Seems like my communications are not high on the priority list this year - so all you get are some pictures this time, I will try to do better soon.......
John is working on the waterworks! sorry I can't make the picture upright no matter what I try...
a group of us are doing yoga most mornings (on the beach of course) and here I am clowning around under the full moon!
Blue footed booby bird - my new camera is working just fine, no worries about droping it out of the kayak, it's waterproof and I have a float on it too.
This was the day's entertainment - lots of noise from the gulls cheering them on.
the guy on the right is winning!
Start of my shell garden....it grows daily as I collect new shells.
That tells a bit about what we have been up to the last few weeks, hard to believe it's been that long already.
We arrived at the beach last week and it seems like we never left - it is so easy so settle in to the usual routines. As usual there are always things to do and things to fix - always something going on to keep us busy.
Here are a couple of pictures of daily life.
one of the detours on the way down Mex 1
Sunset at El Pableon
roadside lunch stop
Steak night!
Last night was steak night - John spent the afternoon gathering the perfect stones for the fire pit, arranged them just so - keep the wind out, let the heat build up, and when the coals (mesquite wood of course) are just right on go the steaks, you can see the potatoes in foil at the rear (on the special built in ledge) ah, done to perfection!
We left home on Dec 29th, it seems like a lifetime ago.....
packing the truck
all loaded and ready to go.......
Leaving Victoria
Highway 5 south - one of the mountain passes - Sisku summit in northern California, we were very lucky to time the weather just right bare roads, blue sky and sunshine!
Our new home - at Sam's
One of the 'Pools'
The mineral spa's - I am sure we are looking much younger after a week of this!
Touring around - the vista from the viewpoint.....Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells, etc. very populated area. Any of the green areas are golf courses! over 100 in the area.
Returning our rental car at Gordon's our transmission repair place........
We are back on the road now - just thought I would post a few pictures so you can see what a hardship we have endured!!!!
It is now almost December and nearing Christmas and the blogging has been non existent all summer?? Who knows why....lots has happened. We have spent oodles of time on Puffin, mainly cruising the southern area, Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands. We spent time at a few of our favorite spots and added a few new ones. Fireworks from our boat on the water in Ladysmith (BC day August 1) and more fireworks at Butchard Gardens (Saturday nights in summer) from our boat in Todd Inlet, both fun trips. We were lucky to spend time with boating friends along the way, many shared adventures.
Just thought I would prove it is still about the food!
This is in an old building at Wallace Island marine park. Boaters from all over make and post their "sign" here. We started with t'morrow in 1998, and added Puffin in 2004, we add the date each time we visit.
Crabbing at Sidney Spit - the old fashion way, with a forked stick and a quick hand.
Recap of summer = great! but short.
September took us on a trip to the interior to visit family in Kelowna and lots of old friends in Merritt and Kamloops. So nice to keep up with these friendships.
Grasslands near Merritt.
October was the month to catch up around home - yard work! holey moley is that hedge big! We were smart to hire help to do the trimming. During all of this we bought a new to us truck, finally a diesel, we are looking forward to see the difference in our travels
November, well, November is November, cold, rainy, and out first snow of the season. Of course in that time Dani & Reid bought a new house and moved. It's a bit closer to Mom and Papa, which I like, so far so good.
December will be busy with a quiet Christmas celebration and planning for our trip south.
Happy Spring everyone! Here is an up date of our "summer life" you will see that we have been keeping busy since we got home.
Last week we had Puffin, our boat, lifted out of the water and set up on the 'hard' to do the annual maintenance.
First step, move Puffin onto the sling.
Lift out of the water, then onto the special area in the yard for the power wash, where all paint, debris (barnacles, muscles, etc) all are collected and disposed of in an environmentally safe manner.
Now the work begins!
Deb's job is always the hardest - painting the bottom!
John gets to fiddle with the prop, and change the zincs.
See the reflection! It took a lot of elbow grease to get that shine. Yes, another of Deb's jobs.
Please don't drop her.......ah, back into the water just fine! Now that's done for another year. . . . . Of course in our spare time we have been busy working at home and in the garden.
Yes we arrived home three months to the day on April 3 to wind, rain and cold but no snow, YEA!!! It is now the 21st of April and either I'm getting used to the weather or it is actually getting warmer. Fruit trees are in blossom and the rhododendrons are in bloom. I did a sail from Sidney to Victoria with my buddy Darch the other day and now Deb & I are busy just doing spring things (WORK). I'll just do a photo summary of the beach and add some of the trip home. We had a great time at Joshua Tree State Park (no pics), Morro Bay (no pics) and San Francisco where we stayed across the bay at Larkspur of San Quentin fame, and took the ferry across to downtown San Francisco. The last couple of days I’ve been working on the boat, getting her ready for the season.
Lunch at Santa Inez
Sunset at Santa Inez
and a cactus at Santa Inez
Deb playing on the beach at Cielito Lindo
Now we're in San Francisco and it's COLD
Alcatraz and the not so Golden Gate
Crabcakes at fishermans Wharf
And breakfast on the sidewalk in Sausalito
Yikes!! a few days later at Castle Crags in northern California.....BRRRRRRR!
Can somebody tell me what these guys are up to???
And these guys really need to see a good Dentist!!!
Full Moon at Coyote Beach in January
Look out below, I'm comin down.
A lesson in sharing.
Some cool dudes.
And of course if you're gonna party ya gotta have Blue Shoes.
I'll sort out a few pictures of the beach and post them later.
Here is our sailboat "Puffin" where we will spend a lot of the next few months. This was taken in the Copeland Islands in Desolation Sound.
