Back in Mexico

We returned to Mexico on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, five months to the day from when we left to go back to the US. Our flight from Seattle to Puerto Vallarta, via San Francisco was full but uneventful. Since Hurricane Paul was off the Baja coast, the pilot changed from his normal route down that coast to vectoring southeasterly and going down the mainland coast over Mazatlan. We could see lots of clouds and we had some turbulence so they stopped beverage service for a bit but it was okay from our perspective.

 

We had Antonio wash the boat and clean the bottom once a month while we were gone. He also cleaned some of the mildew inside just before we arrived. We are glad he did. We have done some more cleaning since, mostly inside cabinets and drawers. Rich cleaned everything in the galley and went through our food storage. A majority of our stores are fine, just a few items had to be tossed. There are some clothing that I needed to wash and will vacuum pack shortly when it cools down a bit. I don't plan to wear any fleece for a while.

 

The weather here is on the warm side. It was 57 degrees F and raining when we left Seattle. When we arrived, It was 93 degrees F but felt more like 103 with the humidity. It saps your energy pretty quickly. We have put up the sunshades, opened all of the hatches and port lights and the fans are running!

 

Besides cleaning we have been putting the boat back together. Before we left in May, we prepared the boat for hurricane season, so we took a lot of things off the decks and stored them below. Now we are reversing the process and checking all of the systems. Rich checked the  refrigeration, water system, toilets, electrical systems are up and working. He was very excited when the new engine started right up. I have reinstalled the charter/plotter and it checks out with the navigation instruments, GPS and AIS as well and the iPad with INavX and the DMK NMEA transmitter. There is still plenty more to do but mañana, it is too hot right now.

 

We are looking at having the bottom painted before we continue south and are getting quotes. We will also have a survey done while the boat is out of the water for our boat insurance. The last survey we had was in Seattle in 2008. Hopefully the only changes are the improvements we made and that there are no items that need repair (fingers crossed).

 

Our friends, Heidi and Joe of SV Huck are here for a short time. They just had their boat bottom painted as well as a new propellor installed. We took the bus over to La Cruz to visit with them last Friday. It was great to catch up with them and trade stories. They returned to their slip on Saturday and we all spent the afternoon relaxing in the pool at the Vallarta Yacht Club. Pool time has become a daily ritual. It is a chance to cool off before we take showers and return to the boat for the evening.

 

Paradise Village is pretty quiet at the moment. Many of the boat owners have not returned yet. The beach and the chairs by the pools are empty so you have your choice. Even the locals think it is hot. They all tell us that it should get cooler at the beginning of November. I am looking forward to it, especially for cooler evenings. We were at Marina Vallarta to visit the boat yard and many of the restaurants surrounding the marina are still closed. Signs in the windows promise new restaurant and shops opening soon.

 

We enjoyed our visit to Bainbridge Island, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, Oshkosh, Ocean City, New York City, Montreal, La Follette, etc. It was great to see everyone we did get to see but we are sorry we did not get to see others. Perhaps some of you will come down and visit us.

 

Adios for now,
Elaine and Rich

Returning to Windarra

It is hard to believe that almost 5 months have gone by since we left Windarra in Mexico. During that time we have had many adventures and have connected with friends and family. We apologize that we were not able to connect with everyone but we will be back again. Sometime...

Rich and I scoured the local Goodwill stores and scored two large, roll around suitcases to help take our stuff back to Mexico. We will donate them we we empty them at the boat. It doesn't seem like we bought all that much stuff but I guess we did.

The gray rainy season has begun in Seattle. We enjoyed the 82 days with less that 0.03 of an inch of rain. Yes, it does not alway rain in Seattle, but we are trying to keep it a secret.

Time to return to Windarra and resume the cruising life.

Adios

New smaller storage unit

While here in the Seattle area we have been reviewing items in our storage unit. Some items we put on consignment or gave to Jesse, Rae and Sarah as well as other friend. Other things we took to Goodwill. A few items went to recycling or were left for the dumpster fairy.

We kept items like art work, photographs, baby books, mementos, sleeping bags, a tent, clothing plus some other stuff including a dining room table and matching chairs. We could not part with everything!

As a result we went from a 10 ft by 10 ft by 9 ft storage unit to an 8 ft by 7 ft by 5 ft pod. This also reduced our monthly cost by over half!

 

 

 

We have it cataloged so if we need to find something later we should be able to narrow it down to which box in whish row and column. When we decided we have had enough cruising and want to stay in one place for a while we will have the pod delivered to wherever that may be.

 

Hopefully we will not have to do this for a while.



9/24 day 21 of East coast trip

After some coffee and cereal, Chris and Kathy drove us to Knoxville and the airport. We left at 9:30 am and arrived at 11:00 am. The airport is small and not crowded so we got through security and the gate in short order. The Chicago O'Hare airport was a different story but manageable. 

Did you know that O'Hare airport was named for the son of Al Capone's accountant, who was a decorated war veteran? Well, now you know.

The flight to Seattle was fine. I did feel sorry for the crying babies on board. I wish that parents would talk with their pediatricians before the flight and get something for their ears and the pressure. Everyone on the plane would be a lot happier at the end if they did. 

Upon our arrival and collecting our bags we took the light rail to downtown Seattle and walked to catch the ferry. Nancy picked us up at the other end and we went to Karen and Mark's for dinner and to watch the last part of the Seahawks game. I question the call at the end of the game, enough said.

We had a great time on our visit. We tried to see everyone but we never are able to. For those of you we missed, please accept our apologies. For those of you who cheerfully provided us a place to stay, Thank You. 

Now we turn to the chores we need to complete before we return to Windarra in mid October. 

Another interesting sign

This sign was on the road up to the McCloud restaurant and lodge. 

9/23 day 20 of East coast trip

Today was another great sun rise. We sit in the living room, reading the local paper and Kathy does the crossword puzzle.

For lunch, Chris drove us across the valley and up McCloud mountain to the restaurant on top. It is at 2700 ft and perched on the ledge overlooking the valley. The views across the valley are magnificent.  In the distance we could see the Smoky Mountains, radio towers in Knoxville and the Cumberland Gap. For more information on the restaurant and lodge, see www.mtcloud.com.

The road up to the restaurant and lodge was a bit treacherous. I certainly would not want to travel it during the winter.

View between the restaurant and lodges. The Smoky Mountains are in the distance.


In the afternoon and evening we watched more football. Lyle and Judy, friends of Chris and Kathy, came over to join us. Lyle is a retired United Airlines pilot and Judy is a retired teacher. They also live in the Deerfield Resort complex. It was a fun evening.

Sent from SV Windarra iPad

9/22 day 19 of East coast trip

This morning we watched the sun come up over the hills on the other side of the lake. All is peaceful and quiet. As the day progresses deer come out to feed on the lawn. At one point there was as many as 8 deer, their coats starting to turn from light brown to grey for the winter.

Some members of the Quemore clan who live in Tennessee came over for lunch and a visit. Chris and Kathy's two daughters, Laura and Kristin, along with Laura's 3 year old son, Cameron, arrived. Chris' mother, Betty, and his sister, Chan arrived a little later. It was fun visit, especially with Cameron, who we have only seen in pictures up until now. It took a bit for him to get comfortable with us strangers but he did in his own time.

Chris, Betty, Chan, Kathy and Rich

In the late afternoon and evening we got our dose of college football. Rich and I used to be more football fans. We even had season tickets for the Seahawks but since we have been cruising and we don't have a TV, we have not been watching or following the sport. Chris gets most of the sport channels so we had many choices of games to watch. 

Sent from SV Windarra iPad