Countdown to Leaving Baja

 YEP - the time has come to pack up and head north!!  Sunday and Monday are "pack" days and we will leave at the crack of dawn on Tuesday morning, with Del and Linda traveling with us!  I always dread packing up as part of the stuff stays here stored at Del's garage and part of it goes home - and then there's the things you need for traveling 3 or 4 nights - but it will come together - it always does!

The weather here is getting HOT!  And living so long in the mountains, I have found that I don't do HOT well anymore!  So that must mean it IS time to head out!

We took one last ATV adventure with Del and Linda this last week - we wanted to go back to the "oasis" as we have dubbed this cool place to ATV to - in the middle of the arroyo and desert is a small beautiful pond surrounded by palm trees!  We had heard that it might possibly be blocked off but decided to go anyway!

Lots of pretty flowers were blooming but it was the weird cactus and trees that interested me!  Their branches and limbs seem to go every which way!

Del and Linda - they have an ATV almost like ours!

We went as far as we could and then discovered a padlocked gate - darn!  Glenn knew another way to get there so we rode for a while, only to discover the arroyo had been basically blocked off with huge, tall piles of sand!  There was one place where we could have driven up and over but decided since the rancher had posted private signs, he didn't want people in there!  Oh well!  We climbed up the sand and had a nice break with snacks!

Another crazy tree on the way home!  I sure had fun looking at them as Glenn drove!

Even though we didn't end up where we wanted to, our 3 hour outing was still a lot of fun!

Eclipse in Baja

 How cool that we were in Baja when the eclipse occurred!  Joleen brought down glasses so we could see it - we were at 95% totality and I had no idea it if would get darker out or what!

We headed out to the porch for a couple of hours with our coffee and started looking through our glasses - it was interesting to watch!  It did get darker when it was at its' 95% but by no means did it get actually DARK!  Glenn took a picture of us with our cool glasses - ha!

I tried several ways to get a picture but just didn't accomplish it - oh well!

Glenn had a dentist appointment in town - he had needed a crown for a couple of years (or so he said?) so Joleen and I decided to just ride in with him and walk around while he was at the dentist - we even brought our books just in case the appointment got really long!

We walked in back of the main street where they have the pickleball courts and it's always so pretty back in there!

We were still walking in the back when Glenn texted and said he was done - NO WAY!!  It had only been 15 minutes so I knew something had happened so we rushed back!  Sure enough, Glenn said he got in there and the dentist (who remembered him because Glenn had taken him fish the last time he was in there) took an x-ray and said there was NO crown needed and no place to even put one????  REALLY?  I think Glenn must have been dreaming when he thought the dentist back home told him he needed one!  Anyway the dr did say he had a slight fracture in one tooth so it was filled and he was out of there - all in 15 minutes!!  Now THAT'S the way a dentist should be!  It will be interesting to see what happens when Glenn goes back to his regular dentist back home!

During one of the windy days, Glenn got out a puzzle that Nita and Karen had left in the house!  He worked on it quite a bit but was exasperated because he said a puzzle piece was missing!  Glenn looked in the couch and under the couch (as did I) and he said there was no use finishing it because there were probably other missing pieces!  I searched too but couldn't see it but told Glenn I doubt there were any more missing since it was a NEW puzzle!  And then one day Glenn is looking at the box cover at the picture (which he must have done at least a couple hundred times as he was doing the puzzle) and RIGHT THERE ON THE BOX SOMEONE HAD WRITTEN, MISSING A PIECE!!!  OH my gosh, I can't believe he didn't see that before - we got a good laugh out of that!

Joleen's last walk on the beach!

We took Jo back to the airport on Wednesday - she sure enjoyed her time here!

My other friend Jo (who lives down here) invited me to Spa the next day to swim and relax!  It's so pretty over there!

And our beach life continues......

Windy Days

 Crazy wind a couple of days when Joleen was here!  Glenn, Jo and I walked the loop around the subdivision in lieu of walking the beach since it was so windy - at least we would get our walk in!  And a couple of days, we would take the camp chairs to the back of the house and sit where the wind wasn't as bad!

I can't decide if I love the orange sunrises or the pink sunrises better!

Joleen wanted to take us out for a lunch and a dinner while she was here!  So we decided to go into Chino's Pizza for lunch since their pizza is outstanding - and did that happen?  NO - they changed the days they were open and we went on their "closed" day!  So then decided to go to a place we had ate at with Eric and Hillary which was TRUE Mexican and very reasonable in price - well guess what, it was closed too!  So our 3rd option was El Panzon which we had eaten at a couple of times already but it was delicious and Joleen loved it!  Their shrimp tacos are fantastic!

For our dinner out, I had decided to go to La Gaviota which was where we were supposed to go for our anniversay but it was closed then - this time it was OPEN!  HOORAY!  We went late afternoon to beat the evening crowd which was a great choice!

All 3 of us had garlic shrimp - SO SO GOOD!!  And I love the ceramic cup of "beans" that comes with it - it's more like a soup than regular beans and very tasty!  And the container is cute as can be!

Joleen had a margarita but I opted for just lemonade and it was so pretty with fresh tiny flowers in it!

Love this picture of Jo and I - best friends for many, many years!

And then the pink sunrise came - so pretty!

Beach life is wonderful!

Joleen Arrives

 3 sets of company this year - OH MY!!!  That's a first!!  And to think at one point, we had NOBODY coming!!  Joleen was supposed to go to Florida with her sister but it fell through so she asked if she could come - of course I said yes since we had no one coming!   Then on the way down, Patty texted and said Leonard would come with her so could they come?   And then later, Tasha had texted and asked if she could come which was a complete surprise but I just couldn't say no!  But it was nice they were all spread out - 1 set in Feb., 1 in March and 1 in April!

We had a gorgeous sunrise the morning we went to the airport to pick up Joleen!  This year we've had a lot of beautiful sunrises but they seem to only last a few minutes and are quickly gone!

The airport run was quick, even though Joleen did get in 1/2 hour late!  It was great to see her and she quickly settled into beach life!

Glenn did chicken shish kabobs with fresh pineapple - gosh the pineapple down here is fantastic this year!!  As is the watermelon!

We went to Hillary's and Eric's mid-afternoon one day - they had moved up north to another casita which is really cute with beautiful flowers!  Since Hillary had fed us dinner a couple of times, I took up appetizers that we feasted on!

Unfortunately April brought in wind - but I just can't complain at all since Feb. and March were SO NICE this year!  Glenn did get to take Joleen out fishing one morning but that was it!  No fish though - darn!  It was a pretty morning!

At least Joleen got to experience some of our beautiful sunrises - even though they were gone before you could really enjoy them!

March Photo Dump

 April has arrived!  We had SUCH lovely weather in March without much wind but I can tell we're going to pay for it this month!  HA!  April has come in with a roar already with a couple of days of horrible wind!!  But this morning is wonderful and yes, Glenn is out fishing!

I had forgotten how much HIGHER the cakes rise at sea level!  It barely fits in the cake container I bring down!

There WERE two entrances to the beach but big boulders were brought in and now the one side is no longer an access, only the road right beside our house!

Sticky buns from Caleb's!!  This one looks smaller because I've already had a few bites - HA!  They are super pricey but SO worth it!

Boats out on the water on one of my morning walks!

Our flowering bush out back sure was pretty!

Some pretty pink cloud formations!

And that's a wrap for March!

Easter

 It's always hard for me to be away from the family on holidays!  But the girls are always great about sending lots of photos of coloring eggs and the Easter egg hunt, etc.  This year Gale and Kris came from Iowa to spend Easter with the kids and grandkids - Jessi's and Jill's stayed at our house which always works out great!  

Once again, it was crazy busy on the beach here, which is expected!  The campers started coming in on Wed. but the majority came in on Thursday and Friday morning!  Tents and people as far as you can see in each direction!

Luckily, the noise level was much better than last year!!  We only had one night it was pretty loud until midnight but the rest of the night was fine!  So that was a REAL PLUS this year!

The police set up right outside our beach wall - Glenn kept them supplied with water and chairs and an umbrella the first day - and they used our hose to wet the sand down out front where all the traffic was - that sure helped!!

Friday night we were invited to a surprise birthday party for Robert at La Casita Restaurant!  He was surprised and we ended up sitting right beside them - Robert and Glenn are TWO OF A KIND if that tells you anything!!  OH MY!!!!!

I ordered shrimp - and take a look at how they served it!!  It was setting on a thick piece of grilled pineapple with mashed potatoes in the middle - and yes, it was good!

The waiter brought dessert out for Robert (love their candle!!!) and we all sang Happy Birthday!

Robert and Jody

By Sunday evening most of the people had left - there were a few stragglers that didn't go home till Monday!  Monday morning a bunch of the people went out to clean the beach up!  Yes, it's pretty trashy but the locals are doing much better as the government hands out large black trash bags and the cage full of trash was HUGE!  There was an extra trash pickup that weekend, along with the pumper for the port a potties which came every day!  They're certainly getting this holiday more organized every year!

We picked up trash for an hour and that was all my back could take!!  Unfortunately, the section I was doing was pretty crazy as someone must have exploded a couple of those tubes that holds confetti like stuff - luckily they were larger pieces and of course glittered in the sun but a lot of it had been crushed and was in tiny pieces - yes, very back breaking!!  I was glad when I was DONE!