12 February, 04 Thursday. We have had our last breakfast at Jauncho’s Sand Bar and the beach of Cabo San Lucas for at least the next 2 years. We leave with a sad heart and will miss not only our many friends of Cabo but of the wonderful and exciting elements that Cabo San Lucas offers it’s self. It has been quite a ride having the opportunity that we have had in living in San Lucas from 1988-91, being in business general real estate (yes, even time-share sales), meeting the many Mexican families and becoming very close with them, and driving the Baja from one end to the other with all the many attractions that the Baja has to offer. We spent yesterday at the beach hoping to get the final rays that the sun would offer for the last couple of days. There were many friends that we met on the beach from all over the west coast and we all gathered together for one more time. At the close of the day we all decided to gather at our condo for a barbeque and finish off the case of Pacifico and the Tequila . It was a real good time.
As we sat down at the beach table, kicking our tennis shoes off and putting our feet into the warm sand we were joined by Leslee & Sid, Doris & Juancho, Bonnie & Doug, and Ernie and Sheila. A wonderful group to gather for our last breakfast and to say good-bye too. THANK YOU ALL for being there and wishing us well on our next adventure.
We look forward to being with you again soon.

Monday, 9 Feb 04. Time has arrived and we must say good bye…. To Goldie that is !!!!
We have really enjoyed the time with Goldie and how reliable and trustworthy she has been. There were times when we had a little doubt of her reliability, there were times when we wondered just how much gas she would really take or how much gas we would have to take from her, and there were times when we, were looked at as if something really exciting might happen right there and now, like she might have a large explosion, a final cough, and a huge cloud of smoke. Well, that said, we presented her with a gift of a Yellow Chicken Bobble Head which we mounted to the dashboard with duct tape. Now you must understand, all of this does a good job of enhancing her interior….well, maybe, enhances might be a little strong (you’ve got to use your imagination a little on this) and we named it Goldie in her honor. She really liked the gift and I’m sure will always remember us for it. We decided to drive together into town for lunch at Casa Dorado and then onto Eddie Feinstein’s Custom Design Jewelry (please call 044-624-1432559) to take Goldie back to Eddie (all washed and looking fine). Just a side note, the lunch was wonderful and we highly recommend this restaurant to all who might find themselves in Cabo San Lucas and looking for a very good restaurant that is NOT going to cost them an arm and a leg. It was a really difficult day….well, that didn’t last long !!! After riding the bus back to the condo we found that Ernie and Sheila had finally arrived. We invited them up for a “Welcome Back” Pina Colada. By the time they had made it up to our place, we had Leroy & Claudia Ostrem, their friends (and ours) Scott & Ronda, Leslee & Sid, and Charolette (our next door neighbor) all here to partake in the smooth tastes of our Pina Colada’s and the “fine hors d’oeuvres”. WE ALL HAD A GOOD TIME !!!!

Here it is, already day four of our seven day vacation. I have to say the old saying “Time flies when you are having fun.”, is exactly what Sid and I are experiencing. When Dad asked if I would write today’s entry, I jumped at the chance! Today is Friday, February 06, 2004, a holiday in Mexico. It celebrates one of their Constitution Days. We slept in (8:30am) on account of the holiday, and possible over consumption from last night. We didn’t waste much more daylight and after enjoying one of Sid’s famous breakfasts of chorizo and eggs on tortillas (Mexican train wreck), we were off to visit the old lighthouse. Sid and I had ATV’d up to the lighthouse, along with mom and dad when we were here for our honeymoon almost fifteen years ago but now it is closed to all traffic except pedestrian. I don’t know whose idea it was, but I poured at least a cup of sand out of each shoe and coughed up a lung before the experience was over. We all concurred that we deserved a cerveza and headed in search of a super mini (convenience store). After being teased by beer signs in the distance (a mirage, I think), we finally found one that was open. Everyone else bought pop, so I decided I better just follow suit. We experienced quite a bit of the outskirts of Cabo on the adventure, and it really makes you thank God for all he has blessed us with. When we got back to the condo, mom and I decided to head to town for a little souvenir shopping. Dad graciously offered us a ride in Goldie, and we went in and out of the same store at least 30 times. They all have the same best junk, and they all say they have “best price for you today”. I asked one of the store owners what the price was tomorrow, and they kindly asked us to leave! We were told to be back by 3:30, and at 2:55 we were on a bus headed for home! Juancho and Doris invited us all out for a sunset cruise on their new boat. Bonnie and Doug, Mom and Dad, and Sid and I were treated like royalty and witnessed many things we had never seen or heard before. The whales were spouting and the skates were belly flopping, the sun went down, and a full moon arose from the water. We were given a Latin lesson by Juancho, and drank a little wine and enjoyed some wonderful snacks. While driving home, we happened upon a festival of Spanish dancers and stopped and watched as they twirled around the plaza. It was an awesome day, and aside from the lung thing, a day that I will treasure for years to come.

4,5 Feb.04, Wed/Thursday “No Alcohol, just WATER TODAY PLEASE !!!! Now that is a statement!! I didn’t think I would ever hear that statement coming on the first morning of the 2nd day but, there it was…. We were all up and looking for the first cup of coffee before 8am and that alone was a good sign. I called down to the BUNGALOWS BED & BREAKFAST to see if we can get in for breakfast and they are expecting us at 9:30. We are looking forward to the breakfast burritos . Well, we all had a good time in Cabo yesterday. After breakfast of bacon and eggs …. Sid has just told me that I’ve got to talk about the ”bread”. Well, yes we had bread too. It is home made and quite wonderful. I even have to slice it prior to toasting. Yes Sid, it is some wonderful bread !!! Now, back to the journal, we went out to catch a bus to JUANCHO’S SAND BAR at the beach. While waiting, one of the neighbors here at Brisas came by and offered us a ride so we decided to save $1.20 and accept it. That did buy us another cerveza you know. This day turned into quite a BEACH PARTY…Les and Sid made sure that all those that came to the SAND BAR were made to feel at home. I’m sure they will soon be offered a job by one of the Time Share companies or who knows possibly even the SAND BAR (maybe I could get a free cervasa once in awhile). We all got a lot of sun, but Sid won the prize. He went to bed with a very cold wrap around his head. This morning he is applying a lot of 45 lotion before the sun can even find him. He’ll make it, he’s tough…. Coming back from the beach we walked up and caught one of the small buses back to the condo. This is the first time that we’ve ridden on one of the buses with hardly anyone on it. This gave Leslee and Sid a chance to practice their Spanish. They felt right at home as they tried to get everyone involved. It just wasn’t the same cooperation that they got back at the beach, but we all had fun anyway.

3 Feb. 04, Tuesday. Don’t look so sad Joelle, we all have to go back home some day…
She has had a sad face and lacking the energy she once had when she arrived last week. She just said it was “The Cabo Blues”. Ya, that’s what I thought too (she has to leave for the airport in 15 minutes). It has been a fun time and we have had our days filled with lots of beach time, cervasa time, just plain bumming around time. We are glad she could make it down. We were invited to another dinner party last night. Juancho and Doris invited Bonnie, Doug, Roger, Joelle, Louise and me to join them at their wonderful home for a great meal of Lasagna. What a great night to spend with a wonderful family that we have come to know and love here in Cabo San Lucas. I must say that they have a lot of Love that is so obvious to their family and friends….it’s never hidden. Arriving at the airport and checking in Joelle found that she would depart much later than she thought so we wondered over to a bar to have a beer while waiting for Leslee and Sid to arrive. I must say it was refreshing and it gave us a little more time with Joelle. Leslee and Sid appeared walking down the hall so I went to pay for the beer….now understand, we had one beer apiece and we just happen to be at the airport in CABO SAN JOSE. Well the bill was one of the HUGHE SURPRISES of this trip….$5.00 EACH (I pay 40 cents at the store) PLUS TAX….$15.00 for 3 standard sized beers….I was PSST…. Oh well. Bye Joelle….Hello Leslee and Sid. Welcome to Cabo, come on, lets go for a ride in ‘Goldie”.

2 Feb. 04, Monday. Well a few days have gone by and I haven’t spent anytime on the journal. I really appreciate all the birthday wishes and look forward to next year already…not knowing exactly where it may be. Sunday we (Louise, Joelle, and myself headed off to town for breakfast and check in with Eddie. Eddie had offered his Chev Suburban for us to use for the rest of our stay…..Isn’t that the GREATEST!!!! Thanks Ed ! Well “GOLDIE” as it is called was a wonderful addition to our experiences here in Cabo. “Goldie” truly is a “Cabo Car”. If you’ve spent any time here in Cabo you know what I mean. They are similar to the Cabo dogs as they don’t look so great, don’t run to smoothly, have wonderful personality BUT, are just wonderful to have for transportation when you need them (the cars, not the dog’s). On Sunday evening, Bonnie & Doug asked us to join 3 other couples and their families for a fish barbeque at their “casa”. First off, what a great meal…Doug, you out did yourself at the barbeque and Bonnie, you have continued to put a wonderful meal together for all of us to remember. Now I must mention the brownies as well, many thanks for these wonderful morsels with the candles go to Gerri (from Boise and a little while back from Post Falls). Next I must mention our memorable trip to San Jose (where the Rohrers casa is located) with “Goldie”. We all prayed a few times for our and others safety as we zoomed down highway at 35 mph (I wouldn’t really want to travel any faster with her) and the other vehicles ZOOMED past us (sometimes I would see them coming and other times WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT !!!).

We are soooo... relaxed here. Think of you every day and miss you all. Louise, how was opening night of the play? Wish we could of been there and can't wait to see it on the 14th. Yesterday we got up late. Grampa made French toast. It was very good, fried in bacon fat, olive oil and butter. Yum! Yes that ole Atkins thing and got away from us. We will need to get real serious when we get back. We caught the bus into town and went to Eddies shop and picked up GOLDIE. A 1980s something Chevy Suburban. We will send pictures, what an adventure. We took her up over Pedregal and to the Pacific beach. Joelle and I gathered some shells. It was very quiet, just the surf and wind. We were trying to cut down on the sun a little. Then we went for lunch on the Marina. A place called the Amazon. They had two bright green small parrots, who enjoyed chips and salsa with us. Dad will send a picture. We had to get some olives for Bonnies get together today, so we stopped at the grocery store CCCs. They have the best olives, fresh picked and cured. Being Saturday they were really busy. Came home with our goodies and read and laid around until dinner time. We decided to walk to Sorianas for dinner, and try the Mexican deli at the back of the store. But alas our espanol was not good enough for us to understand how it works, so it was Mickey Ds for us. Then we checked out Titty's Boutique. Cute store for girls and women. Nothing inexpensive there! Walked back to the condo and just veged. This morning the weather is cool and windy, clouds and sun.