Maggie's Buddy

We are now the proud "renters" of Kia. Barb is unable to take her home when she flies out on Wednesday with the Air Ambulance from Calgary. The ambulance is coming down to take her husband, Bill, home for treatment at a Canadian hospital.

The hospital in Hermosillo is top notch and people can't get better health care anywhere. It becomes a health insurance issue with long term patients and Bill is more than likely in for a long haul so it is the wise decision to fly home.

Kia and Maggie were pretty close buddies who loved to terrorize Fred and I. I can't count the number of screens we have replaced or the number of dog hairs we have vacuumed up, but it was so much fun watching them together.

With Maggie gone, Kia is much more settled around the house so our screens may be safe for awhile.

Farewell

Our neighbours are leaving for the summer and tonight a few of us went out for dinner. We arrived early and you can see Fred entertaining his many friends!

We are preparing for a doggie invasion tomorrow. A friend from Sundre has developed a serious health problem and is in Hermosillo hospital tonight. His wife is following him tomorrow morning so we are looking after Kia...one of Maggie's best friends. The destroyers of the screen!

Last Day

Well, not quite the last day, but almost all the restaurants are closed on Monday so we had to go for our last meal on Sunday.

We had a busy day starting with a huge fundraiser at La Palapa Beach Restaurant. We watched the Zumba dancers do their thing...and yes, I can do the moves! Just not as graceful and smooth as my morning friends.

From there we travelled the 10 kms to the Soggy Peso to have one last beach get-together with friends from Lo de Marcos. Most are heading home and a stop in San Carlos makes the drive a little easier.

We ended the day with a wonderful and relaxing meal at Blackies. As usual, Jesse was at his best while working on his specialty - flambé.

A Full Day

We drove to see the scenic overlook this morning....the one that National Geographic rates as the "best in the world". Not sure that I believe all the hype, but it is beautiful.

We visited La Manga and tried to get to the old Catch 22 movie site, but were unable to drive through the bushes and trees. We abandoned the effort after 10 minutes.

I dragged Fred and our visitors to a Zumba competition featuring Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico. We received free T shirts and couldn't understand why they wanted us to put them on...it took at least 15 minutes to realize we were at a political rally for the PAN Party.

The zumba was to take place after the speeches and news feeds. A political rally in Mexico is not the place for Canadians so we took our T shirts and went out for supper! Lesson learned.

We Have Been Waiting!

We have been waiting patiently for a chance to see the Yaquis performing their ritual dances. Last night while we were out for dinner they came to the restaurant. Patience rewarded!

The Yaquis are native people of the Sonoran desert. They appear in San Carlos and other towns during Lent asking for money to take home to their villages. The dancers wear the traditional deer head costume.

Anne and her margarita!

Proof

Before a visit to the golf course, Fred put Anne and Rick to work. Picking weeds and painting...two of my least favourite pastimes. Thank goodness for my gym time!

Just like when Adelle visited, we seemed to get things done...things that we often neglect for most of the winter.

A Quiet Evening

We only went to JJ's to please Alice...she hinted strongly that it was the place to be.

Even though JJ has moved locations, his place is just as lively as before.  In fact, this evening was not at all quiet.  The band keep the noise level up fairly high. The lead singer was quite the charmer.

The three of us had the shrimp tacos while Anne ventured out of our comfort level and tried the grilled fish tacos!

Anne met the famous JJ....but, "who cares"!

PS:  I forgot to mention that Rick was kicked out of the restaurant by the man himself. Rick ordered a Seven Up and JJ told him to leave.... in jest of course!

Candy

Yesterday was beach and shrimp and today was candy from the Dulceria!  We drove Chuyita home and had to make a stop at the candy store to pick up some peanuts and "stuff".  Lots of "stuff".

Before we left for Guaymas we took Anne and Rick to the Marina where we met two young boys and their freshly caught Yellow Tail....the tail broke off trying to fit it in their cooler.  Darn!

Shrimp

Yesterday was a day of beach and shrimp.  We drove to the shell beach to take a look at the shells that wash up....it was touch and go whether Anne would pocket a bunch or not!

We also stopped in Empalme to pick up shrimp from our favourite fishmonger. He didn't have any blues, but the grande were good enough for us. Sea Bass also ended up in our cooler!

The shrimp were delicious....fresh off the boat, home and onto the stove.  Nothing better than that!

Touring

There appears to be only one in the crowd who truly enjoys papaya. We decided that he who likes it, must clean it!

Regardless of the heat, we were determined to get some touring in today. We headed to the Pearl Farm with a few detours along the way. We stopped to pick up some juicing oranges from a farmer who was selling roadside. Remember, I was the lucky winner of a electric juicer at the Chinese Auction on Saturday and I wanted to try it out.

We wanted to showed Anne and Rick the fish shack on the way to Miramar...they were duly impressed!

The Pearl Farm was closed on Sunday so we headed to the Hotel Playa de Cortez. As usual, Fred and I were impressed with the compound...it is so quiet and has an "old feel" elegance to it.

It is a rare sight in Mexico to see palm trees, cactus and water so close to each other.

We had thought that we might go show off the golf course, but this weekend is a Mexican holiday and the crowds were unusually large so we chose to go home.

A few naps seem to be in order...but, only for those who are not used to the heat!

Auction

I had to assist with the park's Chinese Auction [I don't know why we haven't been reprimanded for the name] so Fred, Anne and Rick just took it easy today.  They found the energy to walk to Tony's for a few groceries before Fred dragged them to the clubhouse for a quick look.

The Chinese Auction is much like a community garage sale with the park making the money, not the donators.  If you see something you like you buy a ticket and put it in the bag connected to the selected item.  If your name is drawn, you win that item, along with all the other junk we put with the "good" item.  My name was drawn for a juicer, but I had to take all the cards, towels and just plain junk that came with it.  Thank goodness the Mexican workers and their families are here and are often willing to take the rest of the goodies home.

The heat was brutal today, so for me it was a quick bite to eat and off the bed by 8:30. I knew I was not taking the time to drink enough water and sure enough the headache arrived just when I thought it would.

Welcome

Try as I might, I can never get the ideal photo when someone is coming into the airport. Today was no different.

Anne and Rick's plane was on time and the flight uneventful.

Welcome to San Carlos!

Dear Mister...

Dear Mister Jayco:

Let me tell you a little bit about our recent travels with your wonderful 2015 Jayco that we purchased in Indiana in June. It was a fascinating experience, one that every Jayco owner should enjoy.

RVing should be smooth, effortless and fun.  I like to think that is what happened to us.

Getting ready to move on in the mornings gave us a chance to meet new friends as we had to find an able bodied man [with a ladder] willing to help us pull our awning in. Two of us couldn't force the arms over enough, plus we needed the ladder to tie down this marvellous awning. This bent awning arm gave us a chance to meet so many people [with a ladder] in the mornings.

Fred does his morning exercises by climbing to the top of the 5th wheel to make sure the antennae is down....why else would the inside handle fall off if it wasn't to force him to do some stairs and increase his fitness level.

While Fred is building up his heart rate outside, I am developing my reading selection inside.  I was having a hard time finding storage space for all my books, but not anymore. Now that the couch has broken away from the wall and floor, I just store them under the couch to keep it level. Thank you Mr. Jayco for solving my storage woes!

I, too, get to practise some fitness programs by developing a high step routine going into the bedroom where the floor boards have come loose from the header. I don't even mind the squeak that goes with the routine.

As for deep arm workouts, thank you for making sure the cupboard door fell off and we had to redrill, rescrew and pray it stayed in place.  Spiritual growth!

Our night vision has improved immensely since you decided we no longer needed an outside lighting system...plus we invested heavily in the Mexican economy by buying multiple flashlights.

On to a more personal improvement, I love having a shower with the door upside down. It gives me practise in patience, something I surely do need! I never know whether Fred has the door off or which way it is going to be on or whether it will leak this day or even if I can get it to open. Love the daily surprises!

Once we are on the road and quietly discussing our loyalty to you, Mr. Jayco, we get a chance to thank you again and again. We have to stop every 50 kms to take a walk [like any good fitness routine, repetition is the key] to make sure the windows are closed. You made such a wise choice in having the arms in four windows malfunction so that they come loose when driving and possibly flopping in the wind. The new type of windows you installed this year makes this possible and even very likely!

So as a recap, Mr. Jayco, thanks again for a wonderful RV and I know we will be seeing you again.  I am hoping we can get that meeting set up in Tucson, but you must be a very busy man because you never have time to answer our E Mails.

We are thinking of you every time we use the new and improved 2015 Jayco.

Fred and Colleen