Back in Maz - finally

And just in time for a fiesta. How does that happen?

The Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration is to remember friends and family that have died. I know it doesn't sound like fun, but it was a hoot!

The celebration includes a callejoneada (parade) around the historic old town of Maz. Everyone gathers at the Plaza Machado waiting...

Then the bands start playing, fireworks explode, and dressed up donkeys are pulling wooden carts filled with kegs of beer. Now that is a party!

We all follow the donkey carts around the cobblestone streets jockeying to get our free cold beer. There is dancing and singing and dead people walking around.

The challenge: catching up with the beer cart and hanging on tight so you don't get run over!

Along the way, the parade stops at all of the shrines that families have created to celebrate their dead. They are all beautifully unique and colorful.

This shrine was created by some young travelers from the around the world and was in memory of John Lennon.

And amazing costumes - our pictures don't do it justice, but you get the idea.

So, if someone invites you to join in on the festivities, you gotta go!

Back on Moondance... well, it isn't near as much fun, but we are making progress. When we left in July, we had to prepare the boat for hurricane season - just in case.


So, the sails, the canvas, and everything on deck had to be stuffed below - mostly on our bunk - what a mess! But, we are getting things back in place.

While we were on our summer vacation, our new engine was installed - it isn't working yet, but it is installed.

Doug is wrapping up some projects associated with the new engine, modifying our charging system, and rebuilding our steering, and other fun stuff.

As soon as we get our alternators modified, I think we are going to fire up the engine - how exciting. Smaller and faster - we are going to be zooming to the South Pacific next Spring!

We really enjoyed our summer vacation and seeing all the friends and family, but it is sure nice to be back where it is warm!

Stuck in Washington!

Yup, what started as a short visit to Phil and Danette's home in Pasco, Washington, has turned into 45 days and counting - a marathon. Oh my!

We really are trying to get back to Maz and Moondance, but are spinning our wheels waiting for our refinance on the tri-plex to go through. It has been painfully slow...

But, if we had to be stuck, we couldn't have picked a better place. Phil and Danette have just been wonderful to us. Besides sharing their beautiful home and providing us with a car, they have made sure we have kept busy and entertained.

Plus, we got to spend lots of time with our nephews - Conner and Ethen.

They look wonderful and have grown so much. How did that happen?

Below are some of the people and places we have seen during our visit -lots of good times...

More family visits - Josh (another nephew) and Rachel brought their wonderful family over to spend the day with us.

Keyan, Rylan, and beautiful Niyah spent the whole day splashing between the pool and hot tub and only took a break when hot dogs were served. They were sure fun to watch and energetic!

David and Lynette (in-laws from Nevada) joined us a for a quick visit - they were on their way to British Columbia with their new RV.

We had a great time showing them around the Washington wineries and enjoyed a boat ride up the Columbia river. Just wish we could have had more time!

Big surprise! Ken, my brother from New Hampshire, flew in just to see us - how fun!

He didn't get to stay long, but long enough for us to do a lot of visiting, fishing, and we attended the Sausage Festival (which had the only MALE belly dancer we had ever seen - interesting). Thanks for the visit, Ken!

We dressed up like cowboys (not) and joined in on the festivities of the 100th Pendleton Round-Up.

It was very exciting - my first rodeo and a great time to hang out with old friends.

Plus, those cowboys and cowgirls put on quite a show for us.

Of course, we had to check out the Let'er Buck Room, which is famous for wild times and wilder women.

Things have mellowed a bit though - they even have warning signs and we weren't supposed to take photos. What's up with that?

To top off the event, we spent the night at the Wild Horse Casino - I had my best Craps roll ever. Lots of people made money on me - just not me.

Oh well, it was still lots of fun, plus we got to do some cowboy dancing. Thanks Fred and Wanda - Yeehaw!

We have had beautiful fall weather, which allowed us to do a lot of fishing.

We have been on the Columbia and the Snake rivers and have had good fishing days and good days just to hang out on the boat (translation: not good fishing days). But, we enjoyed all of it.

Doug's salmon won the "Biggest Fish Contest", but my Steelhead tasted much better.

Plus, Doug cheated. We let him get away with it though - just cause he was the Birthday Boy (#57)!

We have also been busy touring the Washington wineries - from Prosser to Walla Walla to Paterson - with a lot of stops in between.

None of these wineries were here when we moved 28 years ago - now Washington is famous for their wines. Who knew?

We also spent a wonderful weekend at Phil and Danette's cabin in Sunriver, Oregon. We forget how beautiful the lakes, rivers, and mountains are. Love it there!

So, as you can see, we have made the most out of being stuck in Washington! Hopefully, we will be heading back to Mexico soon - we miss Moondance.

Thanks Phil and Danette - we owe you big time!

Vacation Part IV - Alameda

Visiting Alameda and all of our Gate 11 Boat Buddies was such a treat, but it went way too fast!

Judy and Michael let us bunk with them on their beautiful sailboat, Milagro - we loved it.

We partied, played games, watched movies on their big screen TV, and spent lots of time just visiting.

Thanks Michael and Judy - your bunk on Moondance is waiting for you!

We have also got to spend lots of time with Steve and Ana on No Worries. Of course, it is never enough time, but it will hold us over until we all get back to Mexico.

See you there - it's going to be a hoot - promise!

We got to visit with lots of our Gate 11 buddies, which was wonderful. Even had time to throw one of our famous BBQ's.

Of course, we couldn't party as along as we used to - it was too cold and we are wimps and clothes challenged.

Several of our Boat Buddies are sailing on the Baja Ha Ha this year, so we enjoyed sharing our stories and tips. Hope they enjoy the adventure as much as we did.

Sail safe and looking forward to seeing you there!

Besides all of the socializing and visiting our old haunts, we completed all of our doctor visits, visited the French Consulate, and attended the Art and Soul Fest.

Dining highlights - dinner with our Amigos (and the endless box of Sake) at Couch Sushi and fresh Dungeness crab at Swan's Oyster Bar.

Miss all of our buddies and life in the big city!

Vacation Part III - Albuquerque

Well, it was a quick trip, but we managed to have a great time in ABQ!

We didn't get to see everyone we wanted to, but really enjoyed spending time with some of the old gang - we sure miss you guys.

Joe and Leah opened up their wonderful home and let us crash, plus made sure we were comfortable, well fed, and entertained.

Thanks, Guys, it is our turn next time - somewhere in the South Pacific!

While we were in town, we decided to resurrect the Scoots Invitational Golf Tournament, which was a hoot.

We haven't golfed for over a year, so it definitely wasn't about the golfing - it was just a chance to hang out with the gang. I know my team didn't win!

We also managed to eat lots of New Mexico chili on everything - love that stuff.

If you come for a visit, please bring us a batch. We promise to pay you back!

PS: For those of you that we didn't get to see - next time for sure!

Vacation Part II - Texas

Texas - it really is like a whole 'nother country, but we still managed to have a wonderful time at the Family Reunion or as Brittany calls it:

Texas Reunion '10 :) BINGO WINGS AND KIWIS GALORE!

Becky and Dave invited the Warren Clan to crash their new home in Plano, TX.

We all had a wonderful time splashing in the pool, playing games, eating, drinking, and lots and lots of visiting. Thanks Becky and Dave - hope we didn't wear out our welcome!

We were all happy to see Ryan (Lake Villa, IL) fly in for the family fun. All of us have missed him! He has been busy working two jobs and going to college and has turned into an amazing young man. Hope we get to see more of you Ryan!

Mom and Dad (Granbury, TX) contributed a lot of time and energy to making sure the house was ready for the gang, plus provided lots of home cooking - like Pecan Rolls - a Warren favorite!

We also got to join Mom and Dad in Granbury for a quick visit.

Lunch and a visit to the American Legion Hall for some Shuffleboard. Mom is the reigning Family champ, so be prepared for some stiff competition!

Eric, Anessa, and Gavin (Ruidoso, NM) brought the family 5th wheel along to make sure everyone had a bed and room to spread out, which we all appreciated - Thanks Guys!

Plano was having a heatwave while we were all there - I don't think it is supposed to be a vacation destination in August. Oh well!

We spent a lot of time in the pool, which is where we all love to hang out anyway. Gavin advanced from a Rookie to a Pro in a short time - jumping off the diving board, swimming without a life jacket, plus he is a pretty good shot with the Super Soaker - watch out!

Ken and Lisa (Amherst, NH) couldn't join us, but we were all ecstatic that Brittany could. We loved having her around - it has been way too long! Smart, beautiful, and funny - what more could you ask for in a Niece?


Phil, Danette, and Conner (Pasco, WA) joined us too! They are usually the ones that sacrifice their home for the Reunions - this year they got a real vacation!

Conner - our basketball star - has grown so tall. Can't believe you are going to be a Sophomore this year!

Our family loves to try new things - this year WhirlyBall - what a hoot! This game is fast and fun and dangerous. Becky was the winner with the most and biggest bruises; Anessa got 2nd place for flying out of her bumper car. The Red Team (my team) kicked some Yellow Team butt!

We all piled into the rigs and toured downtown Dallas. We had a great time visiting the Aquarium, JFK - Sixth Floor Museum, Holocaust Museum, and checking out the big city.

For more entertainment, we played Texas Hold'em and lots and lots of 42. Anessa and Doug were the big 42 winners and walked away with the Grand Prizes - Cowboy Rubber Duckies. How fun! Ryan also taught us how to play Disc Golf - we loved it, plus it was a wonderful way to sweat off all of those extra calories!

A special surprise - our La Paz amigos Barb and Bill came to meet the crazy family and, of course, they fit right in. We loved seeing them again and are looking forward to more fun times in Mexico!

Loved the Family Reunion and can't wait until the next one!

Vacation Part I - Puerto Vallarta

It is only 273 miles from Maz to Puerto Vallarta, but it was quite an adventure which included:

• 1 Go Cart
  
• 2 Taxis
• 2 Buses
• 9 hours of travel
  

And, lots of tipping! We enjoyed the road trip though - we went up and down curvy mountain roads through beautiful jungle country - amazing!

Our buses weren't "premier" so are going to look for the fancy buses for the return trip, plus try for reservations so that we can sit together. Why not?

We stayed at the Flamingo Vallarta Hotel and Marina - very nice. Be sure to ask for the upper floors - great view plus very quiet.

We were a little overwhelmed by Puerto Vallarta (at least the part we saw). It is a big city with lots of tourists, hawkers, and very expensive.

Hopefully, next time we are in Puerto Vallarta we will get to explore the Old Town - we hear it is wonderful and cheaper - our kind of place.

We spent our time wandering around the restaurants and shops at the Marina. I think we could find just about anything we wanted to eat and drink - as long as we were willing to pay for it.

We had a good time in Puerto Vallarta, but we are glad that we decided to stay the summer in Maz!