THE DESERT BEAUTY

GOLF  - We did get to play a golf game in Yuma.  VERY windy but a sunny day and we had a good time. 

Now we are traveling in areas that we are not as familiar with.  Both of us love the desert but are still learning about the plants and animals and the geology.  

We left from Yuma this morning and drove to Gila Bend.  Along the way in what seemed to me to be unfriendly desert we came to a section with that terrible cattle o d o r.  (You know what I mean.)  Thousands of animals standing in long rows and convincing me NOT to eat beef that has been raised standing on their own s...tuff.  How can I find out?  To be solved later.  

Drove on to Ajo, Arizona, a very small place which used to mine copper and now is mostly a place for artists and desert adventurers.  Also the last place to find a motel before Mexico.  You can get insurance here of course for your car.  We stopped at Cabeza Priata Nature Reserve just outside of Ajo and took a walk in the desert.  Left and drove a few miles into Ajo to see the restored Plaza.  Just like a lot of this part of Arizona it is struggling for businesses but this plaza is actually very beautiful and will be an attraction when it is fully restored.  

BIRD WATCHING BLIND IN DESERT

Driving on we stopped at  the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument which was a nice short walk and a drive through the desert.  We were a little late in the evening but the photos were great.  These parks are manned by the friendliest personnel.  Very knowledgeable.  I love the colors of the rugged mountains and the blue of the sky.  At this time the desert is not very colorful  and I am facinated by the survival techniques of the plants and animals. And the Pupfish, which live in 130 degree water only at one hot spring in the preserve area.

The motel we are staying in tonight is a lot of little cottages.  A little bit rustic.  Met some interesting women who drove dune buggies all the way across the dunes and desert  from Yuma to Ajo.  It was late so I didn't ask for a sample ride.  I do know that if my daughter-in-law were here she would have not missed the opportunity. 

We don't yet know where we will head for tomorrow so ....... more later. 

SOLVANG WINDMILL

ROAD TRIP
Our road trip has been very interesting so far.  Very relaxed as compared to other trips when we had to meet deadlines and be at certain places on time.  We traveled down highway 5 to Eugene.  Then crossed over to the coast and used 101.  There were at least 50 shades, hues of green.  It was amazingly beautiful.  Moss laden  trees in dark, dark green at first and then light airy moss swaying on the limbs in a silver green nearer the ocean. We stopped in Florence. We found a real pretty old town with lots of tourist of which we were two.  We had a wonderful seafood dinner and stayed in a lovely little motel.

The next morning we traveled to our friend Bonita’s home near Coos Bay, Oregon.  This is a home they built themselves and is spectacularly beautiful in a wonderful setting in the woods. From the there we drove down to Brookings and through the Redwoods of northern California to Eureka, CA.  A beautiful little city on Humboldt Bay.

Saw Suzanne in Santa Rosa.  A delightful visit,  but too short, as we left to go on
 to San Anselmo for two nights with our friend, Joan.  Her son and his family were away so you know the old story while the cat’s away the mice will play…. .  We gathered up Tom and Sarah from Larkspur and asked them over for a little visit and “party”. What a great New Year’s eve eve (the 30th).While we were in San Anselmo  we got to take a walk in a beautiful park in Ross.  We walked Shasta, the dog.  Shasta likes me.  Joan also took us shopping in Ross.  I must say that everything in the grocery store was three times what we pay at Safeway but then people in Ross have the money to pay the bill.

Stopped at Solvang, Ca.  A little “Danish” town.  Lights for Christmas many people of all kinds and languages.  Beautiful art galleries and shops.
While there we spent a couple of hours in the Mission Santa Ynes, very beautiful gardens, lovely and peaceful setting, with a long history. Our 12th California mission, all of them worth visiting. Nine more to go.

Leaving Solvang, we took a back road thru the mountains to Santa Barbara.  We drove down to the beach front where people were out running and walking along the esplanade “malecon” or boardwalk which was all quite beautiful on a very pretty sunny day.  Yes, I could live there. 


We took a back road from Santa Barbara to Ojai.  Most beautiful scenery.  The town of Ojai is small and artsy.  Liked the paintings I saw there best of anywhere so far.  We ate lunch in a little Italian place there and the food (salads) were great.  They took our whole money allottment!! Many beautiful people.

 From Ojai we took a road never before traveled by us to Santa Clarita. Instead of finding a motel as we planned we realized we had time to drive to Laguna Hills.  We were able to obtain our Mexican travel insurance at the very busy New Years Eve day AAA office. Then to visit Pete’s 95 year old stepmother Olive,   whom we love very much and with whom we had a very nice visit.  Went to Coco’s which Pete’s father always loved for dinner.  Really thought we would have a hard time finding a motel close by because it was New Years Eve but we were lucky and found one at the Courtyard by Marriott.  One of the best so far.. 
  
New Year’s day we drove to Beaumont and visited with Pete’s stepbrother Jim and his wife Connie. Beaumont is always and forever windy.  But the air is good.

Just a short trip to Indio where we stopped early in order for Pete to watch the Rose Bowl game.  Yea, Stanford. 

So far the traffic has been very light in  most places.  We took a toll road from Laguna Hills through the spectacular foothills towards Beaumont.  Well worth the $5 toll. 

Heading to Yuma, Arizona along the Salton Sea.  Mountains on both sides desert in the middle.  Very dry and flat, you can see forever. 
Pass Borrego Springs and into the Imperial Valley  where the desert is made to grow many green things .  Farms for miles.  The Imperial Valley provides veggies all year long in large quantities. Vegetables as far as the eye can see from mountains to mountains on and on into the distance.. Palms and sand too.

We have appreciated TomTom, our GPS, a lot.  Pete calls her Laurie for some reason.  Because she sounds like a “Laurie”, he says. We have always done very well with maps and really never got lost but this GPS just takes the stress out of finding specific places like motels and friends houses in obscure locations.  She tells us how fast we are going and what the speed limit is, as well as just which turns to take--and she gives plenty of warning, as well as literally drawing us a picture.  Great for those places where the speed limit changes thru towns.  She tells us what lane to be in, gets upset if we make a wrong turn (just kidding) and helps us get back on track.  Fortunately she doesn’t talk all the time and we can turn her off.  She also tells us on a read out what time we will arrive at our destination. 

Yuma has a LOT of trailer parks and RV parks.  There must be houses somewhere here because there is a nice golf course which we will play tomorrow. 

ROAD TRIP!

Pete and I are starting off on a long road trip.  Something we have looked forward to for a year.  We are planning to drive from Seattle to Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico and we will keep in touch with you and write reminders to ourselves by trying to blog regularly.  This should be an interesting trip for us and maybe you might like to learn about it too.  Since we are driving, we imposed on friends who have done it (Canadians, of course) for information.  They were very helpful.  Have to get Mexican car insurance, a Mexican entry permit and a posted monetary guarantee that you will bring the car back to US.  This last money is returned (they say) when you come back thru the border. 
We are not in a hurry so we will visit friends and family on the way.  In California and Arizona.  A couple from Arizona will cross over the border with us and we both have timeshares at Puerto Penasco in Mexico.  We plan to play golf and rest there for a week.  Our friends drive back home and we head off to Mazatlan on our adventure.  We have a week there and our friend from Guadalajara will fly over and join us for a day or two and drive back to his home in Guadalajara where we will stay for a day or two.  Then we drive to Ajijic and find a place to stay for a month or so. 

Sound like fun???  I'll let you know how it goes.  Adios amigos.

AROUND TOWN

Art Auction at Hotel Neuvo Pasada. We went to the Art Auction at the Neuvo Pasada. It was a dinner and auction with Efren being the auctioneer. Great fun and fine food. The proceeds went to a good cause - an Easter production by children of Ajijic. There were about 40 pieces. Great prices too.

The Leather Guy - I have been taking friends to this leather shop because he does a great job on special orders for purses etc and his prices are right. This trip my friends bought at least 3 bags from him - some with special features, also belts. Then I took a friend there to order a couple of small leather bags that hang around the neck - for passport and id etc. I have one. It took almost 2 weeks to get them made and we must have gone back 5 times after he said, "I forgot come back at 6pm" more than once. We did get them and they are great but what a runaround - was it because it was a different style? Was it because he didn't have the zippers? He didn't say. It couldn't have been the color of my friends skin or the fact that he was a male......do you think? Anyway, the price was right. I guess I might continue to recommend him. But I might forget also.

The Malecon - Ajijic has the most lovely malecon. Mornings are great for those people who get up early and insist upon exercising. Evenings are my time, especially when all of the families and children are there. Also the young lovers. As we were walking a few days ago, we stopped to watch two egrets doing a mating dance. They were so beautiful with their top knots all fluffed up. The same day we saw some yellow birds doing the same thing. It must be spring here in paradise.

The Lakeside Little Theater - So we thought we would eat dinner at the Hotel Casa Blanca. French food - very good. Then we walked to the square and caught a taxi to the Little Theater in San Antonio. The production was "The Foreigner". I must say that it was very well done and very funny. Many of the people involved in the theater are retired professionals or people who have had a bit of experience (Duh) and so the sets, production, direction and acting are excellent.

We thought we would be able to get a bus and indeed there was a bus stop but, we waited about 15 minutes and decided to walk home in the dark. Well, no sidewalks, cobble stones and very little light plus it was a long way (relatively). A bus went by, of course. We made it - no sprained ankles or scrapes.

The Rythum of the days

Experimenting with the fresh food

MAZAMITLA AND MORE

Look at the photo. Does that look like Mexican architecture? It looks very alpine - because it is alpine. Mazamitla is located in the mountains south of Chapala at an elevation of about 7200 feet which is about 2200 feet higher than Ajijic.

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We took a day trip from Ajijic, stopping by a wonderful little city by the name of Manzanilla de la Paz. That city was surprising all around. Bustling with activity. A beautiful square and church but ... the most interesting aspect to me was the people. Many were very light skinned and with light hair. The men were taller than I had seen in other villages with broad shoulders. It was striking and very noticeable. I only wish that I could have talked with some of them or that our guide had known more about these people. There are beautiful people all over Mexico and these were no exception.

We learned the names of two of the largest trees - Indian Laurel - and Zalate which can be confused with a Ficus but has some fig like fruits. They grow huge and get very old. Okay, Mazamitla - The guide drove the car way up the mountain. Most of the roads were good, some places a little bumpy. At one point we got out and walked among the evergreen trees. There are three different kinds of pine trees and the air there was fragent with pine.

Around the beautiful town square were buildings made of wood, two stories with balconies that gave them an alpine (think Leavenworth, WA) look. Very surprising. Interesting too, were all of the children who were either getting out of school or going to school, who were all bundled up! We were very warm and sitting in the shade. Obviously, these people are used to extreme heat in the summer and cold in the winter. One of the young girls in her school uniform of a short skirt and high socks and sweater was almost as tall as Pete. Again very attractive people and a town that is obviously prosperous.

We (some of us) slept on the ride back but we sure enjoyed our tour.

San Luis Potosi Mid March Trip

It seems such a long time since we spent two nights in San Luis Potosi with our friends Steve and Cuquis. Steve had a friend pick us up here in Ajijic and drive us to Guadalajara, where he picked us up and drove us to his house. We had a huge delicious breakfast and hopped in his car with Cuquis for the long drive to San Luis Potosi. The roads (toll) were very good and the scenery was reminescent of California or eastern Oregon.

Our hotel was in the Historico District and very nice. It was just off the square so we were in on all the happenings there. The first afternoon we met a man from Chicago who told us not to miss the symphony orchestra and the playing of the carillion at 7 in front of the church in the square. Well, it turned out he had been in San Luis Potosi for 2 months practicing with the orchestra and he was the one who played the carillion. There were chairs for about 1000 and all were occupied. We were unfortunately in front of the amps but still enjoyed it - the church was lit in various colors as the bells played. We enjoyed watching all of the families - small children too.

We took a bus tour around the historical section however it was all in Spanish and the guide spoke very fast (for us that is). We concluded that it is a beautiful city with lots of parks - squares - and some very beautiful old buildings. There are many very good looking young men and women stylishly dressed.

On Sunday we were privileged to see several girls and families celebrating cince annos (15th birthday) in their beautiful gowns. There was also a wedding and we got to see photographers taking pictures of all of the girls. It was interesting because we don't have such a celebration for girls or boys. The young women and men are extremely comfortable "dressing up" and seem to enjoy themselves very much. They are dressed up from the time they are born so to put on a gown or suit is nothing new to them. We rarely get most young people out of jeans. It was fun to see and I know the families are expected to do this and it is costly.

On Monday we headed back but this time on non toll roads that went thru lots of small towns and roads that were two lanes. We saw a car coming around a bend with lights blinking - there was a horse on the side and a big cow in the road. Thank you for the heads up! We decided to go to Leon which is the "leather city". There were shoes and leather goods of all types. Many streets were blocked so that they were pedestrian only. The main square was HUGE and we would have like to see more but it was hot so we sat is the shade and had a very nice lunch. This part of the trip took us thru miles and miles as far as you could see of farm land. Probably as much as two hundred miles. Beautiful.

Last Parade Before Lent

There was a small parade on Saturday and music and dance, a little larger parade on Sunday, a bit larger party on Monday, and a real blow out Fat Tuesday Parade. The children get a real kick out of running "away" from the clowns (men dress up as women) who chase them and shower them with flour. A long time tradition which probably once meant something - maybe the flour chased away the bad demons. Those characters dance and act up at every intersection and throw flour on the crowd and also confetti. Of course, there are floats! Maybe not like the Rose Parade but some of them have beautiful girls dancing hula or wearing beautiful white gowns and waving. They throw candy. Other floats have men dressed up - one in particular made the crowd really laugh - it said "Por Gulpa del Alcohol Una Boda Resulta" and had a very large man in a white brides gown with another large man in a mariachi suit, some of the attendants were dressed as mariaches but they were women dressed as men. There was also a float with "women" in some scanty clothes posing alluringly. The side walks were crowded with families, grandparents and small babies. There was so much talk and laughter at all the flour throwing and who became covered with it. Most of it was thrown at pretty teenaged senoritas who laughted and screamed. We did get caught in a little flour but were not really the target. What fun!

We stopped by a little hole in the wall to get a drink and ended up having lunch - a wet("drowned") bagette pork sandwich and a coke. We had never had one and enjoyed it as well as talking to the owner, an older senora who spoke only Spanish.

We are enjoying our guests very much. They are adventureous and independent. We have tried lots of fruits and veggies - today we bought cactus leaves (nopales) which we will cook. Also bought a different kind of squash and some ceviche. A while ago we bought a fruit named, mame, which was good for one taste for everyone and then we threw it away. Maybe we needed someone to tell us how to prepare it. We like to experiement.

Don't want to get too carried away with this blog so I'll find a nice picture and be blogging you later.