Friends,
The Swine Flu looks like it originated in southern Mexico and is spreading rapidly. So far we here in Baja have not been affected. We saw a report that there were four cases reported in Mexicali but have not heard anything further. The purported single case down here turned out to be a rumor and false. Everything is fine here but we will be taking more precautions as everyone worldwide is doing.
George and Beverly’s trip has been delayed by a week. They are scheduled to arrive next Monday.
We will have more information about it as the week progresses.
I also sent out a reference to the Fence that one of our Baja folks put together. Here is the link.
Larry and Regina
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Casa Update 28
Friends,
It is raining!!! First rain since last August!
The town is filling up with people from Mexicali. We went to a birthday party tonight at Paco and Miguel’s restaurant in the Ejido. Funny thing is that everyone here calls it "Paco and Miguel's" but the menu cover says "Miguel and Paco's". It was hard to find but what a real treat. It was again a BYOB and wine glasses were provided. I had the “Osso Bucco” and Regina had the steak special. Both were $15 and what a real treat. It sprinkled while we were in the restaurant but after we got home it started to REALLY rain. Kaaren took pictures of the birthday bash and when she sends them to me I will post them. Here are the pictures.
There are supposed to be up to 60,000+ Mexicali’s down here for Easter weekend. From the stream of cars we have seen so far, I almost believe that number. We are going to brave it tomorrow and go into town for a picture trip. We will not be parking anywhere as we have heard that there is no parking anywhere already. Going to try to go up to the lighthouse and take a picture of the beach and Malicon.
Have a nice Easter weekend and we will be posting pictures next week.
It is raining!!! First rain since last August!
The town is filling up with people from Mexicali. We went to a birthday party tonight at Paco and Miguel’s restaurant in the Ejido. Funny thing is that everyone here calls it "Paco and Miguel's" but the menu cover says "Miguel and Paco's". It was hard to find but what a real treat. It was again a BYOB and wine glasses were provided. I had the “Osso Bucco” and Regina had the steak special. Both were $15 and what a real treat. It sprinkled while we were in the restaurant but after we got home it started to REALLY rain. Kaaren took pictures of the birthday bash and when she sends them to me I will post them. Here are the pictures.
There are supposed to be up to 60,000+ Mexicali’s down here for Easter weekend. From the stream of cars we have seen so far, I almost believe that number. We are going to brave it tomorrow and go into town for a picture trip. We will not be parking anywhere as we have heard that there is no parking anywhere already. Going to try to go up to the lighthouse and take a picture of the beach and Malicon.
Have a nice Easter weekend and we will be posting pictures next week.
Well we did go into town on Sunday morning. There was indeed no parking. Actually there was massive traffic everywhere. Streets that normally would have taken a minute to drive were taking 15. Could not get to the malicon, tried three differnet ways. Everyone that had an open patch of land was either renting it out for tents or as a car park. So we just snapped a few pictures when we could. There were tents everywhere! Maybe next year we will go in and park near the arches and do a long walk. Probably faster that driving. Here are the pictures we took. Please don't ask about Flat Stanley :-)
Larry and Regina
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Casa Update 27
Hello all,
March is over and we are getting into some serious springtime weather. It has been getting into the low 80’s in the daytime and high 50’s at night. Wonderful sleeping weather!
We went to Mexicali for the truck tires. And of course, Costco did not have my size or anything even close. So we ended up at the Goodyear store and had to pay essentially retail for the four tires. We got the top of the line Wrangler All Terrain with lots of tread.
Now that the truck is off-road ready, someone had to put the new tires to the test. The San Felipe 250 Off-Road race was held here on March 14th. We met up with some friends that knew of a great place to watch. So, off we went. We drove to the northern most road on the Ranch and from there took a track that can best be described as “looks like at least two other trucks have been this way.” We headed southwest for what seemed to be 30 miles but actually was closer to 5 miles to the power lines. The race heads north along these power lines. We undershot where we were supposed to be. An official suggested that we book it up the race course to the 12.2 mile marker. We were one mile too far south. So with the Trophy Trucks about to start, we indeed booked it up the course. After that mile, I’m glad to say that my truck will not be entering this race any time soon.
When we got to the 12.2 mile checkpoint, we set up on the west side of the course. After the second truck came thru and coated us with dust and dirt, it was decided that we should relocate ourselves to the east side and upwind. You will see in the pictures when that took place. Each racer is let off the starting line in 30 second intervals. This gave us plenty of time to sneak across the course. Once we were upwind, we plopped the chairs into the truck bed and settled in for a great morning. We were situated next to a dip in the course that probably was about three feet deep. It was amazing to watch the racers try to navigate this “dip.” Most of our pictures are of someone trying to navigate thru the dip. Some of the most expensive Trophy Trucks went thru the dip in amazing form. Their rear tires just disappeared into the dip while the rest of the truck stayed level. Not so for most of the racers though. They disappeared into the dip and a few almost flipped over like taking a forward summersault. There were at least 30 classes of vehicles in the race. Some classes only had a few vehicles but there were many classes had a dozen or more. The last few classes were stock trucks and VW Beetles. I couldn’t imagine driving a stock Beetle for 250 miles flat out on paved roads let alone on this race course!
After the Beetles went by we decided to head into town to watch the Trophy Trucks at the finish line. One of the checkpoint officials suggested that we take a road back into town instead of driving back across the desert. This turned out to be a bad move as this “road” was in much worse shape than the ruts we followed out to the course. This so called “road” didn’t actually go into town but led us southwest for about five miles to a road that actually did go back into town. The road that did take us back to town is named Zoo Road. There is a very valid reason for the name. On race day the road is a real zoo (search www.youtube.com for “San Felipe 250 Zoo Road”)! It is also the road that was used to define the term washboard. It was so bumpy and “washboardy” that both of our seatbelts locked up and we were stuck to our seats for the whole trip. Did I mention the dust? We were some of the few that were heading into town. Most others were heading west to get to the other side of the race course to see the trucks head back south. I have included a map of the course so you can visualize where we were.
We got back to town and found excellent parking places at the “Arches.” Someone had just pulled out and we both shared the parking spot as they were deep enough for two vehicles. We had a short three to four block walk to the finish line. We were there only about an hour before the Trophy Trucks arrived. During that time all of the remaining Motorcycles and ATVs were finishing. Unfortunately, the only place to watch was down wind. These racers kept on the throttle until the last moment and locked up the breaks and slid thru the finish line. In our pictures you can see the mess that they made. We were whipped so we watched some of the trucks and then headed back home for a welcome long shower.
Leslie joined us for an all too short week. We did the usual things like town and the beach. She even played pickleball one morning with Regina! We did skip the usual ATV trip this time. The best activity of her trip was attending the 3rd Annual San Felipe Blues and Arts Festival. It was great! World class Blues bands and more world class art! The festival was held in San Felipe’s baseball park so there was room for all. Food was good and all festival proceeds went to “Sonshine Hacienda” a new orphanage being built in town.
We arrived at about 10:30 in the morning and stayed until about 5:30. Would have stayed longer but we had a dinner reservation at a place that we didn’t want Leslie to miss. This little place (Playa Azul) just opened a few months ago and we have been there almost a dozen times now. Breakfast is 35 Pesos, lunches go from 30-60 Pesos and the most expensive dinner entre on the menu is Blue Coast Shrimp (Camarón Costa Azul) for 110 Pesos. You get four to five huge bacon wrapped (stuffed with cheese and ham) shrimp in a white sauce with mushrooms, and mixed vegetables cooked perfectly. He does not have a liquor license yet so it is BYOB. He now provides the wine glasses though.
All of you have been inundated by the media constantly harping on the violence in Mexico. We have seen CNN repeating old news articles as if they were new news. Fox actually shot footage of Juarez and claimed it was shot in San Felipe. The drug wars are true. However, they are not affecting all of Mexico. The drug lords are killing each other and if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, you might be in danger. The rule we have here is to treat Mexicali as an American would treat Oakland. The things that you would not do in Oakland after dark, hold true for Mexicali and even more so for Tijuana. Remember, the US is the most violent nation in the world. Mexico is a meager 12th. Our friends at “The Net” in town have posted a lot of interviews on www.youtube.com. Please to a search for TheNetSanFelipe and watch them. Besides hearing how safe it is down here you can see our diverse community.
Well, that is enough for this month. We have George and Beverly from Benicia coming down for the last week in April. Update again after their visit.
Larry
March is over and we are getting into some serious springtime weather. It has been getting into the low 80’s in the daytime and high 50’s at night. Wonderful sleeping weather!
We went to Mexicali for the truck tires. And of course, Costco did not have my size or anything even close. So we ended up at the Goodyear store and had to pay essentially retail for the four tires. We got the top of the line Wrangler All Terrain with lots of tread.
Now that the truck is off-road ready, someone had to put the new tires to the test. The San Felipe 250 Off-Road race was held here on March 14th. We met up with some friends that knew of a great place to watch. So, off we went. We drove to the northern most road on the Ranch and from there took a track that can best be described as “looks like at least two other trucks have been this way.” We headed southwest for what seemed to be 30 miles but actually was closer to 5 miles to the power lines. The race heads north along these power lines. We undershot where we were supposed to be. An official suggested that we book it up the race course to the 12.2 mile marker. We were one mile too far south. So with the Trophy Trucks about to start, we indeed booked it up the course. After that mile, I’m glad to say that my truck will not be entering this race any time soon.
When we got to the 12.2 mile checkpoint, we set up on the west side of the course. After the second truck came thru and coated us with dust and dirt, it was decided that we should relocate ourselves to the east side and upwind. You will see in the pictures when that took place. Each racer is let off the starting line in 30 second intervals. This gave us plenty of time to sneak across the course. Once we were upwind, we plopped the chairs into the truck bed and settled in for a great morning. We were situated next to a dip in the course that probably was about three feet deep. It was amazing to watch the racers try to navigate this “dip.” Most of our pictures are of someone trying to navigate thru the dip. Some of the most expensive Trophy Trucks went thru the dip in amazing form. Their rear tires just disappeared into the dip while the rest of the truck stayed level. Not so for most of the racers though. They disappeared into the dip and a few almost flipped over like taking a forward summersault. There were at least 30 classes of vehicles in the race. Some classes only had a few vehicles but there were many classes had a dozen or more. The last few classes were stock trucks and VW Beetles. I couldn’t imagine driving a stock Beetle for 250 miles flat out on paved roads let alone on this race course!
After the Beetles went by we decided to head into town to watch the Trophy Trucks at the finish line. One of the checkpoint officials suggested that we take a road back into town instead of driving back across the desert. This turned out to be a bad move as this “road” was in much worse shape than the ruts we followed out to the course. This so called “road” didn’t actually go into town but led us southwest for about five miles to a road that actually did go back into town. The road that did take us back to town is named Zoo Road. There is a very valid reason for the name. On race day the road is a real zoo (search www.youtube.com for “San Felipe 250 Zoo Road”)! It is also the road that was used to define the term washboard. It was so bumpy and “washboardy” that both of our seatbelts locked up and we were stuck to our seats for the whole trip. Did I mention the dust? We were some of the few that were heading into town. Most others were heading west to get to the other side of the race course to see the trucks head back south. I have included a map of the course so you can visualize where we were.
We got back to town and found excellent parking places at the “Arches.” Someone had just pulled out and we both shared the parking spot as they were deep enough for two vehicles. We had a short three to four block walk to the finish line. We were there only about an hour before the Trophy Trucks arrived. During that time all of the remaining Motorcycles and ATVs were finishing. Unfortunately, the only place to watch was down wind. These racers kept on the throttle until the last moment and locked up the breaks and slid thru the finish line. In our pictures you can see the mess that they made. We were whipped so we watched some of the trucks and then headed back home for a welcome long shower.
Leslie joined us for an all too short week. We did the usual things like town and the beach. She even played pickleball one morning with Regina! We did skip the usual ATV trip this time. The best activity of her trip was attending the 3rd Annual San Felipe Blues and Arts Festival. It was great! World class Blues bands and more world class art! The festival was held in San Felipe’s baseball park so there was room for all. Food was good and all festival proceeds went to “Sonshine Hacienda” a new orphanage being built in town.
We arrived at about 10:30 in the morning and stayed until about 5:30. Would have stayed longer but we had a dinner reservation at a place that we didn’t want Leslie to miss. This little place (Playa Azul) just opened a few months ago and we have been there almost a dozen times now. Breakfast is 35 Pesos, lunches go from 30-60 Pesos and the most expensive dinner entre on the menu is Blue Coast Shrimp (Camarón Costa Azul) for 110 Pesos. You get four to five huge bacon wrapped (stuffed with cheese and ham) shrimp in a white sauce with mushrooms, and mixed vegetables cooked perfectly. He does not have a liquor license yet so it is BYOB. He now provides the wine glasses though.
All of you have been inundated by the media constantly harping on the violence in Mexico. We have seen CNN repeating old news articles as if they were new news. Fox actually shot footage of Juarez and claimed it was shot in San Felipe. The drug wars are true. However, they are not affecting all of Mexico. The drug lords are killing each other and if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, you might be in danger. The rule we have here is to treat Mexicali as an American would treat Oakland. The things that you would not do in Oakland after dark, hold true for Mexicali and even more so for Tijuana. Remember, the US is the most violent nation in the world. Mexico is a meager 12th. Our friends at “The Net” in town have posted a lot of interviews on www.youtube.com. Please to a search for TheNetSanFelipe and watch them. Besides hearing how safe it is down here you can see our diverse community.
Well, that is enough for this month. We have George and Beverly from Benicia coming down for the last week in April. Update again after their visit.
Larry
San Felipe 250 pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/SF2502009?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbJ2f_Wt7rmywE&feat=directlink
Other pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa20?authkey=Gv1sRgCLnZtoj4rt_3zQE&feat=directlink
Friday, March 6, 2009
Casa Update 26
Friends,
Well, I said that I would not get so far behind again. But I did it anyway. We have been settling back into watching the world economy crash. The news from up north has as you all know been very depressing. The only good news about it is the decline of the Peso. It is now trading at 15:1. That cuts our living expenses down here by 30%. I now wish that all of our expenses were in Pesos but we still go to the US to shop and pay the AT&T and DirecTV bill in dollars. I figure that our cost of living has dropped by 20% with the new exchange rate. We are starting to shop more and more down here as we find new places that we did not know existed. We found a bakery that sells the best apple fritters I have ever had. They were huge and two of them cost $22 Pesos. We will be going to Mexicali to get tires for the Tacoma next week. Our contractor just put 4 new tires on his truck from Costco for $6,200 Pesos. That works out to $413 Dollars. I will price the same tire at the Costco in El Centro on our next trip there.
We are both doing fine on the health front. Regina's Corn is still healing slowly and my headache is diminishing. I will have to go back to Mexicali and get a follow-up MRI soon. Thinking of doing that when we go to get tires. That way we can do our entire shopping trip in Mexicali instead of El Centro. With Mexicali's streets being "all tore up", we have been finding a few more places to shop there. So far we have found two Dairy Queens, Smart and Final, and two Office Depots. They have all of the US fast food places but we never expected to find a Dairy Queen!
As you know Mexican economy follows the US but with more devastating results. There is no welfare here, no unemployment insurance, no social security. So when the US economy tanks, the Mexican economy follows. We have a lot of charitable groups operating down here, including both the Rotary and the Lions. Both put on fund raiser events to help the Mexican population. Like I have already said, please go to http://www.sanfelipe.com.mx/ and see all of the work that they are doing. One of the events done by ZAPP (the spay and neutering clinic folks) was a second annual female impersonator show. This years show was called "Gospel Brunch." I have included two pictures out of the dozens that Regina took. We filled the meeting room at the Pavilion with over 250 people. It was a great show (though a little racy at times). The Blues and Art festival follows when Leslie is here but I'm getting ahead of myself.
We have been trying to continue to decorate the house. Regina has gotten a few additions to the kitchen and I have included pictures. It is really difficult to place plates and vases on top of the kitchen cabinets. The crown molding that is on top is almost five inches tall. We have to raise anything we put up there by at least four inches for them to be displayed properly. This has lead to a lot of creative use of Styrofoam and re-bar.
The start of Lent here is proceeded by three days of "Carnival." Very festive occasion with parades and partying all three days. We went to the first parade on Saturday and Regina got a few pictures before the camera battery died. The parade was supposed to start at 3:30. Everyone told us that we should expect it to really start around 6:00 as it had done in years past. Looks like they had a better team organizing the parade as it actually started about 4:15. We got good seats at the Taco Factory Restaurant and watched the parade with nachos and margaritas with friends. The nacho plate ended up being so huge we only snacked for dinner.
I finally got my work permit stamped into my FM3 the third week of January. I am now legal to work in Mexico. Got my business cards printed, got a stamp for my receipts and a few refrigerator magnets for select clients. Business has been slow but starting to pick up. I bought a new desk for the office. We ended up the Staples in El Centro after not seeing anything at both Office Depots in Mexicali. I have included a picture of it. I am still trying to get all of the computers organized. Down to three boxes of stuff. I hope to be up and fully in business by the end of March. Have been meeting with my accountant every month. He speaks excellent English and knows all of the ins and outs of doing business in Mexico. Great find and he has given me so many tips that I don't think that will turn a profit till sometime in 2013.
Regina continues to play Pickle Ball three time a week. Water Volley ball and the pool has been sporadic with the cool weather making it too chilling. I have been relegated to Line Judge for now. Hope to get back into it when the Doctor says so.
We are both members of S.A.F.E, sort of a neighborhood watch group. We perform checks on houses when the owners have gone on vacation or back to the US/Canada. We go out a few times a month for four hours and put on 35-40 miles of driving all over the Ranch. It is hard to believe that when built out the Ranch will be a rectangle five miles by nine miles. So far we are only concerned with a square about five by five miles. I don't want to even go into how many miles of streets we have here.
We are starting to meet a lot of our part time neighbors and we now finally have a full time neighbor (forgot their names) other than ourselves! They are on block 55 and will be getting together with them soon. First let me try to describe our community of Buena Vista. Our community consists of a main East-West road that is about three miles long. Off of the main road are 60 blocks of cull-de-sacs containing about fifteen lots each. The even blocks are on the left and odd are on the right. I would like to give you street names but first, I cannot pronounce any of them and second, numbers are easier to visualize. We have met Tom and Nancy of San Francisco who are building a house at the end of our block, Gordy and son Rick from Tahoe who has a house across from us on block 32. Others building are Nancy and Richard from Redding California (Block 27), Gardenia and Steve from Belmont California (Block 41), Steve and Daisy Ann from the Sacramento area (Block 45) , Marie and Jerry from Pleasanton California (Block 47), Roy and Sylvia from Elk Grove California (Block 13), Cliff and Karen from the LA area (Block 24), and Craig and Carol from Danville California (Block 24). All of them except Ron and Sylvia are within walking distance.
Leslie is going to come down for a week of her Spring Break on March 24th, although she said that she will not be "breaking" but working. She has her candidacy exams in May so she plans on a lot of uninterrupted studying. And this is a great place for that! We are planning on attending the Blues and Arts Festival and maybe a trip to Puertocitos while she is here. Pictures will follow in the next update.
I have been asked to start a blog to update everyone. I don't want to get an account on facebook, twitter or anything like that, too complicated for everyone. Maybe something easy where anyone can read it without any login stuff. Let me know and I'll look into it if there is enough interest.
This has been a laid back few months. Watching the US economy crash has been distressful but if you are going to receive bad news, this is probably the best place on earth to receive it.
Hasta Luego,
Larry and Regina
Larry gets back on his soapbox: DO NOT believe all that the US press is saying about the violence in Mexico. It is not everywhere, it is all happening in the border towns primarily used for smuggling drugs. I would recommend that you stay away from Tijuana, Nogales and Juarez. That is where the drug lords are fighting each other and the government. Mexicali is a minor smuggling point and San Felipe (is at the end of a 120 mile road with only one way out and criminals know this and know that it would be totally stupid to try to gun and run from here) is safer than any city we have EVER lived in. Larry gets back off the soapbox again.....
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa19?authkey=Gv1sRgCIjW8JG_1ZGk_wE&feat=directlink
Well, I said that I would not get so far behind again. But I did it anyway. We have been settling back into watching the world economy crash. The news from up north has as you all know been very depressing. The only good news about it is the decline of the Peso. It is now trading at 15:1. That cuts our living expenses down here by 30%. I now wish that all of our expenses were in Pesos but we still go to the US to shop and pay the AT&T and DirecTV bill in dollars. I figure that our cost of living has dropped by 20% with the new exchange rate. We are starting to shop more and more down here as we find new places that we did not know existed. We found a bakery that sells the best apple fritters I have ever had. They were huge and two of them cost $22 Pesos. We will be going to Mexicali to get tires for the Tacoma next week. Our contractor just put 4 new tires on his truck from Costco for $6,200 Pesos. That works out to $413 Dollars. I will price the same tire at the Costco in El Centro on our next trip there.
We are both doing fine on the health front. Regina's Corn is still healing slowly and my headache is diminishing. I will have to go back to Mexicali and get a follow-up MRI soon. Thinking of doing that when we go to get tires. That way we can do our entire shopping trip in Mexicali instead of El Centro. With Mexicali's streets being "all tore up", we have been finding a few more places to shop there. So far we have found two Dairy Queens, Smart and Final, and two Office Depots. They have all of the US fast food places but we never expected to find a Dairy Queen!
As you know Mexican economy follows the US but with more devastating results. There is no welfare here, no unemployment insurance, no social security. So when the US economy tanks, the Mexican economy follows. We have a lot of charitable groups operating down here, including both the Rotary and the Lions. Both put on fund raiser events to help the Mexican population. Like I have already said, please go to http://www.sanfelipe.com.mx/ and see all of the work that they are doing. One of the events done by ZAPP (the spay and neutering clinic folks) was a second annual female impersonator show. This years show was called "Gospel Brunch." I have included two pictures out of the dozens that Regina took. We filled the meeting room at the Pavilion with over 250 people. It was a great show (though a little racy at times). The Blues and Art festival follows when Leslie is here but I'm getting ahead of myself.
We have been trying to continue to decorate the house. Regina has gotten a few additions to the kitchen and I have included pictures. It is really difficult to place plates and vases on top of the kitchen cabinets. The crown molding that is on top is almost five inches tall. We have to raise anything we put up there by at least four inches for them to be displayed properly. This has lead to a lot of creative use of Styrofoam and re-bar.
The start of Lent here is proceeded by three days of "Carnival." Very festive occasion with parades and partying all three days. We went to the first parade on Saturday and Regina got a few pictures before the camera battery died. The parade was supposed to start at 3:30. Everyone told us that we should expect it to really start around 6:00 as it had done in years past. Looks like they had a better team organizing the parade as it actually started about 4:15. We got good seats at the Taco Factory Restaurant and watched the parade with nachos and margaritas with friends. The nacho plate ended up being so huge we only snacked for dinner.
I finally got my work permit stamped into my FM3 the third week of January. I am now legal to work in Mexico. Got my business cards printed, got a stamp for my receipts and a few refrigerator magnets for select clients. Business has been slow but starting to pick up. I bought a new desk for the office. We ended up the Staples in El Centro after not seeing anything at both Office Depots in Mexicali. I have included a picture of it. I am still trying to get all of the computers organized. Down to three boxes of stuff. I hope to be up and fully in business by the end of March. Have been meeting with my accountant every month. He speaks excellent English and knows all of the ins and outs of doing business in Mexico. Great find and he has given me so many tips that I don't think that will turn a profit till sometime in 2013.
Regina continues to play Pickle Ball three time a week. Water Volley ball and the pool has been sporadic with the cool weather making it too chilling. I have been relegated to Line Judge for now. Hope to get back into it when the Doctor says so.
We are both members of S.A.F.E, sort of a neighborhood watch group. We perform checks on houses when the owners have gone on vacation or back to the US/Canada. We go out a few times a month for four hours and put on 35-40 miles of driving all over the Ranch. It is hard to believe that when built out the Ranch will be a rectangle five miles by nine miles. So far we are only concerned with a square about five by five miles. I don't want to even go into how many miles of streets we have here.
We are starting to meet a lot of our part time neighbors and we now finally have a full time neighbor (forgot their names) other than ourselves! They are on block 55 and will be getting together with them soon. First let me try to describe our community of Buena Vista. Our community consists of a main East-West road that is about three miles long. Off of the main road are 60 blocks of cull-de-sacs containing about fifteen lots each. The even blocks are on the left and odd are on the right. I would like to give you street names but first, I cannot pronounce any of them and second, numbers are easier to visualize. We have met Tom and Nancy of San Francisco who are building a house at the end of our block, Gordy and son Rick from Tahoe who has a house across from us on block 32. Others building are Nancy and Richard from Redding California (Block 27), Gardenia and Steve from Belmont California (Block 41), Steve and Daisy Ann from the Sacramento area (Block 45) , Marie and Jerry from Pleasanton California (Block 47), Roy and Sylvia from Elk Grove California (Block 13), Cliff and Karen from the LA area (Block 24), and Craig and Carol from Danville California (Block 24). All of them except Ron and Sylvia are within walking distance.
Leslie is going to come down for a week of her Spring Break on March 24th, although she said that she will not be "breaking" but working. She has her candidacy exams in May so she plans on a lot of uninterrupted studying. And this is a great place for that! We are planning on attending the Blues and Arts Festival and maybe a trip to Puertocitos while she is here. Pictures will follow in the next update.
I have been asked to start a blog to update everyone. I don't want to get an account on facebook, twitter or anything like that, too complicated for everyone. Maybe something easy where anyone can read it without any login stuff. Let me know and I'll look into it if there is enough interest.
This has been a laid back few months. Watching the US economy crash has been distressful but if you are going to receive bad news, this is probably the best place on earth to receive it.
Hasta Luego,
Larry and Regina
Larry gets back on his soapbox: DO NOT believe all that the US press is saying about the violence in Mexico. It is not everywhere, it is all happening in the border towns primarily used for smuggling drugs. I would recommend that you stay away from Tijuana, Nogales and Juarez. That is where the drug lords are fighting each other and the government. Mexicali is a minor smuggling point and San Felipe (is at the end of a 120 mile road with only one way out and criminals know this and know that it would be totally stupid to try to gun and run from here) is safer than any city we have EVER lived in. Larry gets back off the soapbox again.....
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa19?authkey=Gv1sRgCIjW8JG_1ZGk_wE&feat=directlink
Monday, January 12, 2009
Casa Update 25
All,
I mentioned that we went to a Halloween Party and there were pictures. Oops, here they are. Enjoy.
Larry
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa18?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ24nfiS1-eGUA&feat=directlink
I mentioned that we went to a Halloween Party and there were pictures. Oops, here they are. Enjoy.
Larry
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa18?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ24nfiS1-eGUA&feat=directlink
Casa Update 24
Hello all,
Well, it has been a very long time since my last update. We moved back into the house on October 2nd. Was hot for the first few days and getting used to the generator was a pain. The satellite modem missed a major update during the summer and would not work. Without that we could not get DIRECTV going again. Had to have an expert in Hughes come by and fix it. On the third day, we had gotten back all of the creature comforts. Spent a lot of time at the pool and going to many socials. The snow birds are arriving and everyone wanted to have a party.
On the medical front, we are learning a lot. We have both had problems in the past few weeks.
I came down with what I thought was a sinus infection. Had some tests done and it turned out that I had Strep B. He put me on antibiotics. This is when I decided to make this update a critique on medical care in
We are very impressed with the medical system here in
Well, that is the reason that this update email is so late. Now back to the update.
As I said earlier, we moved back into the house on October 2nd. After getting all of the creature comforts up and running we settled back into retirement. Water volleyball was still our exercise of choice. Weather started cooling off and turned wonderful. I stopped playing volleyball when I started the antibiotics so I was relegated to the bench. We went to the pool every day until the week before Thanksgiving. Got too cold for
Halloween is a real big thing down here both for the Mexicans and us. They have the decorating of the graves and we have a lot of costume parties. We had many to choose from and a few pictures are included.
We went to
The week after we got back we had a great surprise from the Ranch. We now have a new friend. He is called “the gasoline guy.” He comes by every day and fills the generator and also the spare gas can. Since then, we have expanded the hours of operation of the generator. We now power up for 2-3 hours in the morning and run from sunset till we get tired (usually about 10:00). This has been great as it has allowed us to spread the electrical duties out. We don’t have to rush to get laundry in or start the dishwasher any more.
We bought our first Mexican Christmas Tree this year (grown in
We had a great time for the ten days that Leslie was here. We had friends over for dinner and went to a few parties. Leslie and
We had an uneventful New Years Eve (as we always do). Could not find an early showing of the
Bolstered by the relocation of the barrel cacti, we went in search of more. We found some Saguaro cacti hiding under some Palos Verde trees nearby. They now are safe with us and will have no fear of the contractor’s axe.
I have also decided to get back to work. Partially from the collapse of the economy but also to keep my computer skills honed. I applied for permission to get a business license from Immigration in June. They approved it and I applied with La Hacienda (IRS) to get a tax number. After two months of trying to explain to them that we did not have a power bill my accountant finally interceded and we got the tax number. Then off to immigration again to get it added to my FM3 (Green card). They shut down from Christmas and to have computers installed. I am still waiting for the office to open again so that I can get my stamped FM3 back. I should be legal to work within the next two weeks. Name of the business? It could have only one name: “The Computer Guy.”
Well, that is what has been happening here over the past three months.
Till next time,
Larry and
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Casa Update 23
Friends,
Well, it has been more than a month and I am finally getting around to updating everyone. August and the first half of September was hot and humid with us spending a lot of time inside reading or going to the pool. Keeping out of the direct sun is a must. We had rain twice with the skies looking and sounding ominous many many times. All of the thunder storms bypassed us. Tropical storm Julio dumped a huge amount of rain north of us. Highway 5 was washed out in many places between the Military Checkpoint and La Ventana. The highway was closed for almost one day while repairs were made. We awoke early one morning to the crash of thunder nearby. We spent the next hour watching the most spectacular lightning show we have ever seen. It was all around us and almost continuous for a half hour. We ended up with 3/4 inch that morning.
We have a monthly event down on the beach called the Full Moon Mixer. We have gone to two so far. The activities staff provided the hot dogs or tacos or tostadas and we provide the rest. Lots of fun with a area for casino games. Problem with the full moon is it is also low tide. But anyway that is a different discussion. On this past mixer, I got a nice glass of sauvignon blanc as a bribe since we were the only ones that brought a corkscrew. The pictures are from the August mixer.
We spent four days on the Pacific coast celebrating our 29th anniversary. We were in Rosarito Beach for two days staying at a house one block from the ocean and in sight of the Rosarito Beach Hotel. Weather was beautiful and cool. Lots of good food, shopping and sightseeing. Then we were off to Ensenada for another two days. Stayed at a very cute resort called Punta Morro. Look it up on the internet. Had dinner in the hotel overlooking the Pacific. Actually, the restaurant is on peers and we were over the ocean looking down at the breakers. Food was excellent. We found another restaurant next door. Website sounded interesting and we tried it. The building was definitely two star. But once inside, one entire wall was plastered with awards. Definitely a five star meal!! Smoked Marlin Quesadillas anyone? On our last day we went to La Bufadora. We saw two whales migrating south. Look it up! Traveled thru the Valle De Trinidad on the way back to San Felipe.
We had another thunderstorm the other night. They got 8/10 inch of rain in town but we got a light show, wind and just enough rain to mess up cars. Back to the carwash this week.
We will be moving back into the house at the end of the month. Ed and Sandy will be back October 1st and we have to be out. Don't look forward to packing up but it will be good to be back home.
Friday we were invited to a couple's renewal of vows service at a local Catholic Church (we snuck Communion). After, there was a catered reception at their casa. Almost 70 people were there for a sit down dinner in the back yard. They hired two of our (ranch) activities staff to act as MC and DJ. We all had a great time.
Tonight is "Dive in Movie Night" at the pool. First one of these that we have gone to. Vincent and Chuey are hosting it with their 20 foot projector system (they do all of the Directv/Dish/Hughes installs and are probably pimping for business).
I have figured out the dress code for down here. Casual is tee-shirt (logoed), shorts and sandals. For smart casual, all you do is tuck in your tee-shirt and upgrade your sandals. For formal occasions, just trade in your tee-shirt for a Hawaiian shirt.
When we get back to our casa, I will have more time without TV. Maybe that will encourage me to send out the update more often.
For now,
Larry and Regina
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa16?authkey=Gv1sRgCOe5iMCA057KkAE&feat=directlink
Well, it has been more than a month and I am finally getting around to updating everyone. August and the first half of September was hot and humid with us spending a lot of time inside reading or going to the pool. Keeping out of the direct sun is a must. We had rain twice with the skies looking and sounding ominous many many times. All of the thunder storms bypassed us. Tropical storm Julio dumped a huge amount of rain north of us. Highway 5 was washed out in many places between the Military Checkpoint and La Ventana. The highway was closed for almost one day while repairs were made. We awoke early one morning to the crash of thunder nearby. We spent the next hour watching the most spectacular lightning show we have ever seen. It was all around us and almost continuous for a half hour. We ended up with 3/4 inch that morning.
We have a monthly event down on the beach called the Full Moon Mixer. We have gone to two so far. The activities staff provided the hot dogs or tacos or tostadas and we provide the rest. Lots of fun with a area for casino games. Problem with the full moon is it is also low tide. But anyway that is a different discussion. On this past mixer, I got a nice glass of sauvignon blanc as a bribe since we were the only ones that brought a corkscrew. The pictures are from the August mixer.
We spent four days on the Pacific coast celebrating our 29th anniversary. We were in Rosarito Beach for two days staying at a house one block from the ocean and in sight of the Rosarito Beach Hotel. Weather was beautiful and cool. Lots of good food, shopping and sightseeing. Then we were off to Ensenada for another two days. Stayed at a very cute resort called Punta Morro. Look it up on the internet. Had dinner in the hotel overlooking the Pacific. Actually, the restaurant is on peers and we were over the ocean looking down at the breakers. Food was excellent. We found another restaurant next door. Website sounded interesting and we tried it. The building was definitely two star. But once inside, one entire wall was plastered with awards. Definitely a five star meal!! Smoked Marlin Quesadillas anyone? On our last day we went to La Bufadora. We saw two whales migrating south. Look it up! Traveled thru the Valle De Trinidad on the way back to San Felipe.
We had another thunderstorm the other night. They got 8/10 inch of rain in town but we got a light show, wind and just enough rain to mess up cars. Back to the carwash this week.
We will be moving back into the house at the end of the month. Ed and Sandy will be back October 1st and we have to be out. Don't look forward to packing up but it will be good to be back home.
Friday we were invited to a couple's renewal of vows service at a local Catholic Church (we snuck Communion). After, there was a catered reception at their casa. Almost 70 people were there for a sit down dinner in the back yard. They hired two of our (ranch) activities staff to act as MC and DJ. We all had a great time.
Tonight is "Dive in Movie Night" at the pool. First one of these that we have gone to. Vincent and Chuey are hosting it with their 20 foot projector system (they do all of the Directv/Dish/Hughes installs and are probably pimping for business).
I have figured out the dress code for down here. Casual is tee-shirt (logoed), shorts and sandals. For smart casual, all you do is tuck in your tee-shirt and upgrade your sandals. For formal occasions, just trade in your tee-shirt for a Hawaiian shirt.
When we get back to our casa, I will have more time without TV. Maybe that will encourage me to send out the update more often.
For now,
Larry and Regina
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa16?authkey=Gv1sRgCOe5iMCA057KkAE&feat=directlink
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