Happy Birthday Zachary, Feb 26, 2009

Happy #10 Birthday to you Zach.  We love you!!  Don’t you love those bright blue eyes and huge smile!!

Zach’s Jujitso Kata Contest, Feb. 21, 2009

Megan told us that Zach was having a Jujitso kata contest on Saturday.  A few years ago we were home for one of these contests and were able to attend.  The following is from the web “The word kata, coming from the Japanese meaning 'formal exercise' is basically a prescribed sequence of movements which demonstrate the techniques and principles of pre-defined martial arts moves.”

Here is Zach and his partner with his instructor or Sensei.

Here Zach is performing a  kata move with his partner.And here is the happy winner.  He received a two metals, one for 2nd place in his kata moves and a 1st place metal for his combative sequence.  He is one happy boy!!!  We are very proud of you Zachary.  Zach will be having a birthday this coming Thursday, he will be 10 years old.  We Love You!!

It was overcast all day today, so that usually means a spectacular sunset.

In this special moment in life…make some mistakes.

Mexican Dentists, Feb 18-21, 2009

Don’t you think it was time to wash the windshield?  Here it is partially washed-just hate that salt spray.  See the condo in the reflection.

Here I am washing the windshield, I like having the mirror to keep my balance.  Washing the windshield in the middle tests my balancing ability.  So far so good!

Here I am sitting in the office of a Mexican dentist.  The LG Dental Offices.  Today I am getting my teeth cleaned, they charged $60.

 

Well, these were my two front teeth.  They have crowns on them.  These crowns were put on about 12 years ago and my gum is receding, so you see a dark line above the crown. 

The need for all this dental work happened when I was a kid, I stepped on a mattock  and the handle flew up and hit me in the mouth.  I didn’t know it then, but that incident killed my front four bottom teeth and my top two teeth.  I now have a six teeth bridge on the bottom and the top front two are crowned. All this damage did not show up until after Bob and I were married.  Bob always jokes, he should have looked me over like you do a horse-you always check their teeth before you buy them.  

The dentist said they could replace the crowns with a porcelain over gold crowns and when my gums continue to recede there will be no dark edge as it is gold, a lighter color.  The crowns above are porcelain over a dark metal and it is the dark metal that you see in the above photo.  

So on Thursday (2/19) I went in to have the old crowns removed and molds taken for new ones.  They also made me some temporary front teeth.  Today, Saturday (2/21) I went back and had the new crowns fitted and cemented on.

Here they are, I  am happy!

They charged $375 for each one.  I had one crown done two years ago in Oregon and they charged me $1,000.

After the dentist we stopped at the produce market and Bob is looking for the best avocados, this is also where we get the huge papayas and juicy tomatoes.

Now, this is a bunch of green onions!!

Today we bought 4 big tomatoes, 1 large papaya, 2 tangerines, 3 avocados and this bunch of onions for 50.00 pesos($3.54).

Time Flies, Feb. 12-17, 2009

Boy, where does the time go.  We have been lazying around, going for daily walks on the beach, now we pick low tide to walk as there is more hard sand to walk on.

Now you are going to ask, what in the world is this photo of, well it is a Corelle plate that dropped, hit the tile floor and shattered.  Pieces went everywhere, but luckily neither of us were injured, just maybe Bob’s ego a little as he was the unlucky one to drop it.

We have been having some wonderful papayas.  This one had only one seed.  Also found the local produce market so we are getting lots of avocados and papaya for very little money.

One of my favorite Mexican foods is chili rellenos, so we bought these two from a local vendor who comes around selling them in the park, also bought some of the best flour tortillas.  The rellenos were $2.50 each and a dozen tortillas were $2.00.

Here is a photo of a kilo of corn tortillas ($0.46) we bought at the Super Ley store,  Bob checked out the web and he says they are owned by Safeway.  The tortillas were just hot off the press when we bought them.

This was dinner last night (Monday), bay scallops ($6/lb) in the bottom left and tomato cilantro, avocado with blue cheese salad and some maiz precocido (upper left) mixed with some cilantro and onion, it was what we think is hominy—pretty good but we will have to find more recipes for the hominy.

   Here I am this morning looking for just that perfect shell. 

This morning I also extended our space for three more weeks, leaving for Arizona on March 11.  We thought we were going to have to move spots, but the office personnel did some magic and cleared our site of future reservations so we don’t have to move.  Also we did not know until a few days ago that we can both send and receive mail here at Playa Bonita.  The park has a Lukeville AZ address and they allow their guests to use that PO Box as well.  They drive to Lukeville AZ three times a week, pick up the mail and then delivery it to us here at the park-not bad!!  So Zach, Justin, Lindsey and Abby, watch for a post card coming your way.

  In this special moment in life…Reach out

Wind and Groceries, Feb. 11, 2009

We thought we were going to move to another RV park, the one we tried to walk to the other day via the beach. Well two days ago we drove down and what you see in this photo is blowing sand—everywhere. At this point in time we were in our 3rd day of having 20-25 mph winds. The winds did die down later that evening and the coach seemed so quiet, no toppers flapping, no wind noises, and no coach rocking. Also noticed the next day every surface that was ocean side was coved in salt spray, that includes our windshield and front mirrors. Guess who will have to get out there and clean that salt off. Yours truly.

This is the other RV area called The Reef, we looking back towards where are staying at Playa Bonita. We are located beyond the high rise condos way out there. You can see the rough surf that the winds brought.

The next day Bob and took a walk, it was low tide so the walking was easy. I love how these small sand islands look, wouldn’t you like to have a penny for his thoughts!

On our beach walk I picked up a few shells. When we got back to the coach, I put them on the counter to eventually wash them. I kept hearing a strange sound, a faint ticking sound. I looked up and followed my ears and this is what I saw!

These small snail shells were miniature hermit crabs. They were only about 3/4 of an inch long. Yes, I did then check all the shells and took about 5 of the hermit crab shells back down to the edge of the surf so they could live another day.

We have been having some wonderful shrimp. This is a shrimp and fresh asparagus omelet Bob fixed-very good!!

How do you like my shell collection? I even found a few hermit crabs in the long pointed shells.

We went grocery shopping today at the Super Ley, they are owned by Safeway and it is a nice store. When we arrived the parking lot was busy and they had parking lot attendants with whistles helping people back out and directing others to a parking spot. We are not sure why the rush, it was around 2:45 to 3:00. All this (see photo below) cost us 121.00 Peso which converts to $8.57.

We did, a few days ago, find an ATM and got out some pesos. Sounds easy, but not for us. It took us two transactions as the first time we pushed the amount that said $100, well that got us 100 pesos, worth about $7 US dollars, that won’t get us very far, so we did another transaction, this time for 1500 a little over $106.00.

The problem is they use the same symbol that we do for the dollar at the ATMs—now we know. Or at least we know what that ATM does. The yellow papaya cost in US $1.65, avocados were $0.40 each, the cantaloupe was $1.44, Molina Vanilla $1.15, green onions .58 and the chilies were .23.

In this special moment in life…Let someone in

Enjoying Quiet, Feb 4-8, 2009

This shot is just out in front of the RV park, notice all the condo’s, we thought we would walk all the way down to another RV Park called The Reef which is beyond the distant condos.  Well, the tide was in and that left walking either in the water or in the soft sand.  So every step was an effort. When we  finally stopped walking, (you don’t want to know the dialog) the RV park was still a long distance away, think we will drive down in a few days, as we are considering moving to this park when our second week at Playa Bonita is over. After our marathon beach walk, lunch was in order.  We had eaten at this restaurant two years ago and loved their fish tacos with their wonderful cilantro dressing. Lunch was delicious, just as we remembered it. As you can see, the park still has room.  There are a few groups up at the other end of the park, but down where we are, lots of open spots.

After lunch we went shrimp shopping, bought 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of jumbo/large mix for $10. The two young ladies are getting help setting up their tent.  The poles must have had bent ends and needed the help of four other RVers to fix them.  Maybe the fact those  needing  help were young ladies?? Another one of our sunsets…Here is a wonderful shrimp avocado salad that Bob made.  Delicious.   We have been eating shrimp for breakfast with egg and asparagus, shrimp tacos for lunch and this for dinner. I sure was surprised to see a hummer at the feeder. Off and on for both Saturday and Sunday we had the R… word along with wind. But then last night it cleared off and we given this sunset show.

In this special moment in life…Slow down

Sunset Cruise in Mexico, Feb 3, 2009

Our time with the RV America group was coming to an end.  We had spent time with the group since Jan 13 in Quartzsite and now in Puerto Penasco or Rocky Point, Mexico.  Tonight the group of 24 were going on a Sunset Cruise on the Sea of Cortez.

The group assembled at 2:30 to drive down to the dock were the catamaran was moored.  Our boat is the one that has brown steps leading to it, in the center.

We all had brought along our meat to grill and a side dish—so there was plenty of food to share.  Mark did a great job of grilling all our food.

Here is Bob just relaxing on the boat before we ate.

Before we cast off, a Mexican mother with her three children came onboard selling some homemade jewelry- this little girl just moved to the music. 

Here is a group shot of everyone.  I forgot to tell you earlier, that just as soon as we arrived onboard, we were offered free bottomless margaritas, soda, draft beer and water.  It wasn’t long until everyone was having a great time.  You can also check out the three links in the prior post for more photos.

Usually these two, Earl and Bob wear hats for obvious reasons—here they are flashing their …heads.  Beware of the glare.

The Linda’s are up in the crow’s nest, from here you get a great view.  You can see forever.

Can’t you tell we are all dancing the Macharina and moving almost together!   Some of the group call this dance the Margarita—maybe it is the drink by the same name that gives one courage to dance.

Now for the sunset…the real reason we were here.

 

In this special moment in life…enjoy wonder

Kites & Party Time, Feb 1-2, 2009

The weather here has just be stellar. Clear blue skies and a light gentle breeze. What goes better together than kites and winds. These kites were enormous and there were three of them.

On Super Bowl Sunday a few of us ladies got together and played Mexican Train—what more appropriate game to pay while in Mexico. If you sat in the sun you were warmer than those who did not. Of course some of the guys watched the game.

On Monday evening we played this very unique game that Richard had emailed to Linda O. the U-tube link about a month ago. Linda O has purchased the necessary playing pieces. Needless to say-it was hilarious. You placed the toilet plunger between your legs and your partner put a roll of toilet paper in the same position. I’ll let the photos explain further.

The winning team!! Lorraine, Sue, Linda (me) and Jeanette. Oh, to win you had to get three rolls of toilet paper in the bucket.

The guys were anxious for their turns.

To see more photos check out these other blogs: Mark and Sue's Blog, Richard and Patsy's Blog, Manual and Connie's Blog.

In this special moment in life…Try something new