts.  I didn't want them that bad and managed to be polite in the wonderful botiques.  The paintings in the galleries all seemed to be of a type that was popular in the 30's - the plein aire painters of Calif. but these were done by artists of today.  A few years ago the style was all realism to the point where one would think a photo would do the job.  The town is built around some Spanish style buildings from the turn of the century, with arcades hiding the blilng t-shirt shops.  Just to say we did something there, we visited the old post office and put in a change of address as the IRS sends mail to us in Fountain Hills.  I didn't want to ask Robert what address he put down for a forwarding.





Michael and Scott, to be college sophmores in the fall, and Koa, who remembers when he towered over them.  The boys and their gang were in an out (LA) and brought back memories of the "breakfast club" we didn't know we had in Hawaii.  Robert would bring home a load of groceries and they would disappear and no one seemed to understand why until Robert returned home one morning, having forgotten something.  There was a gang of kids cooking and eating, the refrigerator open, and bacon smells.  When I saw the boys in the  past fall, they were my height.  These are Ian's sons and our little grandsons.



Cafe Sabroso in Nuevo served us a simple dinner onenight, with four great salsas:  the favorite was the mango with hot chilies in vinegar.  We chopped and chopped in LA for the salsa, Ian cooked the pork (which I slathered in garlic and Mexican herbs), and the sweet potatoe fries were saved from an inferno by Alycin, a granddaughter, from severe burning.  Polly, a friend who grew up with my sons in Kailua brought a broccoli salad.  I wanted a photo for the memory, and it seemed everyone else did, too.  There were about seven people surrounding this feast with their cell phones, clicking away.  Mojitos topped the feast which we ate in Ian's back yard, around a fire pit, with us tropical flowers freezing in the LA cool. 



Barbara, a friend from so far back that we can't remember, on her Rocky Mountain horse, Lucy.  Lucy is a gaited horse who likes to graze along the way, and I don't have the strength in my arms to keep her from snacking so Barb changed horses with me to teach her a lesson.  She grabbed a mouthful as I was trying to take photos, having gotten on Chamois to try to get a good  photo of Barb and Lucy. I couldn't handle the new horse, the reins and a camera at the same time and kept hearing the beep of the camera taking photos of the ground, the sky and whatever.  Lucky to just get this shot.  Lucy had green grunge around her mouth from the weeds and we just laughed. I had forgotten that English riding ( among a lot of other things)  was two handed and earlier was trying to neck rein her.  Barbara and I met when I lived in Bremerton, (another life) and I kept telling her to go to Hawaii.  She did, and the boys and I later stayed with her when we moved there.  My son Ian cut down her papaya tree when he was five years old, and when chastised, told her that he wanted to give her the flowers on top, and that he would marry her when he grew up.  Silver tongued sweetie that he is.



Me, on  Lucy.  We rode along what I felt was a cliff - but really a high trail.  I didn't get nervous until Barbara said we would head down a trail that looked as if it fell straight down into the valley - but the way to fight acrophobia is to go for it, and the trail really just gently, well, sort of, turned and we could see the lovely valley called Birnum Wood, back of Montecito.



Me, on Chamois - or Shammy, we didn't know.  The gait she would break into is a fast walk that is very comfortable and typical of Rocky Mountain horses.  Good thing we didn't go beyond that as my legs were spaghetti.  Rocovery took a couple of days, and am in training as Barb promised a ride when we return in the Fall.



A bowl of stars..........

On the edge of the Mogollon Rim, Az. - we had been gone a week to smoky Colorado and the sky had been filled with smoke from a huge fire NE of where we are, with smoke and ash going north of Denver and east of Chicago.  Skinny Minnie cannot look down. 



Another great dining room on the Mogollon Rim.  You breathe pine essence up here and the air at 8000' is cool and windy.  We are in an area where we cross country ski - used to - and it gets several feet of snow. Notice that the wilderness behind seems groomed - not like real wilderness where you are are aware there are critters in the bushes.  No real ground cover here except something that looks suspiciously like poison oak. This area is two hours from our Az. house, which is not our home any more.  Good thing.  As we are free to roam.




The Rio Grande Gorge  below where we spent the night  - as far from the Gorge as I could convince Robert to park.  He told the ranger that I was nervous.  Damn straight.  This land is in New Mexico, across from theTaol ski valley, and is full of juniper and pine trees.  The sky at night is beyond awe inspiring, with more stars than can be counted, cool air and a sense that we were alone in the universe.  The camp ground was so clean, and only two other campers were around.  The road, which gives hiccups to one's breath, follows the cliff edge with the river  full of silt from the spring run off- has camp sites in some beautiful green trees below.  My knees consider the hike down, and my brain considers the fear of falling out of the top campsites into the gorge.  We stay on top, as close to the middle of the plateau as we can get.  I'm no dummy.



King of the Mogollon Rim - back in Az.  We hated to return to Az so soon as rumour has it that it is heating up.  But we get to sleep in the best bed in the world at Eileen's house, fall in the pool, enjoy the cats and eat out with friends.  After camping with a bowl of stars, it is ok.  Not too shabby.  I fell in love with New Mexico again, and even Robert said it was "kind of fun".  Yup.  I had remembered a driveway to the Taos Pueblo, from a trip years ago and kept talking about the white liliacs along the side of the road and the bridge over a small creek.  Now, there is a parking lot, a building wanting $10 per person, and $6 for a camera permit.  We went into town for lunch instead.  It always felt a bit intrusive going through the pueblo in the past, as you can see inside some of the houses and how they live.  It was all free then.  Now, no lilacs and more unsmiling faces.  Pay up, gringas.



Harold and Robert, who might be saying something like, "get that damn camera out of my face"......We had held a Christmas sale a few years ago, of our jewelry and Debbie and I left to put out flyers.  Harold and Robert were alone in our house, sitting on the couch working on some jewelry when two ladies came in to check out the jewelry.  Harold and Debbie's dogs, small fluffy critters were there and the ladies made some assumptions about the relationship between the guys.  . These two lost an opportunity to be the sales guys from hell.



Home on the range....

Eileen preparing the feast for the 6 cats, of which the one on the floor managed to eat as often as we were not looking.  Koa is on dinner restriction when the cat food goes down.  Robert on the phone looking for car parts - he had saved some upgrades, repairs, for the US and did everything in Eileen's driveway.  The HOA and the neighbors think the white van is loaded with Clampetts.



George and Gail in Green Valley and tired Bobbie.  When they left Az., we really missed them and have kept in touch through emails.  It was wonderful visiting with them- as if the time between had not happened. 



Carolyn, Robert, Eileen, and Debbie:  I kept wondering why the plates looked familiar and the salt and pepper shakers.  Seemed we had a lot of garage sales here.

Part of being in Arizona is seeing friends and sleeping in the best bed ever at Eileen's house.  The dog and cats have a truce of sorts, with Cleo and Sammy thinking that Koa is a big play toy.  Catching up with friends helps rid me of the ache of missing them when we are wandering around on the ocean.  I asked Robert what did we do when we lived here.  Carolyn quietly responded, "you did this" as we sat around our old table, eating at Debbie and Harold's house.  Yes, we spent time with friends.  And church.  It is difficult to feel patriotism when the wars are in places like Afghanistan and Somalia and such, when we hear words that the newly dead died for our freedom.  Ok, they support our freedoms, but what the hell are we doing in Afghanistan? Yet, hearing the Navy hymn sung at the end of the service yesterday brought goosebumps.  We need reminding sometimes that our young are being sacrificed to support freedoms, whether or not we agree with the foreign policy.  I was miserable at Arlington, thinking that we don't seem to learn from history, and seeing all the graves, thinking of all the sorrow.  I would hope that we will learn, soon, that the transformative love we hear about in sermons can help heal our world.

Photos from on the road.....

Walking down to Laguna Santa Maria from the house we were given ---it might have been great to stay but the resort was loaded with kids, who were unstoppable with noise.



The giant banyan trees around the lake



We arrived in Mazatlan in the afternoon and were looking for the trailer park that was listed in our tour book - nada, but found this one empty and noone around.  We found bathrooms, a building with chairs on the ocean and settled in, thinking we had found paradise.  The "owner" showed up at 10 pm and wanted $35 - drunk.  We paid and left the next morning, thinking that paradise had a price.



Enormous surf in Mazatlan - could not get beyond the first break.

Laguna Santa Maria

We are now in Scottsdale at Eileen's house where the best bed is located.  We are doing boat projects, legal projects - irs, and medical...and having some fun with all the cats.  But as my camera decided to go south and not open the lens, we have had to transfer photos via chip to retrieve the shots taken from Laguna Santa Marina to Mazatlan.  And we will probably be shopping for another camera.

Still on the road.............

The church at Laguna Santa Maria - a bell to call to service is hung in the giant   banyan  tree.  The lake is protected by the actions of a local hotel owner who managed to get all the property owners around the lake on the same page- it is clean and clear water.   Pretty astonishing - we felt we could have been anywhere else in the world than in Mexico.  More photos when my camera gets fixed.  The road down to the lake, which is in a caldera, is for macho types who don't whimper at thousand foot cliffs at the side of the road.  Fires had been set by the locals to clear underbrush so it was smoky and hazy.  A school group was at the hotel grounds, rioting until midnight - we left the next day. Not that we don't love children, but that they distoibed the peace, doncha know?



In Hawaii, this is a Royal Poinciana - in Mexico, Tabuchine.  Beautiful. And made me homesick for that avbsolute curve in the road in Kailua where the turn down towards Lanikai is dressed with the flame trees.  We are at Rancho Acosta in Alamos, where we had been years ago - this is my fourth time here.  It is peaceful, lovely, beautiful pool, and outside the silver town of Alamos.  Many Americans have moved to the town and renovated the historic buildings, some from the 1600s.  Buildings, but from the look of some of the residents, perhaps them, too.  We were beset with flies as the Rancho, while a lovely place to stay, also is a working ranch and the field next door was full of cows.



The buildings are built up above the street - can't walk around looking up as you would trip over the different levels and  get hurt.  This is pretty typical - the doors open into courtyards - great fun to explore.  Walls along the street are interspersed with ancient doors, wonderfully carved or beat up slabs of wood.  There is a sense of  delightful things hidden inside those doors, or simply life lived out of sight.



Alamos has two squares, and instead of proper names, they refer to them as the "other square"....and you don't know which one they refer to.  The more restored part of the town is around this square.



More Sayulita



nature paints Main St.



We really did think we were leaving today to do some exploring in the mountains, but are having too much fun.  We manage the buggy nights by spraying down with "Off" and hope that the critters leave us alone.  Our morning beach walk had Koa racing around with the local pack, except for a rude Sharpei who decided that his wrinkly self was going to be the boss.  He didn't understand English, but decided that Koa was biggger than anything around and he kept his pride and took off.    Right now it is very peaceful as the season pof all the desperate cold northerners has ended and until July, when the Mexicans are out of school, we have peace and tranquility....until the French Canadians decide to play volleyball.  We walk the beach eat wonderful fresh food, read, and swim in the not too wild waves.   The vendors thought we had dropped from the sky - so we helped the local economy a bit.  Next week, peanut butter.



Sunset surfing



The guy who threw a net from the beach caught a lot more than this fellow - it may be possible that the surfers were out there 24 hours



Panga central - this area used to be an inlet where I got twisted, thrown and dumped by huge waves ten years ago



Sunset



A new beach town---on the road again

we say goodbye here to Pedro - the man at the harbor whose family we adopted; to Fidal, whom we would run into at Walmart and various places in town; to the family of our diver -----it means we were part of a community.  And it felt wonderful - there are other cruisers who never make the lovely connection to the residents of this lovely place - the people make this country wonderful.  Their work ethic, friendliness, helpfulness, and laughter really make our trip here something wonderful.  Not to mention the food - cocnut shrimp, ai yi yi.  We are right now in Sayulita - we made a great 40 miles north of NV and found a lovely shady camp/bungalow development on the beach.  Walking the beach last night was magic - dogs running free and what looked like a mob of sunset worshippers -The village has grown since we were here ten years ago - houses sell in the same range as in the US, but what a place to be - flowers everywhere, and some suspect plants, from the looks of some of the surfers.    We will be heading north, slowly - recuperating from the awful work of putting the boat to bed for a while.  We may be camping or staying in resorts, but are playing it by ear - or eye, if we find something fascinating, we will stop and explore.  Our friend Jon and some philosopher said that the journey is the destination.  Ok, but we still are looking forward to seeing friends and family.....but life is made adventurous with that attitude.

Sunset - Sayulita



my new office