Friday, June 28, 2013

Pic-of-the-Week for June 28, 2013



Hola from somewhere on the road......,



As we said last week, we would be leaving for the USA the following Tuesday, June 25.  Well, our friends and neighbors could not just let us sneak out of town that morning as we had planned.  Seems they all got together and decided to throw a little going away party.  They really went to quite a bit of work and planning.  Somehow they found out the exact time we were leaving and showed up at our driveway.  On top of that, they decided to all dress alike so we would not know who was who.  That was fun. 






Then, since they all were so kind to show up, we had Ryan find something for them to eat.  They all seemed to think that gum drops were a real treat.






Aren’t friends nice to have in the neighborhood?  We really should have known.  They did the exact same thing last year when we left for the USA.  (And there will be more when we return...at least one of these looks mighty wide right now!)



On another note…… I am thinking that none of you knew that there was any Pterodactyl still in existence!  Well, let me tell you that there is apparently at least one still in Baja.  It can fly, but I am not sure how with one wing broken!





Our first day of travels took us to Mulege, to our favorite hotel where we always enjoy the pool and swim-up bar.  About 10 minutes after getting to the hotel (while still unpacking), 27 8th grade boys and girls from the local school hit the pool for an "end of the school year" party!!!  There was no room for me!  This picture only shows a small portion of all the kids there!














Until next time!



On the road with Ben, Harriet, Sam and Zoey

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Pic-of-the-Week for June 18, 2013

Hola, Amigos!

This may be the last "Pic" for the season, since we plan on leaving home next Tuesday for our three month "vacation from Paradise".  If anything noteworthy happens in this next week, I might send something out Monday night.  Otherwise, you'll just have to wait for our summer correspondent to get around to it!  We will be in the Salem area around July 5th after picking up our trailer in Tygh Valley and visiting family in the Bend area.  We hope to see many of you while we're in the area, but we're also very excited that our daughter Rebecca and her family will be visiting in Oregon then, too!  Hooray!  They are leaving Jordan on the 20th, this Thursday, and will be in the Chicago area before flying to the west coast.  I'm anxious to get my hands on my grandsons!!  


On the news front here in Baja, a few months ago, Ben and our friend Janet discovered that they share the same birthday, July 12th!  They decided right then and there to celebrate their birthday a month early, since we are in Oregon by then.  We got out the Rib Eye Steaks, Tony heated up the barbecue, I baked a chocolate cake, and Janet cooked some delicious corn on the cob.    So, on June 12th last week, we had a wonderful "unbirthday" celebration for them on Tony and Janet's patio. 

 (I think we forgot to sing!  Oh no!!  But let me tell you, the chocolate cake recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa can makes a cake that is to die for!  And the frosting is great, too.  Extremely chocolate, moist and delicious!  WOW!)

  
When I was reviewing my photo files this week, I discovered that evidently, not much else happened!  Well...I did get sick on Friday afternoon, and on Saturday I was in bed all day, very rare for me this year!  I had a stomach upset, and decided bed was the best place to be!  I did lose a few pounds in the process, so maybe that's a good thing.  I was well enough to go play the piano at church on Sunday morning, but took the rest of Sunday off!  

Anyhow, I traipsed outside this morning with my trusty camera and in my bare feet and took a few photos around the yard.   We have 4 banana trees with unripened bunches.  I think Ryan (who will be house-sitting for us this summer) will be able to survive on the abundance of bananas...if they ever do finally ripen! 


I imagine that it is a good possibility a few more of the trees will blossom and produce fruit this summer.  Maybe there will be some for us when we get back in the fall!   

There are more photos from around the yard in our June 2013 Picasa album.

Lots of flowers are blooming around the house, and it is very pleasantly fragrant.  Plumeria, the Sobre la Montana (which smells like gardenia), the Neem tree is blooming... The birds are waking up early and are very vocal, especially the Cardinals.  Their song isn't very pretty, but is very distinct!  They like to get up in the highest spot they can find and sing and sing! 

All the fishing news was last week.  Ben and Ryan and Janet took the boat out one more time yesterday, but didn't get a nibble.  In fact, after they got in, Ben decided to go ahead and pull the boat so he can get everything put away and tied down for the season.  I'd say we had a very successful fishing year, with catches 2 out of 3 trips! 

We'll be busy the rest of this week getting things packed and ready to go.  It's really nice that we don't have to "clean out the freezer" while Ryan is here for the summer.  Or put the shutters on all the windows.  That was a BIG job.  Hopefully, Ryan won't have to do it this summer either, but there is always a chance.  

Hasta luego (don't know when!)

Tus amigos de Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam & Zoey



Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Pic--of-the-Week for June 11, 2013

Hola Amigos,

Yes!!  We have fish stories for you this week!  Ben & Ryan put the boat in the water last Tuesday, and Ben and I went out first thing on Wednesday morning.  Within a couple hours we had a fish (or two?) try to take two of our lures, but didn't stick.  Then, it took the third lure, and we had it on!  Yahoo!  It was a nice Striped Marlin!!!  Ben directed me to take the pole in the fighting chair, so I did.  I pulled him in in about 25 to 30 minutes, in spite of all the line he took out.  He was a beauty!

 
Since we decided to keep him, we headed back to the mooring, and were back at our house by 11AM!  That was a good thing because it took Ben a long time to cut it all up.  We were planning on taking some of the meat to our favorite restaurant that night for the chef to cook up for us, but then remembered they were closed on Wednesdays.  We cooked some up ourselves, and it turned out very nice.  


It was fun watching Sam while we were dealing with the fish!  He was so excited (he used to always go fishing with us on the boat, but hasn't since we've gotten Zoey, who doesn't like water!) He watched Ben the entire time he was cutting up the fish, perched up on the stairway in the shade (we all love that new palapa!) He didn't want any meat, but he sure kept his eye on that fish.

We had a few windy days and Ben had trips to La Paz and Cabo San Lucas, so he didn't get out again until yesterday.  He took our friend Janet (who claims she's never caught a fish) and Mandy, a young lady from Melbourne, Australia who is traveling in Mexico right now;  she contacted Ryan via "Couch Surfer".  We provide a place to stay, and Ryan acts as a tour guide to show people things typical travelers rarely ever see in the mountains and old towns and on the beaches.  Success on this fishing trip again!  Mandy was able to bring in a very nice bull Dorado.  They were back by 12 noon, and Sam perched on his stair step and watched Ben cut up the Dorado!


Janet says she is now "hooked on fishing", and encouraging her husband Tony to buy a boat!! The good news is that our favorite restaurant is open on Mondays, so we took in enough fish for 8 people and had Chef Francisco fix some delicious dishes.


 The top photo is the dinner plate they served us with nut encrusted fish fillet, the middle is wonderful Sashimi, and the bottom is a nice spicy ceviche where the fish is mixed with little bits of apple!  That dish had a nice hot aftertaste! All delicious!  Life is rough, but we try our hardest...

While we're out and about, our dogs have discovered the corn patch.  I think they were hunting lizards in there when they knocked down a stalk, and low and behold... a cob of corn!  Now, they're knocking it down on purpose for the corn!  And if I don't get it when it's ripe, they do!  The little stinkers.


There are a bunch more fishing photos and silly dog photos posted in our June 2013 Picasa album.  Also some dolphin photos taken by Mandy that are very nice.

I mentioned mangos last week....this week I have a box of them from El Coro that I am working on drying.  They are SO good!  We like these for a travel snack in the summer.  I'll share some with my grandsons, too, when we see them in July!  


  
And what better way to get around town than in our Woody?  It's running good again, after several adjustments Ben made to this and that.  This baby isn't just a "show" car!  It's so fun to drive around in it... it makes people smile when they see it (especially little boys!), and when Ben beeps the oo-gah horn at them, their eyes light up and the grins get even bigger!


Hasta la proxima semana,
Tus amigos de Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam & Zoey 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Pic-of-the-Week for June 4, 2013

Hola Amigos,

Welcome to June!  This is the month in Baja where it can start to get hot, but it is quite comfortable so far.  Our low temp last night was 69.4, which is not bad at all.  By the time we leave at the end of this month, low temps will probably be near 80!  I can also tell how hot it is getting be how far out my dogs' tongues are hanging!  Or how much water they're slurping!  

The dogs did lose one of their favorite lizard hunting places last week.  We have an area between our house and Peter's where we've started some wild sunflowers, and they were very thick this year...and Sam and Zoey discovered that the lizards like to hang out in there...so they did, too!  You could see the bushes rattling!! Anyhow, we asked Marco to come over and clean them out, as well as some other weeding and brush hauling, so it is all neat and tidy now.  Marco works extremely hard, and other than a flat tire on our wheel barrow from running over either a cactus or mesquite brush, it went very well.  He loaded up the old blue pickup with two big loads, and he and Ben made two trips to the dump.

Ben pruned our Mesquite tree, so that contributed to a lot of the brush in the truck!  We can now see through and under it!  And there are still lots of places for the birds to perch as they wait in line for their next drink of nectar!

Another nice thing is that we have a bush in our courtyard that is starting to bloom, and its fragrance is very similar to Gardenia.  When Ben opens the front door first thing in the morning, its fragrance wafts right into our bedroom!  Lovely. 
 Mango season will soon be upon us...and we're hoping some of the fruit from the many mango trees in Tony and Janet's yard will be ready before we leave.  I love to dry the mangos to take with us...they are SO good! Aren't these pretty hanging there?  Ripen!  Ripen!  Ripen!

 
The boat isn't in the water yet, but very possibly it will be this week.  Everything is working, including the little raft motor.  We did talk to our "serious fisherman" friend Harold on Sunday, and he said he hasn't caught anything in the last two weeks, so that's a bit discouraging, but Ben is determined to get it out there.  We don't need the fish, but we can always give it away, I guess!  (Our church's food program could use it!)  So, maybe some fish stories next week!  

This is the time of year when the Iguanas are out everywhere...on top of cactus, on big rocks... or in this case, on top of a garage in Vista del Mar!
We spotted these two as we were driving by on Sunday morning, hanging out in the gap between the two big garages next to the road.  Cute!  It doesn't look like there is much to hang on to as they climb up! 

Not too much else happening here right now.  Hopefully, we can be in "vacation" mode for a while before we head out for our "summer vacation from Paradise"!!!  

I've started a new June 2013 Picasa album for more photos.


Hasta la proxima semana, where the beach is waiting for your visit!
Tus amigos de Baja,
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam & Zoey