Log Book
Nov 2008
Nov 2008
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| November 2008 |
La Paz to Ensenada Ballena
On November 1 we went to The Marlin Club with Bill Lee of “Ocean Quest” and Angie, for dinner
and Baja South Bound music. The band was great and Susie did one slow dance with Sam
(cane in one hand) which was not too hard on her right knee. Then she did one partial dance
to one of her favorite songs “Jambalaya on the Bayou” which she regretted the next day.
November 2 found us back to The Marlin Club with Joe and Sandy Perez of “Wind Song” for
brunch – no band and no dancing that morning! The food was great both times – they serve a
wonderful filet mignon of Sonoran beef.
November 3 we got a ride to City Club with Dick and Judy Dato of “Boundless” to provision. The
next two days were spent working. And so on November 6 “Catch The Wind” was ready to go
again: lines run, covers off, watermaker working, bottom clean.
We left in the afternoon so only got as far as Playa Pichilingue where we dropped the hook
about 4 PM. This was just a motoring trip. The next morning we sailed off the anchor and
started on our way north, planning our first stop at Ensenada Grande. As we approached the
anchorage, Susie told Sam that either there were now three electrical poles on the island or a
very large sailing vessel was anchored there, and she suspected it was The Maltese Falcon,
which had been in La Paz the week before. And she was correct – as we rounded the point,
there it was. What a gorgeous sight. For those of you not familiar with this vessel, The Maltese
Falcon is amazing. It is 289 feet long, and its 3 carbon-fiber masts are nearly 200 feet tall,
rigged with 15 computerized sails. This luxury sail boat was built in Turkey and is owned and
sailed by Tom Perkins. We took a picture of TMF and another ship tied alongside, a smaller
sailboat appearing rather like a wooden Spanish galleon. We had an uneventful night at
anchor.
November 8 we departed the high rent district. We planned to overnight at Nopolo, but just
after passing San Juan Evaristo we remembered how much difficulty we had setting the anchor
at Nopolo the last time we were there. That time, in June on our way back to La Paz from
cruising in the Sea of Cortez with Susie’s grandson Hunter, after three failed attempts to anchor
at Nopolo, we continued on south in the dark to the anchorage on the north side of San Juan
Evaristo. This time, heading north, we knew that there was not another good anchorage we
could get to before dark, in case we had problems again at Nopolo. So we made a giant U-turn
and went back to the cove of San Juan Evaristo, taking shelter from possible north winds, and
had a very calm late afternoon and evening. Before dark, Sam went into the water to check the
prop (he suspected it was dirty because the maximum RPM we would achieve in gear was 1450
and out of gear it went as high as 1800 and was still rising.). He said he felt barnacles
completely covering the prop that most likely were causing the problem, but we don’t have the
equipment to clean under the boat ourselves. We had had the bottom cleaned a couple days
before we left Costa Baja. I guess that diver didn’t consider cleaning the prop part of cleaning
the bottom.
November 9 we left, after Sam added a quart of oil. The engine was running a little too hot
yesterday under load, about 200 degrees, so we probably burned that much oil, and Sam
suspected the overheating was due to a fouled prop. We kept our speed lower today when we
had to motor, but were able to sail some of the time. We dropped the hook about 4:30 PM at
Ensenada Ballena. We were the only boat in this beautiful little anchorage, but there was a
kayak camp on the beach in the process of breaking down. The hill sides were green with
vegetation after all the summer rains. We had some wind strangely enough from the south and
west, so there was some swell during the night, but it was not enough to keep either of us
awake. We clocked up to 20 knots.
Ensenada Ballena to Puerto Escondido
On November 10 we had an unusual westerly wind, as we headed towards Puerto Escondido.
For a while it was fun to sail, but as the wind increased so did the chop then it was just a slog.
We finally dropped the jib, reefed the main and motored, making better time than when we were
sailing, even with 25 to 30 knots of wind. When we arrived at Puerto Escondido about 4 PM we
tied up at the fuel dock, topped off the diesel, then went over to dinner at the restaurant
upstairs in the marina which had opened since our last visit. Friends Bob and Priscilla from
“Serenity” and Roberta aka “Peachy” from the village of Juancalito and Juan and Eva from
“Ciao” (and members at Richmond Yacht Club) joined us for a meal there. We did not ask
permission but no one was around to say otherwise, so we spent the night tied up at the fuel
dock and the next morning early moved the boat and dropped anchor in The Ellipse – back
around the sea wall from the marina.
Susie decided to see if she could get into and out of the dinghy, so Sam put it in the water and
Susie was successful. So then we put the outboard onto the dinghy, but it was leaking fuel
(again). Priscilla found another dinghy ride for Susie to go ashore at the marina to meet with
Peachy and the ladies who live at Tripui Trailer Park (a little down the road from the marina) for
an afternoon of Minnesota Canasta at the restaurant. While we were waiting for the game to
start, Susie saw Sam moving the boat back around to the marina, by himself, and she decided
not to watch as he put our 39 foot boat into a side tie slip space about 45 feet long between two
multi-buck power boats. The docking was successful without any mishaps. We decided to stay
a few days at Puerto Escondido, tied up at the dock so that Susie could get on and off the boat
(since the outboard was not working) and to wait for a good weather window to cross to San
Carlos, because northerly winds were predicted.
So we spent the nights of November 11 and 12 tied up at the marina, with the wind blowing us
directly onto the dock and the chop that built up across the mooring field slapping into the boat
and the useless dinghy. We could not get the outboard off the dinghy in the choppy conditions,
and we could not raise the dinghy out of the water because the eyebolt had broken off the
hoisting lines, so the first night was really noisy as the dinghy banged against the hull. The next
day, friends helped Sam pull the dinghy out of the water up onto the dock (which was wide
enough for people to walk around) so the next night was quieter. We made a big batch of
sourdough to spread around – there were 5 people who wanted some! Also we made
arrangements, since we were staying there, for Ray on “Adios” to dive on the prop and check
things out. Peachy came by on Wednesday night and “kidnapped” Susie to participate in
Ladies Night at Juancalito, which involved some delicious gumbo and a game of Rummikube.
Puerto Escondido to San Carlos
Ray checked the prop the morning of November 13 and said it only had little growth, but he
scraped that off. He also said the bottom looked clean and in good condition, and our thru-
hulls were clean. The weather report was good, so we departed about 10 AM and headed to
Isla Coronado. On the way, we discovered that we were able to achieve greater RPM with the
engine under load, and greater boat speed at the same RPM while running cooler, so although
it might have been minimal growth, cleaning the prop had been a very good idea. We dropped
the hook on the south side of Isla Coronado about 3 PM and spent a calm evening and night.
About 7:30 AM the next morning, we started across the Sea of Cortez for San Carlos. Aside
from a little residual swell as we left the protection of Isla Coronado, the seas were calm and the
winds very light. We had an uneventful overnight crossing and arrived before light the next
morning outside the harbor. When the sun came up and we were able to see, we entered
Marina San Carlos and tied up in an empty slip we found and go up to the office to see if they
had slips available. We met Tony from “Sweetie” as he came into the marina in his dinghy, and
we talked with him about possible slips elsewhere and discovered that he was going to Las
Vegas to spend Thanksgiving with Shannon, so we arranged for a drop off in Phoenix. When
we got to the office, they reported that only 60 foot slips were available and we could have to
pay for 20 feet we would not use, so we said thanks, popped into Barracuda Bob’s for a
breakfast croissant, then pulled out of the harbor and around the point south to anchor at
Shangri La Cove. There were no other boats in this beautiful quiet little anchorage – we
dropped the hook and slept most of the day. That afternoon, the music from shore started up –
live bands with a DJ blasting out across the water from a local restaurant. It was a Sunday night
and we found out later than bus loads of college students from Arizona had come down for their
annual migration to San Carlos so evidently the restaurant on that beach was one of the hot
spots. Even so, after dinner, we went back to bed and were able to sleep through all the noise.
Overnight passages make us tired.
San Carlos
Monday morning, November 17, we fired up the motor and started towards Marina Real (in the
bay on the north side of San Carlos harbor) where Tony had said there were slips available.
We made our approach carefully, because it gets shallow in this bay and very shallow in the
channel to the marina, but we never hit the bottom and tied up safely at Dock 13, Slip 27. We
made arrangements to stay for at least a month and found the slip fees to be significantly less
than they would have been at Marina San Carlos. We are on the same dock as “Sweetie” and
we talked further with Tony about his trip to Las Vegas. He said he would be willing to drop us
off in Phoenix on the way, so we called Susie’s parents and sister in Arizona and told them we
would be joining the family there for Thanksgiving.
Although the prices are good at Marina Real, there is not much here. The docks are in
reasonable condition, there are connections for power and water at each slip, there are
garbage bins and bottled water available, and we can sometimes get an internet connection at
the boat and always at the office between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM (unless they close for
lunch siesta). There are some houses along the spit between the marina and the bay, and
some on the hill above the marina, but not much else. No restaurants withinwalking distance for
Susie – so we save money by cooking on the boat. It is isolated, but there is a shuttle service
offered by the marina that will drop you off at the bus line near Marina San Carlos. A lot of
cruisers on boats here have vehicles, so it is usually easy to get a ride with someone if we need
to go into town for groceries, fresh veggies and fruit, and laundry facilities. We have gone into
the town of San Carlos, Marina San Carlos, and also the city of Guaymas on several
occasions. Because there is only residential development around Marina Real, it is quiet in the
evenings unless the wind is howling.
Phoenix Road Trip and Thanksgiving
On November 21, Friday, we left with Tony for Phoenix. He has a van he uses for business
purposes – Morelli Sails – with two seats in the front and one in the back behind the front
passenger seat. It is a little high off the ground, so Susie had fun getting in, Sam too. She
would grab the seat with one arm, put her left leg up on the running board, and then Sam would
give her a rather rude shove up, usually goosing her at the same time. He said she moved
faster when he goosed her. This rather immodest loading procedure was repeated each time
we stopped, sometimes with an audience, so by the time we got to Phoenix that evening Susie
was trying to figure out how she was going to do this WITHOUT Sam’s assistance for the return
trip after Thanksgiving.
While we were in Phoenix, Susie went to see Dr Robert Page with Med To Go about surgery on
her left leg at Hermosillo. She had new X-rays taken of the left leg and had an MRI of the same
leg. The test results were sent to Dr Inigo in Hermosillo, the orthopedist who will do the surgery,
and he recommended complete knee replacement. Because of continued and chronic swelling
in the right leg that continues to hamper full flexion of the knee, she also had a deep vein
ultrasound to check for possible blood clots and the results were negative which was good
news. Because there is a family history of blood clots, we thought it best to check for sure.
Arrangements were made for a pre-op and consult with Dr Inigo on December 26 and if all goes
as planned, left knee replacement surgery on January 6.
For Thanksgiving, Susie’s brother and his family (Lee, Linda and Janae) and Susie’s daughter
and her son (Jennifer and Hunter) drove out to Phoenix from Sacramento. Susie’s sister and
her family (Lorrie, Dave, Devon, Tim and Allison) live in Phoenix. Susie’s parents (Max and
Grace) live about 25 miles from Phoenix in Maricopa. With us, there were a total of 14 people
at Lorrie and Dave’s house for Thanksgiving Dinner. The only family missing were Susie’s son
Jonathan and Lee’s son Sean and Jennifer’s husband Shane – someone had to stay home and
work in California. We had a wonderful meal and great company. It had been many years
since all Susie’s siblings and parents had been together. We went swimming one day at the
pool in Maricopa. Played Mexican Train one evening with some of the kids. Some went to the
movies on Saturday morning. Had all of us at dinner in Maricopa at a favorite hang out –
Brooklyn Boys – for Italian food. Out of town guests shuffled between Phoenix and Maricopa,
sleeping on day beds, blow-up beds, kid’s beds, couches. It was good to be with family.
Also while we were in Phoenix, of course we shopped for things we needed and could not get in
Mexico. Susie needed new clothes – hers were way too big which was WONDERFUL news. We
also bought licorice and good quality chocolate at Trader Joe’s. Susie has discovered that if
she does not feel deprived and can have a few squares of chocolate now and then, it is easier
to continue losing weight. We also purchased a digital bathroom scale and a neat cycling
exercise device (just the pedals and crank on a base) to use on the boat. Susie described what
she needed to her brother Lee and sister-in-law Linda, and Linda remembered seeing
something that might work on the internet. Turns out that Susie’s mother Grace had used one
of these cycles during her physical therapy after her own knee replacement surgeries. Sam did
some “web snorkeling” and phoning and found one in stock at Dick’s Sporting Goods, so we
didn’t even have to order it online and wait. We knew we had a lot of room in the back of Tony’
s van for the return trip to Mexico, so we purchased with abandon, forgetting how we were going
to get the stuff into Susie’s parents car when they took us to meet Tony at the rendezvous
point. So we extended our car rental two more days, turned in the car at Enterprise and kept
our stuff in the trunk as we waited at the office for Tony to come through Phoenix. We loaded
up and added all our goodies to his in the back of the van and started back to Mexico on
December 4.
We will be making plans to put the boat on the hard (in dry storage out of the water) here in
San Carlos for January, February and maybe March, while we rent an apartment or small house
for Susie’s recovery from surgery. For the first surgery, it took a full three months for Susie to
achieve sufficient flexion to get back on the boat. We are assuming about the same for the
second surgery. So most of December will be spent preparing for haul-out and moving off the
boat. We plan to spend Christmas here in San Carlos.
Wishing all our friends and family a wonderful holiday season and healthy new year.
On November 1 we went to The Marlin Club with Bill Lee of “Ocean Quest” and Angie, for dinner
and Baja South Bound music. The band was great and Susie did one slow dance with Sam
(cane in one hand) which was not too hard on her right knee. Then she did one partial dance
to one of her favorite songs “Jambalaya on the Bayou” which she regretted the next day.
November 2 found us back to The Marlin Club with Joe and Sandy Perez of “Wind Song” for
brunch – no band and no dancing that morning! The food was great both times – they serve a
wonderful filet mignon of Sonoran beef.
November 3 we got a ride to City Club with Dick and Judy Dato of “Boundless” to provision. The
next two days were spent working. And so on November 6 “Catch The Wind” was ready to go
again: lines run, covers off, watermaker working, bottom clean.
We left in the afternoon so only got as far as Playa Pichilingue where we dropped the hook
about 4 PM. This was just a motoring trip. The next morning we sailed off the anchor and
started on our way north, planning our first stop at Ensenada Grande. As we approached the
anchorage, Susie told Sam that either there were now three electrical poles on the island or a
very large sailing vessel was anchored there, and she suspected it was The Maltese Falcon,
which had been in La Paz the week before. And she was correct – as we rounded the point,
there it was. What a gorgeous sight. For those of you not familiar with this vessel, The Maltese
Falcon is amazing. It is 289 feet long, and its 3 carbon-fiber masts are nearly 200 feet tall,
rigged with 15 computerized sails. This luxury sail boat was built in Turkey and is owned and
sailed by Tom Perkins. We took a picture of TMF and another ship tied alongside, a smaller
sailboat appearing rather like a wooden Spanish galleon. We had an uneventful night at
anchor.
November 8 we departed the high rent district. We planned to overnight at Nopolo, but just
after passing San Juan Evaristo we remembered how much difficulty we had setting the anchor
at Nopolo the last time we were there. That time, in June on our way back to La Paz from
cruising in the Sea of Cortez with Susie’s grandson Hunter, after three failed attempts to anchor
at Nopolo, we continued on south in the dark to the anchorage on the north side of San Juan
Evaristo. This time, heading north, we knew that there was not another good anchorage we
could get to before dark, in case we had problems again at Nopolo. So we made a giant U-turn
and went back to the cove of San Juan Evaristo, taking shelter from possible north winds, and
had a very calm late afternoon and evening. Before dark, Sam went into the water to check the
prop (he suspected it was dirty because the maximum RPM we would achieve in gear was 1450
and out of gear it went as high as 1800 and was still rising.). He said he felt barnacles
completely covering the prop that most likely were causing the problem, but we don’t have the
equipment to clean under the boat ourselves. We had had the bottom cleaned a couple days
before we left Costa Baja. I guess that diver didn’t consider cleaning the prop part of cleaning
the bottom.
November 9 we left, after Sam added a quart of oil. The engine was running a little too hot
yesterday under load, about 200 degrees, so we probably burned that much oil, and Sam
suspected the overheating was due to a fouled prop. We kept our speed lower today when we
had to motor, but were able to sail some of the time. We dropped the hook about 4:30 PM at
Ensenada Ballena. We were the only boat in this beautiful little anchorage, but there was a
kayak camp on the beach in the process of breaking down. The hill sides were green with
vegetation after all the summer rains. We had some wind strangely enough from the south and
west, so there was some swell during the night, but it was not enough to keep either of us
awake. We clocked up to 20 knots.
Ensenada Ballena to Puerto Escondido
On November 10 we had an unusual westerly wind, as we headed towards Puerto Escondido.
For a while it was fun to sail, but as the wind increased so did the chop then it was just a slog.
We finally dropped the jib, reefed the main and motored, making better time than when we were
sailing, even with 25 to 30 knots of wind. When we arrived at Puerto Escondido about 4 PM we
tied up at the fuel dock, topped off the diesel, then went over to dinner at the restaurant
upstairs in the marina which had opened since our last visit. Friends Bob and Priscilla from
“Serenity” and Roberta aka “Peachy” from the village of Juancalito and Juan and Eva from
“Ciao” (and members at Richmond Yacht Club) joined us for a meal there. We did not ask
permission but no one was around to say otherwise, so we spent the night tied up at the fuel
dock and the next morning early moved the boat and dropped anchor in The Ellipse – back
around the sea wall from the marina.
Susie decided to see if she could get into and out of the dinghy, so Sam put it in the water and
Susie was successful. So then we put the outboard onto the dinghy, but it was leaking fuel
(again). Priscilla found another dinghy ride for Susie to go ashore at the marina to meet with
Peachy and the ladies who live at Tripui Trailer Park (a little down the road from the marina) for
an afternoon of Minnesota Canasta at the restaurant. While we were waiting for the game to
start, Susie saw Sam moving the boat back around to the marina, by himself, and she decided
not to watch as he put our 39 foot boat into a side tie slip space about 45 feet long between two
multi-buck power boats. The docking was successful without any mishaps. We decided to stay
a few days at Puerto Escondido, tied up at the dock so that Susie could get on and off the boat
(since the outboard was not working) and to wait for a good weather window to cross to San
Carlos, because northerly winds were predicted.
So we spent the nights of November 11 and 12 tied up at the marina, with the wind blowing us
directly onto the dock and the chop that built up across the mooring field slapping into the boat
and the useless dinghy. We could not get the outboard off the dinghy in the choppy conditions,
and we could not raise the dinghy out of the water because the eyebolt had broken off the
hoisting lines, so the first night was really noisy as the dinghy banged against the hull. The next
day, friends helped Sam pull the dinghy out of the water up onto the dock (which was wide
enough for people to walk around) so the next night was quieter. We made a big batch of
sourdough to spread around – there were 5 people who wanted some! Also we made
arrangements, since we were staying there, for Ray on “Adios” to dive on the prop and check
things out. Peachy came by on Wednesday night and “kidnapped” Susie to participate in
Ladies Night at Juancalito, which involved some delicious gumbo and a game of Rummikube.
Puerto Escondido to San Carlos
Ray checked the prop the morning of November 13 and said it only had little growth, but he
scraped that off. He also said the bottom looked clean and in good condition, and our thru-
hulls were clean. The weather report was good, so we departed about 10 AM and headed to
Isla Coronado. On the way, we discovered that we were able to achieve greater RPM with the
engine under load, and greater boat speed at the same RPM while running cooler, so although
it might have been minimal growth, cleaning the prop had been a very good idea. We dropped
the hook on the south side of Isla Coronado about 3 PM and spent a calm evening and night.
About 7:30 AM the next morning, we started across the Sea of Cortez for San Carlos. Aside
from a little residual swell as we left the protection of Isla Coronado, the seas were calm and the
winds very light. We had an uneventful overnight crossing and arrived before light the next
morning outside the harbor. When the sun came up and we were able to see, we entered
Marina San Carlos and tied up in an empty slip we found and go up to the office to see if they
had slips available. We met Tony from “Sweetie” as he came into the marina in his dinghy, and
we talked with him about possible slips elsewhere and discovered that he was going to Las
Vegas to spend Thanksgiving with Shannon, so we arranged for a drop off in Phoenix. When
we got to the office, they reported that only 60 foot slips were available and we could have to
pay for 20 feet we would not use, so we said thanks, popped into Barracuda Bob’s for a
breakfast croissant, then pulled out of the harbor and around the point south to anchor at
Shangri La Cove. There were no other boats in this beautiful quiet little anchorage – we
dropped the hook and slept most of the day. That afternoon, the music from shore started up –
live bands with a DJ blasting out across the water from a local restaurant. It was a Sunday night
and we found out later than bus loads of college students from Arizona had come down for their
annual migration to San Carlos so evidently the restaurant on that beach was one of the hot
spots. Even so, after dinner, we went back to bed and were able to sleep through all the noise.
Overnight passages make us tired.
San Carlos
Monday morning, November 17, we fired up the motor and started towards Marina Real (in the
bay on the north side of San Carlos harbor) where Tony had said there were slips available.
We made our approach carefully, because it gets shallow in this bay and very shallow in the
channel to the marina, but we never hit the bottom and tied up safely at Dock 13, Slip 27. We
made arrangements to stay for at least a month and found the slip fees to be significantly less
than they would have been at Marina San Carlos. We are on the same dock as “Sweetie” and
we talked further with Tony about his trip to Las Vegas. He said he would be willing to drop us
off in Phoenix on the way, so we called Susie’s parents and sister in Arizona and told them we
would be joining the family there for Thanksgiving.
Although the prices are good at Marina Real, there is not much here. The docks are in
reasonable condition, there are connections for power and water at each slip, there are
garbage bins and bottled water available, and we can sometimes get an internet connection at
the boat and always at the office between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM (unless they close for
lunch siesta). There are some houses along the spit between the marina and the bay, and
some on the hill above the marina, but not much else. No restaurants withinwalking distance for
Susie – so we save money by cooking on the boat. It is isolated, but there is a shuttle service
offered by the marina that will drop you off at the bus line near Marina San Carlos. A lot of
cruisers on boats here have vehicles, so it is usually easy to get a ride with someone if we need
to go into town for groceries, fresh veggies and fruit, and laundry facilities. We have gone into
the town of San Carlos, Marina San Carlos, and also the city of Guaymas on several
occasions. Because there is only residential development around Marina Real, it is quiet in the
evenings unless the wind is howling.
Phoenix Road Trip and Thanksgiving
On November 21, Friday, we left with Tony for Phoenix. He has a van he uses for business
purposes – Morelli Sails – with two seats in the front and one in the back behind the front
passenger seat. It is a little high off the ground, so Susie had fun getting in, Sam too. She
would grab the seat with one arm, put her left leg up on the running board, and then Sam would
give her a rather rude shove up, usually goosing her at the same time. He said she moved
faster when he goosed her. This rather immodest loading procedure was repeated each time
we stopped, sometimes with an audience, so by the time we got to Phoenix that evening Susie
was trying to figure out how she was going to do this WITHOUT Sam’s assistance for the return
trip after Thanksgiving.
While we were in Phoenix, Susie went to see Dr Robert Page with Med To Go about surgery on
her left leg at Hermosillo. She had new X-rays taken of the left leg and had an MRI of the same
leg. The test results were sent to Dr Inigo in Hermosillo, the orthopedist who will do the surgery,
and he recommended complete knee replacement. Because of continued and chronic swelling
in the right leg that continues to hamper full flexion of the knee, she also had a deep vein
ultrasound to check for possible blood clots and the results were negative which was good
news. Because there is a family history of blood clots, we thought it best to check for sure.
Arrangements were made for a pre-op and consult with Dr Inigo on December 26 and if all goes
as planned, left knee replacement surgery on January 6.
For Thanksgiving, Susie’s brother and his family (Lee, Linda and Janae) and Susie’s daughter
and her son (Jennifer and Hunter) drove out to Phoenix from Sacramento. Susie’s sister and
her family (Lorrie, Dave, Devon, Tim and Allison) live in Phoenix. Susie’s parents (Max and
Grace) live about 25 miles from Phoenix in Maricopa. With us, there were a total of 14 people
at Lorrie and Dave’s house for Thanksgiving Dinner. The only family missing were Susie’s son
Jonathan and Lee’s son Sean and Jennifer’s husband Shane – someone had to stay home and
work in California. We had a wonderful meal and great company. It had been many years
since all Susie’s siblings and parents had been together. We went swimming one day at the
pool in Maricopa. Played Mexican Train one evening with some of the kids. Some went to the
movies on Saturday morning. Had all of us at dinner in Maricopa at a favorite hang out –
Brooklyn Boys – for Italian food. Out of town guests shuffled between Phoenix and Maricopa,
sleeping on day beds, blow-up beds, kid’s beds, couches. It was good to be with family.
Also while we were in Phoenix, of course we shopped for things we needed and could not get in
Mexico. Susie needed new clothes – hers were way too big which was WONDERFUL news. We
also bought licorice and good quality chocolate at Trader Joe’s. Susie has discovered that if
she does not feel deprived and can have a few squares of chocolate now and then, it is easier
to continue losing weight. We also purchased a digital bathroom scale and a neat cycling
exercise device (just the pedals and crank on a base) to use on the boat. Susie described what
she needed to her brother Lee and sister-in-law Linda, and Linda remembered seeing
something that might work on the internet. Turns out that Susie’s mother Grace had used one
of these cycles during her physical therapy after her own knee replacement surgeries. Sam did
some “web snorkeling” and phoning and found one in stock at Dick’s Sporting Goods, so we
didn’t even have to order it online and wait. We knew we had a lot of room in the back of Tony’
s van for the return trip to Mexico, so we purchased with abandon, forgetting how we were going
to get the stuff into Susie’s parents car when they took us to meet Tony at the rendezvous
point. So we extended our car rental two more days, turned in the car at Enterprise and kept
our stuff in the trunk as we waited at the office for Tony to come through Phoenix. We loaded
up and added all our goodies to his in the back of the van and started back to Mexico on
December 4.
We will be making plans to put the boat on the hard (in dry storage out of the water) here in
San Carlos for January, February and maybe March, while we rent an apartment or small house
for Susie’s recovery from surgery. For the first surgery, it took a full three months for Susie to
achieve sufficient flexion to get back on the boat. We are assuming about the same for the
second surgery. So most of December will be spent preparing for haul-out and moving off the
boat. We plan to spend Christmas here in San Carlos.
Wishing all our friends and family a wonderful holiday season and healthy new year.
| Photos for Nov 2008 |