First, the confession:
Those of you who keep blogs will understand when I say "#!*"???#@" about the sensitivities of some of these newfangled machines called computers. Yet again I had prepared a blog post, complete with short stories, humour and the details of our boat hunt and future plans... and then, just at that magic moment when all that was left was the salutation.... my right little finger gently swept across... barely touched.... the top of some unknown yet dastardly key... obviously camouflaged as a normal key but secretly planted as a warrior key... designed to thwart even the most careful preparations!!!!! and my submission was gone... not just hiding, but gone, gone, gone... Even Kathy couldn't find it.
I was so mad, I put the net book away and didn't write again... thought maybe I'd give up even.
Several days later (today) my conscience got the better of me and I realize that some of you are still waiting to hear about what's been going on with us. Sooooo, here I am again.. back on the keyboard (with little fingers cocked up towards the ceiling :-)
And now the update:
For those of you who have been following the boat hunt, the story (without the details) goes like this...
We didn't buy the Beneteau 361, and... we didn't buy the Catalina 36 MK II either. Turns out the boat was suffering from a major case of lack of sustained maintenance.... the clues had been there and I'd missed them... but the truth came out in the surveys. That's the long and the short of it.
As for what we're doing now... well, Chuck the truck is packed (almost...) The outboard, dinghy and kayak will be added this afternoon and, looking a lot like ma and pa kettle on the road, we'll be heading out early on January 2nd. We decided to sit out New Years here in Mazatlan.. celebrate a bit with our friends and then head north. We're not sure if we'll be able to fit all of the things we've collected in our little bungalow room (things like food and accessories) but we're pretty sure they'll be welcomed by some of the staff here. The folks at Mar Y Sol Bungalows are wonderful. The senior house keeper (Ceci) is particularly special... She even gave us a Christmas card which I think is something pretty unique. We'll miss these folks, but I have no doubt that as long as they're in business, we'll always stop here when we visit Mazatlan and need a land-based place to stay.
I better speed up before my finger hits that 'key' again.
Our plans are to head north to Guaymas on the 2nd, then across the border at Nogales on January 3rd. We'll then head directly for Yuma where Susan and George have found a place very near to their own for us to rent for two or more weeks. We're really looking forward to visiting with them and to resting up a bit from the frustrations of the boat hunt. Then we'll head to San Diego to continue our search.
Also ahead is a week's vacation in Cathedral City where we'll visit with friends Ron & Dal and Kathy's mom. Marg will be flying down to join us for the week and we're looking forward to that very much.
As for the new boat? We'll know it when we find it. As for where we'll find it? We're keeping an ear tuned to whatever's going on down here in Mexico. Seems the government is having a titch of difficulty deciding whether they want to encourage foreign cruisers to visit Mexico or stay away. It's a long, political story... but whatever occurs over the next few weeks will likely have an impact on which direction we, and others, choose to sail.
For now, and before I accidentally delete it again.... that's our update....
Hope you all had a good Christmas and are looking forward to a wonderful 2014... Until I write again.. adios.... CJ
