Close Encounters with an Indigenous Insect Tribe!

Can you believe THIS? Bonnie returned home from Christmas brunch with the faint smell of brandy on her breath and packing THREE shiny creatures – a dolphin, a gecko and a turtle.
Evidently, DESPITE my warnings, somewhere in the Gold Zone she was lured into a den of iniquity with promises of freebie jewelry. I thought she had more sense!
Now I have to admit, had the gecko been in its natural, meaty state, it might have provided me with a tasty morsel. But alas, the unfortunate trio had been transformed into silvery bangles and offered up as authentic Mexican wares to the unsuspecting cruise ship crowds.
JUST what I need - - roommates! Hrrrmmph!
But wait! There’s more to tell! Get a load of the picture of the leaf cutter ants! As much as I ADORE insects on my menu, THIS gang, encountered on a walk around the El Cid golf course, looks a little rough! They’d probably be more work than they are worth! Or worse yet, predator and prey could possibly reverse roles – NOT a happy thought!

Food, Food, Food!

Between the Hispanic, American and Canadian cuisines, it’s been a nonstop feast the past few days!

Christmas morning, we enjoyed a brunch buffet at Hotel Playa Mazatlan on their veranda by the beach. After brunch, the women of the group enjoyed a shopping excursion across the street at a jewelry boutique. We were lured in with a coupon we received, promising a free piece of jewelry – a cute little dolphin charm. It turned out to be very profitable for the shop! In appreciation of our patronage, we were treated to a shot of brandy, tequila or Kahlua from a make-shift bar, as we departed.

Friends Kathy and Lonnie invited us to join them for a traditional American/Canadian dinner, hosted by the owners of the La Ventana condominium. The sunset was a Christmas gift in itself! And the food was “over the top”! Leg of lamb, turkey, ham and all the traditional side dishes were included.

As if that wasn’t enough, we celebrated “Boxing Day” with Canadian friends on December 26th!
Our hosts Moy and Scott provided a fantastic setting next t the El Cid golf course.
The banquet was prepared by Marion and Pat – a no-holds-barred feast that put us in the traditional “turkey coma”!

Moy brought out a pinata, which ramped up the activity level several notches! Then, we took a walk around the neighborhood and enjoyed the holiday lights on the magnificent haciendas in this gated community.

Yet to come is another feast tonight at friends Rick and Cranda's home!

We are blessed with such good friends and neighbors here, as well as loved ones miles away!
We want to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Bonnie, Larry and Sly!

“SO, you want SNOW, my pretty?! I”LL show you SNOW!!”

Well, Mother Nature pulled a real hum-dinger Up North, didn’t she? She must have gotten fed up with hearing, “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” so often on the radio! That’ll teach them to start playing Christmas music in October!!! That old Christmas favorite has taken on a whole new perspective for the folks in the Northwest. “SO, you want SNOW, my pretty?! I”LL show you SNOW!!!!” Very funny, Mom. You have a STRANGE sense of humor! People stranded during the holidays is no one’s idea of a good joke! Okay, okay . . . maybe you had some help . . . could be that certain human activity brought on your wrath. We get your point! To quote that famous midwest author Maddison Gratiana, "Mother Nature is certainly showing us exactly WHO is in charge!!! "
In the meantime, I’m sure having a heckofatime providing much comfort for the OTHER mom and dad in my life. With Phil and Maureen’s flight cancelled, the mood is pretty chilly here!
Everyone is making do, though. Phil and Maureen are playing in the snow in Portland and Bonnie and Larry are pilfering the chocolate goodies out of the kids’ Christmas stockings and drinking the tequila they bought for Phil’s and Maureen’s Margaritas . . . kind of the South of the Border version of making lemonade out of lemons!
Feliz Navidad!

My Family is Everything to Me

We walk the crowded sidewalks of "Old Town". We struggle to speak and be understood......There are times when I am so lonesome and feel very much a foreigner.

Then, we catch the bus and as we rumble toward town I translate the simple statement written above the driver's head....."Mi familia es todo para mi".....My family is everything to me.

We may not always understand each other's words, but in Mexico we share an understanding of what REALLY matters.....the ties we nurture with family, friends and loved ones.

May your day be graced with peace! Besitos!

Getting Around Town

We bussed into "Old Town" yesterday to the fabric stores and the central market and returned with arms laden with "goodies" -two big bags of fruit and vegetables and 6 meters of batting to make cushions for Adirondack chair located out on the deck.
Since many local residents here do not own cars, the bus transportation within cities and between cities is VERY good. Bus drivers often put their personal touches around the front of their busses, with their names and those of family members ornately painted above the windshield. Often, there is a picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe in a prominent spot.
We prefer to take the "chicken" bus whenever possible. These are the older busses, usually with cracked windshields and squeaky brakes, which provide transportation for a discounted price of 5 1/2 pesos (40 cents). The drivers tend to be younger, VERY confident and often drive the bus like a race car (especially when a cute young senorita gets on board and sits in the first seat OR when they are trying to get past another bus so they can pick up the fares.
These busses are crowded with local folks who carry all manner of goods - sometimes even a live chicken or two. Passengers may be entertained by fellow riders who sing or play guitar and then pass the hat for donations. Such performers tend to frequent the fancier, more expensive (8 peso) "tourist" busses, though
We actually were forced to take the newer, air conditioned Sabalo Centro bus into town because the older busses don't go downtown from where we live. Fellow passengers (mostly tourists) gawked at us as if we were crazy, when we boarded the bus to return to the Marina via the “Gold Zone” with our treasures!

Sly's Condo

Get a load of these digs! I never thought I’d have my own “condo” in Mazatlan!
The décor is a bit over the top - all sparkly and glitzy . . . and it’s pretty crowded with all the other inhabitants . . . and the web I'm spinning here is made of silver and pearls, which has me a bit concerned. I'm not sure how I'm going to catch enough flies and bugs to feed this group without the appropriate sticky stuff I'm used to producing.
The condo isn’t nearly as spacious as the Oregon home I’m used to and it doesn’t really have that Douglas fir fragrance, but I’m certainly willing to be flexible! I know good housing can be hard to come by down here, and BIG families gather together at this time of year to celebrate . . . you know, the cousins and in-laws and their pets.
Looks like it’s my year to host the holiday festivities!

At least I’m dressed to party!

Back in Mazatlan Safe and Sound!

After a long day’s drive from San Carlos, we stopped at Celestino RV Park on a quiet beach 50 miles North of Mazatlan. Rather than push to get into Maz in the evening, we opted for a good night’s sleep, some morning coffee while relaxing on the patio overlooking the beach and a nice hot shower in clean, tiled bathrooms, before heading into town.

The condo was all set and ready for us when we arrived about noon on Thursday, thanks to Sylvia!

The miniature tree is decorated to the max with elven ornaments and Sly perched on top; lights are strung around the deck railing and it’s beginning to feel a lot like Navidad!

No ice and snow here . . . it’s time to light a candle for all of YOU up North who are enduring the current winter blast! Brrrrr!

Sly's Take on the Taylors

Let me give you MY take on Tucson. I thought the desert was supposed to be HOT! And DRY! Hah! If you can believe it, we had a thunder storm in the night and it was downright COLD when we left Tuesday morning! I found a cozy perch on the dashboard atop a heating vent. Ahhh! Bliss!

Now, don’t say anything to them, but the Taylors can be a bit odd at times – you know – kind of crotchety with each other one moment (especially before their first cup of morning coffee) – and then laughing and carrying on the next moment – a bit eccentric, but quite entertaining nonetheless. They seem to be quite tolerant of exotic creatures like myself.

Fortunately Bonnie has a long history of close encounters with my type since she was just a wee tot, so she seemed delighted to have me join up on this year’s trip to Mexico.

Larry, on the other hand, had to be convinced of the merits of my company . . . no free loaders allowed – especially ones that were, well, so . . . DIFFERENT.

I had to do a bit of a hard sell with him that besides providing good luck (a spider tradition, you know), I was willing to do fly and cockroach patrol in the camper. I also explained that I would help write the travel blog so that he would not have to be involved in that “foo-foo” stuff. Reluctantly, he agreed to have me join them. Besides, Bonnie seemed to be in MUCH better frame of mind with my company!
SO, with that said, I’ll turn the computer over to Bonnie so she can share her thoughts . . .

I don’t want to steal her thunder!

Ta-Ta! Sly

Running the Gauntlet!

Ah! We are settled in tonight at the Desert Trails RV Park just outside of Tucson.
After a good night’s sleep, we’ll head into town Monday to take care of business before crossing the border bright and early Tuesday morning.
The trip through California was fairly routine as we followed the familiar route down I-5.
We enjoyed lunch and a good visit with friends in Fresno on Friday and spent the night near Bakersfield in the Orange Grove RV Park. Larry wsas disappointed that the oranges weren’t ready for harvest!
The drive Saturday included maneuvering the freeway maze in and around San Bernardino, which was a nerve-wracking challenge - LOTS of FAST traffic and confusing interchanges! We FINALLY made our way out of the congestion of SoCal into the peaceful desert to the east, toward Yuma, where the weary Taylors regrouped and spent the night.
Sunday was an easy trip to Tucson. After a beautiful sunset, it was a fun surprise to look around the RV Park and see Christmas lights twinkling on many of the trailers!

Sylvester Speaks Up!

WELL, it’s ABOUT TIME! Bonnie and Larry - this couple from the NTMA (Nomadic Tribe of the Missing Appendages) have been hogging the laptop computers, which has made it hard to tell MY side of the story to this point.
Okay, okay . . . They’re nice enough, I guess. And I do know them quite well from my time at the Taylor Tree Farm. Bonnie, in fact, advocated for farm land security there, and lobbied vigorously to protect the homes and livelihoods of the varied and diverse species on the farm. I have to say though that it was a tragic blow to the neighborhood when the Taylors decided to eradicate the farmland housing. We feared the worst when there was no replanting the Douglas fir trees in recent years. Seems the tree business wasn’t all it was cracked up to be . . .
And THEN, to top it off . . . one day while I was settling into my new digs on Wilson Road- tending to my own business and rustling up an insect or two for a snack – BAM! I suddenly found myself decked out in an outfit of crystals and beads that would have made Liberace GREEN with envy. I was pretty shocked and tried to hide from my friends and family. They are a touch on the conservative side, so I anticipated a pretty negative reaction to the sparkly pink outfit . . . I must say, I look quite dashing, though!
Never mind. More about that later . . . I’m sure you didn’t log onto the blog to read about my list of complaints. This IS, after all, a travel journal . . .
So, here we are in Yuma, Arizona. What a relief! It’s getting warmer, which suits me just fine. My kind much prefers the warmer climate of the Southwest.
Whoa! I tell you, that drive through San Bernardino yesterday was quite an experience! I wonder about Bonnie’s map-reading skills sometimes! Yikes! For a time, things got a little tense and noisy there; SUCH a lot of yelling and commotion! Oh my, the LANGUAGE! For a moment, it looked as if we might be on our way back to Oregon, but it just turned out to be a little confusion about East and West and I-15 or I-215 . . . at any rate, the situation was soon corrected and we were headed to the desert.

Along the way, we encountered the most bizarre species with three arms! They were GIANTS! Looked kind of like aliens from another planet, standing around in groups, waving their arms in the wind all at the same time. I wondered if they were practicing their Michael Phelps backstroke style or trying to signal for help from outer space . . .

Today we're headed to Tucson. I'm SO looking forward to our stay in the Desert Sands RV Park!Who knows, I might even hav a chance to hook up with my cousin Tony Tarantula! He decided to settle in the Tucson area, I understand. Haven't seen him in qute sometime.

There's a LOT more to write, but I think the Casita is about to embark . . . Gotta Go!

Departure 2008

In the predawn hours of December 4, we were once again on our way! Our trusty truck seemed to growl in happy anticipation of yet another journey south, despite the weight of the camper, loaded to the gills with everything that might possibly be needed for the four month stay in Mexico. Some intense negotiation during the packing process yielded a satisfying cache of holiday decorations, music, art and sewing supplies as well as clothing enough to make the move south permanent . . . Larry’s gracious consolation, Bonnie thinks, for pre-holiday departure from the cozy new nest!
The day was ideal for travel. Dawn brought on a cerulean blue sky with a few broken pastel colored clouds to the east. Relieved to finally be on the road, after a number of delays, and fueled by good, strong coffee, we relaxed and progressed beyond the “departure grouchies” and enjoyed some good conversation as we motored down I-5. The truck seemed to slip into automatic pilot after so many trips down the familiar route, past the rolling hills of Southern Oregon and beyond, to Mount Shasta.
Hmmm….a strange little bejeweled spider mysteriously appeared on the dash of the cab. This obviously was not just any ordinary arachnid! Not only was it made of beads and crystals . . .it TALKED! This little creature turned out to be quite a character!