Live… from San Carlos, Sat. Oct. 10th

Hi folks.  It’s Saturday evening and we’re back at home after a fairly productive day on SSpirit.  I must say though, it is hot!  We’re only able to work for a few hours at a time and then we head for the house to cool down and spend some time with Miss Sophie. We each  have numerous projects on our chit…  mine include some of the fairly basic systems… you know, the kind that we depend on without even thinking about it much… like toilets :-)  Yup, I am the queen of the sanitation system.  I also look after things like the ground tackle collection, and tons of littler stuff here and there and everywhere. Kathy on the other hand must use her talents in the electrical/technical world (a different planet from where I sit)  as she upgrades our communication and navigation systems – no easy task. Boats always look so pretty, until you undo a tab or two and pull out a panel to look behind it.  Sigh…. We’ve had to prioritize our tudu list.  There just won’t be time to do everything before it’s time to leave.  Mother nature waits for no-one and she’s already kicking up some northerly winds (two months too early) in honour of this El Nino weather year.

The last two days have been spent ripping off all the old foil, cloth and duct tape coverings that have protected SSpirits ‘parts’ on deck.  We’ve also cleaned out the critter traps and dust covers, etc. below.  Then there was the gungy stainless steel framework for the dodger (a little polish required there) and finally, the wrestling with crusty sunbrella, snaps and windows…. to get the dodger and bimini back onto their frames and (almost) all the snaps done up. This was an early ‘must’ as we dearly needed the shade in the cockpit.

Today’s photos will give you the picture (pardon the pun) of our morning.  I was lucky. The new stove mostly fit where the old one came from and we were able to bring the newby up the ladder and into the boat (with the help of two strong Mexican gentlemen). We also managed to get the old one out of the galley, up the companionway stairs, over the side and down the ladder to the ground with their help (and found a new home for the old stove, once we’d confirmed the new one was going to fit and work). The main challenge was the fact the new stove was narrower than the old one – but a few blocks of starboard beneath the swivels on each side took care of that.  Sue, you’re going to love this Force 10, two burner with oven, little gem.  We’ve never had a new one before.  What a treat!

Kathy’s first and biggest challenge is the SSB Radio and all the equipment that accompanies it. There’s the transceiver, the head, the speaker, and the tuner… all with their own requirements with respect to placement and installation. Once they’re all mounted… there’s the wiring.  What a night mare!  And then, just when you might think she’s finished… there’s the GAM antennae and the KISS ground plane to be installed.  It’s a huge job and my hat’s off to her for being willing to take it on.

Having been forced into a late start, we’re doing our best to be organized and efficient as we approach the list of ‘things’ we’d like to accomplish over the next few weeks. We are so lucky that Sue and John (our very able crew for a good chunk of the season) are arriving next Wednesday.  They are coming early so as to give us a hand with these projects and we are looking forward to seeing them and to working with them.  For now, we’ll let the photo(s) do the talking.

CJ’s day….

 

 

Kathy’s day…. 

So there you have it… just another day at the boat yard…  Bye bye for now.  Will write again soon.  CJ

PS:  my smile looks a little funny… that’s cuz there’s a bandage across my upper lip.  Comes off tomorrow.

Greetings from sunny San Carlos...

Hola everyone.  Well, not only did we make it to San Carlos.... but we also breezed through the border (too cold I guess for the guards to even stop leaning on their fence... they just waved us through .. of course the green light helped :-). We were also the first folks in for our Tourist Visas (I think we actually woke the young man up).  We were in and out of KM 17 before there was even a lineup starting.  Then we headed on down the road and worked our plan; that being to only make short, guarded, pee stops...and not many of those.

I should probably explain what I mean by guarded.  Not too long ago I discovered an inexpensive RV tow hitch wrench.  You may recall I carelessly left it on top of the propane tanks and lost it to the highway shortly after we left home in September.  Well I was lucky enough to find another one while I was up basking in the BC sunshine, and I brought it back with me.  It fits nicely up my forearm and has become a very welcome companion when we take Miss Sophie for her short walks.  Kathy mans the leash and dog and I... Well, let's just say, I guard the flank(s).   

And finally, I'm happy to report that Rikki got fabulous gas mileage (good fellow) so we only stopped for fuel twice and arrived with a tank almost three-quarters full.

That's the news for today.  Oh, one more thing.  I am delighted to have an appointment with Dr. Mike tomorrow morning at 0900 to get my stitches out.  They are driving me crazy!! And, while I was disappointed with the response from the US Dr's in Rio Rico when I approached them for an appointment (they said they wouldn't touch it....  Far too complicated they said... Nope, sorry, we can't help you)...  Dr. Mike, the nice young American Dr. Who works the clinic here in San Carlos (and who helped Kathy with her knees after the dog attack last year) said...  Sure no problem; and the cost "oh, about twenty-five dollars." So tomorrow morning, after a good breakfast at Rosie's and a little work on SSpirit (who is looking pretty good and waiting for us to get started on her new look) we will visit Dr. Mike and get rid of these porcupine quills in my face (that's what they feel like).

And lastly....  We are absolutely DELIGHTED to finally be back at the boat and with all our stuff!!
It's pretty hot, it's windy, and we are well.

All the best everyone... Take good care...  Talk to you soon...  CJ, K and PS

San Carlos bound...tomorrow.

Tomorrow's the day!  It's time...  CJ's suitcase showed up (at 0130 hrs.... It's a long story that includes sloppy luggage loading in Victoria, good intentions in Edmonton, mis-direction in Calgary, unwillingness to engage brain cells in Phoenix, good service from well-intentioned baggage clerks in Tucson, another round trip for us to Tucson, and one VERY broken baggage handling system... Oh, and Kathy spending literally hours, over the course of two days, on the phone with three different airlines, explaining to each one what the others were doing...).  Enough said about that!

We are all together, better rested, and ready to roar. Our plan is to leave Esplendor (Rio Rico) tomorrow morning about 0530 hrs.... get to the border nice and early, move along down the road to KM 17 where we will get our Tourist Visas and a TIP for the truck (in case we decide to drive it to Mazatlan later in the season) and head on down the road to Guaymas and San Carlos.  It's a 7 hour drive that will probably take about 9 or 10 hours depending on officialdom, weather, and coffee stops...

Let me tell you about weather for a moment.  One of the reasons we didn' t push ourselves to leave today was the forecasts calling for thunder storms between here and our destination... While our intentions were to sit tight watching TV and resting... we ended up having to drive back up the road to Green Valley, to the vets office, to have some typos in their International Health Certificate issued for Sophie - corrected.  Once done, we headed south again towards Rio Rico expecting a short and uneventful drive.  Didn't happen.  While still on the entrance ramp to the highway we were nose into a ferocious thunder shower complete with wind gusts and driving rain so thick we couldn't see the road ahead of us.  Rule one: if you can't see the road, stop trying to drive on it. Luckily there was enough shoulder for us to pull over and wait, with emerg flashers on and all eyes alert (well, except for Sophie.  She's so deaf now she slept through the whole thing).  A car behind us did the same thing (provided a nice little guard for our rear).  Anyway, about thirty minutes later the thunder, lightening, wind and torrential rainfall had passed us by and we were able to complete our journey under blue and cloudy skies and warm sun.  We're really glad we decided to wait out the thunderstorms as the roads in Mexico don't all provide nice shoulders to pull over on.

For now we are tucked in to our nice little hotel room, catching up on The Good Wife and turning in early in anticipation of tomorrow.  Will write again from Mexico.  We are well, and we hope all of you are enjoying each day.  For now... Adios and talk to you soon....  CJ, K and PS.

All's Well....

Hi everyone...  Just a quick update to let you know we are well.  My flights (all three of them) were fine and right on time. Unfortunately my suitcase didn't accompany me.

Seems the West Jet folks in Victoria thought the case was more interested in seeing Edmonton than Calgary... So suitcase is on an international tour of its own.  At last report, while I soldiered on, somewhat lighter in load, and flew from Victoria to Calgary, from Calgary to LAX, and from Las Angeles to Tucson, said suitcase took a trip from Victoria to Edmonton where it languished until some kind soul took pity on it.  It then flew from Edmonton to Calgary where it was re-routed to Phoenix for transfer from WestJet care to American Airlines.  The only glitch at this point is that all that info came from West Jet.  American Airlines hadn't even realized it had been found as of this morning.  If we're lucky, the young woman from American Airlines we spoke to will be successful in her attempt to draw people's attention to this lonely little case, find it, and ship it to Tucson where (we are told) they will promptly have it driven to our location (Esplendor Resort in Rio Rico). Enough about luggage....

We are here!!  We are together!!  And, we are all three healthy!!  The Esplendor Resort is a fine place to re-group and rest up for our one final push.  We plan to leave at dawn tomorrow, or 0530 which ever comes first, so as to be at the border at 0600...  Early morning is best for us as we then have the whole day, in daylight, to make this drive to San Carlos.

So for now, know we are well and getting back on track. :-).  Our hearts and thoughts go out to friends who have lost dear ones recently... And to one old friend (he'll know who he is) who will face a wee challenge tomorrow.

That's enough for now... Oh yeah, the Princess went down three flights of stairs this morning...on her own!!  Aided by the fact her patch of grass was at the bottom and I wasn't offering to carry her...yeah!!

Adios for now...  CJ

Wonderful news!!!!!!

I can't stop hugging myself, crying, and jumping up and down.. all at the same time. Who knew how deep my fear of the possibilities was?  I admit these past 12 days have felt like I've been living in someone else's life.  I didn't expect to hear of the lab results for another two days (at least) so when I answered the phone this afternoon, and it was my surgeon, well....  I stopped breathing.  Now, since he told me the wonderful news, that he got it all and I'm cancer free, well now I can't keep my eyes from leaking.. and I don't care.  I am so very lucky. And I am so very grateful.

Thank you to all of you who wrote and shared your own stories and who offered me such strong support and understanding.  There's so much more I could say... but I think today... just this short note says it all.

I hope you're all enjoying this wonderful fall weather and are having as good a day as I am... take good care. I fly out of Victoria early Saturday morning and should be partnered up with the Mulhaley Caravan by 2130ish hrs. when I land in Tucson, AZ.

It's time to rest now.  Adios... will be in touch...  CJ

You never know who you're going to run into...

So there she was, boogieing down the highway, heading for today's intended destination... and she sees a gal on the side of the road taking a photo of something or other... and she thinks (man, that looks like Deb from home....) but she carries on... it's so hot hallucinations wouldn't be out of the expected.  A little while later she sees the little white car (the same that the photographer was out of) again.. .and this time it's stopped.. oh, heck, I forget how it goes... too much pain killer (er I mean rum). Anyway, the great news is that in a nation as tall and as wide as the US of A... our Kathy (and the princess of course) have literally bumped (well actually no fenders kissed) into Ron and Deb.. friends from home.  What luck!  At just the right time! I'm expecting Kath could use a little company of the "I already know you and like you" type.... so, what luck they actually ran into each other.

So cancel where she was going, cuz they headed off instead to the small village of Tusayan, at the Grand Canyon and the Mulhaley caravan will be at the Grand Canyon Campers Village for a couple of nights. What a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with friends, at a higher (and cooler) elevation, at the perfect time when warm, friendly company is needed.  Thank you Ron and Deb, for popping up at just the perfect time.  Who knew Route 66 (that's right, that's what they're all following) would yield such a treasure.

It was kind of funny.  A couple nights back, when Kathy explained to me she was following Route 66, named after some TV show from years gone by... well (you know where I'm going with this don't you?) well I had to stop her... because of course I know Route 66 and the two gorgeous fellows and the wonderful (was it red or blue?) convertible sports car they drove.... who wouldn't?  Except perhaps those born a little after us.  Great show and here we are..."x" number of years later... remembering them.. Wondrous world this!

Kathy will have a great couple of days, spending quality time with friends, doing a little early morning cycling and generally gathering herself for the next series of legs.  I, having survived (of course) the second little op, will content myself with re-arranging the furniture in my study (what else can I do... bored stiff as I am and too damn lazy to unpack my workshop)... and waiting for the lab results of this second go-round.  The last boxing match was nothing compared to the results of the one I lost today.  I have definitely lost my movie-star quality smile.

That's it for now.. just a quick update on how we're all doing and where the Mulhaley wagon train is going to lay low for a couple of days.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day... did you all see the eclipse and super moon last night? Hope so.

Adios for now....  fair winds to all...  CJ

It's a tad warm in Arizona...

Not sure how I did this... but I think I managed to insert a photo Kath just sent from inside Rikki.  She's just leaving where she spent the night and has mentioned a couple times how warm it is. This is a photo from the info panel in the trucks dash. It is indeed a 'tad' warm there.  With luck she and the princess won't melt before they get to their next destination... Williams,AZ. This next place is at a higher elevation and supposed to be significantly cooler.  Here's hoping...

Talk to you all later....  over and out.  CJ