Homeless no more....

There is a certain age, I think, when being homeless has its attraction. Yup; free of debt, free to roam, no worries related to maintenance, repairs, insurance, garden care, and all the rest of the responsibilities that come with home ownership...  Well, that age is a whole lot younger than we are now!  We Capricorns seem to require a certain amount of dirt under our feet and all that goes with looking after that domestic patch. We simply start to disassemble without the weight of responsibility to keep us grounded. And so, as most of you already know, and after 9 months of so-called 'freedom', we made the leap back into home ownership; and we're glad we did.

We found a home (basically a rancher with a half basement)  on a nice sized lot and in a quiet neighbourhood not far from where we used to live.  We're still about half way between town and the marinas in Maple Bay and we're very happy with the situation. The following photos are provided as per your requests.  We hope you approve of our selection.

And now, as summer marches firmly towards fall, we must focus on our preparations for the upcoming cruising season in Mexico.  Yes, we're heading back... to the good ship Shannon's Spirit.  She's waiting for us to come and finish her renos in time for the start of the sailing season.  We'll be driving down and carrying those materials we need for her restoration... and we're looking forward to spending the winter exploring the coast of the Baja and all it has to offer.

We will stay in touch as we drive south (RVers still want to hear about places we like and don't like) and we'll share our stories of our explorations of the Sea of Cortez... as they occur.  So please stay tuned.

Adios (for now).  CJ

Ode to a truck...

Those of you who know me well know how much I've loved and treasured Chuck (the truck) over these past 16 years. He's served us well since the day in 1999 when I picked him up all shiny and new. With nary a complaint he has pushed up and over mountains, soldiered on through deserts and ranch land, humped and bumped over old logging roads to hidden fishing lakes and, in these last few years, he has put his heart and his pistons into pulling our trailer (TT Lucy) and carrying a huge load of gear to and from Mexico. Kathy, myself, and even "the Princess" owe a great debt to this little Ford Ranger that just 'kept on going' despite the major tasks we signed him up for.  

I can even report he has quite a following. I have been approached by more than one stranger asking if "this was Chuck" and inquiring after his health and well-being. Seems he's made quite an impression on you blog followers over the years.  At times I've even thought of contacting the Ford Company to see if they wanted to use him as a poster guy. Anyway.....

With some sadness we realized this past year that Chuck was tiring and, with the vision of what would happen if he was to break down in either the US or Mexico, we decided to take a look around at some possible new generations.  "No sweat" we thought, "we'll just take a look".  Well, my gawd... it's like 'just going to look' at a litter of puppies!!  Soooo, to make a long story short, we went, we looked, we bought, and we think we got a pretty good deal.

And so, without any further discussion, let me please introduce...

                                       Rikki.... 

2015 Dodge RAM 1500 4 WD w/5.7 l Hemi, Quad Cab

Now I'll admit he looks a bit like 'bling'... and we'll have to figure out how to dress him down a bit before we hit the southern border, but oh my he's beautiful; and, he pulls like a team of Percherons. Towing payload is 10,000 lbs... and we'd pretty much have to load Lucy up with gold ingots to weigh her down that much.

Oh yes, and for those who want to know... "why the name Rikki??" Well, it's because Rikki loves Lucy of course...  :-)