The grill master at work in the rain!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Crab Fest 2009!
Just because we are boatless and briefly in SF, doesn't mean all is lost! When we first decided to head North, Brian's second thought was dungeoness crab! Oh boy, did we feast too! Not only did we have piles and piles of fresh steamed crab, but for the non bug eater, like me, we had BBQ cedar plank wild salmon! Yummie!!! We shared with family and neighbors, iI ate 2 big pieces.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
It's been 13 days since my last confession.....
Forgive me followers, for we have sinned! Okay, so I am totally falling down on the job and my resolution to blog more, and it's only January! Well, the confession is that there was not a whole lot to report, up until now, and we were just having fun, goofing off, catching sun rays, and drinking margaritas :)! Tough life, we know, but someone had to do it and we were definitely up for the responsibility- meow.
Well, the scene has changed. We have ventured back up to the Bay Area for what we thought was to get our finances in order, our tools, and our personal items to buy a boat. Not any boat, but Brian's dream boat. Now, I know you are all already thinking, that I was his dream boat, ha, ha, very funny, but seriously, it was a Kelly Petterson (KP) 44' sailboat. This is the same boat that the lady backed out of selling to us once before. So with great enthusiasm, we trekked by taxi, then bus, then plane up here, minus some bags we left in San Carlos (where the KP is located) and one Laptop computer. Now the laptop was not left behind on purpose, but rather stolen, we think in Mazatlan when we all had to get off the bus for a mandatory break/stop. On a side note, these long distance buses are great - comfy seats, bathrooms, curtains on the windows, TV's with movies playing the whole time, clean, and over head compartments, like a plane. That was our downfall. We placed the laptop in the overhead compartment and someone nabbed it. This is a big deal because, it had all our pictures on it from our trips to China, Belize, Costa Rica, Yosemite, blah, blah blah. You know, non replacable stuff. As well as all of our Music that we burned from the CD's we owned, which we in turn sold back to Rasputin's. Now, your thinking, didn't you have a back up? Why yes, we did have an external hard drive, but that was in the computer bag, along with the web cam and finally, wait for it... our Rosetta Stone Spanish language learning CD's - OMG could it get worst!!!!!
Okay, moving on, so we would have to spend another boat dollar ($1,000) to replace the laptop, since the mini computer I got us for Christmas is just not big enough (the screen) to run our navigational programs on. Plus, we were going to use the big laptop for the chart plotter and also to watch movies on, etc. Okay, so we had a plan which is all now null and void - again! The boat seller just pulled out of the deal for the second time late last night, via email - ARRRRRRUGH!!!
Disappointed does not begin to cover how we are feeling right now. Trying to come up with another plan so stay tuned....
Well, the scene has changed. We have ventured back up to the Bay Area for what we thought was to get our finances in order, our tools, and our personal items to buy a boat. Not any boat, but Brian's dream boat. Now, I know you are all already thinking, that I was his dream boat, ha, ha, very funny, but seriously, it was a Kelly Petterson (KP) 44' sailboat. This is the same boat that the lady backed out of selling to us once before. So with great enthusiasm, we trekked by taxi, then bus, then plane up here, minus some bags we left in San Carlos (where the KP is located) and one Laptop computer. Now the laptop was not left behind on purpose, but rather stolen, we think in Mazatlan when we all had to get off the bus for a mandatory break/stop. On a side note, these long distance buses are great - comfy seats, bathrooms, curtains on the windows, TV's with movies playing the whole time, clean, and over head compartments, like a plane. That was our downfall. We placed the laptop in the overhead compartment and someone nabbed it. This is a big deal because, it had all our pictures on it from our trips to China, Belize, Costa Rica, Yosemite, blah, blah blah. You know, non replacable stuff. As well as all of our Music that we burned from the CD's we owned, which we in turn sold back to Rasputin's. Now, your thinking, didn't you have a back up? Why yes, we did have an external hard drive, but that was in the computer bag, along with the web cam and finally, wait for it... our Rosetta Stone Spanish language learning CD's - OMG could it get worst!!!!!
Okay, moving on, so we would have to spend another boat dollar ($1,000) to replace the laptop, since the mini computer I got us for Christmas is just not big enough (the screen) to run our navigational programs on. Plus, we were going to use the big laptop for the chart plotter and also to watch movies on, etc. Okay, so we had a plan which is all now null and void - again! The boat seller just pulled out of the deal for the second time late last night, via email - ARRRRRRUGH!!!
Disappointed does not begin to cover how we are feeling right now. Trying to come up with another plan so stay tuned....
Boatless, laptop compterless in San Francisco
~Meow & Bri
Sunday, January 11, 2009
What are we doing!
“There’s another one” someone shouts. We are sitting 8 in a row, feet hanging over the side of a 40ft sailboat. “I see them” came a chorus of voices as we saw a pod of humpback whales surface. The boat was on a starboard tack on the first leg of the Puerto Vallarta Cup Series. We are rail meat headed to the mark with nothing to do but suffer the toe rail cutting into the back of our hamstrings, and enjoying the view of the migrating whales and the schools of dolphins.
So, you ask, what do we fill our days doing? Well, a little of this and a little of that :). Seriously, we are still trying to find a ride south or a boat to buy. As Brian would put it, our 3 options are to be broke, to be cold, or to have no possessions. The first actually being the favored, which is buying a really nice boat, the second would be buying a fixer upper and staying in San Carlos (Mexico) to work on it, and the third, would be to just keep crewing on other people’s boats. In which case, we would definitely need to send more stuff home to travel super light. We were in negotiations to purchase Brian’s dream boat (option #1 – be broke), but alas, fate intervened and the seller withdrew the offer just as we headed to escrow. I guess it was not meant to be.
In the meantime, we are enjoying Puerto Vallarta, the people, the food, the buses (that get you anywhere & everywhere), and just the “flavor” of the city. Enjoy the pictures.
Saturday Sailing
One of the many beach vendors - $25 pesos fish skewers- like a $1.95
Brian enjoying the local Flavor!
The awesome $6 pesos buses
More wierd statues on the Malecon
Brian calls this the Eggplant Man but really it's the Rock Eater!
Friendship fountain - downtown on the Malecon
Inside the main church
The Main Church framed by the Arches - Centro
Brian at the Cheeky Monkey!
So, you ask, what do we fill our days doing? Well, a little of this and a little of that :). Seriously, we are still trying to find a ride south or a boat to buy. As Brian would put it, our 3 options are to be broke, to be cold, or to have no possessions. The first actually being the favored, which is buying a really nice boat, the second would be buying a fixer upper and staying in San Carlos (Mexico) to work on it, and the third, would be to just keep crewing on other people’s boats. In which case, we would definitely need to send more stuff home to travel super light. We were in negotiations to purchase Brian’s dream boat (option #1 – be broke), but alas, fate intervened and the seller withdrew the offer just as we headed to escrow. I guess it was not meant to be.
In the meantime, we are enjoying Puerto Vallarta, the people, the food, the buses (that get you anywhere & everywhere), and just the “flavor” of the city. Enjoy the pictures.
Saturday Sailing
One of the many beach vendors - $25 pesos fish skewers- like a $1.95
Brian enjoying the local Flavor!
The awesome $6 pesos buses
More wierd statues on the Malecon
Brian calls this the Eggplant Man but really it's the Rock Eater!
Friendship fountain - downtown on the Malecon
Inside the main church
The Main Church framed by the Arches - Centro
Brian at the Cheeky Monkey! Friday, January 2, 2009
Feliz Navidad & Ano Nuevo
Puerto Vallarta
We are in Puerto Vallarta ! It is so beautiful here, especially the Villa (Villa Canta Mar, Garza Blanca) my Mom & Dad rented. We have a place with an unobstructed gorgeous view of Bandereos Bay and our own private pool just off of the living room. Luckily the 6 pesos meteorite bus stops right below the villa, so getting down to old town PV is easy. Downtown is just as I remember, exciting, and bustling with shops, great restaurants, cheap taco stands, local vendors, time share hustlers, and good energy. Sitting in beach front restaurants, toes in the sand , cold drinks sweating on the table, vendors hawking everything including bathroom sinks!. I just love when the shopping comes to you! I just wish I had space for some items. It is either buy something and throw something out, or don’t buy anything at all. The latter being the best on our budget.
We spent today, snorkeling around the Los Arcos (the arches) islands and this evening walking the Malecon, snacking, doing happy hour margaritas, and eating dinner. Like La Paz, PV has a beautiful Malecon, a seaside walk, but it is a bit more wild. Alas, no pictures as my super duper water proof digital camera somehow leaked and got water in it. I am drying it out now, and hoping like a cell phone, it will start working again. Keep your fingers crossed.
Camera is operational again! Enjoy the pictures.
The view from the villa
Mom and Dad having breakfast by the pool
The pool
Holidays in Paradise
Christmas Sand Sculpture on the Beach
View from Le Cliffe Restaurant
Special restaurant guests
Mom & Dad at the restaurant
Dad & I Christmas Eve
View of Los Arcos from the Villa
6 Spotted Eagel Rays- snorkeling Los Arcos
The tunels or arches of Los Arcos
Business aside, the start of 2009 has been grand. I am looking forward to what this year brings, and all the adventures and places we will visit & experience. We are still in PV, and still looking for a boat or a boat ride. We sent back 2 suitcases of stuff, so we can travel lighter. We still have way too much stuff though. I got us a fancy dancy new 2.2 lb, 8.9inch, Asus computer, with a built in webcam and loaded with windows XP. It’s bitchen. My parents even want to get one. That is going some since my Dad wouldn’t even touch a computer 5 years ago! Hopefully we can get rid of Brian’s anvil of a laptop soon, unless of course we purchase a boat. Boat shopping, however slow, seems to be starting to fall into place. We have made several offers but people still want too much. Counter offers and crew positions are coming in. We are starting to meet people in the boat community and others with local knowledge. In the meantime, I guess we will be going to a lot of timeshare presentations to earn a little cash :). Got to do something, no joke, we get $350 USD per presentation.
We are in Puerto Vallarta ! It is so beautiful here, especially the Villa (Villa Canta Mar, Garza Blanca) my Mom & Dad rented. We have a place with an unobstructed gorgeous view of Bandereos Bay and our own private pool just off of the living room. Luckily the 6 pesos meteorite bus stops right below the villa, so getting down to old town PV is easy. Downtown is just as I remember, exciting, and bustling with shops, great restaurants, cheap taco stands, local vendors, time share hustlers, and good energy. Sitting in beach front restaurants, toes in the sand , cold drinks sweating on the table, vendors hawking everything including bathroom sinks!. I just love when the shopping comes to you! I just wish I had space for some items. It is either buy something and throw something out, or don’t buy anything at all. The latter being the best on our budget.
We spent today, snorkeling around the Los Arcos (the arches) islands and this evening walking the Malecon, snacking, doing happy hour margaritas, and eating dinner. Like La Paz, PV has a beautiful Malecon, a seaside walk, but it is a bit more wild. Alas, no pictures as my super duper water proof digital camera somehow leaked and got water in it. I am drying it out now, and hoping like a cell phone, it will start working again. Keep your fingers crossed.
Camera is operational again! Enjoy the pictures.
The view from the villa
Mom and Dad having breakfast by the pool
The poolHolidays in Paradise
Christmas was wonderful, in paradise. With the full kitchen of the 2800 sq ft Villa, Brian and I decided to cook. He got a turkey and I made my famous beet & parsley fettuccine. Now, I don’t really like beets, but I like em this way! Other fantastic diner items included, a candied pecan, blue cheese, apple salad, garlic mashed potatoes and Brian’s wonderful leek vegetarian stuffing. This all topped off with fine Swiss chocolates and a sherry wine cake that was to die for (heirloom recipe). We feasted, then swam at sunset,, and feasted again. Even though we forgot the champagne (for Mimosa‘s) we did have a couple bottles of fine red wine. There was even a tree (however only 6” tall), complete with presents. Life remains very good, indeed. Blink and the week was gone, at least that is what it felt like. I can’t really tell you where the time went, but we must have just had a blast since it was over in a flash. Now we are hustling up places to stay and boats to look at &/or crew on. Nothing yet but we will definitely keep everyone posted.
Christmas Sand Sculpture on the Beach
View from Le Cliffe Restaurant
Special restaurant guests
Mom & Dad at the restaurant
Dad & I Christmas Eve
View of Los Arcos from the Villa
6 Spotted Eagel Rays- snorkeling Los Arcos
The tunels or arches of Los ArcosNew Years
Not sure how we got so lucky, guess it’s the karma thing or pay it forward movement, but we met some very cool people at Joe Jacks restaurant, who let us stay in their condo for New Years eve, day - til the 2nd. They had to go back home and wanted someone in their place they own for Dec, for the last couple of days. This was so cool since we haven’t found a boat gig yet and it is located right on the water in the romantic district! So we found ourselves in luxury, in paradise again, oh darn :) .
Not sure how we got so lucky, guess it’s the karma thing or pay it forward movement, but we met some very cool people at Joe Jacks restaurant, who let us stay in their condo for New Years eve, day - til the 2nd. They had to go back home and wanted someone in their place they own for Dec, for the last couple of days. This was so cool since we haven’t found a boat gig yet and it is located right on the water in the romantic district! So we found ourselves in luxury, in paradise again, oh darn :) .
I know I will not do this justice, but the fireworks New Years Eve were incredible. Not just because, they had a good show, but because there were so many great shows, all going on, all at the same time, around the entire bay. We had fireworks right in front of us, and directly next to us right and left. Not to mention the 20 other shows we were trying to watch going off. There were so many fireworks going, that the sky was a bit smoky at one point, occluding some of them. This lasted for about ½ hour, followed by sparklers and dancing to loud bands in the streets.
2009 Year
Happy New Year! As the years tick away faster and faster, I find it important to set yearly goals, or resolutions. However, I realize to accomplish this effectively it is first & equally important to work towards your overall life goals, when setting yearly ones. Since I don’t really have a 5 year plan (or it has changed so dramatically that it is unrecognizable), or have never really put in words my overall life goals, that‘s my number one resolution - come up with a plan. There, that is my goal, my numo uno resolution, in writing, for everyone to see. Of course, my second goal is to lose weight, along with 60% of the rest of the world’s. I say 60% because the world is made up of 55% women right? I am kidding on this one, of course, as I find it a resolution no one keeps!
Happy New Year! As the years tick away faster and faster, I find it important to set yearly goals, or resolutions. However, I realize to accomplish this effectively it is first & equally important to work towards your overall life goals, when setting yearly ones. Since I don’t really have a 5 year plan (or it has changed so dramatically that it is unrecognizable), or have never really put in words my overall life goals, that‘s my number one resolution - come up with a plan. There, that is my goal, my numo uno resolution, in writing, for everyone to see. Of course, my second goal is to lose weight, along with 60% of the rest of the world’s. I say 60% because the world is made up of 55% women right? I am kidding on this one, of course, as I find it a resolution no one keeps!
Business aside, the start of 2009 has been grand. I am looking forward to what this year brings, and all the adventures and places we will visit & experience. We are still in PV, and still looking for a boat or a boat ride. We sent back 2 suitcases of stuff, so we can travel lighter. We still have way too much stuff though. I got us a fancy dancy new 2.2 lb, 8.9inch, Asus computer, with a built in webcam and loaded with windows XP. It’s bitchen. My parents even want to get one. That is going some since my Dad wouldn’t even touch a computer 5 years ago! Hopefully we can get rid of Brian’s anvil of a laptop soon, unless of course we purchase a boat. Boat shopping, however slow, seems to be starting to fall into place. We have made several offers but people still want too much. Counter offers and crew positions are coming in. We are starting to meet people in the boat community and others with local knowledge. In the meantime, I guess we will be going to a lot of timeshare presentations to earn a little cash :). Got to do something, no joke, we get $350 USD per presentation.
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