Relaxing and Fishing

I explored the grounds at the inn and found this cool looking tree - have no idea what type it is but it's certainly unique! (And of course reminds me of Colorado!!)

Lots of nooks to sit and have coffee in when it's too windy up on our patio!  I took my coffee each morning downstairs and found a quiet place to drink it!  That was enjoyable!

Glenn decided to go ahead and take the boat off the rack to go fishing!  He looked pretty cool PUSHING his boat instead of pulling it!!  And it worked out great for him so he was excited!

And here's his catch of the day - bonita.  We enjoyed fish tacos one night between 7 of us at the inn and the extra he took over to the restaurant so they could use it!  He had fun catching fish and that's what it's all about!!

The internet worked at the inn but I couldn't download any pictures or blog - so I'm trying to catch up here at Los Barriles but between this great book I'm reading and the beach, I'm having a hard time finding the time to write - ha!

Ascension Bay

I was surprised at the weather on the Pacific side - cool, cloudy and windy!  It reminded me of the Pacific Northwest and I had to admit I was a little disappointed as I was ready for warmth and sun!  Our view off of the patio was beautiful though - no sandy beach to walk along the water but there was a dirt road where I could walk in the mornings!

Here's our patio which was really nice BUT the majority of the time it was too cloudy and cold OR too windy to sit out there!

The most unique thing about this little town is a blowhole and it sits right in front of the inn we were staying in!  It was fun to watch the water come spouting out when it was high tide!

This is looking the other direction taken from the other side of the inn.  And yes, I waited for a sunny day to take these pictures!

The owner of the inn is obsessed with whales so has lots of whale bones around, along with lots of quite unique shells!

Here's the outside of the inn along with another friend we made who was staying there.

We enjoyed garlic shrimp that first evening at one of the 2 restaurants in town - outside seating - and met a few people that joined us at our table.

Leaving The Snow Behind....

And we're off!!  With a 6:00am departure we headed out of snowy Colorado for our annual trek to Los Barriles!  It was a balmy 5 degrees when we left so we were all smiles as we headed down the highway!

First night - Winslow, AZ!  We stayed at the same hotel we did last year and even ate at the same place!  We had a great day driving with no mishaps which is a good thing!

Day 2 is always my favorite drive through AZ, around the area where we used to live!  We stopped at Thanks Alatte for coffee and it was delicious as usual!

I waved at Sedona when we went by the turnoff road - someday we'll just have to take the time and stop there to see all the changes!  There were lots of campers at the sand dunes in CA and it was wonderful to see that temperature go up and up and up!!

Calexico was our stop for the night before we crossed the border in the morning!  After staying at the same hotel we decided we WILL find another one for the way home as this one was pricey!  We headed down the street for a ways to find a money exchange - and discovered that if you want to change more than $1000 that they need your social security number!  So we actually had to stop 3 different places to get the cash we needed as we certainly weren't giving out our socials!

There was a beautiful sunset as we walked home from dinner that night!

Border time - always a little un-nerving as you never know what to expect but this year was a piece of cake!  They checked the VIN number of the ATV (which they always do) and then we were good to park the truck and go in to get our Mexico paperwork!  Last year we had to walk to the bank to pay our fee - this year they took the money right where we did the paperwork so we were done in 20  minutes!  WOW!

It was Valentine's Day and the Mexicans celebrate it just like we do!  In the larger town of San Felipe, the elementary kids were having a Valentine's Day Parade!  Lots of cute kids dressed in red and carrying hearts and bears and candy - so cute!!  There were also many stands set up along the streets where you could buy flowers and candy and such!

We were driving along and saw a swarm of SOMETHING coming at us!  It must have been bees because they hit the windshield and it sounded like popcorn popping!  Pretty strange!

It always amazes me how many mountains are on the Baja that we drive through!

The BEST part of the day was reaching the 21 miles of gravel (they've been working on getting the highway built for years) and finding that the highway was DONE!  Oh my gosh - instead of 1 1/2 hours of bumpy roads, we made it through that stretch in 15 minutes!  What a joy to have that road complete!

Also, last year we had 9 detours because of the tropical storm and this year most of it was fixed, just 4 very short ones that should soon be done!

We found the road to turn on to head to Ascension Bay and luckily our GPS was working as we couldn't find the sign - we just HOPED we were on the correct road and we were!  Outside the bay you go by the salt flats!  It looks just like ice and snow out there and was really cool looking!

The town is very small - we had no trouble finding our inn and met our innkeeper Susanna who was helping out the owner who was over giving whale tours!  We had the upper suite which had a beautiful view but the accommodations were not quite what I expected - oh well, we were spending the next 8  nights here so knew I just had to accept what it was and make the best out of it!

Renovation and Birthdays

I'm writing this blog in Calexico, CA - yes, we are on our way to the Baja!  Tomorrow morning we will cross the border and start our drive down!  It's 69 degrees out and it feels SO WARM!!  We're both ready for some warmth after the last couple of days of packing!

But backing up, we headed up to Denver on a Thursday morning so Glenn could start renovating Jessi and Gary's bathroom on the main level!  The guys had pulled up the tile the last time we were up there and Gary had it prepped for the sub floor!  So the guys started in......

It started snowing Thursday late afternoon as we took Kenzie to her dance class and continued snowing during the night - to the point where school was called off on Friday!!  Jessi and I went out for coffee (just close by) and found the roads to be miserable!  Good thing she cancelled her Friday appts!

The kids played out in the snow and had a ball - built a little fort in the front yard and enjoyed just being outside!

Glenn and Gary got the tile finished up by early afternoon on Friday so they all decided to paint pots - I passed on painting and took pictures!!  They all sure turned out cute!

Friday evening we celebrated Evan's birthday since we'll be gone when his birthday comes around!  I think his hair was a little wild after playing outside a lot of the day!  He loves blueberry muffins so we all shared those!

Saturday morning (after the snow had FINALLY quit) I headed up to Ft Collins to see Jill's family - Kenzie tagged along and had fun playing with Aleah!

Parker had been sick the week before so he was just starting to feel better!!  We celebrated his birthday early too!  And he enjoyed a smoothie!  He was pretty excited to get some Roblux money to play with on one of his games!

The girls had fun playing outside and Parker even joined them for a while!

Jill and I ran some errands, played games with the kids and we all enjoyed pizza that night!  We spent the evening watching a movie with Robby!

It was cloudy Sunday morning when we got up and the morning flew by!  Jill took this cool picture of the girls before Kenzie and I headed out right after lunch!

It was back to the Keppys and we couldn't wait to see the finished bathroom!  Of course it took longer than what we thought but the end result was well worth it!  It looks fantastic!!

We made it home just as darkness fell - and even though we knew we had gotten snow, we just didn't realize that with the 7" on Friday and another 3" Sunday afternoon that the driveway would be so bad!  No, we didn't make it up!  Glenn tried a couple of times but it was a no go so we just parked it at the bottom.  I then realized that I didn't have a key to get in the house as we always go in through the garage but the remote is programmed to the car and it was out of reach to open!

We lugged up our bags that had to come in and Glenn tried a credit card to get in the mechanical room but that didn't work!!  It was DARN COLD OUT standing on the porch but pretty soon I heard Glenn come to the door!  He still had the ladder leaning up against the hot tub deck and he climbed that icy thing and crawled over the railing - luckily the french doors to the deck were NOT locked!  Saved again!!!  Guess I'll start carrying a key!

February Fun

It's February - and it was minus 10 when we got up this morning!  Which means we are MORE than ready to head south to Mexico!!

I feel like I've been putting lists and stuff together for weeks!!  Since we drive, we tend to take a LOT of stuff so I keep piling it all in the office and now we're getting close enough that it's time to start actually packing it it tubs and hoping it will all fit in the truck!  I have no doubt we will be packed to the ceiling!  Good thing I don't drive the truck as I like using the rear view mirror, not the side mirrors!

I did clean out the truck last week - it was a mess and since it's black inside, I feel like I never get it really clean!  But it sure looks a whole lot better!  It's sitting outside with about 6" of snow on it now so hopefully it will warm up soon so Glenn can get the boat loaded on top and the ATV in the back along with all of the things he takes for fishing - it's a process, believe me!

And we are heading to Denver/Ft Collins tomorrow for 4 days - Glenn is redoing Gary and Jessi's bathroom on the main floor - I will stay there for 2  nights and then Saturday head up to Jill's to see them before we take off for Mexico!

Glenn did go ice fishing by himself down at Eagles Nest, NM once again - I stayed home as my friend Joleen was coming in for 4 nights.  He enjoyed himself and caught lots of perch again - trust me, the freezer is full of FISH!

There was an AWESOME sunset while he was gone - WOW - I couldn't stop snapping pictures and must share a few of them!

Here's the crew at our Super Bowl get together!  Lots of good food and Glenn cooked fish for dinner!

And for dessert, we celebrated Rayna's and Matias's upcoming birthdays (in March) since we won't be here for that!