On Our Way Back to Colorado

We left San Carlos and made it to the border with no problem.  It took us about 6 1/2 hrs to get to our hotel:  La Quinta/Reid Park in Tucson.  We travel with some grieving for what we have left behind, but, with lots of excitement about what lies ahead:  mainly seeing our kids and friends and getting ourselves organized again.

There are all kinds of altars like this along the highway.  They look like
they are well used.  We don't know why some are much bigger and more
elaborate than others.  This one was outside of Hermosillo.

We visited and ordered Chinese with Gary Zola in Green Valley for our first night in Tucson.  We hadn't seen him in years:  he and his former wife, Rachelle, were the ones who introduced us to San Carlos.  We had a great time with him and his new partner, Sharon.  As we watched the news that night, we saw that Colorado was under a winter storm alert from Santa Fe to Longmont.  We wished we would have spent an extra night in San Carlos with one of several friends who invited us, but, alas, here we were, so, we spent a second night in Tucson.  Right near us was The Tucson Botanical Gardens.  They allowed dogs, so off we went to spend the better part of the day there.

Check out the little yellow and black frog!

We found this beautiful placard in the
culinary garden.

Although this looks like a yucca plant,
it is actually a water fountain made of
some kind of metal.  

These are long wooden wind chimes

Love the old man cactus!

...and St. Francis

 They have a wonderful butterfly garden.

This guy actually landed on my arm and
matched my shirt perfectly.  I wonder what
he/she was thinking?  It is a Blue Morph.

This is what the Blue Morph looks like when it's wings
are folded.

We (all) spent the afternoon at the pool.

Look who loves his life on the road!

The cutest!  So photogenic!

We went through Hatch, NM and just had to stop for some chilies.  This little restaurant was wonderful:  we shared a green chili cheeseburger.  Boo liked that a lot.  I think he now has Mexican taste buds.

Boo had his own seat.

There was this wonderful selection of crosses on the wall,
made of all kinds of different materials.

Yes, indeed!  We are blessed.

 And, although Jason was very happy to see us, his dog, Jack, was even more so!

We stopped at Albuquerque on the way home in another very nice La Quinta in Midtown.  We were too tired to do much of anything there.  We expected weather trouble on the road to Longmont but were pleasantly surprised that we just hit a few flurries around Raton and Trinidad.

More when we are back on the road!

Goodbye, For Now, San Carlos

After the town quiets down following Semana Santa and the crews are called in to clean up the streets and the beaches, we enjoy the town as much, if not more so, than we do in the winter.  The days and nights are warmer and we enjoy sunny days (as we do most all winter, too).  But it is time to enjoy the water, the flowering desert and the quieter town.  We are still busy saying goodbye, as people leave for northern climes and trips elsewhere.  Alot of people go to the Baja to see the whales, some go to Copper Canyon or Alamos or Mazatlan.  We leave on April 15th for Colorado where we will be for about a month before taking off for parts north and west in Maxine, our RV.  Here-our last few pictures of our time in paradise:

A day spent up the coast above La Manga with Cynthia and Bill.

Boo is prepared for anything!

All these little shacks are abandoned.

There were two families staying in these places by the water's edge.  They were very friendly about sharing the space, even showing us the best place to park and put in the kayak.

Jim and Bill

Afterwards we went to the restaurant in La Manga, which was packed with all kinds of people.  I had a shrimp mignon, which was fabulous.  I also tried an octopus in a cheese sauce.  It was surprisingly good.  Jim had the oysters, of course, which are hardly out of the water when they serve them.

This is Buffy, one of our neighbors, dancing with
the chef at Delfin's.  We went to hear Lorena with
Judy and Larry.

The North America, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Tournament qualifying teams for the Olympics in Rio were held here this year.  Apparently, it was supposed to be held in Acapulco, but there were security concerns there.  Amazing how they set up this whole thing in the last few days.  We spent a day at the beach watching.  It was amazing to see so many people here and the sudden appearance of volleyball courts and bleachers for the crowds.  The USA won in the women's finals and the Cubans in the men's finals.

It certainly brought out the crowds!

It was a relief to get home to the pool-a very hot day on the sand.

Dee and Karen's friends, Sharon and John Warren were in town so we all met for a little jazz and wine at the Sunset Grill.  Dee and Sharon used to be married to each other many, many years ago and the two couples are still good friends.

Omar and the jazz trio

A last margarita at JJ's to celebrate the day we met 47 years ago!

I don't know what happened to my hair!!

A beautiful morning to get up early and go down to the marina to see the Warren's sailboat come out of the water!

Warren Peace-an amazing sailboat-50 ft and capable of sailing anywhere
in the world.  It is luxurious-beautiful teak everywhere, marble
countertops in the staterooms and gorgeous tile and art work.  We
can't wait to see it again next year.  We only got to ride into the
put-out place at the docks this time.

Sharon Warren

El Capitan, John Warren

Waiting for the Cat to come and pull her out

Here it comes!

It ends up submerged completely and an
operator uses a remote to guide the ship onto it.
Oops, forgot to edit out my finger:-(

This guy has worked at the marina for years
and years.  He wraps that rope around his
waist to help bring the boat in.  He must be in
his eighties or nineties.

Well done

Rollin' down the highway

And the operator drives backward!

 Judy and I went into Guaymas to do a little shopping at Walmart and followed a friend of hers home to her ranch out by the Ranchitos.  Diane and Joe have created a beautiful oasis in the midst of the desert.

This is the courtyard where they grow all kinds of fruits
and vegetables.  There are little casitas everywhere!

Don't you just want to camp out here with a good book?!

More tomatoes, outside the compound

A wonderful margarita deck and coyote fence and covering

Diane and Judy in the horse stables-she has 5 or 6 horses

And this is  Joe's biplane.  We see him soaring around
town occasionally.

One last evening listening and dancing to Sensa Nova at the Captain's Club:

And a fabulous farewell party at Judy and Larry's:

Having more than a little fun!

A rainy, windy morning turned into a wonderful time to have some lunch and a few shots of tequila with our buddy, Susan Anderson.

We had the Palapa Griega to ourselves!

Driving into the desert mountains this day we came across
the boat house.  This person literally made his home out of
his old boat.

Breakfast with pals, Leslie and Bobby at Gustavo's:

A last perfect afternoon at Boo's Beach:

Lots of dolphin watching today-they were moving back
and forth, breaching and jumping all around.

Finishing The Lacuna

Look at this water!  It was absolutely wonderful!

And the view!?!  Well, there are no adequate words.

Boo at full throttle

A very wet, very sandy, very tired Boo

One of the last hurrahs at our house on the hill:

The chefs discussing the roast

One last night at the Soggy Peso-perfect weather, great people and a good time!

There was one last night at the Sunset Grill with Cindy, Karen and Jim.  No pictures but it was a beautiful evening-feet in the sand, wonderful fresh food, excellent service by James and one more incredible sunset.