27 December ‘06

Wednesday

We celebrated Christmas once again here in Cabo.  I think the first Christmas we spent here was in 1988 and then the next 3 following years as well.  One of the celebrations was on Santa Maria Beach with the Chouinard family.  Then in 2000 we were fortunate to have the “Whole Dang Family” (15 of us) here for the Christmas season.  Someone might say that this is almost like a 2nd home to us for Christmas.  2 years ago we spent Christmas in Meteora Greece and last year at Rhonda Spain… Were will it be next year?

We had a pot-luck dinner of turkey, ham, and all the trimmings here at the RV park with about 90 other campers.  About 6 we joined Ricardo and went over to the Tolson home for an after dinner cocktail and good conversation among good friends.  Just what Christmas is all about.  Yesterday and today we spent the morning close by the coach, with laundry being the main subject today.  About 2 this afternoon we went out to “Ship Wreck” Beach to check it out.  It has been a long time since we were last there.  In fact, Doug and Bonnie Rohrer used to camp right on the waters edge there.  That was about 1989 or 90, long before the 36 hole Jack Nicholas golf course and Sheridan Hotel were built on that site.  We did find the beach mostly in tack, but with the hotel and the golf course right in back, it seemed quite different.  It was great to get back out there.  This beach has a lot of perfect gold sand and beautiful rock formations that come right out of the water.  The waves today were a treat for those that love to body surf and the rocks are great for those of us that like to snorkel.  The fish seem to team around the formations close to shore.  It was getting pretty dark when we got back home so we opted to head out to find dinner on the street somewhere.  Our first stop was a taco stand that was next door to one of the busiest bus stops in town.  It was also one of the busiest businesses around.  Louise and I both had a couple of pork tacos that didn’t last 2 seconds on our plate.  That taste is so perfect…and then the Mexican condiments…incredible.  The ambiance was just what we were looking for…young man behind the counter, his wife waiting the little metal card tables that sit on the neatly swept dirt floors, and the pre-teen son washing the dishes from a pot that sits so high on the counter that he had to find a stool to stand on.  I wasn’t quite full, so we went out to find one more “hot spot”.  This second one was about 3 blocks out the back roads from town.  It was so full of customers that we just knew we had to stop and try what ever they were selling.  Louise had had her fill from the last stop so I was on my own.  It had been a long time since I had had a “torta” (Mexican sandwich) and this one was just as good as I had remembered them to be. 

Merry Christmas….

 

Well  here it is Christmas eve!!

I remember going to bed at about 5:00Pm.  It was so hard to get to sleep! 

 

You just got to sleep when all of a sudden, you heard clanging and banging. Ho Ho Ho !  You jumped out of bed and ran out  to see what was happening. Ho Ho HO! Santa had come. A house that had no decorations suddenly sparkled with lights and a Christmas tree decorated all in wonderful edible  decorations.  A wonderful nativity.  It was so exciting almost over whelming.  When we were older, we got to help select the tree and help trim and surprise the younger set.  We usually got the tree at a bargain. The advantage of shopping Christmas eve. Of course, one of us wanted to inspect every tree to make sure we got the perfect one. After opening our presents, we would attend midnight mass. 

Now we are grown as are our Children. It is a different time. A time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.  The birth of our saviour.  The king of kings! We wish you all Gods blessings now and in the new year!

Thinking of you,

Love , Joel and Louise, Mom and dad, Grama and Grampa

22 December ‘06

Friday

We stayed close by on Wednesday and Thursday, did some carpet cleaning in the coach, shopped for a 5 gallon water jug and had a couple of great meals in town.  The Baja Cantina for lunch on Wednesday and one of our favorite taco stands for shrimp and fish tacos on Thursday.  Then on Thursday evening, we took one of the couples from the campground and headed out to see the sunset.  Unfortunately it was unimpressive…we were entertained by a young fellow that took his 4 wheel drive pickup too far into the sand.  At one time he even had the water coming up to the tires…so close to loosing it.  Finally with the help of the “authorities”, he got it out.  It just so happens that the beaches are out of bounds for all motor vehicles…turtle lying beds are all around…he got himself a big fine.  Louise has finished making her famous fudge.  All of this will be going to the campground “Christmas Dinner Party”.  I tried to talk my way into keeping a little for myself, but that didn’t work.  This morning (Friday) I had to get the heck out of bed by 5am.  I was invited to go fishing with Ricardo and Lee this morning.  5 years ago Louise, Leslee, Sid, and me met Ricardo (Richard) and his lovely wife Suzi at the Sand Bar restaurant and bar here on the beach.  If you spend a few minutes with this couple, you become immediate friends.  It just so happened that they have built their “Casita” here in this RV park and while walking around the first day we ran directly into them.  A day later Ricardo asked me to go fishing with him, so how could I refuse.  Ricardo brought his boat down from Oregon and this is going to be his first time fishing out of Baja.  Lee, another neighbor, has been many times, so he was going to be our “leader”.  We were fishing out by “El Faro Viejo” (The Old Lighthouse), which is about 5 miles up the Pacific coastline from San Lucas.  We were out there before the sun rose out of the Eastern Sea.  Ricardo was first to “hook-up”.  He caught a real nice Dorado, about 25 to 28 pounds.  Then it went dry for a couple of hours.  A couple of miles off to the South, we saw a number of other boats that were huddled around some sea birds.  This often means that there are fish in the area, so we headed over to see what was happening.  It wasn’t but a minute and I was hooked up, but this time it was with a Marlin.  I wasn’t too excited about it being a Marlin, as I knew I would just have to put it back, and besides the Dorado is sooo good, but that is what it was.  Now for the next 45 minutes it beat the hell out of me.  I must tell you, I am writing this with every bone and muscle in my body so tired that I’m not sure I will finish this journal tonight.  We hadn’t set up for Marlin, so the pole and the line that I was using was too small and light for this struggle so I had to finesse it the whole time.  When the struggle was over I couldn’t tell you who won, but this I know, I got it to the boat and was able to take the hook out of the bill.  I also got a picture of this giant.  Our guess for the weight was 120-130 pounds.  Was it worth it?  I’ll tell you tomorrow.  Tonight however, we did enjoy a wonderful dinner of fresh caught Dorado.

19 December ‘06

Tuesday

Put your walking shoes on baby, we’re off to do the town…  We left the car behind and headed off to get some good walking in.  To the center of Cabo San Lucas, I would say we are about 2 to 3 miles out, but that’s what we did, and then returned a little tired.  Its ok, we really needed to get out there and walk a little after riding so much since leaving Imperial Dam in Arizona.  The weather was great (75 degrees and sunny) and the town was alive with “tourists”.  There were 3 cruise ships sitting out in the bay, and I would guess that each of them disembarked 3-4000 people each.  A shopping holiday for each one of them.  For Lou and me, we had some walking to do.  There is this new “mega store” in town that we hadn’t been to yet…The City Club.  It is very similar to Costco but you don’t have to buy in the large quantities.  If you want “one”, you can buy “one”.  I love the concept.  Seeing as how we were not “members”, we could go into the store and look all we wanted.  “IF” we wanted to buy something, when we got to the checkout counter, they would charge us $1.  I think this is great !!!  Besides, they had the most perfect selection of perfectly grown and displayed lettuce I’ve ever seen.  We’ll be going back tomorrow, with a TRUCK.  Then it was a walk through the super mall, down and around the city moorage and onto the Baja Cantina for lunch.  We ate from the “Bar” menu and had a wonderful meal with drinks for less than $10.  Now, with a full tummy, and feet that are telling us “it’s hot down here”, we head back home.  Yep, it was a “walk”, but it was needed.  I think I heard a “sizzle” when I stepped into the pool here at the campground, but who cares??? 

19 December ‘06

Tuesday

Put your walking shoes on baby, we’re off to do the town…  We left the car behind and headed off to get some good walking in.  To the center of Cabo San Lucas, I would say we are about 2 to 3 miles out, but that’s what we did, and then returned a little tired.  Its ok, we really needed to get out there and walk a little after riding so much since leaving Imperial Dam in Arizona.  The weather was great (75 degrees and sunny) and the town was alive with “tourists”.  There were 3 cruise ships sitting out in the bay, and I would guess that each of them disembarked 3-4000 people each.  A shopping holiday for each one of them.  For Lou and me, we had some walking to do.  There is this new “mega store” in town that we hadn’t been to yet…The City Club.  It is very similar to Costco but you don’t have to buy in the large quantities.  If you want “one”, you can buy “one”.  I love the concept.  Seeing as how we were not “members”, we could go into the store and look all we wanted.  “IF” we wanted to buy something, when we got to the checkout counter, they would charge us $1.  I think this is great !!!  Besides, they had the most perfect selection of perfectly grown and displayed lettuce I’ve ever seen.  We’ll be going back tomorrow, with a TRUCK.  Then it was a walk through the super mall, down and around the city moorage and onto the Baja Cantina for lunch.  We ate from the “Bar” menu and had a wonderful meal with drinks for less than $10.  Now, with a full tummy, and feet that are telling us “it’s hot down here”, we head back home.  Yep, it was a “walk”, but it was needed.  I think I heard a “sizzle” when I stepped into the pool here at the campground, but who cares??? 

18 December ‘06

Monday

Sunday we headed off to do some shopping.  Our first stop, a little taco stand up the hill from here.  They were serving these wonderful marinated beef tacos.  They also had these large clay crocks that were filled with the sides.  One was onions, and three different peppers that had all been fried together to make this wonderful garnish.  Other was filled with beans, and the third with “salsas”…Let me tell you…I was in “Hog Heaven”…  Our second stop was Mega Stores (a huge grocery store) in San Jose.  We weren’t looking for much, but lettuce and other vegetables were high on our list.  We had a chance to visit this store when we met Bonnie and Doug last Friday, and thought this store would be high on our list to find what we wanted in both variety and quality.  Well, we thought it would anyway.  On closer inspection and shopping, we didn’t find anything on our list that we wanted to come home with.  Yes, we spent about $10 on something’s, but we were really disappointed.  Ok, let’s head back to San Lucas.  Now both of these towns here in “Los Cabos” have grown, more than you can imagine if you haven’t been here for a couple of years.  Not only the huge mega stores, but the individual homes, golf courses, hotels, condos (both timeshare and individual homes), and “traffic cops”.  Our next stop was Home Depot.  I needed to find some very long nails and an extension cord for the Christmas lights.  Found the cord but no nails…  Ok, onto Costco…you can never go to Costco without spending something, and this was the case this time around.  I can’t remember what we bought except a large container of mixed nuts…One more stop…Sorreanos.  This is another bigger than huge store that carries groceries, clothing and on and on…  Of course we spent a couple of Peso’s there as well.  I really don’t remember why, but the lines at all the tills were just huge.  They were running 28 tills and they were all packed with buyers wanting to check out.  5 years ago when we were there the store had just opened up and everything was well stocked and looking good.  Well today…we most likely won’t be getting back.  I know, it is the Christmas shopping time, but the disarray and the masses of people are just more than I want to punish myself with.  About 4 in the afternoon we shuffled ourselves back home, completely “shopped out”, but without anything either of us had had on our list, especially lettuce. 

16 December ‘06

Saturday

This morning we decided to take a walk along the resort beach and grab some breakfast at “The Sandbar” Restaurant.  It’s only been 3 years since we were last here and the changes along the beach are incredible.  Fact is, the changes in all of “Los Cabos” is startling…  It’s good to sit down for a great breakfast and be able to have your feet in the warm sand at the same time.  We also had a chance to see “Cheno” (the best waiter anywhere along the beach in Los Cabos).  We also had a treat just as we were finishing our breakfast…The whole Tolson family came in for their breakfast as well.  They all were looking great, and the kids, boy have they grown.  Max is now 13, Louisa is 15 and both are beautiful young adults.  Juancho and Doris are both looking great.  The every day stress of being in a number of very competitive businesses isn’t taking a toll on their lives.  It’s been a long time since I’ve sat at a longer breakfast…it was great to see them again.  For the past week or more, there has been either a strike or a shortage at the Pemex stations (gas/diesel) up and down the Baja.  When they are open the lines are staggering.  Finally this afternoon when I checked I found the lines to have disappeared, so after dropping Louise off at the coach, I ran up the hill to “filler up”.  When the tank was full and the pump had clicked off, I found that I had a problem…I forgot to pick up my wallet when I left the motor home…DAMN !!!  Now what???  This young man is very patient with me as I try to explain to him my dilemma.   “What if I leave my car here with you and I walk back and get my wallet???? Is that OK???”  I’m not sure even yet what he said but I was off on my walk back the 2 miles in 85 degree weather to get my wallet…  On the way back I got thinking…the coach needs gas too, so that will get me a ride back…the only thing is, the coach is all set up.  All 3 slides are out, the coach is up on the jacks, the canopy is out and locked, the “EasyBoy” chair is in place and the dishes and everything else isn’t packed for traveling.  Hell, I need a ride and the coach needs gas sometime…”PACK IT UP”.   Lou wasn’t a “Happy Camper”, but she did her best to help me out of this predicament.   

15 December ‘06

Friday

Our first full day in Cabo San Lucas.  We got an email from Bonnie and Douglas and they had said that they would be flying out of Cabo today, so we thought we would get up to say goodbye before they left.  Of course they weren’t home but we did get a hold of them by phone.  We arranged to meet them in San Jose for a quick lunch, saw their new condo, said our goodbyes and off they went.  They were heading to Mt Vernon for Christmas, but will be back here in a couple of weeks.  Then it was back to San Lucas.  We stopped by to see Ed Feinstein and Joanie to do some catching up, but Joanie couldn’t be found.  Eddie was working his tail off trying to keep everyone happy even if they had waited to the last minute to have him make up the jewelry for their Christmas gifts.  Oh yes, Eddie has himself a new dog. Then it was back to the coach and finish setting up.

14 December ‘06

Thursday

Yesterday morning we pulled out of LaPaz early and headed for Todos Santos.  There is this wonderful little “truck stop” that I have been going to for over 18 years.  It was first introduced to me by one of the other new salesmen from Club Cascadas, who being Mexican, he just knew that the food was going to be excellent. At that time, we were on our way to LaPaz to get our license to sell timeshare.  Since that time, I’ve been getting back to eat there any chance I get.  The first time there, they had dirt floors, chickens running in and out from under the tables, a couple of dogs laying around, and at least 4 cats rubbing your leg looking for a hand out.  Now, they still have that dirt floor but all the animals are either gone or hidden somewhere.  The food is still EXCELLENT and the service is great.  Louise started talking to a lady that seemed to be running the place and telling her how long we have been coming in.  She was very excited to hear that and insisted that there was to be no charge for our breakfast, even as I objected, she insisted even more… Pretty nice place and as always, great people…and as always, we will be back.  Another 10 miles down the highway we came to Todos Santos.  Frank and Lynn, from Coeur d’Alene Idaho, have a place here and about this time of year they are having their Gourmet Mexican Cooking classes.  We knew we would have a little trouble getting the motor home into their little neighborhood, so we found a place along side the main street in town and unhooked the “toad”.  Now we are ready for some 4 wheelin…  we found Frank and Lynn heavy into cleaning up their home after the summer storms, and with only a few more days to go before the people start to arrive for their classes, we didn’t stick around too long.  We told them we would try to help, but their answer to that was “believe me when I say we can do it faster by ourselves, but thanks anyway”…we’re gone…  Cabo San Lucas here we come. 

13 December ‘06

Wednesday

We decided to stay two days here at Bahia Concepción.  This bay is so beautiful, and we were able to put the coach into the most perfect spot, we decided we needed to stay an extra day. Unfortunately we weren’t able to put the kayak into the water because the wind was just too strong during the mid day.  That’s ok, we will be coming back here in late March and as much as we can remember the wind is almost non-existent.  The place that we stayed this time was Hotel Buena Venture.  It is a small single story “U” shaped building with a couple of individual bungalows on one side.  Out at the edge of the sand beach, are 8 locations that you can pull an RV in.  We chose the one that was right on the end and with the help of a rock projection into the bay we had the perfect spot to park.  The water completely surrounded us on three sides.  The Pelicans were well fed with little fish that schooled right in front of us.  We had quite a show for two solid days, but also felt sorry for those little fishes.  This morning after a quick cleaning of the Tracker battery terminal, we left at 10am and headed out for a long day on the road.  We covered about 280 miles in 6 ½ hours.  There were some very high mountain ranges to cross and of course the roadways continued to be very narrow.  Fortunately the traffic was pretty light.  I stopped twice to put $600 pesos worth of gas into the tank.  The prices we have paid for gas have been about the same as we paid in the states ($2.50- $295 a gallon).  The first couple of stops in Mexico we weren’t able to get regular, all they were pumping was the premium.  Who know why, but you get what you get…  Tonight we headed into LePaz to find a bank machine and have a light dinner.  I must say I still like LePaz, even though it is a large city.  The campground for the night is located 6 blocks off the main street and at the end of a dirt road.  There are no more than 12 RV sites here and they are very nice.  It is one of those little known locations and will stay that way unless they put some signage out there.  There wasn’t one sign, not even at the gate… We have also found it interesting that since we’ve been here in the Baja, we’ve met at least 6 or 7 campers that are from Europe.  Right here in this campground, there is one camping family from Germany and a couple with a VW campervan from Italy.  Of course, most of the campers that we have met since crossing the border are from BC Canada, even more than those from the states (they must like the narrow highway).