Cruising ~ The Cat’s Meow Style ~ August
&September, 2007
Stateside
Welcome back! We sure are
glad to be back aboard our home, The Cat’s Meow, and to be back in the Sea of
Cortez after another stateside trip! We were both mentally ready for spending
about three weeks stateside, but as usual, the trip was extended. Those last
few days were difficult. Don’t get us wrong, we LOVE seeing our friends and our
family, but all the hustle & bustle, traffic, media noise, and expense is
wearing on us when we are “up there”. It is always a good feeling for both of
us to return to TCM and to our life across the border.
Instead of driving the 800
+/- miles from Puerto Escondido to the San Diego area in two days as usual, we
decided to break the trip up a bit more, and we spent two nights on the road in
the Baja. This took some of the pressure off from the start, and was a good
idea. We stayed in Santa Rosalia, only about 3 hours north of PE, where we met
Susan & Dennis on Two Can Play – they were at the Singlar marina. After
sneaking the cats into the sparse-but-OK-for-one-night room, the four of us had
pizza and enjoyed the evening. It was still waaaay hottt, and the AC in the
restaurant and in the room was appreciated. The second night we stayed at the
Cactus Hotel in El Rosario, about another 6 or 7 hours drive from Santa
Rosalia. It is on the Pacific side of the Baja, cooler because of fog and the
Pacific Ocean breezes. We like to eat at the restaurant next door to the hotel,
Mama Espinoza’s – good food and very well priced. The Cactus is an older hotel
but has some very nice modern rooms, all tile and old-style Mexican décor, for
a little less than $35US, complete with coffee in the room and TV with cable. A
good way to prepare for re-entry into the States!
Our first few nights
Stateside were spent in Chula Vista with friend Kathleen and her three pooches.
Robin had a hankerin’ for Kentucky Fried Chicken of all things, so after a
visit to KFC and the purchase of some good wine, we were set. A few days later,
Martin flew to the home of his daughter Debbie and family in the SF area, while
Robin & Kathleen drove the van, with kitties aboard, to Sedona, AZ. Martin
had an appointment at the San Francisco VA for checkups, and Kathleen &
Robin attended a seminar in beautiful Sedona. Martin’s checkups went well, all
is OK, and he had a few days to spend with Deb & family before he drove a
rental car to visit with his son Bill who lives in the Nevada City area, in the
foothills of the Sierras. Martin continued his family tour, driving into Oregon
where he was able to see and visit with his other daughter, Robin and her
daughter Brianna, as well as with his brother Jim & wife Ginny, AND his
mum! Another brother, Ken & wife Rhonda, arrived in their motorhome, to
make it a well-rounded family visit. It was real good for Martin to spend time
with his family members, and to have some time with each of his grown children
and some of his grandchildren. He definitely enjoyed his family tour. (Too bad
that Martin didn’t take any photos during his stays, but Robin did take a few
during her travels.)
Meanwhile, Robin and
Kathleen were enjoying the red rock country of Sedona. It was fun for Robin to
play “tourist” for a change in her former home. Kathleen flew back to SoCal,
and Robin continued seeing as many friends in the Verde Valley as she could in
one week. She stayed a few nights with JoAnna in her neat little hideaway in
Jerome, an old mining town on the hill overlooking all of the Verde Valley;
then she moved to Phyllis’ home in Cottonwood where Phyllis organized a nice
get-together with some of Robin’s old chums (Ooops - not “old”…um…”long-time”
chums!). Bob & Kristen, and a friend (Bill?) who was visiting them, along
with Phyllis & Robin all had a luscious dining experience at a new-ish wine
bar in Cottonwood. It is nice to see some more upscale things happening in that
area. There are so many people Robin likes to see while in the VV, so she had
to visit one friend, Camille, at her place of business, the 50’s style eatery.
And, it is always very special for her to spend time with a young man named
Skye. They yakked and laughed over lunch one afternoon in Cottonwood, and
caught up with all of his travels and adventures.
JoAnna enjoying her cute new home, and…… …her great view of Jerome, on the hillside
Dining at a new upscale wine bar & restaurant in Cottonwood Robin, Camille, and Camille’s daughter in the diner
Robin’s favorite YOUNG man,
Skye
While Robin was in that
area, there were some great thunderstorms – they are called monsoons – which
she remembered fondly from her years living in northern Arizona. There was a
very nice double rainbow, as well, while she & Phyllis enjoyed a glass of
wine on the veranda of Phyllis’ home.
Rainbows & wine at Phyllis’ home
Next stop for Robin was to
see good friends who were part of the after-Marty hurricane rescue episode in
the Baja, and with whom we have made many other great memories here in the Sea.
Bill is now teaching science & math at the Orme School, which is somewhat
near Prescott, AZ. Orme is a private prep type of high school. Stephanie is
directing all the transportation vehicles for the school, besides making their
on-campus home cozy. It was soooo good to see them!!
Bill and Stephanie at home, Orme
School
We had left The Cat’s Meow
attached to our mooring ball in Pto. Escondido during the height of the
hurricane season in that part of the world. While we knew TCM to be on a very
strong mooring in a relatively safe location for such storms, both of us did
worry and we did consult weather information while we were away from our home,
our boat. It sounded as though hurricane Henriette had skirted La Paz and Pto.
Escondido in late September, so we were surprised and saddened to hear that at
least four boats there had been sunk and others damaged during that storm.
Friends sent emails to us, assuring that The Cat’s Meow was OK, sitting where
we had left her, and looking alright. That was a relief! Susan & Dennis had
brought Two Can Play into the harbor a few weeks later to prepare for hurricane
Ivo, but he did not make it to the Baja – and that was another relief for
everyone. Here is a photo of TCM, in the harbor of Puerto Escondido, with the
moon rising behind her, taken from Two Can Play:
TCM in moonlight
Right about this point in
the trip and the month of September, it was our 7th wedding anniversary. Martin
had flown to Phoenix to meet up with Robin at the home of another good friend,
Diane. Well, it is always fun to celebrate special occasions with good pals, so
we did! A group of eight of us dined on Thai food, one of those things we miss
down here, and it was a nice way to see folks and enjoy a special day at the
same time.
Celebrating our 7th
wedding anniversary with friends in Phoenix
After doing some of the
“yearly shopping” while in Phoenix – a city that Robin has decided must be the
“capital of shopping malls” – we drove to Southern California. Vito &
Dianna live in a beautiful area just outside of Paso Robles, in what is now
wine country. We had not seen them for quite a number of years, so we spent an
enjoyable couple of nights with them and all of their animals: cats, dogs, and
horses. Vito and Martin had worked together for many years, and it is always
fun for them to see each other and spin yarns. Dianna is making a name for
herself in the wearable art arena, with shows in a variety of locations.
Vito and Martin solve the world’s problems Vito and Dianna’s property near Paso Robles
Dianna and some of her wearable
art – gorgeous!!
Martin squeezed in another
VA visit in Long Beach, and we proceeded to spend lots of time and money doing
more of the big shopping, filling the van as we went. One of our “regular”
stops during stateside visits is with Hans & Dianne (jeeez, we have so many
“Diane’s” around!!) who live in the greater Long Beach area. We have posted a
number of photos of visits to their beautiful home on other pages of this
website, and it is truly a lovely, quiet place to regroup after doing a lot of
running around.
19-year-old Rocket with his dad,
Hans
One last stop in Chula Vista
again, one last last minute shopping spree and a visit with Kathleen, and we
were off to the border. With our suitcases on the top rack of the van, and a
cooler in view, cats riding in the back, we hopefully looked like a coupla
folks off for a camping trip in the Baja as we went to the Tijuana border
crossing. It must have worked (again), and we “sailed” across the border.
Unfortunately, during the middle of the three days going south, we had
(another) tire blow-out. The one-and-only “highway” on the Baja is not very
wide, with no shoulder, desert on both sides of the road and steep embankments
in most places, lots of big busses and trucks, and nothing for mile and miles
and miles… So, when there is road trouble, it can be anxiety producing. We found
a more or less level place to pull off the road, put the cats in their
carriers, and unloaded all the stuff at the back of the van onto the ground. It
was hot. Not long after Martin began to attempt using the jack, a pickup truck
with California license plates pulling a big fishing boat pulled in behind us.
The nice couple, John & Linda, were on their way to Bahia de Los Angeles,
which is a village on the Sea side of the Baja. They had a good jack and some
chocks, which helped immensely in getting the bad tire off and the “pretend”
tire on for the ride down the road. Thanks to all the great people who are
willing to help each other! Catavina is a tiny little “pueblita” that was not
too far away, and where we knew there to be a “yard”, full of junk, cars,
tires…and hopefully one for us. As it happened, there was a nice looking
Aerostar van sitting there amongst all the rubble, with a bashed-in front end.
And tires. For the equivalent of a little less than $30US, we had ourselves a
good tire! Off we went again!
Manuel & Martin fixin’ a tire
in the middle of the Baja desert
After a couple of quick
stops along the way to deliver packages and boat parts to friends on the Sea
side, we arrived in Puerto Escondido, grateful to have completed yet another
Stateside trip with no big problems. It is always great to spend time with our
friends, and family, and love it when they to come visit us here, on our
floating home, The Cat’s Meow.
One misty morning back in Puerto Escondido…..
The holiday season is coming
up fast, we plan to be on the mainland side of Mexico, enjoying tropical
breezes during the winter months. Let us know where you will be. We will be…..Cruising ~
The Cat’s Meow Style.