One Week and Counting

I can't believe that next Sunday at this time we will be riding up to Guatemala City.  Then it is just a wake up and we will be winging our way to the United States.

Christmas in the States? Wow, it has been nearly 8 years since we have been there for Christmas. Trying to get my head around cold weather, shopping, shopping, eating, eating, etc.  You get the picture.

Will miss Christmas at the marina with all our friends that we have here.  But am really looking forward to a full size tree.  (Daddy, I hope you are reading this.) The smells of baking cookies.  Making fudge and divinity.  Actually wearing a sweater!

But the thing I am most looking forward to is FAMILY!  We are so fortunate to be able to travel and see almost everyone. 

So we are planning and cleaning and getting the suitcases ready.  We are making our lists and checking them twice.

Giving Thanks

 It is so easy to complain.  My bill is wrong, I lost my job, my kids are in trouble, our country is in trouble, and the list goes on and on and on.

I am guilty of it too.  So with Thanksgiving tomorrow, it is time to reflect on what I have that is right and good.

I have my health
My kids are employed and doing well
My parents are healthy and independent
I have great siblings
My husband loves me
I have a roof over my head, food on the table, and clothes on my back
I have wonderful friends
I have the freedom to practice my faith
I have the freedom to travel
I have money in the bank (not a lot, but enough)
I have a safe place for my boat
I have a safe place for my RV

So as we begin the Holiday Season let us reflect on what is good and right.  If only for a little while.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Bathrooms are a changing

Bathrooms and showers.  You never know what you are going to get when you travel or live in Central America.
Some people complain about the Bathrooms and Showers at Mario's.  I haven't minded them much.  Had worse in a marina in the States.  Korea was a slit in the floor for awhile.   The walls looked a little moldy sometimes, (it is the jungle), the electrical shower head bothered some, not me, and there are only two.  So during high season you may have to wait.  Waiting isn't that bad.  You wait at the pool and usually there is someone to talk to and the staff walk by, the birds are singing and the waves are lapping on the docks.

However, I must admit that I am pleased to say the the walls are being tiled!  Not only tiled, but with a border!  My friend, Israel, who I met 5 years ago is doing the job.  It looks great.  There will be two faucets...hot and cold.

Here are Israel and myself in the partially completed second shower. 

It is that time of year

The tide is high and so that means the grand exodus for deep draft boats has begun.

Pickings are slim here on the Rio.  A very quiet year.  Most people didn't stay with their boats.  We did stay with our boat and took advantage of some events here on the Rio Dulce.

Janet and Russ manage Tortugal Marina here on the river.  They have taken movie night to a new high.  A free launch ride, 2 pieces of pizza (the best on the river) and an outdoor theater.  What fun we have had with a double feature of Alfred Hitchcock's, Rear Window and North by Northwest.  I still can't believe that Eva Marie Saint was able to traverse Mount Rushmore in an A-Line skirt and high heels.
Just when I thought that I had died and gone to heaven with the pizza, we headed over yesterday to Tortugal for Sunday Breakfast Buffet.


Damn it Janet!  I love you.  All you can eat fresh fruit, cinnamon rolls, and coffee.  Then the good, I mean really good stuff came out.  Included in the cost was one mimosa, a gigantic piece of baked french toast with praline topping and a huge slice of homemade crab quiche!  I almost forgot, you also got a serving of toasted English muffins with smoked salmon and capers.

So the next time Tortugal has a Breakfast Buffet call in your reservation.  You won't be sorry.

Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day is a day for reflection.  For me there are personal ties to Veteran's Day.  I am a Disabled Veteran.  My husband is a Veteran.  My Father is a Veteran.  My Uncle George rests as a Veteran aboard the USS ARIZONA at Pearl Harbor.  My sister-in-law is a Veteran.  So many of our friends near and far are Veterans.

This year once again finds our fine young men and women fighting across the sea in foreign countries.  This year at Fort Hood, Texas one solider raised weapons against his fellow soldiers and we ask, WHY?

For every Mother, Father, Daughter, Son, Brother, or Sister who has watched "THE CAR" come down the street and hoped against hope that the car wouldn't stop at their door.  For every loved one who has stood at a grave flinching at the Twenty-one Gun Salute and had the Flag folded and handed to them, "On behalf of a grateful Nation..."  we should and must pause as a Grateful Nation for the ones who lay down their lives on our behalf.  For the ones that won't be home for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  For the ones the won't see first steps.  For the ones that won't walk daughters down the aisle or toast sons who wed.  For the one's that won't hold their grandchildren.  For all the ones that won't....so that we can.
Please take a moment and remember....

London Bridge is Falling Down, Falling Down, Falling Down....

As a little girl that phrase about London Bridge was part of a favorite game.  Not sure I remember all the specifics, but the tune is as fresh in my head as it was oh so many years ago.

I recall all the hubbub when Lake Havasu City won the bid for the London Bridge.  Pretty cool I thought.  Dismantle the bridge and rebuild it stone by stone.  Good idea.  So this summer we were going to be driving right through Lake Havasu City.  Let's stop and see the London Bridge.


Some of you will be shocked to learn that Michael and I approach things differently.  Driving into LHC I was looking for a sign that would direct us to the famed bridge.  Surely something as magnificent as the London Bridge would have a sign with directions.  Well before we came to the sign we came to a rode called London Bridge Road.  Michael wants to take it and I want to wait for the sign.  For the sake of marital harmony I took the blasted road that wandered along the shore line, through the trailer parks, the industrial area and still no sign of the blasted bridge!  Now we are in the middle of town.  I am not very happy and still looking for the bridge.  Perhaps it is close to the London Bridge Resort.  Back and forth, up and down, hither and thither I drove the streets of LHC.  Finally in exasperation I shouted, "Where the Hell is the Bridge?"  My dear husband replied," you have driven across it at least 4 times!"  (Yes you are getting the sanitized version.)

So I found a parking lot just below the bridge.  Michael grabs his camera and says, "Aren't you coming?"  "NO!"  I couldn't believe that this plain old bridge with some flags on it was THE BRIDGE!  I should have known it wasn't going to be that impressive.  When I asked my sister about it and her reply was..."Well, when you think about them taking it apart stone by stone and putting it back together..."  Being the stubborn woman I am I let HIM take all the pictures as I waited thumbs drumming on the steeringwheel looking for the closest breakfast place.

I am not sure what I was expecting in the bridge, but more than what I got.  When I tell my U.K. friends about it they all laugh and say, "You thought it was the Tower Bridge."  Actually, no.  I don't know what the Tower Bridge looks like either.  But I wanted, I guess the London Bridge of my childhood fantasy.  Instead I got the real London Bridge. Recognized I might add at first glimpse by all my U.K. friends.

Enjoy Michael's photos.